Book: Trouble with Choices

Summary: The trouble with choices… is they come with consequences.

Dumped on the eve of her brother's wedding, schoolteacher Sophie Faraday throws caution to the wind and winds up in the arms of the sexy best man. It was meant to be a one–night fling, but an unexpected consequence means Sophie must face one of the hardest choices a woman ever has to make…

Older sister Beth finds life is tough enough juggling a mortgage, shift work and raising her ten–year–old daughter alone. When she meets Harry, the quiet gardener with a heart of gold, she's determined to place him firmly in the friend zone. How can she let herself love again, when the guilt she carries every day reminds her what love can cost?

Hannah, Beth's twin, has her own reasons for avoiding relationships. But when Irishman Declan walks into her veterinary clinic with an orphaned joey in his arms, she's seriously tempted. But isn't resisting the attraction the safest option? Especially when the secret she's held close for so long can only guarantee heartbreak…

Will the Faraday girls learn that, with your sisters by your side, the wrong choices can still lead to the right places?


What I Thought: Nice easy rural(ish) romance.

Book: Willow Tree Bend

Summary: An interrupted phone call and a mysterious disappearance bring a family's secret past crashing into the present…

1969: Small-town girl Faith Taylor leaves her family home in Willow Tree Bend and lands a job at the Angel-Melbourne's most infamous nightclub. While Faith relishes her new-found freedom, she can't help noticing that some things about the club don't add up. So when a policeman reveals that a former waitress was murdered, Faith realises she must help to bring down the shadowy owner behind the club's activities.

More than thirty years later, what happened at the Angel remains a closely held secret. When Faith disappears, her sister Hope-now a famous movie star-is left with an intriguing, though frustrating, piece of the puzzle. But with a tell-all documentary film crew constantly by her side, how can she find where Faith is-and what she's hiding-while making sure her own secrets stay hidden?

Faith's daughter, Sam, is also concerned by her mother's uncharacteristic behaviour. When she overhears a clue to Faith's past, she's determined to unearth the truth. What is the connection between the Angel and Willow Tree Bend? What does Faith's disappearance mean? And what will happen when the final secret is revealed?


What I Thought: I enjoyed this one. She jumps well between the past and present.

Book: Between the Vines

Summary: Taylor Rourke wants to change her impulsive ways when it comes to romance and not fall for any man on a whim, but then on a hen party trip to a Coonawarra vineyard, she meets Edward Starr. Gorgeous and charismatic, Edward is enough to make any girl give up her flat and job in Adelaide and move to the country.
So it’s something of a shock that when she gets there, Edward is nowhere to be seen. Not wanting to admit she may have made a mistake and return home in disgrace, Taylor accepts the job that Edward’s younger brother Pete offers her and throws herself into her work, keen to learn as much as she can about the wine trade.
Taylor is thrilled when Ed returns, but she quickly discovers he may not be the man she thought he was.  Her growing friendship with Pete causes tension between the brothers who have fallen out over a woman in the past.  That’s not the only source of conflict: Pete has a dream to save the family vines, Edward’s dreams lie elsewhere.
As the lies and deceit grow, matters come to a head in the vibrant and demanding vintage season. Will Taylor’s dream of a new life and love between the vines come true? Or is there only heartbreak ahead?


What I Thought: Really loved this one. Great little rural romance read.

Book: Rogue Lawyer

Summary: Sebastian Rudd is a street lawyer, but not your typical street lawyer. His office is a black customized bulletproof van, complete with Wi-Fi, a bar, a small fridge, and fine leather chairs. He has no firm, no partners, and only one employee: his heavily armed driver, who used to be his client, and who also happens to be his bodyguard, law clerk, confidant, and golf caddie. Sebastian drinks small-batch bourbon and carries a gun. His beautiful ex-wife is a lawyer too, and she left him for another woman while still they were married. He only gets to see his son for 36 hours per month and his ex-wife wants to stop all visits. He defends people other lawyers won't go near: a drug-addled, tattooed kid rumored to be in a satanic cult who is accused of murdering two girls; a vicious crime lord on death row who escaped before his eyes; a homeowner arrested for shooting at a SWAT team that mistakenly invaded his house, and killed his wife and dogs; a Mixed martial arts fighter who killed a referee after losing a fight. In between these adventures, he's contacted by a serial kidnapper and killer who's involved in human trafficking, and knows the whereabouts of the assistant chief of police's missing daughter.

