2018 - books in review

In 2018 I had an excellent reading year with 61 books read. Probably close to my best ever.


So a quick breakdown:

Non-fiction - 1 (must rectify this)
Teen - 10 (Alex Rider - awesome teen series)
Rural Romance - 49 (it's all I read)
General Fiction - 1 (a lonely crime book)

The worst thing is I didn't read a single Bookclub book! Ooops - will try harder...

So 2019 is almost here and I will aim again for 52 books - fingers crossed I get there - just so many other competing demands :)

Book: Sky Over Brigadier Station

Summary: Noah McGuire stayed away from Brigadier Station for a reason. He’s spent almost a decade in New Zealand’s South Island, trying to forget his past. But the memories still haunt him and the last thing he wants to do is see his estranged family and attend his brother’s wedding. However, the only way he can collect his inheritance is if he returns to his family’s property and faces the demons he’s been hiding from. When it comes to rounding up hundreds of cattle in a day, doing so by horseback doesn’t do the trick quite like a helicopter does and Riley Sinclair is one of the best pilots in the country. It’s a dangerous job, but she has nothing to lose. Until she meets Noah and her bravery is finally tested. Can they make a life together or is the pull of the sky too strong?


What I Thought: Enjoying this series so looking forward to the next one.

Book Darling Songbirds

Summary: The saloon had always looked old-fashioned, but now it resembled a set in a ghost town. The problem was that Adele wasn't in an old western, or a ghost town. Darling Bay was the sleepy gold-rush town her great-grandfather had given his name to. The town she'd left for good a long time ago. The building is a ruin, the business is broke and customers are scarce. Add into the mix Nate Houston - the handsome, guitar-playing bartender who had always believed he would be the next owner - and Adele has one potent cocktail on her hands. Can a rundown saloon in a sleepy town finally offer Adele a way into love?


What I Thought: A nice easy read - might have to do the others in the series.

Book: Operation Mistletoe Magic

Summary: Christmas is looking grim for Melissa Allen. She has no one to celebrate with, as her boyfriend of five years left her for her best friend and, after losing her home in a fire, she has nowhere to live. Left without a choice, she accepts the offer to the stay with family friends Rob and Linda Nicholls.Chris Nicholls is excited about bringing his five-year-old daughter, Jasmine, home to Lakefield, Ontario for her first white Christmas. The trip is a surprise for his parents, though no one is more surprised than Chris when he finds his childhood best friend in his parent's spare room. Surprise soon turns to delight as Chris has always had feelings for Melissa, feelings that are only getting stronger the longer they are together.
But Melissa has had her fill of heartbreak, and isn't willing to fall for a man who is only going to leave. And Jasmine? She doesn't want to share her daddy with anyone. If Chris has any hope of convincing Melissa and Jasmine that they have a future together as a family, he'll need all the mistletoe magic he can get.


What I Thought: A sweet Christmas read - love the vision of snow but probably not the reality of it!

Book: Daughter of the Murray

Summary: Georgina Calthorpe is unhappy living with her indifferent foster family the MacHenry’s in their crumbling house on the banks of the River Murray. Unlike the rest of the family, she isn’t looking forward to the return of prodigal son Dane. With good reason. Dane MacHenry is furious when on his return he finds his homestead in grave decline. Unaware that his father has been drinking his way through his inheritance, he blames Georgina and Georgina decides she has no option but to leave. Unfortunately she chooses Dane’s horse to flee on, and when Dane learns she has stolen his prized stallion, he gives chase.

From this point their fates become intertwined with that of a businessman with a dark secret, Conor Foley, who offers Georgina apparent security: a marriage with status in the emerging nouveau–riche echelons of Melbourne. But none of them could imagine the toll the changing political and social landscape would have on homes, hearts and families. Will Georgina’s path lead her into grave danger and unhappiness, or will she survive and fulfill her destiny?


What I Thought: I enjoyed this one as I don't often do "historical" rural romances but they are growing on me.

Book: Christmas at Remarkable Bay

Summary: Prickly Sofia has hit a crossroads and is hoping a Christmas alone in idyllic Remarkable Bay will help. Police officer George is also alone at Christmas. Drawn together unwillingly, they try and stay out of each other’s way. But Remarkable Bay is a small place…

What I Thought: A nice easy Christmas read. 

Book: One Step

Summary: Dylan is struggling. He’s struggling with the acne that has declared war on his face; struggling with his pushy younger sister; with his nagging mom and his dad who never has time for him anymore; struggling with his old phone-me-down; and struggling with his constant preoccupation with girls, and what might happen if he manages to snag one. Struggling, but surviving. But when Dylan’s creative writing piece is read out in class, it sets off a chain of events that sends him on a frantic roller coaster of emotions culminating in a revelation that could make or break his survival.


What I Thought: Ooh - what a great coming of age story. Ending left me questioning what happened...

Book: Blood Tree River

Summary: Indiana O’Meara is no stranger to the forces of evil. Her own past is full of violence. Now a policewoman, Indy is always fighting to redeem herself and defeat the dark. So when girls begin to go missing at a remote cattle station in Tasmania, she is quick to agree to go undercover to investigate chief suspect, the owner of Calico Mountain Lodge, Logan Atherton, even though last time she went undercover it came to a bloody end.

