Mailbox Monday & Life This Week - March 1st

 

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.

Life This Week is a meme created by Denyse Whelan Blogs where bloggers share snaps of what is currently happening in their lives.

Happy Monday!

 

Below are some snaps from our daily walk

 

 

We also had a win with our garden. Cucumbers! Lots of cucumbers!

Books I have received in the mail over the last three weeks:

 

 Traffic by Robin Gregory

A PI Sandi Kent mystery. Sandi is hired to rescue a young woman from an illegal brothel. Sandi is soon embroiled in the city's seamy underworld of human trafficking, drugs and murder.

As Swallows Fly by L P McMahon

Malika, a young orphan in rural Pakistan is left disfigured after a savage attack. She spends her life hidden from the world.

Her life is changed when she is taken to Australia and teamed with plastic surgeon Kate. But is the price of beauty higher than either of them ever expected.

A poignant portrayal of survival, identity and empowerment in a culture dominated by the pursuit of perfection.

The Codebreakers by Alli Sinclair

Set in Brisbane during WWII. Ellie O'Sullivan exceptional skills attract the attention of the Central Bureau and she joins a group of elite women deciphering enemy communications. They soon form a close bond - yet could there be a traitor in their midst. 

A compelling story about tenacity and friendship inspired by the real codebreaking women of Australia.

The Jam Queens by Josephine Moon

Aggie, her mother,Valeria, and her distant daughter, Holly, as well as her meddling great aunt, Myrtle come together on a trip across Australia on the Ghan for her mother's seventieth birthday. The four generations of family will be reunited at last.

This is a sweet and soulful story about women being there for each other through the stickiest situations. It celebrates the joys and sorrows of life, and reveals the essential ingredients of the true recipe for happiness.

 

The Mistake by Katie McMahon

Bec and Kate are sisters, but they couldn't be less alike.

Bec lives the domestic dream with husband Stuart and three children. So why is she attracted to free-spirited Ryan?

 

Kate's life is hardly a dream. But when she meets Adam things start looking up. Until she finds out he's been keeping secrets from her.

Then there's the incident both sisters are desperate to ignore...

Will they discover some mistakes can't be put right?

 

Those Hamilton Sisters by Averil Kenny

Following their mother's death, the Hamilton sisters have returned to Noah Vale to live near their aunt and uncle.

 

Sonnett, fiery and independent, Fable, a gifted artist and a dreamer and Plum, who is anxious to please and notices everything.

The sisters settle into small-town life but suspicion and judgement follow them wherever they go. When Fable falls in love with Noah Vale's golden boy, is history destined to repeat itself?

The Paris Collaborator by A W Hammond

Set in German occupied Paris during WWII

Former schoolteacher Auguste Duchene has stumbled upon an unusual way to survive: he finds missing people. When he's approached by the French Resistance to locate a missing priest - and a cache of stolen weapons - Duchene initially refuses. But the Resistance offer him no choice. Within hours, he's also blackmailed by a powerful Nazi into searching for a German soldier who's suspected of deserting.

 I would love to hear what books you've received in the mail recently! 

Book Review: Close to Home by Janet Gover

Close to Home

by

Janet Gover

 

A story of community and family. Of the love that brings them together...and the fears that would tear them apart.

 

 

Publisher: Harlequin Australia 

Imprint: Mira - AU

Publication date: 3rd February 2021

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Pages: 368

RRP: $29.99AUD

Format read: Paperback

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

About the book

 

Aunt Alice Dwyer loves her small Australian town. She's rarely left its comforting embrace. She knows everyone in it; in fact, she's related to most of them. All she wants is to keep her family safe and the town running exactly the way it always has. Her way. But when an exotic French artist comes to town, her hold begins to weaken...

Lucienne Chevalier, once the toast of Europe, has come to Nyringa after a tragic loss to hang up her sequins and create a place for her circus family to rest between tours. With her is Simon, her grandson, recovering from an injury so damaging he can no longer perform. Lucienne fears he'll never embrace a new future. That is, until she notices the chemistry between him and the new schoolteacher... All they need is a push.