What I Thought: Enjoyable but a bit too disjointed for me.

Book: Small Great Things

Summary: When a newborn baby dies after a routine hospital procedure, there is no doubt about who will be held responsible: the nurse who had been banned from looking after him by his father.
What the nurse, her lawyer and the father of the child cannot know is how this death will irrevocably change all of their lives, in ways both expected and not.




What I Thought: Wow - awesome book although the ending was a bit neat for me but it did tackle some big issues.

Book: The Rooster Bar

Summary: Mark, Todd, and Zola came to law school to change the world, to make it a better place. But now, as third-year students, these close friends realize they have been duped. They all borrowed heavily to attend a third-tier for-profit law school so mediocre that its graduates rarely pass the bar exam, let alone get good jobs. And when they learn that their school is one of a chain owned by a shady New York hedge-fund operator who also happens to own a bank specializing in student loans, the three know they have been caught up in The Great Law School Scam.

But maybe there’s a way out. Maybe there’s a way to escape their crushing debt, expose the bank and the scam, and make a few bucks in the process. But to do so, they would first have to quit school. And leaving law school a few short months before graduation would be completely crazy, right? Well, yes and no . . .




What I Thought: Loved it! Awesome. I've missed a good legal thriller.

Book: Dairy Farmer's Daughter

Summary: In the heart of the Sunshine Coast Hinterland there is a vibrant community of farmers, artists and passionate people all trying to live the best lives they can. Love doesn’t always come easily but it is always worth fighting for.

Justin would have preferred to stay in the city and pretend it was an ordinary day. A day that didn’t include a funeral for a father he’d barely known...

Justin Wheeler is not a country boy. He could have been, if his mother had stayed married to his father and not moved back to the city when he was only a toddler. But now that his estranged father is dead and he has inherited the dairy farm, Justin finds himself considering if the life he is living is actually the life he wants.

Family means everything to Freya Montgomery. She loves living on the land and helping to grow the family business. She knows how important agriculture is to their small hinterland community, so when Justin arrives in town and is offered a generous price from a housing developer to buy his property, Freya must convince him not to accept the deal and instead lease the land to her family.

Will Justin choose riches over his heritage or will he find a love more valuable than all the money in the world?




What I Thought: Enjoyable but I prefer her outback ones more.

Book: The North Wind

Summary: It's Christmas in the outback town of Dungirri, and Angie Butler has returned to her old home, perhaps for the last time. Her life is elsewhere, and the ties that have for decades bound her family to the struggling town and its old hotel may soon be broken.
But the arrival of two strangers in town - Owen Caldwell and his grandfather - along with the hot, dry north wind herald a time of challenge and unexpected change.
Owen has no idea why his grandfather has quietly insisted on this Christmas visit to Dungirri, a town he's never been to. But the old doctor has a final quest, and as long-held secrets come to light and Owen and Angie use their skills to assist those in need, they both must decide where they belong, and where their future is


What I thought: A nice easy read - always good to revisit towns from previous books. Lacked any oomph though.

Book: Sisters & Brothers

Summary:
Emma, a nurse and busy mother of three, has always dreamed of having a sister.
Michelle, at 46, wonders if it's too late to fall in love and find her birth parents.
Sarah, career woman and perfectionist homemaker, struggles to keep up with the Joneses.
Bill, 72, feels left behind after the death of his adored wife.
Adam can't stop thinking about the father he never had.
These five very different people are all connected but separated by secrets from the past.


What I Thought: I enjoyed this - a nice connection story.