But her early encounter with Logan Atherton reveals a man full of contradictions. His deep empathy for horses and those he cares for is obvious but he is also taciturn to the point of rudeness, and there is a strange atmosphere at the lodge. It doesn’t add up.

As Indy begins to dig deeper into the secrets at the Lodge, she finds herself embroiled in a murderous web more complex and terrifying than she could ever have imagined...




What I Thought: Really enjoyed this - loved some crime and romance mixed in!

Book: Alex Rider - Snakehead

Summary: Alex Rider has been forced into the Australian secret service – his target is the criminal underworld of South-East Asia, and the ruthless organization known as the Snakehead.

What I Thought: Loved it. So hooked on these. Nice to see the Australian side (although not sure the picture they painted is fair! Ha ha).

Book: A River Not Yet Tamed

Summary: Orphaned by a shipwreck, Philadelphia grows up on the banks of her beloved Murray River, seemingly destined for a conventional life. Book1.

What I Thought: Enjoyed this literary classic. Will read the rest of the series too! 

Book: Secret Vineyard

Summary: Single mum Grace has no plans - and no spare time - to fall in love again. Until she moves to her ex-husband's secret vineyard . . .
Grace Middleton knew that her ex-husband Jake was a lying, cheating, wife-abandoning bastard.
What she didn’t know – until his untimely death – was that he was also the owner of a secret vineyard in the heart of the Margaret River wine region. And, much to the chagrin of his new wife, he’s left the property to Grace's three young sons.
With the intention of putting it up for sale, Grace takes the boys to view Gum Leaf Grove. And immediately finds herself embroiled in mysteries from Jake's past and the accidental target of the resident ‘ghost’.
Nowadays Grace believes in love even less than she believes in ghosts. So no one is more surprised than her when she finds herself caught between two very different men - with secrets of their own . . .

What I Thought: Enjoyed this one - sure a bit far fetched but still enjoyable.

Book: Alex Rider - Ark Angel

Summary: The sniper’s bullet nearly killed him. But Alex Rider managed to survive . . . just in time for more trouble to come his way. When kidnappers attempt to snatch a fellow patient from the exclusive hospital where Alex is recovering, he knows he has to stop him. But the boy he saves is no ordinary patient: He is the son of Nikolai Drevin, one of the richest men in the world. The eccentric billionaire has been targeted by Force Three, a group of eco-terrorists who claim his project Ark Angel—the first luxury hotel in outer space—is a danger to the environment. Soon Alex discovers that Force Three will stop at nothing to destroy Ark Angel, even if it means sending four hundred tons of molten glass and steel hurtling down to Earth and killing millions . . . unless Alex can stop them.


What I Thought: Again sucked in. Loving the series.

Book: Bro

Summary: What happens when you mix teenage boys, a fight club and ethnic rivalries? You get war. Romeo Makhlouf knows the rules. Stick with your own kind. Don’t dob on your mates or your enemies. Respect the family. But even unwritten rules are made for breaking. 


What I Thought: A nice teen "coming of age" story.

Book: High Country Hero

Summary: Having brokered a fragile peace with his demons at last, ex-Afghan War pilot Mitch Stuart isn't in the market for redemption. But when he steps outside his comfort zone to help a stranger in a country pub, he inadvertently opens the door to the ghosts of a woman and a white dog he thought he'd left behind him long ago.

Veterinary specialist Lennie O'Donnell and her beloved dog, Pesh, are taking a break from big-city life to help Lennie's grandfather sell his old-fashioned rural clinic. Lennie has dedicated her career to healing those unable to tell her what's wrong, but Mitch is a puzzle even she struggles to solve - or completely let go.

Meanwhile, back in Lennie's old home town, another man of mixed messages, her high school crush Benji Cooper, is all grown up and looking at Lennie the way she always dreamed he would. Can Mitch find the courage to let Lennie into his life? And with gorgeous, sunny, funny Benji waiting in the wings, is it a threshold Lennie wants to cross? There's also the matter of her grandparents' unexpectedly fractured marriage to mend, and Lennie's growing suspicion there might be more to the sale of her grandfather's clinic than meets the eye.


What I Thought: Enjoyed revisiting some of these characters and places. Nice to read a NZ rural romance.

Book: The 12 Daves of Christmas

Summary: Abby Solomon may write happy–ever–afters for a living, but doesn't believe she'll have her own. But then a surprise visit from her grandmother's ghost sets her off on a journey she'll never forget. Grandma Charlotte wants to find her first love, Dave, who she mistakenly thought had died in World War II. A quick trawl through the Yellow Pages yields a list of twelve possibilities, and Abby and Charlotte set off on a Christmas road trip – twelve Daves over twelve days along the sun–drenched east coast of Australia.
With just over a week to make the meeting happen, Abby has to meet a dozen Daves – some sweet, some quirky, some downright dangerous – while trying to honour her book deadline and enduring the awkward challenges of having a ghost as a travelling companion.
But when she comes across a young doctor who looks like the hero in one of her novels, Abby has the chance to discover that true love transcends time and space, and that happy endings aren't only to be found between the pages of a book.


