Book Review: Happy Hour by Jacquie Byron

Happy Hour

by

Jacquie Byron 

 

Franny loves her dogs, her cocktails and her solitude. But life has other plans...

 

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

 

Publication date: 31st August 2021

 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

 

Pages: 352

 

RRP: $32.99 AUD

 

Format read: Uncorrected proof paperback

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

About the book

 

Gin in one hand, paintbrush in the other, Franny Calderwood has turned her back on the world, or at least the world she used to love. Having lost her husband, Frank, in tragic circumstances three years earlier, 65-year-old Franny copes the only way she knows how: by removing herself completely from the life she had before. Franny lives a life of decadent seclusion, with only her two dogs, Whisky and Soda, a stuffed cat, cocktails and the memory of Frank for company.

Then the Salernos move in next door. The troubled but charming trio - beleaguered mother Sallyanne, angry teenager Dee and eccentric eight-year-old Josh - cannot help but pull Franny into the drama of their lives. But despite her fixation with independence, Franny's wisecracks and culinary experiments hide considerable trauma and pain, and when her eccentric behaviour has life-threatening consequences she faces a reckoning of sorts. Yes, Frank is dead, but did the woman he loved have to perish with him?

A story about one woman, two dogs and the family next door, Happy Hour is a hilarious and uplifting insight into grief, loss, true love and friendship.

 

My review:

 

Happy Hour is a thought provoking story of love, loss, friendship and forgiveness.

 

People often ask 'what book changed your life' and I can never really think of a book that was so profound it literally changed my life. However, I think Happy Hour has come close by changing my attitude towards friends I may have given up on a little too easily.

Franny is wallowing in self pity. For the last three years, since the death of her beloved husband, Franny has spent her days with her dogs and her memories, clock watching until she can have that first drink of the day. She has pushed everyone out of her life.

I loved Franny's family and friends who consistently rang her and asked her over, never giving up after three long years of excuses.

At times her self pity became too much for me and I did feel annoyed with her. And then Jacquie Byron gives us this quote....

"No one can criticise the way someone else handles grief." (so true)

Many part of Happy Hour are heart-breaking but there are also many heartwarming situations surrounding the blossoming inter-generational friendship between Franny and her young neighbours.

Byron puts her characters in difficult situations that make the reader stop and think about their own reaction to these situations.

Humour offers lightness in a book heavy with themes of loss, grief and alcohol abuse.

 

Happy Hour is a story that will make you stop and think. A fabulous debut! Funny, engaging and heartwarming. 

My rating 5 / 5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

About the author

Jacquie Byron grew up with wishing-chairs and Trixie Belden. Her love of reading morphed into a love of writing, leading her to study journalism while waitressing her way around various bars and tables in Melbourne and, for a short stint, the UK. Collecting and sharing stories has kept her busy professionally for more than twenty-five years, taking her from the Ogden Museum in New Orleans to an IDP camp in Uganda. Shocking herself as much as those around her, Jacquie has been a motoring writer, a jewellery editor, a fashion publicist and more. Today she writes for business and for pleasure. Happy Hour is her first novel. Whisky is her first cairn.

 

https://jacquiebyron.com/ 

 

 

Challenges Entered: Australian Women Writers Challenge AWW2021

 

                                   Aussie Author Challenge #Aussieauthor21

Book Review: Birds of a Feather by Tricia Stringer

 Birds of a Feather

by

Tricia Stringer

 

As one door closes another one opens

 

Publisher: Harlequin Australia

 

Imprint: HQ Fiction

 

Publication date: 29th September 2021

 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

 

Pages: 352

 

RRP: $ 32.99AUD 

Format read: Paperback

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

About the book

Eve has been a partner in a Wallaby Bay fishing fleet as long as she can remember. Now they want her to sell - but what would her life be without work? She lives alone, her role on the town committee has been spiked by malicious gossip and she is incapacitated after surgery. For the first time in her life she feels weak, vulnerable - old.

When her troubled god-daughter Julia arrives at Wallaby Bay, she seems to offer Eve a reprieve from her own concerns. But there is no such thing as plain sailing. Eve has another house guest, the abrasive Lucy, who is helping her recuperate and does not look kindly on Julia's desire for Eve's attention.