Book: Bush Doctors

Summary: Imagine yourself critically injured or seriously ill in the middle of nowhere. You’d be hoping like hell there was a doctor nearby to take charge; someone resourceful, who’d think quickly and stay calm under pressure; or even someone who could, if necessary, take charge from a distance. You’d want to be in the safe and sure hands of one of these clever bush doctors.
Meet some of the extraordinary GPs, specialist medicos and Royal Flying Doctors who save lives every day beyond the great divide. They might work in some of the most spectacular locations in Australia – from the splendid isolation of the Kimberley and the wide open spaces of outback Queensland to the glorious surfing beaches of eastern Victoria and the freezing icecaps of Antarctica – but their profession demands long hours, extensive medical knowledge and, sometimes, courage beyond their experience.


What I Thought: Great little collection of stories - some incredible people in the bush.

Book: Heart of the Country

Summary: 1846. Newly arrived from England, Thomas Baker is young, penniless and alone. Eager to make his mark on this strange new place called South Australia, he accepts work as an overseer on a distant sheep property, believing this will be the opportunity he seeks. But when Thomas’s path crosses that of ex-convict, Septimus Wiltshire a grasping con man hell bent on making a new life for himself and his family at any price trouble is on the horizon.

But Thomas is made of stern stuff and his fortunes take a turn for the better when he meets spirited farmer’s daughter Lizzie Smith, and soon he envisages their future together.

But this land is like no other he has encountered: both harsh and lovely, it breaks all but the strongest. When his nemesis intervenes once more and drought comes, Thomas finds himself tested almost beyond endurance with the risk of losing everything he and Lizzie have worked for… even their lives. 


What I Thought: Loved it! Really great read. Will have a break before tackling #2 in the series.

Book: Alex Rider - Scorpia Rising

Summary: This gripping final mission brings together Alex Rider's old enemies to frame the teenage spy in an unstoppable plot of revenge, from which he can never return. Pursued from Europe to North Africa and Cairo's city of the dead - this is the twistiest and most deadly plot of any Alex Rider mission yet.




What I Thought: Loved it - had been waiting for the clone twist to show up! And excited that he has written a few more so I can keep reading the series.

Book: Where the River Runs

Summary: Chelsea drove slowly through the small country town of Barker, her eyes searching to see what had changed in the last nine years…She's been in two minds about going home. Part of her wanted desperately to sit on the riverbank and breathe in the peace. But why would she put herself through all the pain of a homecoming when she didn't need to?

Nine years ago, thirty-year-old Chelsea Taylor left the small country town of Barker and her family's property to rise to the top as a concert pianist. With talent, ambition, and a determination to show them all at home, Chelsea thought she had it made.

Yet here she was, in Barker, with her four-year-old daughter, Aria, readying herself to face her father, Tom. The father who'd shouted down the phone nine years ago never to come home again.

With an uneasy truce developing, Chelsea and Aria settle into the rhythm of life on the land with Tom and Cal, the farmhand, who seems already to have judged Chelsea badly. Until a shocking discovery is made on the riverbed and Detective Dave Burrows, the local copper, has to tear back generations of family stories to reveal the secrets of the past.

Chelsea just wants a relationship with her dad but will he ever want that too? Or will his memory lapses mean they'll never get that opportunity?


What I thought: Enjoyable but could have done with something more at the end.  

Book: The Wrong Callahan

Summary: It had been two long years since Lincoln Callahan had stood in front of the gates to Stringybark Creek. He was in the army then - a lifetime ago. Linc had always been the unsettled Callahan, looking for danger, the one who couldn't wait to leave the family farm.

Linc's little brother, Griffin, was the dependable son, the one who stayed at home, the one who did the right things. And, now, the one who has feelings for rebellious city girl, Cash Sullivan.

When Linc locks eyes with Cash at a family dinner, their swift attraction floors him. But Cash is his brother's girlfriend ... what is he thinking?

As Linc, Griff and Cash form an uneasy triangle, each of them have personal demons to face before they can open their hearts.


