✪ The Good Woman of Renmark ✪ Darry Fraser ✪

Release date: 18th November 2019

Adventure, romance and history combine in this thrilling 19th century journey through the South Australian bush and along the mighty Murray River in the company of a determined heroine.

1895, Renmark, South Australia

Maggie O'Rourke has always had a hard head. No man was going to tie her down to a life of babies and domestic slavery, even if that man was as good (and as annoyingly attractive) as Sam Taylor. Maggie is happily earning her own way as a maid in a house on the Murray River when disaster strikes.

Forced to defend herself and a friend from assault by an evil man, she flees downriver on a paddle steamer. With death at her heels, Maggie begins to realise that a man like Sam might be just who she wants in her hour of need. As for Sam, well, Maggie has always been what he wants.

The further Maggie runs, the more she discovers there are some things she cannot escape...

Copy received from Harper Collins Australia for an honest review

I have really been enjoying historical Australian stories this past year. The chance to read my first Darry Fraser story was a no brainer for me - let me have it.

Now, as a teen in the 80s, I was completely in love with John Waters in All The Rivers Run, and The Good Woman of Renmark have me all of those kind of vibes.

It gives us a good glimpse of the social history of the time.  Women did not yet have the vote, the suffragette movement growing every day.  The Mighty Murray (which isn't so mighty in these days of drought) could be your friend or your foe.  It was hard work but could have great reward.

Our leading lady Maggie is all the things that were changing at the time. She wouldn't let men take advantage of her or her friends. She was resourceful. To me she felt like a trailblazer, ahead of her time, not needing a man to have a fulfilling life.

The story is fast paced and flowed well. I absolutely adored the imagery, and could imagine myself on the banks of the Murray, watching the world glide by.

I have not read any of Ms Fraser's previous works, however I will look out for more in the future.

✪ The Lost Ones ✪ Anita Frank ✪

Some houses are never at peace.

England, 1917

Reeling from the death of her fiancé, Stella Marcham welcomes the opportunity to stay with her pregnant sister, Madeleine, at her imposing country mansion, Greyswick – but she arrives to discover a house of unease and her sister gripped by fear and suspicion.

Before long, strange incidents begin to trouble Stella – sobbing in the night, little footsteps on the stairs – and as events escalate, she finds herself drawn to the tragic history of the house.

Aided by a wounded war veteran, Stella sets about uncovering Greyswick’s dark and terrible secrets – secrets the dead whisper from the other side…

In the classic tradition of The Woman in Black, Anita Frank weaves a spell-binding debut of family tragedy, loss and redemption.

ARC received from Harlequin Australia for an honest review

I watch TV shows  and documentaries about old houses and estates, and I always thing "boy there must be plenty of ghosts in those halls, and skeletons in those family closets".

The Lost ones was what I imagine a gothic style house would be.  Kind of a Jane Eyre kind of vibe with mysterious happenings upstairs.

What secrets is Greyswick hiding?  What have the residents got to hide?

I was drawn into the mystery along with Stella, Annie and Mr Sheers - I knew something was going on, they knew something was going on, it was a matter of uncovering all the truths.

There were some things that were pretty predictable with this kind of story, however there were a couple of things that surprised me - I usually have a good idea of the whos the whats and the whys, however there were a couple of "WOW" moments for me.

I found this story well written and flowed well.   I was engaged in the story the whole time I was reading.  Ms Frank has done a good job with her debut novel, and I look forward to more in the future.

 

❤ The Day We Meet Again ❤ Miranda Dickinson ❤

• ISBN: 9780008323219
• ISBN 10: 0008323216
• Imprint: HQ Fiction - GB
• On Sale: 02/09/2019

‘We’ll meet again at St Pancras station, a year from today. If we’re meant to be together, we’ll both be there. If we’re not, it was never meant to be . . .’
 
Phoebe and Sam meet by chance at St Pancras station. Heading in opposite directions, both seeking their own adventures, meeting the love of their lives wasn’t part of the plan. So they make a promise: to meet again in the same place in twelve months' time if they still want to be together.

But is life ever as simple as that?

This is a story of what-ifs and maybes – and how one decision can change your life forever…


 

ARC received from Harper Collins Australia for an honest review

The Day We Meet Again has the feel of the movies Before Sunrise and Serendipity to it.

Sam and Phoebe's meet cute had me adoring them right from the get go.  Yes, this story is pure fluff, but sometimes that it just what the head and the heart want.

There are many ups and down in their year away from each other, but they are each other's constant. I am not one for insta-love, however I could suspend belief for long enough to get into this story.

But will they still be?

I enjoyed their postcards (wait, they still make postcards) and letters to each other, and makes it feel more real, that they are not just living it as a phone call away.

I did get frustrated in the later part of the story - where is all the communication they have been doing for a year gone?

 At times, both Sam and Phoebe felt very immature for their ages - particularly Phoebe. I liked their sense of adventure, but sometimes came across as teenagers away from mummy and daddy for the first time.

So whilst this was a light read that I kept on reading, however I don't think it is one I would race back to read again.