But Lucy, too, has demons to battle and as each woman struggles to overcome their loss of place in the world, they start to realise that there may be more that holds them together, than keeps them apart.

 

My review

 

Tricia Stringer once again manages to deliver a heartfelt story with characters that readers will resonate with. Their problems and concerns are highly relatable and dealt with in a manner that is believable as the navigate the areas of friendship, family, ageing and companionship.

Julia who has retained a close friendship with her mother's best friend Eve, after her mother has passed away returns home to Wallaby Bay when her life falls into a rut and she feels she needs a bit of a break. She naturally turns to Eve as she is like a second mother.

Eve is recovering from shoulder surgery and has employed ex-nurse Lucy to oversee her recuperation. Here the three women are brought together and as they work through a rocky start an unlikely friendship evolves.

Stringer explores themes of women in male dominated industries, forced retirement and its mental effects, mother guilt, small town gossip, coping as a single parent with a FIFO partner and on a smaller scale how the evolving Covid pandemic affected different people.

The three women were all abrupt and disgruntled, at a crossroads in their life, at the start of the book and I liked the dynamics of the characters and how they were being frostily polite to each other.  I enjoyed their growth as they embraced a new optimism and purpose. Each supporting and encouraging the other.

Tricia Stringer reinvents the meaning of family as Eve, Julia and Lucy navigate the ups and downs of life.

My rating 5 / 5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

About the author

 

Tricia Stringer is a bestselling and award-winning author. Among others, her books include commercial fiction titles Table For Eight, The Model Wife and The Family Inheritance, the rural romances A Chance of Stormy Weather and Come Rain or Shine and historical sagas Heart of the Country, Dust on the Horizon and Jewel in the North. Tricia grew up on a farm in country South Australia and has spent most of her life in rural communities. She now lives in the beautiful Copper Coast region, often exploring Australia's diverse communities and landscapes, and shares this passion for the country and its people through her stories.

 

 

Challenges Entered: Australian Women Writers Challenge AWW2021

 

                                   Aussie Author Challenge #Aussieauthor21

 

 

Book Review: At the End of the Day by Liz Bryski

 At the End of the Day

by

Liz Bryski

 

It is never too late to make friends....

 

Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia

Publication date: 28th September 2021

 

Genre: Contemporary fiction

 

Pages: 336

 

RRP: $32.99AUD

 

Format read: Paperback 

 

Source: courtesy of the publisher

 

About the book

 

 When Mim Squires and Mathias Vander are stranded together on a disrupted flight home to Perth, they are surprised to find that they have much in common. Mim owns a bookshop, Mathias is a writer, and both are at turning points in their lives. Mim's childhood polio is taking a toll on her life. Mathias is contemplating a cross-continent move to be nearer his daughter.

But life back in Perth is not smooth sailing, with their respective family members going through their own upheavals. As Mim and Mathias both struggle to adjust to the challenges of being in their late seventies, secrets from the past that neither wishes to face rise to the surface, challenging their long-held beliefs in their independence and singularity.

At the end of the day, can they muster the wisdom and the courage they need to change?

 

My review

 

Miriam Squires is on her return to Perth after visiting her sister in England. She is starting to feel the effects of post polio and wonders if she will have the strength to make this trip again.

Mathias Vander is stopping over in Perth , to visit his daughter, on his return from Brussels where he was visiting his childhood friend Luc. Luc is dying and Mathias knows that was the last time he would see his old friend.

 

Miriam and Mathias meet while on an unplanned extended stopover and  find they have a lot in common. Their ensuing friendship enriches and changes not only their lives but also the lives of the people they hold most dear.

 

This was my first Liz Bryski novel and I love how her characters are real people with real flaws; they get annoyed with people, say the wrong thing at times and are often overwhelmed with life.

 

Miriam and Mathias had both migrated to Australia many years ago leaving behind family and friends and Liz Bryski highlights the dilemma caused by advancing age as they each find the trips back home harder and harder

As we watch Miriam and Mathias'  friendship grow the couple find they can open up about events they suffered as children and have kept locked away.

 

I enjoyed Liz Bryski's engaging writing style and even though many of the characters had faced adverse circumstances during their lives, which were quite emotional to read, the story on a whole was heartfelt and touching.

The book concludes on the cusp of the Covid19 pandemic. And we all know how that pans out!

 

Liz Bryski delivers engaging women's fiction through likeable characters and relatable life events. I am looking forward to reading some of her back list. 

 

my rating 4 / 5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

About the author

 

Photo: Goodreads

 Liz Bryski is a novelist, non-fiction writer, former journalist and ABC broadcaster, with more than fifty years experience in the British and Australian media. She is the author of eleven bestselling novels, including Gang of Four and A Month of Sundays, as well as more than a dozen non-fiction books. She lives close to Freemantle in Western Australia, with Gazza, her three-year-old rescue dog who is in charge of exercise, household security and chasing cats. She has two sons and twin grandsons.

  

 

 

 
 

 

Challenges Entered: Australian Women Writers Challenge AWW2021

 

                                   Aussie Author Challenge #Aussieauthor21

 

 

Book Review: The Art of Keeping Secrets by Rachael Johns

 The Art of Keeping Secrets

by

Rachael Johns

 

Little secrets grow up to be big lies…

Publisher: Harlequin Australia

 

Imprint: Mira

 

Publication date: 19th September 2016

 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

 

Pages: 464

 

RRP: $32.99 AUD

 

Format read: Paperback

 

Source: Own purchase

 

About the book

 

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.

 

My review

 

I was sent How to Mend a Broken Heart for review and heard it is a sequel to The Art of Keeping Secrets and was pleased to find that I had this on my shelf waiting to be read. 

 

Rachael states that How to Mend a Broken Heart can be read as a standalone and I agree but I am so glad I read The Art of Keeping Secrets first as I got to know Felicity (Flick) and feel the relationship she had with her best friends Genevieve (Neve) and Emma.

 

So onto my review....

Rachael Johns has written a compelling story of friendship, heartache, courage and motherhood.

Three friends, Flick, Neve and Emma are always there for each other but simmering secrets and lies may tear that friendship apart. Through these three women we negotiate marriage breakup, the problems of single parenthood, a mother's penchant for putting their own health second and how we keep secrets to protect those we love.

 

Through all the trauma and heartache there is a fabulous trip to New York where the three women find that friendship is give and take and everything isn't always as it seems on the surface. 

 

The Art of Keeping Secrets is a fabulous story about the strength of female friendships as all three women deal with situations that will alter their lives forever. Told through the perspective of each of the women, it's about having the courage to be yourself and how one person's actions has the potential to hurt others.  It is a story of endings and new beginnings but ultimately it's a story about the power and support that females offer each other in the form of unconditional friendship.

 

My rating  5 / 5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

 

Challenges Entered: Australian Women Writers Challenge AWW2021

 

                                   Aussie Author Challenge #Aussieauthor21 

 

Book Review & Giveaway: The Banksia House Breakout by James Roxburgh

The Banksia House Breakout

by

James Roxburgh

 

Some adventures are worth waiting for

 

Publisher: Ventura Press

 

Publication date: 15th September 2021

 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

 

Pages: 315

 

RRP: $32.99AUD

 

Format read: Paperback

 

Source: Courtesy of the publisher via DMCPRMedia

 

About the book

 

When Ruth Morris is moved into Banksia House by her workaholic son Michael, she is eighty-one years young, mourning her loss of independence, and missing her best friend Gladys terribly.

So when she learns Gladys is dying a state over in Brisbane, Ruth is determined to say goodbye. Enlisting the help of her fellow residents, Ruth makes a daring departure from Banksia House alongside renowned escape-artist Keith, and her formidable new friend Beryl.

The journey from Sydney is far from straightforward, featuring grimy hotels, hitchhiking, and a mild case of grand theft. This unlikely trio finds themselves on the trip of a lifetime, where new connections blossom amidst the chaos. But the clock is ticking and Gladys awaits – will they make it across the border in time?

 

My review

 

The Banksia House Breakout is a refreshing debut about ageing, friendship and independence.  

 

Ruth's son Michael has taken over her life assuming she is unable to care for herself after a fall. He sells the family home and drops Ruth at Banksia House, the nursing home he has chosen for her. Michael is much too busy to be worrying about his mother and at 81 she couldn't possibly be lucid enough to care for herself.

The story starts out quite ominous with Ruth's ill treatment by her son and a villainous careworker who makes life miserable for all the residents However once we get to meet some of the other residents, escape artist Keith and tech savvy Joan, the feeling of the story lightens.

 

Ruth is rather timid and she lets her son dominate her but she is making new friends in Banksia House and these  women may be elderly but they haven't lost their sense of adventure.

 

When Michael tells Ruth he is much too busy to take her to Brisbane to visit her dying firend Gladys the women hatch a plan to steal a car and get Ruth there to see Gladys one last time. They would only be gone a few days, no one would notice.

So begins an hilarious road trip which involves plenty of hiccups and detours, an encounter with a bikie gang, backpackers, working odd jobs at a hostel and managing to evade police at the last minute.

 

James Roxburgh smashes stereotypes in this debut novel as Ruth, Beryl and Keith prove during their trip that they are anything but senile. They manage to work their way through many sticky situations whilst also handing out sage advise learnt through years of experience. 

 

I loved the mentions of all the stops along the coast on the way from Sydney to Brisbane. Many of the places they visited brought back memories of family holidays.

I also enjoyed Ruth's transformation. The more she did the more confident she became in her own abilities. 

 

The Banksia House Breakout is a fun, heart-warming read. I found myself cheering for Ruth along the way and I couldn't read fast enough to find out if Ruth would make it to see Gladys on time.

 

If you enjoyed Joanna Nell's Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village you will love The Banksia House Breakout!

 

My rating 5 / 5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

 

About the author

 

James Roxburgh is an audiologist who specialises in the care of the elderly with hearing loss. He combines his passion for writing and the experiences he has shared with his patients to create heart-warming and captivating characters who defy the norms of ageing. James has worked as a ski instructor, owned a number of small businesses and lives in Sydney with his wife and two daughters. The Banksia House Breakout is his first novel. 

 

https://twitter.com/TheBurgeBkshelf/status/1438670597588852737?s=20

 

 Giveaway:

James has kindly offered a giveaway of one signed paperback copy of The Banksia House Breakout.

 

Enter via the form below. Entries close at midnight on  28th September 2021.  

 

This giveaway has now closed and the winner was announced here. 

Blog tour Book Review: The Inn at Tansy Falls by Cate Woods

The Inn at Tansy Falls

by

Cate Woods

 

If you love feel-good love stories by ReaAnne Thayne, Debbie Macomber and Robyn Carr, you’ll adore this gorgeous, heart-warming novel about starting over.

 

 

Publisher: Bookouture  

Publication date: 12th May 2021

Genre: Romance

Pages: 268

Format read: eBook

Source: Netgalley

 

About the book

 

 Dearest Nell, if you’re reading this letter, I’m already gone…

You’re my best friend in the world, and as my last request I’m asking you to lay me to rest hundreds of miles away, in my crazy gorgeous, totally one-of-a-kind hometown of Tansy Falls. I know you’re a born-and-bred city girl, but hear me out. After first losing Adrian, and then me… I know your heart is hurting, Nell. I think you’ll find that you need Tansy Falls as much as I do.

So, I’ve got it all planned out. For two weeks, you’ll be staying at the sweet, local inn and every day you’ll be trying something new. And if you follow my instructions to the letter, you may discover there’s more to my story than you think. A surprise something… or someone at the end of it? Only you can find out!

Some last advice before you set off, Nell. Don’t forget your sturdy boots and make sure to give Boomer, the inn’s resident dog, a belly rub from me. Stay well away from former quarterback Brody Knott (boy, do I have some stories about him!). And finally, let the future bring what it brings. While Tansy Falls may look small, I know better than anyone that new beginnings can be found in all kinds of places. That little Vermont town you’d never heard of? Well, it might suddenly begin to feel just like coming home…

 

My review

 

The Inn at Tansy Falls is the type of story I turn to when life becomes overwhelming. A feel good romance, and an easy read is, at times, just what I need to escape the everyday.