What I Thought: Actually enjoyed this cheeky Christmas book!

Book: Home for Christmas

Summary: What began as an impersonal-but-cheerful holiday gift for a soldier far from home becomes so much more...Sergeant Tate McAuliffe, stationed in Afghanistan, opens his Christmas care package from Australia and is stunned by both its contents and the sender. Fun-loving Christmas tree designer Layla Preston is a breath of fresh air for loner Tate. Although they've never met, their email friendship quickly develops and their feelings for each other deepen. But Layla knows the heartache that loving a soldier can bring and when Tate is injured, her deep-seated fear drives them apart. With their relationship in tatters, can Layla and Tate work through their differences, so Layla can welcome Tate home for Christmas?


What I Thought: A different concept so I enjoyed that and got sucked in!

Book: Someone like you

Summary: When bestselling author, twenty-nine year old Hayley Stevens, walks in on her husband, Paul, and her best friend in bed together, she knows her life will never be the same again. One year later, Hayley stowed her last bag in her much-loved Audi Coupe and said goodbye to the city. She was excited to be heading west to Lochway, a small colonial village sitting on the beautiful Macdonald River. Wanting peace and quiet, Hayley had impulsively bought a cosy sandstone cottage there surrounded by lush rose gardens, with a small overseer's cottage - ideal for a writer's retreat.

What she didn't expect was the almost immediate 'gift' of a very noisy donkey named Errol. Nor did Hayley expect to meet her handsome new neighbour, Luke Mason, when she was covered in mud trying to drag Errol out of Luke's dam. The strange thing was though that Luke seemed very familiar to her. As Hayley slowly gains acceptance into her small community and starts writing again she becomes almost afraid of the inexplicable visions she sees. What does it all mean? And why does Luke refuse to listen to her?


What I Thought: I enjoy these books. Simple and not too deep. The right mix of escapism!

Book: Under Christmas Stars

Summary: Freya George was the local teacher for the rural community of Reedy Creek until a truck ploughed into her school commendation before Christmas. Drew Macgregor offered for Freya to stay at his home until repairs can be made on the Schoolhouse. Drew and Freya did not believe that staying at Drew Macgregor home would affect their lives so much...


What I Thought: Nice to head back to the same town. Love characters throughout multiple books.

Book: A Country Mile

Summary: When Sophie Copinni's love life turns sour, a trip to her hometown in Far North Queensland is the perfect time for her to take stock of her future. There, two weeks before she turns thirty, she finds a bucket list from her teenage years. Most of the challenges are fun, although one thing on the list scares the hell out of her: she is to reveal a long–held family secret – the very reason she ran away eight years ago.
A road trip home is Dylan Stone's chance to escape the shady operations he has uncovered at the Sydney tattoo parlour he runs. Surrounded by the landscape and loved ones he's missed so fiercely, Dylan starts to think that maybe it's time to make his homecoming permanent. But there is still the unresolved matter of Sophie – the woman who broke his heart and skipped town so long ago.
Dylan and Sophie try to keep their distance but they can't deny the intense chemistry between them. But if Sophie tackles the scariest challenge on her list, will it push Dylan away forever? And will her family ever be the same again?


What I Thought: These are always light reads - enjoyable.

Book: Alex Rider - Scorpia

Summary: After a revelation with Yassen Gregorovich, Alex sets off with his friend Tom Harris in Venice to track down the mysterious organization known only to Alex as Scorpia. A chance encounter with one of the top agents of Scorpia reveals a sinister plot to change all of London. Now, Alex must return to his old life in MI6 and risk his life to save thousands of children. Will he stay with MI6, who have betrayed him, or join Scorpia and get his revenge?


What I Thought: I enjoyed how this explored a darker side.

Book: Mackenzie Crossing

Summary: It's 1939, and Neville, escaping an unhappy marriage and his memories of the Great War, finds himself in Mackenzie Crossing on the day of the terrible Black Friday bushfires. He meets the beautiful Georgie Mackenzie and in an instant knows that she is the subject he has been looking for. As the heat intensifies, Georgie and Pom begin to wonder if they have a future together; but first, they must survive the blaze.

Almost sixty years later, Sky Stewart returns to the area in search of her grandfather. Did he survive the Black Friday bushfires? Who is the exotic woman in the photograph she found? But when she arrives in Elysian, the closest town to where Mackenzie Crossing used to be, she finds more of her hidden past than she bargained for. A more recent past which she would prefer stayed forgotten...

What I Thought: Ooh I enjoyed this - a new author added to the list! 

Book: Alex Rider - Eagle Strike

Summary: Reluctant MI6 agent Alex Rider is relaxing in the south of France until a sudden, ruthless attack on his hosts plunges him back into a world of violence and mystery - and this time, MI6 don't want to know. Alex is determined to track down his friends' attackers, even if he must do it alone. But it's a path that leads to a long-buried secret - and a discovery more terrible than anything he could have imagined.