What I Thought: Loved it but it lacked substance.

Bookgroup Book: Islamic Republic of Australia

Summary: In this funny and informative exploration of Islam in Australia, award-winning comedian and writer Sami Shah takes us behind the stereotypes and generalisations to find out who Australian Muslims are, how they live and what they think. Along the way we meet everyone from a woman who runs a ‘speed date a Muslim night’ to a conservative Islamic preacher, and to the founder of a group called Muslims for Progressive Values. The result is an entertaining and fascinating snapshot of Islam down under today.

What I Thought: This was done well and helped explain some things with some good humour thrown in. 

Book: Belle's Secret

Summary: Isabella Martenson never expected to be a runaway bride. She never expected to be a bride, period. She simply has the wrong DNA to do the whole happily married thing. Until one night in Vegas with a handsome winemaker changes everything...

A year later, Harry Harrison’s bride is still a mystery. Who was she? Where was she? And why did she run? When Harry flies to a Australia for his best friend's wedding, he runs straight into the woman he’s never been able to forget.

All she asks is for their marriage to be kept a secret. All he asks is for a divorce. But after a week together, Harry and Isabella are forced to face what they really want.




What I thought: Loved this one. Off to get the rest in the series

Book: Alex Rider - Crocodile Tears

Summary: Targeted by a hitman and under threat of his past being exposed by the media, Alex reluctantly turns to MI6. But their help doesn't come cheap: they need Alex to spy on the activities at a GM crop plant. There he spots Desmond McCain, a high profile charity organizer, who realizes that Alex is on to him and the real plans for the money he's raising. Kidnapped and whisked off to Africa, Alex learns the full horror of McCain's plot: to create an epic disaster that will kill millions. Forced to ask MI6 for protection, Alex finds himself being manipulated in a deadly game that could lead to the destruction of an entire East African country.


What I Thought: Loved it. Yet again I've been sucked in. A few more left in the series. Bring it on!

Book: True Blue

Summary: Love is random. Accidental. You just live your life and then one day it’ll hit you with the right person.
Wandering soul Freya ‘Free’ Paterson has finally come back home. Idealistic and trusting, she’s landed the job of her dreams working on an art project with the local school, but she hadn’t planned on meeting the man of her dreams as well.
With his irresistible Irish accent, Constable Finn Kelly is everything Free wants – genuine, kind . . . and handsome as hell. He’s also everything Free isn’t – stable and dependable. Yet despite the passion simmering between them, he just wants to be friends. What is he trying to hide?
As Free throws herself into the challenges of her new job, fending off the unwelcome advances of a colleague and helping to save her beloved Herne River, Finn won’t stay out of her way, or out of her heart.
But just when she needs him the most, will Finn reveal his true colours?




What I Thought: Loved it - bring on book 3!

Book: Lawson's Bend

Summary: In the hot summer of 2008, Henny Bolton loses her best friend on a night they should have been celebrating their futures. It's a loss about which she remains grief-stricken.

Right after the accident, Henny flees the small country town and true to her word, she's not been back.

Stephen Drake never left Lawson's Bend. He once had ambitions for a different life but staying close to family became more important after that tragic night.

But when Henny's mother dies suddenly in a fall near the old quarry, and Henny is forced to return to Lawson's Bend, it's apparent that questions need to be asked. Was it really an accident?

Her plan was to get out of town again as quickly as possible. But then there is Stephen . . .


What I Thought: Sucked in from page one. Loved it. A very basic read with not much depth but that's ok!

Book: Return to Rosalee Station

Summary: After eight years of marriage, Sarah Walsh had thought she and Matt would be together forever. But when a fatal accident serves up the cruellest punishment any mother could face, their relationship falters. Sarah is helpless as Matt flies off the rails - she braves one last-ditch attempt to try and make him see they need to work together to get through the heartache. But will it be enough? And what about her - how does she go on alone?
Reeling from devastation and guilt, Matt gets the wakeup call he needs to save his marriage before it's too late. But the way forward is littered with obstacles, and he can see it's only by returning to the outback beauty and isolation of Rosalee Station that he has any chance to reclaim the man he once was. But will this separation end up costing him everything?