Both grande dames think they know what's best, but with equal amounts of stubbornness on both sides, peace looks unlikely. Then a relationship between Alice's rebellious great-niece and a teenage acrobat sets the two communities on a collision course. But when the bakery starts making patisseries over lamingtons, the battle lines are truly drawn... 

 

My review

 

Ever since reading The Wild One I have been a big fan of Janet Gover's novels. She has proven over the years to have quite diverse writing skills, touching on themes that concern small town communities and are also relatable in a broader sense. 

 

Close to Home starts with a short prologue featuring a teenage Alice and it was good to get an insight into this young, fun Alice before she grew to be the proud and proper 80 year old we see in the following story.

 

Close to Home centres on two strong women, both matriarchs of their large families. Heartbreak features strongly in both their lives. Whilst Alice's is an old wound that she can't seem to let go of and it still shapes her decisions and attitudes, Lucienne's is fresh and soul destroying however she knows to move forward she must heal. I did feel one was more superficial than the other but to these two women the hurt was equal.

 

When the circus comes to stay in Nyringa the wariness of newcomers is raised and judging people before getting to know them which can often happen in small towns where change is feared. I loved all the circus details, how circuses had changed over the years and the love and commitment the performers have for what they do. I think this will have many readers on a nostalgic trip back to their childhood.

Gover redefines family with Alice and her large hoard of nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews and Lucienne declaring that every performer in her circus is part of her family. Family is more than your own immediate flesh and blood.

Two sweet and subtle romances weave through this story of acceptance and moving forward. Young love is instant and all consuming, as it often is, and has a Romeo and Juliet-ish feel. The other couples feeling are slower to develop and more wary to open up to each other. I thought both romances were realistic and well executed.

I could go on and on but no one wants a long wordy review so I will suffice to say that Close to Home is a story about family, relationships, community, new friendships, new beginnings, love lost and love found. And a great read!!

5/5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

About the author

Janet Gover grew up in outback Australia, surrounded by wide open spaces, horses...and many, many books.

She is a self-confessed 'bit of a geek girl'. When not writing novels she works in IT - in really dull places like Pinewood Movie Studios, Puerto Rico and Iraq

When her cat actually lets her sit in her chair, she writes stories of strong women, rural communities and falling in love. Her novel Little Girl Lost won the Epic Romantic Novel of the Year Award presented by the Romantic Novelist's Association in the UK, and she has won or been shortlisted for awards in Australia and the USA.

As Juliet Bell, in collaboration with Alison May, she rewrites misunderstood classic fiction, with an emphasis on heroes who are not so heroic.

Her favourite food is tomato. She spends too much time playing silly computer games, and is an enthusiastic, if not always successful, cook.

 

Challenges entered: Australian Women Writers Challenge

                                 Aussie Author Challenge  

 

 

Book Review: False Hope by Lynne Lee

False Hope 

by

Lynne Lee

 

She made a big promise. Did she also make a big mistake?

 

 

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Publication date: 21st January 2021

Genre: Contemporary Fiction / Mystery

Pages: 300

Format read: Kindle edition

Source: Netgalley

 

About the book

 

Ten years ago, Grace made her dying sister a promise—that she would look after Hope’s baby son as her own. Now, the man whose son she is raising has turned up on Grace’s operating table, fighting for his life.

When an accusation of negligence follows, Grace is forced to confront not just the man who abandoned her sister, but also his mother, Norma—who blames Grace for taking everything she loves.

Based on what her sister told her, Grace is sure she did the right thing to keep that promise. But what if Hope didn’t tell her everything? Norma’s vicious attacks push Grace to investigate further and what she finds makes her question everything she thinks she knows, pointing to a very different past—and a devastating betrayal.

As Grace uncovers the truth, can she protect her family from the consequences of what her sister did?

 

My review

 

False Hope could have been a gripping read however for me there were too many themes that  could have been better explored.