What I Thought: Another good read. Loving the series.

Book: The Last McAdam

Summary: What Tess hasn't counted on is coming up against the station's handsome and charismatic head stockman, Nate McAdam, whose family owned the property for generations...
Passed down through the same family for over a century, the remote sheep and cattle station of Broken Creek has recently been taken over by global agribusiness company Carnarvon Holdings. Now Carnarvon has sent its best troubleshooting manager, Tess Drummond, to turn the property's failing fortunes around fast.
When Tess arrives to take the reins of Broken Creek she's faced with a couple of nasty surprises. For starters, her head stockman, Nate McAdam, happens to be the same gorgeous stranger she hooked up with and ran out on a few weeks before.
As if that wasn't bad enough, Nate was supposed to inherit Broken Creek until his stepfather ran it into the ground. Now the last McAdam on the station leads a team of men whose bonds have been forged through hell and high water and whose mission is to see off Carnarvon and Tess so he can take his rightful place.
A genius with farm work and women but a disaster in the office, Nate is everything Tess believes a farmer shouldn't be. Determined not to give in to her growing attraction to him, Tess sets out to do her job, but she soon finds herself caught up in the battle of her career.


What I Thought: I really enjoyed this one. Nice to have a NZ rural romance for a change.

Book: Chrissy and the Burroughs Boy

Summary: Chrissy James has only been home in small-town Levenham a few weeks when her teenage crush plays hero and saves her from an aggressive drunk. Seven years ago, Nick Burroughs was the school hottie while she was the overweight girl with braces, bad hair, and an unrequited obsession with the sports star every girl in school wanted. Her failed efforts to attract Nick's attention still burn.

Chrissy sure has his attention now, but she's older, smarter and focused on settling into her new dream job as wine marketer. No matter how sexy he's grown, or how keen his interest, Nick will need to do a lot more than see off a drunk if he wants to win her over.
But Chrissy doesn't count on the determination of a Burroughs boy in love. Nick will do anything to recapture Chrissy's heart, even if it means acting the romantic fool and embarrassing himself in the process.
Will Nick's efforts to make amends for the past backfire or will Chrissy's career thwart everything? Grab this cute small-town romance and find out.

What I Thought: A nice little novella here. Very sweet. 

Book: Whitsunday Dawn

Summary: When Olivia Sheridan arrives in the Whitsundays as spokesperson for big mining company Sheridan Corp, it should be a straightforward presentation to the town about their proposed project. But when a handsome local fisherman shows her what ecological impact the proposal will have, Olivia is forced to question her father's motives for the project.
Struggling with newly divided loyalties, Olivia is thrown further into turmoil when she is mistaken for a woman who disappeared more than sixty years before. When it becomes clear that Captain Jay is also keeping secrets, Olivia realises that there is more to these sunshine–soaked islands than she ever expected.
Seeking to uncover the truth, Olivia is drawn into a dangerous game where powerful businessmen will stop at nothing to ensure their plan goes ahead, even if that means eliminating her…




What I Thought: I've just been up near here so the images were very vivid in my mind. A great story. Loved the chop and change of years/character perspectives.

Book: The Last of the Bonegilla Girls

Summary: Their friendship transcends nationality and background, but can it overcome the horrors of the past? A post-Second World War story of strong female ties and family, secrets and lies, set in the multicultural Australia of the fifties. Can the Bonegilla girls defeat their past? Or will it come to claim them?

1954: When sixteen–year–old Hungarian Elizabeta arrives in Australia with her family, she is hoping to escape the hopelessness of life as a refugee in post–war Germany. Her first stop is the Bonegilla Migrant Camp on the banks of the Murray in rural Victoria, a temporary home for thousands of new arrivals, all looking for work and a better life. There, Elizabeta becomes firm friends with the feisty Greek Vasiliki; quiet Italian Iliana; and the adventurous Frances, the daughter of the camp's director.

In this vibrant and growing country, the Bonegilla girls rush together towards a life that seems full of promise, even as they cope with the legacy of war, the oppressive nature of family tradition and ever–present sorrow. So when a ghost from the past reaches out for Elizabeta and threatens to pull her back into the shadows, there is nothing that her friends wouldn't do to keep her safe. But secrets have a way of making themselves known and lies have a way of changing everything they touch...

What I Thought: Loved it! Having visited Bonegilla a few years back with the kids and hubby and learning more from my father in-law who stayed here the book was just wonderful.

Book: The Art of Keeping Secrets

Summary:  They’ve been best friends since their sons started high school together, and Felicity, Emma and Neve share everything … or so they thought. But Flick’s seemingly perfect marriage hides a shocking secret which, with one word, threatens to destroy her and her family’s happiness. Emma is in denial about a potential custody battle, her financial constraints, the exhaustion she can’t seem to shake off and the inappropriate feelings she has for her boss. And single mum Neve is harbouring a secret of her own; a secret that might forever damage her close-knit relationship with her son.  When the tight hold they have each kept on their secrets for years begins to slip, they must face the truth. Even if that truth has the power to hurt the ones they love, and each other.
Perhaps some secrets weren’t made to be kept.