What I Thought: This one didn't quite hit the mark for me. A bit too depressing. I don't know why authors want to revisit their first blockbuster book and wreck it.

Book: The Country Girl

Summary: After landing a major cookbook deal, star food blogger Tash Ranger swaps city life for the family farm. But Tash’s homecoming is bittersweet, for now she can no longer avoid seeing her best friend Maddy, who was severely injured in a riding accident and unable to communicate. No one knows that Maddy and Tash had a deep falling out and with every visit Tash must pretend to be the friend everyone believes her to be.
Patrick Lawson, Maddy’s fiancé, battles despair and hope daily as Maddy lies imprisoned in her body, gradually losing his faith in her recovery. When Tash returns to Castlereagh Road with her joy and boundless appetite for life, he realises finally what his loved ones have been trying to tell him for months – that Maddy wouldn’t want him to throw his life away. It’s time to move on. But letting go is no easy feat, especially if moving on means Tash. He’s a country boy and she is a star on the rise with ambitions that could propel her out of reach.
Can these two friends step out of the shadow of Maddy’s tragic life and accept love, or is the past forever destined to dictate their future?


What I Thought: I enjoyed this. Easy reading.

Book: The Turnaround Treasure Shop

Summary: Fatalistic, long divorced and doing her best to give her children a good life, Lily works two jobs in her hometown of Swallow’s Fall, saving every spare cent for the day she can lease the empty corner shop on Main Street. She longs to open it as Turnaround Treasures, a second-hand shop bursting with rescued country curios—but there aren’t enough spare cents and Lily’s dream is slipping away. 

Ex-Navy diver Nick Barton arrived in Swallow’s Fall a year ago to quietly reunite himself with civvy life. Recognising an instant attraction to Lily, Nick backed away fast. Given his track record of an unhappy ex-wife and the baggage that comes with a Special Forces career, Nick doesn’t think he stands a chance with shy, reserved Lily. He can’t be with her – but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t see her. 

Lily has spent her whole life cheerfully giving to others. When Nick offers her the ultimate chance for a turnaround, will Lily’s fear of being ‘second hand’ ruin the opportunity of forever love for both of them? ​


What I Thought: A nice sweet easy read. Almost finished the series. One to go!

Book: Outback Brides: Elsa's Stand

Summary: When the sudden death of his mother forces outback opal miner Jack Hargreaves home to Wirralong, his plan is simple: mourn his mother, sort out the family farm, and get the hell out of the town that has always hated him. But Elsa O'Donoghue, the beautiful hairdresser with a big heart and even brighter smile, has other plans.


What I Thought: Loved it as it's set rather local to me so that always sucks me in!

Book: Front Page News

Summary: Cadet journalist Stacey McCallaghan is struggling to find anything newsworthy to report on in the small country town of Toomey. Front page stories consist of the price of cattle and lawn bowls results, and Stacey spends more time laying out the crossword than covering actual news.
Until the first dead body turns up.
While the local police fumble the investigation, ambitious Stacey is just pleased to have something other than cattle sales to write about. Plus, she now has an excuse to spend more time with the arrogantly attractive Detective Scott Fitzgerald. But when Stacey shows up at one crime scene too many, she moves to the top of the most wanted list. Stacey must uncover the truth before anyone else gets hurt – or the police put her behind bars.




What I Thought: A nice easy light hearted enjoyable read. Picked it up from display shelf at library.

Bookgroup Book: Girl on the Train

Summary: Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She’s even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. ‘Jess and Jason’, she calls them. Their life – as she sees it – is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy. And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she’s only watched from afar. Now they’ll see; she’s much more than just the girl on the train…


What I Thought: This started off a bit slow for me but I did enjoy it. Just so pleased I've actually red a bookgroup book this year!