Grace has the juggling act of a young family, a demanding career as a trauma surgeon and the responsibility of being the only living child of a parent with dementia. She has adopted her late sister Hope's son and completely cut off his father and paternal grandmother. An action she believes is the only way forward for them all.  

 

When Hope's ex-husband turns up on the operating table after a serious accident leaves his life in the balance Grace has to act fast and preforms the operation that she knows will save his life. There is much bad blood between the families and a malpractice claim ensues. This on its own could have created a great story but it never fully evolved.

 

There were lots of little plot lines running through the story and just when I thought I knew where the story was heading it would change direction.

Grace was selfish, self centred and over possessive and as the story was narrated in first person it seemed that it was all about Grace; how hard she worked, how her mother was a burden, how she never understood her sister. Grace's thoughts and actions certainly didn't endear me to her. I continually questioned her actions and even after the big reveal I still felt her actions were self motivated.

False Hope was an okay read. None of the characters really gelled with me but it certainly held my interest and I was eager to get to the end to see how it would all wrap up.

3/5  ⭐⭐⭐

About the author

Lynne Lee was born in London and began her writing career as a teenager. She has been a full-time author since the mid-1990's, writing romance novels, short stories and ghostwriting bestselling books. False Hope is her second psychological thriller and is written under a pseudonym.

 

 

Book Review: Snowy Mountains Daughter by Alissa Callen

Snowy Mountains Daughter

by

Alissa Callen 

 

The road home isn't for the faint-hearted... 

Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises Australia 

Imprint: Mira

Publication date: 3rd February 2021 

Genre: Small town fiction / Rural romance

Pages: 352

RRP: $29.99AUD

Format read: Paperback

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

About the book

 

Peony flower farmer Clancy Parker was born and bred in the Australian high country. Small-town Bundilla is the only place she will ever truly belong, even if staying means remaining alone. The man she'd loved is long gone and single men are as rare as a summer snowfall.

As soon as he could, street artist Heath MacBride escaped his complicated family and traded mountain peaks for city concrete. Now a commission to paint a mural on Bundilla's water tower brings him home. It doesn't matter how long he's been away, the animosity of his cattleman father hasn't waned. As soon as the water tower is painted, he will be gone.

But between steadfast Clancy, who'd once been his muse, a free-spirited kelpie who becomes his shadow and a corrosive family secret, his best laid plans disintegrate. When life again backs him into a corner, will he have no choice but to leave or will he and Clancy have the second chance they'd each thought would forever remain out of reach?  

My review

Alissa Callen has delivered again with her latest novel featuring the resilience of bush communities, the volatility of Mother Nature and the healing power of animals.

Bundy, companion, matchmaker and social media sensation, is the town's resident kelpie. Loved by everyone but owned by no-one. Like The Littlest Hobo on the much loved T.V. series Bundy has a sixth sense for who needs his company most and roams from person to person.

Clancy Parker was born and raised in the country town of Bundilla in The Brindabellas. This was her life and unlike many young people, who couldn't wait to leave, she loved everything about the town.

Heath McBride left the town as soon as he could and has made a name for himself as a mural painter. Now back in town to paint the town's water tower he must also face Clancy, the love of his life.

Wow! Alissa Callen has packed so much into this story. There's good friends Clancy and Heath who secretly have a crush on each other but both are reluctant to take the plunge and open up and risk destroying their friendship. We see, through Clancy, that farming isn’t all about cattle and sheep. She has a flower farm which is definitely a time consuming occupation also entirely at the mercy of Mather Nature. One bad storm at the wrong time and it's all destroyed.

Heath is home to paint a mural on the town's water tower which is a fascinating story on its own. Tie into that his estrangement from his father and it makes Heath an interesting and complex character to explore.

If you haven't seen the wonderful murals going up on water towers and silos all over Australia have a look at the website that captures them in all their glory.

Australian Silo Art Trail

https://www.australiansiloarttrail.com/

Callen doesn't just give a brief obligatory mention of the Aussie countryside, fauna and flora she makes them a part of the overall story giving you the feel and sense of actually being there amongst it all.