What I Thought: An enjoyable read. Lots of issues explored.

Book: Alex Rider - Skeleton Key

Summary: Alex Rider has been through a lot for his fourteen years. He's been shot at by international terrorists, chased down a mountainside on a makeshift snowboard, and has stood face-to-face with pure evil. Twice, young Alex has managed to save the world. And twice, he has almost been killed doing it. But now Alex faces something even more dangerous. The desperation of a man who has lost everything he cared for: his country and his only son. A man who just happens to have a nuclear weapon and a serious grudge against the free world. To see his beloved Russia once again be a dominant power, he will stop at nothing. Unless Alex can stop him first... Uniting forces with America's own CIA for the first time, teen spy Alex Rider battles terror from the sun-baked beaches of Miami all the way to the barren ice fields of northernmost Russia. Come along for the thrilling ride of a lifetime.


What I Thought: Again I was sucked in. Eleven in the series so far so looking forward to reading the rest.

Book: Alex Rider - Point Blanc

Summary: Investigations into the "accidental" deaths of two of the world's most powerful men have revealed just one link: both had a son attending Point Blanc Academy - an exclusive school for rebellious rich kids, run by the sinister Dr Grief and set high on an isolated mountain peak in the French Alps. Armed only with a false ID and a new collection of brilliantly disguised gadgets, Alex must infiltrate the academy as a pupil and establish the truth about what is really happening there.


What I Thought: Another great book - again sucked in!

Book: Alex Rider - Stormbreaker

Summary: They told him his uncle died in an accident. He wasn't wearing his seatbelt, they said. But when fourteen-year-old Alex finds his uncle's windshield riddled with bullet holes, he knows it was no accident. What he doesn't know yet is that his uncle was killed while on a top-secret mission. But he is about to, and once he does, there is no turning back. Finding himself in the middle of terrorists, Alex must outsmart the people who want him dead. The government has given him the technology, but only he can provide the courage. Should he fail, every child in England will be murdered in cold blood.


What I Thought: Loved it! Hooked. What a great read for teens who love spys and adventures.

Book: Mother's Day

Summary: Burra District Hospital's maternity unit is under threat and will close for births unless a new obstetrician can be found. Midwife Noni Frost needs a miracle.
A single mum, Noni lives with her young son, Harley, and her Aunt Win, a free spirit and the beating heart of Burra Guest House. Noni's world is disrupted when Iain McCloud and his pregnant teenage daughter Jacinta move into the guesthouse to await the birth of her baby.
There's instant chemistry between Iain and Noni, although he has no plans to stay on in town. But when Jacinta shares explosive family secrets with Noni and an unexpected crisis occurs, everyone's lives come crashing down around them.
Set among the white gum trees and flowing waters of the NSW northern rivers, this is a heartfelt and dramatic story about new babies, new friends and new loves, which shows that when strong women come together in a time of crisis, they can overcome even the greatest odds.


What I Thought: Loved this one - sucked in from the beginning and stayed up way too late at night to finish!

Book: Fool's Gold

Summary: Detective Dave Burrows' first posting to the far west goldfields town of Barrabine in 1997 holds everything he's looking for, but Melinda, his wife of two weeks, is devastated at leaving behind her family, friends and career. More comfortable in heels than RM Williams, Melinda walked away from her much-loved job in the city as a paediatric nurse to follow Dave into the bush.

Dave settles in easily to the plain-speaking toughness of his new town, determined to do well, knowing that Barrabine could be his stepping stone into the elite stock squad. But will his marriage last the distance? As Dave investigates reports of mysterious late-night trespassing, a missing person, and guns being drawn on strangers, a local prospector phones in with horrific news that could hold the key to everything.


What I Thought: It was ok but seemed really backwards. I prefer her modern day ones and thought this could have been much better written. It was more like "wild west" than the late 1990's.

Book: Promises of Hunters Ridge

Summary: Mia Morgan doesn’t let anything get to her. After freeing herself from an obsessive boss and saving loved ones from a serial killer, she feels like she can handle anything life throws at her. But now that killer – a deranged hunter who preys on women for sport – is coming for her. And if she runs, others will pay the price. As if that’s not enough, Ben Bowden, the brilliant detective who has made her life hell for the past four years, has some insane plan to protect her. If she collaborates with him, Mia might just have to acknowledge her true feelings. But if she keeps him out, will she let the hunter win?Ben Bowden is sick of finding dead bodies. If being the lead detective on the biggest case in the country didn’t come with enough pressure, now the psychopath Ben is chasing has Mia Morgan in his sights. And Mia doesn’t want his help. She hasn’t forgiven him for the past, and is being less than cooperative with his investigation. Protecting her is a challenge, and the sparks that fly whenever they’re together aren’t helping. But he has to make her trust him – somehow – because she has a plan that terrifies him to the bone.
Can he convince her to work with him? Or will she risk everything to single-handedly turn the hunter into the hunted?


What I Thought: It dragged on a bit for me so I am pleased this is the final in the series. Still enjoyable though.