Book: Lost Without You

Summary: Four women, one dress, and the secret that binds them all…
On a special night that is supposed to be a celebration of new beginnings, Paige MacRitchie’s joy quickly falls away when her mother collapses during the speeches at her book launch. In the aftermath, and terrified of losing her, Paige decides she wants to make the ultimate tribute to her parents’ perfect marriage: she will wear her mother’s wedding dress for her own big day.
There’s just one problem – her mum, Rebecca, no longer has the dress.
As Paige tries to track down the elusive gown, she discovers that Rebecca has a long-hidden secret that, if revealed, could blow her whole family apart. Her new friend Josie is at a crossroads too. She met her husband Nick when she was singing in an eighties-themed bar, but now she’s lonely, yearning for a family and wondering if Nick understands her at all.
And then there’s nurse Clara. When she married Rob Jones, an up-and-coming rock star, she thought she was in it forever. But now Clara needs to make a new life for herself and Rob can’t seem to understand that it’s over.
When the fates of these four women intertwine in an unexpected and powerful way, none of their lives will ever be the same again.


What I Thought: I enjoyed this - have preferred some of her other women's lit but it still raised some thought provoking concepts.

Book: A Diamond in the Dust

Summary: Within minutes of landing in Kununurra, Frauke Bolten had made up her mind to get on a plane back home to Germany. It was 1981 and the dusty frontier town was no place for a woman. However, Frauke stayed, determined to help her husband carve out a new life farming. Tragedy struck just three years later when Friedrich took his own life and she was left to raise their family alone.

Twenty-six years after she sold her first necklace off the back porch, Kimberley Fine Diamonds in Kununurra is now home to one of the world's largest collections of Argyle pink diamonds, with a client list that includes Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. Frauke is credited for not only pioneering an industry, but for putting the tiny outback town and its precious diamonds on the map.

A Diamond in the Dust is a tale of love and loss, hardship and heartache, but ultimately the inspiring story of how a naive young girl from Germany overcame tragedy to pioneer a diamond empire in one of the most unforgiving terrains on earth.




What I Thought: A lovely memoir - so much love and loss. An enjoyable read.

Book: Nobody But Him

Summary: At the age of eighteen, Julia Jones left her hometown — the small beachside town of Middle Point — with a head full of grand plans. Plans for an exciting life in a town that didn't involve a main street with only one pub or a particular boy named Ryan Blackburn.

But fifteen years and a lifetime later, Julia's forced to put her career and big-city life on hold when she returns home to finalise her mother's estate. Which is exactly where she runs smack-bang into the town's hero, Ry. As in Ryan Blackburn! The sensible thing to do? Stay the hell away from him and head back to Melbourne as fast as her stilettos can carry her! But instead, Julia finds his offer of a helping hand and a hot body too delicious to refuse.

Soon, she's ignoring her better judgement and diving into an ‘I'll think about it tomorrow' fling with Ry. But what she doesn't realise is that tomorrow has a way of sneaking up on you...and that saying goodbye to her hometown — and to Ry — is so much harder the second time around. 


What I Thought: A nice summer romance.

Book: Sweet Wattle Creek

 

Summary: The chance discovery of an antique wedding dress weaves together the fascinating stories of three women from different eras: Sophie, in hiding from a troubled past; Belle, who must lose everything to learn what really matters; and Martha, forced to give up those she loves in order to avoid exposure.

It’s 1931 and Belle Bartholomew has arrived in rural Sweet Wattle Creek to claim her inheritance – a run-down grand hotel formerly owned by Martha Ambrose. Determined to solve the mystery of her birth and the reason why she was bequeathed the hotel Belle runs into difficulties with the townsfolk and their desire to keep their secrets safe.

Sixty years later Sophie Matheson is on a quest to find Belle and her family after discovering the wedding dress. The Sweet Wattle Creek Centenary brings more challenges when her past catches up and she must fight for all that matters to her. Who were Belle and Martha and what links their lives together?

What I Thought: Enjoying these simple historical/present day sagas.

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.