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!