Book: Secrets Between Friends

Summary: Best friends Abbie, Jess and Ricki are setting sail on a cruise ship, rekindling the excitement of a school excursion they took ten years earlier to the historic port town of Albany, the oldest city on the stunning turquoise coastline of Western Australia. But are they truly prepared for what this voyage will reveal? Ricki, a dedicated nurse, harbours a dream she hasn't chased. Is she actually happy or stuck in a rut? Jess, a school teacher and single mother to little Ollie, had a tough upbringing but found her way through with the help of her closest male friend, Peter. But Peter has bought an engagement ring and is ready to propose to Ricki . . . Abbie had it all: a career, a loving boyfriend and a future, but a visit to the doctor bears scary news. Her world is tumbling down and she feels adrift at sea.


What I Thought: Different to her normal rural books and all a bit far fetched but I still enjoyed.

Book: Red Dirt Road

Summary: Dr Fliss Knight returns to small town Woodlea after losing a patient. Her confidence and city career in tatters, she buys a rundown farm. She intends to live a solitary life and hopes that the slow country pace will help her heal. Pick–up rider Hewitt Sinclair is no stranger to when things can get hairy in a rodeo arena. But when it is the life of his twin brother he can’t save, he hangs up his spurs. Determined to provide for his brother’s widow and young family, he gives himself no time to grieve. But when a motor bike accident proves he needs to also look out for himself, he accepts an old friend’s invitation to stay at an isolated property while his body heals. When Fliss meets the cowboy living in the bluestone stables across the garden, all her hopes for a quiet and peaceful life fade. Despite his reserve, Hewitt is impossible to ignore. As they work together to care for an abandoned dog and her puppies and to raise money for the local hospital by attending a mountain trail ride and charity ball, they also find themselves drawn to each other. But as a family secret threatens every truth Fliss has ever believed, and the heavy spring rain continues to fall, both Fliss and Hewitt must face their deepest fears. Will love be enough to guarantee happiness or will the past refuse to relinquish its dark hold?


What I Thought: Loved this - sucked in from the beginning had me staying up way too late to finish!

Book: The Cowgirl

Summary: Teddy Broderick is committed to her busy life in the country – seeding, harvest, shearing, and the daily milking of her grandmother’s cow – but she dreams of another life, in the world beyond the farm gate. But just as she thinks she knows everything about her family, her grandmother Deirdre announces there is a house buried on the property, and archaeologist Will Hastings is coming to dig it up. What is hidden in Deirdre’s childhood home that she needs to see again before she dies? What is preventing Teddy from living the life she truly wants, and will she ever find her freedom?
As Teddy and Will work to expose past secrets to the light,the stories they tell bring them together, and unearth a whole world of buried treasures.


What I Thought: I enjoyed this one. An easy read.

Book: The Country Wedding

Summary: In the tiny Tablelands township of Burralea, musician Flora Drummond is preparing to play at the wedding of a very close friend. If only she could forget the embarrassing teenage crush she once had on the handsome groom.
All is as it should be on the big day. The little church is filled with flowers, the expectant guests are arriving, and Mitch is nervously waiting – but his bride has failed to appear.
Decades earlier, another wedding in the same church led to a similar story of devastation. Hattie missed out on marrying her childhood sweetheart the first time around and now she has returned to the scene of her greatest heartache.
As Flora is drawn into both romantic dramas, she must also confront a relationship crisis of her own. But the past and the present offer promise for the future and there's a chance for friends, old and new, to help each other to heal.


What I Thought: I enjoyed revisiting this town and group of people. A sweet read.

Book: Shifting Light

Summary: Nina Larkin should be happy. She’s transformed her rundown outback property, The Springs, into a successful artists’ retreat; she’s won a distinguished art prize, and she’s living with her soulmate, trail-blazing grazier Heath Blackett.
But the chance discovery of a portrait of her father, renowned artist Jim Larkin, makes her question everything. How could it have been drawn just weeks ago when Jim has been dead for years . . . Or so she thought.
Could her father still be alive? Can she track down the man in the picture? And is this connected to the missing gold buried by her ancestor over a century ago?
Her search for answers will draw Nina into a maze of family secrets just as the man who stepped out of a portrait arrives at her door .


What I Thought: A brilliant sequel - sucked in! Still amazed its written by 4 women from a bookgroup.

Book: Making Peace

Summary: It's been a year since Hannah Ainsley lost her husband and parents – her whole family – in a car crash on Christmas morning. Despite her overwhelming loss, she's worked hard to pull the pieces of her life together with the help of a group of dear, loyal friends. But while Hannah is beginning to become excited about the future again, she's concerned that her best friend and talented artist Sam is facing a crisis of her own. It's now Hannah's turn to be Sam's rock – can she save Sam's dreams from unravelling?
When Hannah returns to work after her holidays, she can't settle. She's loved her job for a decade, and it's been her lifeline during her grief. But something's changed. She's changed. And for all this time she's avoided knowing the details of the accident or investigation – what would be the point, she'd thought, when nothing will bring her loved ones back? But after a chance meeting, it's all there in front of her – and, like ripples in a pond, it extends beyond her own experiences. Could knowing be the key to her recovery? Could her involvement be the key to someone else's?