A wonderful community of characters were included and I wanted to hear all their stories. Ned, Cynthia and her daughters dropping off sweet offerings, twins Millicent & Beatrice, Mabel the journalist, Clancy's best friend Brenna, Taite, Trent the Vet and Rebecca the florist were all important threads in the story. I'm hoping we will visit them again in future books.

Snowy Mountains Daughter is vividly described from the snow capped mountains to the gum trees and wooden bridges the setting comes alive on the page. A free-roaming kelpie, a second chance at love and a dying mans confession make Snowy Mountains Daughter a story that will have your emotions reeling.

5/5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

About the author

Photo credit Goodreads

When USA Today bestselling author Alissa Callen isn’t writing she plays traffic controller to four children, three dogs, two horses and one renegade cow who really does believe the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. After a childhood spent chasing sheep on the family farm, Alissa has always been drawn to remote areas and small towns, even when residing overseas. Once a teacher and a counsellor, she remains interested in the life journeys that people take. She also is partial to historic homesteads and country gardens and has been known to drive hours to see an open-garden. She currently lives on a small slice of rural Australia in central western New South Wales. 

 

 

Challenges entered: Australian Women Writers Challenge 

                                 Aussie Author Challenge

If you enjoyed this review you might also like: 

 

 

Winners of a copy of The Schoolboy Sherlock Holmes announced!

Once again I would like to thank everyone who entered my giveaway for a copy of The Schoolboy Sherlock Holmes Box set. The giveaway closed on the 16th February and the winners were randomly selected (using Random org) from all correct entries. 

 

 Congratulations to........   Liz Dorrington & Heather

 

The winners have been notified and have seven days to to provide a mailing address.

Please see my Giveaway tab for more chances to win great books. 

 

Book Review: The Devils You Know by Ben Sanders

The Devils You Know

by

Ben Sanders 

 

 

Publisher: Allen & Unwin 

Publication date: 2nd February 2021

Genre: Crime / Mystery

Pages: 328

RRP: $29.99AUD

Format read: Paperback

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

About the book

 

Vincent needs a change. He's spent the last fifteen years in covert operations for the US government, but after a botched and fatal mission, he decides he's done with pulling triggers.

He lucks into a dream job in Santa Barbara as head of security for supermarket mogul Eugene Lamar: nothing more than driving the boss to and from golf, with ample downtime for surfing, or sitting by the pool contemplating life-and how to live it with a zero body count.

There he meets and is intrigued by Lamar's daughter, the journalist Erin Jones, who's on tour in California to promote her book about the benefits of war. Vincent's seen his share of conflict and is sure he can change her mind - and he'd really like to make his case over drinks.

But there's a problem: if Lamar's business is confined to supermarkets, why does he need a panic room full of assault rifles, and a .357 revolver in his car? It doesn't take long for Vincent to find out that Lamar owes a debt to bad people - and that's only the start of it. He's ensnared in a criminal enterprise, which soon brings costs in lives as well as money.

Erin wants answers, and needs Vincent's help to get them. But how much does she already know? Is his growing attraction to her a liability? And can he keep her safe from the brutal killers who are after her father?

It seems that Santa Barbara is a sunny town full of dark talent, and Vincent will have to revert to dark talents of his own if he's going to survive . . .

 

My review

 

The Devils You Know is my first read by best-selling author Ben Sanders and I can easily see why he has such a huge following. He writes with prose that are sharp and biting. His characters are wonderfully drawn with a protagonist that is rugged and heroic combating antagonists that are dark and ruthless. The perfect mix for a compelling crime mystery.

 

Vincent applies for a position as body guard to supermarket mogul Eugene Lamar. He is expecting an easy ride, a bit of a holiday, a ride around the golf course and then some time for a surf. However, he soon learns there is more to Lamar than meets the eye. Lamar owes somebody some big money and they are out to make him pay.

