Vera De Rossi no longer believes in love ...
And
thanks to her ex-boyfriend- she's also broke, jobless, and staring down
the barrel at a court case that could land her in prison. Turning to
her talent for baking, Vera opens a cafe in Hanrahan, a cosy tourist
town in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains.
Josh Cody, once
Hanrahan's golden boy, escaped sixteen years ago with gossip hard on his
heels and a pregnant girlfriend in tow. Now he's back: a qualified
veterinarian - and a single dad with a lot to prove. A new start and a
grumpy teenage daughter ... it's a lot to juggle, and there's no room in
his life for further complications. But that's before he walks into The
Billy Button Cafe and meets its prickly owner ...
Reeling from
the past, Vera has no intention of being sidetracked by the hot vet with
his killer smile. But fate has a way of tripping up our best intentions
and between a stray cat and a busybody with a heart of gold, this is a
town - a family - unlike any other. And, whether Vera wants it or not,
is there anything a family won't do to help one of its own?
Funny, feel-good and entertaining, a stellar romance debut from an award-winning new talent.
ARC received from Harper Collins/Mira for an honest review
Now I will admit that I am not the biggest fan of of rural romance (I did the tree change and know what it is really like in the country), and have found that things have been getting a little stale in the genre.
But what a refreshing voice Stella Quinn is.
I get Vera's feeling of moving into a small town, of feeling like an outsider, of feeling alone (I moved to my town 18 years ago, and it took me a long time to feel like a local!). I could completely relate with her.
I get the feeling of all eyes on you, waiting for you to be the next piece of gossip for the mill. Just like Vera and the lovely vet Josh, you can't sneeze without someone two streets over saying bless you!
I loved the colourful characters of Hanrahan, with all their quirk. Before you know it, they will feel like family to you as you are reading along.
Full of heart and emotion, I enjoyed every minute of reading The Vet From Snowy River,
In fact, this book is like a big, warm hug. It was a delightful read, that is perfect to curl up under a blankie and just get completely swept away with.
When Stella Quinn isn’t sitting in the sun scribbling in a notebook, she can be found walking her dog, roaming her neighbourhood in search of the perfect latte, or thrashing her children at scrabble. She grew up in England, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea and Australia, and spent five (long!) years at boarding school in country Queensland.
Stella writes contemporary romance novels that are warm-hearted and filled with characters you want to be best friends with. She loves rural small-town settings, island settings, and everyday heroes. Imagine if Sea Change and Virgin River had a series of fictitious bookbabies ... they’re the books Stella writes.
She has two rural romances being published by Harlequin, and The Vet from Snowy River will be in a bookshop near you in June 2021.
Her series include The Island Escape Series and The Clementine Springs Series, and she is an author for Sweet Promise Press’s Gold Coast Retrievers Series.
Stella Quinn’s awards in the fabulous world of romance include winning the Valerie Parv Award in 2018, winning the Sapphire Award in 2019 and 2020, winning the Emerald Award in 2017 and coming second in the Sapphire in 2018. Stella was shortlisted in the Australian Society of Authors/HQ Fiction Commercial Fiction Award in 2020, and in the 2020 Ruby Award for best contemporary romance. With her writing group (who published a Christmas anthology of novellas) she was shortlisted by ARRA for best small-town contemporary romance in 2019.