What I Thought: Enjoyed this sequel. A sweet follow on.

Book: Water Under the Bridge

Summary: Ella Davenport hasn't been in a swimming pool since a bad decision ruined her chance of Olympic gold. So when Ella decides on a new career selling property, she chooses Chalk Hill. The country town is a long way from the water, with no pool in sight. Perfect!

Jake Honeychurch doesn't want to sell his nanna's house, but circumstances force his hand. Listing the property with the rookie real estate agent in town and asking a hefty price means it shouldn't find a buyer. Perfect!

But determination and persistence are traits Jake admires, and Ella has them in spades. After all, no one ever made an Olympic team by being a quitter.

When news breaks of a proposed waterski park, a local developer starts sniffing around Honeychurch House. Ella's first sale is so close she can taste it, until a sharp–eyed local recognises her. Between sale negotiations with Jake that keep getting sidetracked, and a swimming pool committee hellbent on making a splash, Ella has more to contend with than kisses and chlorine.

Can she throw off the failures of the past and take the chance of a new start? Or will her dreams of a new life be washed away?

What I Thought: Enjoyable but didn't suck me in.

Book: The Paris Wedding

Summary: Ten years ago, Rachael West chose not to move to Sydney with high-school sweetheart Matthew. Instead she stayed on the family wheat farm, caring for her seriously ill mother and letting go of her dreams. Now, Matthew is marrying someone else. And Rachael is invited to the wedding, a lavish affair in Paris, courtesy of the flamboyant family of Matthew's fiancee - a once-in-a-lifetime celebration at someone else's expense in Europe's most romantic city.
She is utterly unprepared for what the week brings. Friendships will be upended, secrets will be revealed - and on the eve of the wedding, Rachael is faced with an impossible dilemma: should she give up on the promise of love, or destroy another woman's life for a chance at happiness?


What I Thought: Enjoyable but totally unbelievable.

Book: Talk of the Town

Summary: Lawson Cooper-Jones has two priorities in life – his son, Ned, and the survival of the dairy farm that has been in his family for generations. Despite the best efforts of the town matchmakers and the determined pursuit of local girl Adeline Walsh, Lawson’s heart belongs still, and only, to his late wife.
But when a flat tyre strands Lawson and Ned in nearby Rose Hill, he’s surprised to find a woman living alone in the old general store of the deserted town. Ned immediately forms a bond with the beautiful stranger called Meg, and Lawson is surprised to find himself captivated by her too.


What I Thought: Enjoyable - not sure on the whole ghost thing but an easy read regardless.

Book: Untidy Town

Summary: Seventeen-year-old Adelaide is sick of being expected to succeed on other people’s terms. She knows she just has to stick it out at school for one more year and then she’ll be free. Instead, she runs away from her fancy boarding school back to her sleepy hometown to read and dream.

But there are no free rides. When Addie’s grandad gets her a job at the local historical society, she soon finds out that it’s dusty and dull, just like her new life. Things change when she starts hanging out with Jarrod, a boy who seems full of possibilities. But it turns out he’s as stuck as she is. And Addie realises that when you want something in life, you’ve actually got to do something about it.

What I Thought: Really enjoyed this coming of age story set in familiar(ish) surrounding. 

Book: Aussie Midwives

Summary: Nineteen Australian midwives share their incredible stories with passionate midwife and bestselling author Fiona McArthur.

Midwives play a vital role in supporting women through some of the most challenging and rewarding moments of their lives. These remarkable professionals watch over births across Australia from the remote outback to busy urban hospitals.

Meet Annie, working on the tiny island of Saibai where mothers arrive by dinghy; Kate, a clinical midwifery consultant, who sees women with high-risk pregnancies; Priscilla and Jillian who fly thousands of miles to get mothers and babies to hospital safely with the Royal Flying Doctor Service; and Louise, who gives impromptu consultations in the aisles of the local supermarket.




What I Thought: Ok. Not the best midwives short story collection I've read. a bit too preachy and disjointed in parts.

Book: Missing Pieces of Us

Summary: Lauren Ramsey was adopted at birth. Now a teacher, her mantra is to never let a child fall through the cracks. But she's so concerned about the welfare of a little boy in her kindy class she doesn't notice that her teenage daughter needs help.

At fourteen, Skye Ramsey is on the cusp of womanhood, but she's also teetering on the edge of an abyss. Battling with the usual pressures faced by a teenage girl, including the pitfalls of social media, she's flirting with outright rebellion.

As a child, Tamara Thompson felt unloved and overlooked. She's now the manager of a successful business and has a partner who adores her, but her fear of rejection is threatening to overwhelm her.

All three women are searching for a happier future, but the answers may lie in shedding light on secrets from the past.




What I Thought: Enjoyable but way too far fetched at the end!

Book: River Run

Summary:  It is January 1951, and after a year away Eleanor Webber has returned home to River Run, her family's sprawling sheep property in western New South Wales. Fleeing a failed love affair back in Sydney, she hopes for some time and space to heal. But with shearing of over 25,000 sheep about to commence, and the infamous and moneyed Margaret Winslow and her husband Keith staying in the main house as her mother's guests, that dream is quickly dashed. More worryingly, her half-brother Robbie is increasingly running wild, playing tricks on his governess, antagonising the jackeroos and obsessing about a communist invasion. Though only eleven, Robbie has appointed himself guardian of the property and, in his treehouse by the river, he readies for an imminent attack. Armed with a gun. Then, with a storm looming and tensions rising in the shearing shed, a mysterious stranger appears on the horizon. And in one disastrous moment young Robbie entangles Eleanor in a situation that will have serious repercussions for every member of the Webber family . . .




What I Thought: Enjoyable. A bit slow in parts and a bit quick at the end!

Book: Finding Hannah

Summary:  Hannah Ainsley has the perfect life — an adoring husband, a close relationship with her parents, a wonderful job, and amazing friends. Best of all, it’s Christmas — her favourite day of the whole year! It’s a time to share with her family and friends, and enjoy the festivities.

But this year will be like no other. Tragedy strikes and Hannah’s world is shattered. If she’s going to cope, she’s going to need all the support she can gather and draw on every bit of her strength. Life will never be the same again but it’s soon clear she has no alternative but to pull together a future from the remaining fragments. 

As Hannah heads towards the next festive season she will have to make a decision — should she stay with the people who have supported her or should she leave? Could the answer lie in a delayed gift?

What I Thought: Ooh this sucked me in. Really sad but enjoyable. Hannah was a bit too nerdy and prim and proper for me so I'm really looking forward to watching her grow in the sequel.

Book: Six Ways to Sunday

Summary: When city naturopath Rilee Summers meets gorgeous farmer Dan Kincaid, sparks fly. A whirlwind romance follows, and the next thing Rilee knows she's married and living on her husband's family property in a small rural community.

Never one to shy from a challenge, Rilee is determined to win over her in-laws and the townsfolk of nearby Pallaburra, but her city ways and outspoken views only seem to alienate her further.

Opening her own naturopathy practice has always been her dream. Although Pallaburra isn't Sydney, and despite the fact she's not exactly inundated with new clients, she's not ready to give up. Things get even worse for Rilee when she champions the issue of teen pregnancies in the deeply conservative town.

Worn down by the ill-will towards her and what she sees as Dan's lack of support, Rilee flees the station to think about the future. Can her marriage survive - or is she destined to leave Dan and move back to the city?


What I Thought: Loved this - an nice easy read with a fierce independent woman!

Book: One More Song

Summary: Harrison Baxter and Edwina Campbell lead completely different lives.  Much has changed for Harry since he escaped his home town of Yallambah ten years ago, headed for the bright lights of the big city. Now he's the star of Melbourne's hottest musical, and feels more at home centre stage than anywhere else. Why bother going back to Yallambah to visit his parents when his father couldn't care less about his success?  Meanwhile, nothing much has changed for Edwina in the last decade, which is exactly how she likes it. Eddie adores her career as a nurse and loves the Yallambah community - she can't imagine living anywhere else. And even if she wanted to, she could never leave her beloved grandparents, who raised her like their own daughter. She's not going to abandon them in their old age. Not for anything.  So when Harry and Eddie bump into each other on one of Harry's flying visits home, their instant mutual attraction seems as pointless as it is intense. There's no way they could ever make it work.  Or is there?


What I Thought: An enjoyable read but I preferred her other novels.

Book: The Grazier's Wife

Summary:  For three generations of Australian women, becoming a grazier's wife has meant very different things.
For Stella in 1946, it was a compromise in the aftermath of a terrible war.
For Jackie in the 1970s, it was a Cinderella fairytale with an outback prince.
While for Alice in 2015, it is the promise of a bright new future.
Decades earlier, Stella was desperate to right a huge injustice, but now a long-held family secret threatens to tear the Drummond family of Ruthven Downs apart. On the eve of a special birthday reunion, with half the district invited, the past and the present collide, passions are unleashed and the shocking truth comes spilling out.
From glamorous pre-war Singapore to a vast cattle property in Queensland's far north, this sweeping, emotional saga tests the beliefs and hopes of these women as they learn how to hold on to loved ones and when to let go.


What I Thought: Absolutely loved this as it flicked between periods. Really enjoyable.

Book: White Gum Creek

Summary: Nick Langtree has lived reclusively on his farm, Winters Hill, ever since the tragic death of his wife. On the occasional trip into nearby White Gum Creek he keeps to himself and that's the way he likes it. And though over the last six years the townsfolk have tried to reach out to Nick, he's pushed them all away.

Whenever Nick comes into the Gumnut Bakery, Natasha Duroz tries to engage him in conversation when she serves him. There's something about him that intrigues Tash, but she's not sure if it's because she feels sorry for him or there's something more.

At last encouraged by the warmth of a few old and new friends, Nick gradually begins to re-engage with the outside world. Then, suddenly some minor vandalism on his farm escalates and odd things begin to happen on Winters Hill. Is someone out to hurt Nick or have his years of solitude been playing tricks on his mind?


What I Thought: Loved it - sucked in again. Also love that the setting in an hour from home!