As the stakes rise so does the body count and Vincent teams up with Lamar's daughter, Erin Jones, to find out who is behind the extortion.

 

I really enjoyed the character of Vincent. He was calm and cool, battle scarred but still competitive.  he wouldn't carry a gun but didn't baulk at busting a few noses.

The multiple points of view narration and short chapters kept the story moving along at a steady pace and held my interest throughout. 

 

Sanders shows through Vincent and Erin you can be on opposite side of a political agenda and still have level headed conversations  about it without getting heated and offensive or offended.

 

The subtle romance thread was well executed and the element of mystery had me guessing and second guessing until it came to a well wrapped up and satisfactory conclusion. 

 

4/5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

About the author

 

Photo Goodreads

Ben Sanders is the author of American Blood, Marshall's Law, The Stakes, The Fallen, By Any Means and Only the Dead. Sanders' first three novels were written while he was studying a Bachelor of Engineering at university, he graduated in 2012 and now writes full-time. To date Sanders has sold over 30,000 copies of his novels collectively across Australia and New Zealand alone and has been praised by the New York Times, The Sydney Morning Herald and the Toronto Star. His work id published in eight languages, and he lives in Auckland, New Zealand. Sony has optioned the rights to The Devils You Know for a Ray Donovan television series.

 

 

Challenges entered: Cloak and Dagger Challenge

 

 

If you enjoyed this review you might also like:

 

  

 

 

Book Review: Misty by Fiona McArthur

Misty

by

Fiona McArthur 

 

Publisher: Self Published

Publication date: 30th November 2020

Series: Lyrebird Lake #2

Genre: Romance

Pages: 208

Format read: eBook

Source: Courtesy of the author

 

About the book

 

Misty saved the life of Dr Ben Moore but that brief wonderful connection was just a memory. Misty the midwife shuts out her daydreams and sets off for a new life in Lyrebird Lake, where she meets the new locum…and looks into Ben’s sea blue eyes!

Ben moved to Lyrebird Lake for a chance to start again. But he wasn’t doing well in the single parent role. Can Misty and Ben find the connection that saved his life once? Is Misty is the perfect person to make Ben’s family complete?

 

My review

 

As much as I loved Montana's story in Lyrebird Lake #1 I found Misty's story even more heart-warming.

 

Misty had always had premonitions and it was one of her premonitions that led her to save the life of Ben Moore. There was an instant and unexplainable connection between them but  Misty had no time for romance, she was moving the next day to Lyrebird Lake to work with best friend Montana.

Montana (from book1) is now married to Misty's brother Andy and they have set up the new birthing centre at Lyrebird Lake. 

 

Misty is another wonderful, realistic romance read from Fiona McArthur. The main themes of natural birth, postnatal depression, postnatal  psychosis and related suicide are sensitively explored giving reference to the mental and lasting strain on the attending doctor. 

McArthur explores these themes within a close-knit small-town environment where everyone pitches in and helps out when needed. Minor characters from book 1 also feature in book 2 and we get snippets of information on these characters' lives that I can see making a return in future books.

 

As much as I loved Misty's cautiousness when it came to a new relationship I also loved how Ben never gave up when Misty tried to push him away.

 

Misty is a feel-good romance with the expected happy ending. I'm looking forward to the next book in the Lyrebird Lake Series.

 

5/5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

About the author

 

Credit: Goodreads

Fiona McArthur has worked as a midwife for thirty years. She is the clinical midwifery educator inner rural maternity unit and teaches emergency obstetric strategies while working with midwives and doctors from remote and isolated areas.

Fiona has written more than thirty romances, which have sold over two million copies in twelve languages. She has been a midwifery expert for Mother and Baby magazine and is the author of Aussie Midwives. She has also written the novels Red Sand Sunrise, The Homestead Girls and Heart of the Sky. She lives on a farm in northern New South Wales. 

 

 

Challenges entered: Aussie author challenge #AussieAuthor21

                                 Australian Women Writers Challenge  #AWW2021

 Read my review of Montana: