Book Review: Her Outback Cowboy by Annie Seaton

Her Outback Cowboy

by

Annie Seaton

Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Publication date: 19th June 2017
Series: Prickle Creek #1
Pages: 192
Format read: Kindle eBook
Source: Own read 

The last thing advertising art director Lucy Bellamy wants is to go home to the Outback, but duty to family calls. At least there’s one bonus—her first love, sexy cowboy neighbour, Garth Mackenzie, is there and the attraction between them is still explosive. But Lucy has no intention of getting stuck in this two-bit town and she counts down the days until she can go back to her real life.
After an engineering degree and working in the mines of Western Australia, Garth has returned to the Outback and is home to stay. His goal is to settle down, start a family, and work his beloved land with the girl he’s always loved. But if it comes to Lucy choosing between the glamour of the city or making a home with him in the Outback—he’d lose, hands down.

Her Outback Cowboy is book one in the Prickle Creek series. I recently read book two in this series and I enjoyed the character of Lucy so much I was eager to read book one where Lucy is the main character.

In Her Outback Cowboy we are introduced to the four cousins, Lucy, Liam, Jemima and Sebastian.

Confirmed city-girl Lucy is called back to Prickle Creek farm, along with her three cousins, to help their grandparents work the farm. The cousins decide between them to do three months on and three months off, continuing on with their careers in between.

Lucy meets up with neighbour and one time boyfriend Garth McKenzie and they strike up a friendly liaison. Lucy views this as a temporary arrangement as she is eager to return to her life in Sydney.

Lucy and Garth had a terrific relationship, their conversations were open, with each knowing exactly how the other felt. I loved garth’s confidence. He was always kind and considerate and he knew exactly what he wanted.

I was a little confused about the whereabouts of the cousins’ fathers. We do learn that Lucy’s father has died but the other two didn’t get a mention.

Seaton writes from the heart and her representation of life on the farm makes even the hard slog of farm life sound idyllic and appealing.

I am really enjoying this series and even though each story is stand alone I would recommend reading the series in order to get a clearer understanding of the characters and other side stories going on in the town of Spring Downs.

                           🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 

 My rating  5/5

 *this review is part of the Book Lover Book Review Aussie author challenge

and book #19 in the Australian Women Writers challenge

 

Photo credit: Goodreads

Annie Seaton lives on the edge of the South Pacific Ocean on the east coast of Australia. She is fulfilling her lifelong dream of writing and has been delighted to discover readers love reading her stories as much as she loves writing them. Annie lives with her own hero of many years. Their two children are now grown up and married, and two beautiful grandchildren have arrived. Now they share their home with Toby, the naughtiest dog in the universe, and two white cats. Each winter, Annie and her husband leave the beach to roam the remote areas of Australia for story ideas and research. In 2014, Annie was voted Author of the Year, and in 2015 was voted Best Established Author in the AusRom Today Readers Choice Awards.

 

Book Review: Her Outback Surprise by Annie Seaton

Her Outback Surprise

by 

Annie Seaton

Publisher: Entangled Publishing

Publication date: 9th October 2017

Series: Prickle Creek #2

Pages: 218

Format Read: eBook

Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley

Angie Edmonds is content with life in her small town. Being alone doesn’t bother her. Really. Until Liam Smythe, the man who broke her heart, shows up at her vet clinic with an injured puppy. Unfortunately, he's just as irresistible as she remembers. In an attempt to prove to him that she’s moved on, somehow a little white lie begins…

When Liam returns to help run the family farm, his enjoyment of the slow life in Spring Downs surprises him. After all, he’s used to the thrill of chasing the next big story. Running into the girl he's never been able to forget is unexpected, and he’s shocked to learn she’s getting married--to someone who's not him. She’s off-limits, but Liam can’t stop thinking about the gorgeous vet and what could have been. But convincing her he’s changed will be harder than finding a needle in a haystack.

I really enjoyed Her Outback Surprise and the community of Spring Downs. This is book2 in the Prickle Creek series about four cousins whose Grandparents own Prickle Creek farm in outback New South Wales. They are called back to help on the farm whilst their Grandparents have a well earned holiday.

Liam and Angie’s story is a second chance romance trope. They had previously had a relationship in London breaking up when Angie had to return to Australia. Neither knew the other was in Spring Downs and when they found out they tried hard to avoid each other but fate and Cousin Lucy had other plans.

I absolutely loved Lucy, she was obviously settled in her life and she wanted the same for Liam. They were more like brother and sister than cousins and you could feel their closeness in their teasing and banter. Lucy immediately connected with Angie and I could plainly see that Lucy would remain her friend no matter the outcome with Liam.

‘I need to do something worthwhile. Go back to investigating and reporting social issues.’

Liam was a high flying reporter in London and full of his own self-importance, thinking work on the farm as a holiday break, not a career.

‘Man, I’ve been an insensitive jerk!’ – Liam

It took him a while to realise this and I think Angie was too easy on him.

This was a fun rural romance with plenty of anguish and misunderstandings as we follow Liam and Angie through some fun times together and also plenty of heartache. I think it took too long for Lucy to say ‘I’ve had enough’ and take off.

The book ends with an epilogue that reads like a teaser for the next book that will be about Jemima, Liam’s sister. She doesn’t feature in Liam & Angie’s story only returning to Prickle Creek Farm as the story closes.

Book 1 Her Outback Cowboy is Lucy’s story and I am going to be self indulgent and grab a copy and read it straight away.

🌟🌟🌟 1/2

My Rating   3.5/5

*this review is part of the Book Lover Book Review Aussie author challenge

and book #18 in the Australian Women Writers challenge

Annie Seaton lives on the edge of the South Pacific Ocean on the east coast of Australia. She is fulfilling her lifelong dream of writing and has been delighted to discover readers love reading her stories as much as she loves writing them. Annie lives with her own hero of many years. Their two children are now grown up and married, and two beautiful grandchildren have arrived. Now they share their home with Toby, the naughtiest dog in the universe, and two white cats. Each winter, Annie and her husband leave the beach to roam the remote areas of Australia for story ideas and research. In 2014, Annie was voted Author of the Year, and in 2015 was voted Best Established Author in the AusRom Today Readers Choice Awards.