 

Nell's dear friend Megan had recently died and Nell was on a mission to scatter her ashes in Megan's beloved town of Tansy Falls. Megan had devised a quest for Nell something to get her friend out of her comfort zone and hopefully enjoying life again. Only first Nell had to fly from England to Vermont, USA to fulfill Megan's two week holiday quest. To nervous Nell that was a quest on its own!

 

Cate Woods has based this story on a best friend's dying wishes. With so many people touched by cancer be it a friend, sibling or parent, many will relate to Nell's feelings and loss.

 

Each mission for Nell is stated through a letter written by Megan before she died. Megan hoopes through this lovely little town, where she spent much of her childhood and teenage years, Nell will come to find peace and courage. Nell was always the quiet, cautious one whilst Megan was the livewire.

 

I loved following the mission with Nell as she came out of her shell and got to know some of the people of Tansy Falls. People who had known and loved Megan. The story is filled with vivid descriptions of the area, small town gossip, long held feuds and two very handsome men. While at times Nell is insecure and unsure of herself I enjoyed her character growth. It was slow to evolve which made it all the more believable. 

Cate Woods highlights how small tourist towns are being taken over by large conglomerate hotels.

 

Each mission Nell embarks on took the reader on another beautifully described adventure into this winter wonderland.

The Inn at Tansy Falls is a feel good, clean romance with a host of truly likeable characters.

 

A story of new beginnings, taking chances and finding courage. 

 

4.5 / 5    ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

 

About the author

 

Cate Woods made the most of her degree in Anglo-Saxon Literature by embarking on a career making tea on programmes including The Big Breakfast, Who Wants to be a Millionaire and French & Saunders. After narrowly missing out on the chance to become a Channel 5 weather girl she moved into the world of magazine journalism then ghostwriting and now writes novels under her own name. She has written two best selling romantic comedies - Just Haven't Met You Yet and More Than a Feeling - and a festive novel The Christmas Guest under the name of Daisy Bell. Cate lives in London with her husband and two children.

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: A Home Like Ours by Fiona Lowe

 A Home Like Ours

by

Fiona Lowe

Prejudice, privilege and betrayal: what really lies beneath the idyllic facade of this small town?

Publisher: Harlequin Australia

Imprint: HQ - Fiction

Publication date: 3rd March 2021 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Pages: 576

RRP: $32.99AUD 

Source: Courtesy of DMCPRMedia

About the book

Tara Hooper is at breaking point. With two young children, a business in a town struggling under an unexpected crime wave, and her husband more interested in his cricket team than their marriage, life is a juggling act. Then, when new neighbours arrive and they are exactly the sort of people the town doesn't want or need, things get worse.

Life has taught Helen Demetriou two things: being homeless is terrifying and survival means keeping your cards close to your chest. Having clawed back some stability through her involvement in the community garden, she dares to relax. But as she uncovers some shady goings-on in the council, that stability turns to quicksand.

For teenage mother Jade Innes, life can be lonely among the judgement of the town and the frequent absences of her boyfriend. A chance encounter draws her into the endangered community garden where she makes friends for the first time. Glimpsing a different way of life is enticing but its demands are terrifying. Does she even deserve to try?

 

My review

 

Tara is concerned about her marriage. Her husband has become distant and in her hour of need those she thought were her friends have deserted her.

 

Helen has known homelessness and fears it could happen again at any time. She is passionate about the community garden and strives to help the less fortunate but she is up against a council that prefers profit before community.

 

Teenager Jade lives from week to week with a baby son to support and a boyfriend that comes and goes as he pleases. She wants to be the mum she never had, she struggles alone with no friends or family.

 

Fiza has arrived in Boolanga hoping for a better life for her three children after escaping the death and destruction of Sudan. However there are many in Boolanga that fear change and look on the new arrivals with suspicion.

 

A Home Like Ours follows these four women, all from very different backgrounds, as they overcome hurt, prejudice and pride to find they have much more in common than they ever realised. Lowe's characters aren't perfect, they are quite often judgey and temperamental but the women support each other and open up to heal and grow, restoring their faith in human nature and in themselves.

I did find A Home Like Ours a bit depressing to start off with as the background on the four women was introduced and they were all struggling with their lives. I book being a bit uncomfortable and confronting is a good thing as it makes you stop and think about your own life and the life of those around you.

 

Through these four families Fiona Lowe succinctly introduces many topics that not only affect small rural communities but people everywhere. She develops the story to give her readers hope for a brighter future for these women and the whole community.

A Home Like Ours highlights many social issues and each one is fully explored. I suppose that is why the book is so big, Fiona Lowe is not prepared to skimp on details with any of the issues featured. Her readers are given a fully rounded perspective from many different view points.

Set in a picturesque town on the banks of the Murray River in Northern Victoria what you would imagine to be an idyllic life harbours prejudice, anger, racism, fear, a crooked council and developers waiting to move in.

I feel A Home Like Ours will have diverse appeal and I can see it becoming a popular book club read.

4/5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

About the author

Multi published, Fiona is very excited about her 2021 release, A HOME LIKE OURS, a novel about women struggling to find their home, both physcially and emotionally, in a small town that seethes under the surface. Previously published with Berkley and currently with Harper Collins Australia, (HQ Fiction) Fiona's been the recipient of a RITA and a RuBY award. Families and communities intrigue her and she loves creating characters you could meet on the street and enjoys putting them in unique situations where morals and values can blur and she begs the reader to ask themselves, 'What would you do?' 

 

 

 

Challenges entered:  Australian Women Writers Challenge #AWW2021

                                 Aussie Author Challenge #AussieAuthor21

 

Also by Fiona Lowe and reviewed on The Burgeoning Bookshelf

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: The Grand Tour by Olivia Wearne

 The Grand Tour

by

Olivia Wearne

 

 

Publisher: Harper Collins

Imprint: HQ Fiction AU

Publication date: 2nd December 2020

Genre: Contemporary Fiction 

Pages: 400

RRP: $29.99AUD

Format read: Uncorrected paperback

Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Better Reading

 

About the book

 

When Ruby and Angela embark on a Grey Nomads road trip, the last thing they expect is a tiny stowaway; one who will turn them from unsuspecting tourists into wanted kidnappers and land them in a world of trouble. As their leisurely retirement plans unravel, Angela's relationship with her brother Bernard goes from bad to worse.

Bernard has his own problems to contend with. Adrift in life, his career as a news presenter has been reduced to opening fetes and reading Voss as an audio book (a seemingly impossible task). His troubles are compounded when his wife starts dating a younger man and a drink-driving incident turns him into a celebrity offender.

As Angela and Ruby set about repairing burnt bridges and helping their unexpected guest, and Bernard attempts to patch together his broken life, they discover that even after a lifetime of experience, you're never too old to know better.

 

My review

 

The Grand Tour, although I did enjoy the story, wasn’t what I was expecting. The blurb tells me Ruby and Angela embark on a grey nomads road trip and I expected lots of funny on the road disasters whilst reading about amazing places around Australia.

The Grand Tour is about relationships and the changing landscape of these relationships as we age. A satirical look at ageing disgracefully.

Ruby is estranged from her grown daughter who she has never had a solid relationship with. She was always a bit wary of her wild, rambunctious child as she was growing up.

Ruby and Angela become firm friends after the death of Angela’s husband. They are complete opposites but they compliment each other. Ruby who is an introvert loves Angela’s flamboyance. They live in the same complex and whilst their units are being renovated they take to the road in Ruby’s motor-home.

Bernard, Angela’s brother, is a curmudgeonly washed-up news reader trying to restart his career when he is pushed back into the limelight for all the wrong reasons. We are also introduced to his actress wife, Mia and her eclectic friends. An arty group of ageing bohemians.

Eight year old Izzy lives with her mother in a caravan park. Izzy’s mother has trouble coping and Izzy is neglected. Thinking her mother would be glad to be rid of her she stows away in Ruby and Angela’s motor-home, making them unwary kidnappers.

There are many funny moments as each character navigates the different relationships in their life.

The book was a slow read for me. A character driven story.

Olivia Wearne’s debut novel is witty and observant. She expertly depicts human foibles and slots them into chuckle inducing scenarios. 

 

3.5 / 5    ⭐⭐⭐ ½

 

Meet the author 

 

Olivia Wearne was born in Melbourne in 1977. She is both a novelist and a screenwriter with several film credits to her name and a Masters in creative writing. Olivia now resides in Ballarat, Victoria, where she writes at the kitchen table that she shares with her filmmaker husband and two young sons. The Grand Tour is her first novel.

 

Challenges entered: Aussie author challenge  #AussieAuthor20

                                 Australian Women Writers Challenge #AWW2020

 

 

 

 

 

Book Club Book Review: The Farm at Peppertree Crossing by Léonie Kelsall

The Farm at Peppertree Crossing

by

Léonie Kelsall 

 

Publisher: Allen & Unnwin 

Publication date: 2nd July 2020

Genre: Contemporary Fiction / Rural

Pages: 432

RRP: $29.99AUD

Format read: Paperback

Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Beauty & Lace Book Club

 

About the book

 

An unexpected inheritance, a traumatic past and a family whose secrets are kept by the town.

After a fractured childhood spent in foster homes, city-girl Roni has convinced herself that she has no need of anyone - other than her not-as-tough-as-he-looks rescued street cat, Scritches, and her unborn baby.

Despite facing a bleak future, Roni distrusts the news of a bequest from an unknown aunt, Marian Nelson. But, out of options, she and Scritches leave Sydney behind, bound for the 800-acre property on the edge of the wheat belt of South Australia.

However, this is no simple inheritance. With everything at stake, Roni must learn to believe in the truth of Marian's most important lesson: everyone deserves love.

 

My Review

 

When city-girl Roni inherits a farm from an aunt she has never known she decides she will take a look and then sell as quick as she can. However Aunt Marian hasn't made the process of the inheritance that easy. She wants Roni to have the chance to fall in love with the farm.

 

I was immediately pulled into the story - with the threat of danger hanging in the air.

 

Roni is instantly likeable. She cares for stray cats and runs errands for her elderly neighbour. Her life spent in foster homes has been let down after let down and she has past traumas that are still affecting her life. How can you not like, and feel empathy for this girl! 

 

I loved how Aunt Marian's character was introduced through letters to Roni and even though she had passed we got to know her and she was an integral character in the story.

 

I could totally relate to the city-girl stuck in the country and wondering how she was going to manage and feeling isolated and scared.

"There was far too much country out here for her liking."

The Farm at Peppertree Crossing subtly covers some heavy topics but there is plenty of humour, cute farm animals and a cute farm hand to lighten the mood.

It was a delight to watch Roni grow and start to trust people and also learn to say no when needed. She slowly came to realise not everyone was out to hurt her or rip her off and maybe, Matt was helping out on the farm because he was genuinely a nice guy. 

I loved all the cooking and cakes, both disasters and successes, and the CWA meetings and their small town gossip. Lots of humour here!

Léonie Kelsall knows how to create an ever changing atmosphere as it moves from foreboding, funny, breath-holding, sad and sweet. I loved the way  Léonie Kelsall unwrapped the secrets slowly throughout the story - little teasers that kept me glued to the pages.

The Farm at Peppertree Crossing is a story of belonging, moving forward, guilt, secrets and learning to trust.

I was keen to read this book as soon as I heard about it and I was not disappointed!

5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Plus an extra ⭐ because the main character's name was Veronica 💖

About the author

Photo: Goodreads

 Though fortunate to grow up in the South Australian country – initially on the beautiful Fleurieu Peninsula in a tiny town where the school had a total enrolment of only eleven students, and later on a sheep and wheat farm in the Murraylands - in typical teen fashion, Léonie couldn't wait to hit the bright lights of the big city when she graduated.
However, a couple of years working in various government departments, including the State History Trust and the Education Department, saw her longing to make her way back to the country.
Through a circuitous route (isn't that life?) she now finds herself splitting her time between her home and professional counselling practice in the beautiful Adelaide Hills and her childhood farm. She definitely has the best of both worlds! 

 

Challenges entered: Aussie author challenge  #AussieAuthor20

                                 Australian Women Writers Challenge #AWW2020