Back To The Country
by
Mandy Magro
Magro_Mandy
Book-Review-Secrets-Of-Silvergum
~~~~~
Secrets of Silvergum
by
Mandy Magro
Mandy Magro’s Secrets of Silvergum was my seventh of this author’s books and as usual, it is set in rural Queensland inland from Cairns.
Secrets of Silvergum is a romance that begins with a one night stand between Emma and Zane when they were just seventeen. For family reasons, Zane headed to America and its professional bull riding circuit.
Fast forward sixteen years later, Zane still does not know he has a daughter, Rylie, from this liaison when he receives news that his adoptive father, Peter has died. Zane was never good enough for his father and for that reason Zane opted to leave Australian shores.
Emma and Zane both have feelings for each other and both think it will go nowhere after all this time. Therefore, they both skirt the issue when they meet up after Zane arrives back at the family farm near Silvergum for his father’s funeral.
Emma decides she can now tell Riley and Zane about each other when she is met with a message from the grave. But can this message of blackmail hold any weight? Will it throw Emma’s plans into disarray? Or will there be a happy ever after in Emma and Zane’s futures?
I think Secrets of Silvergum to be the most enjoyable of Mandy Magro’s books so far.
I rated
Secrets of Silvergum
as a 
three-star audiobook
At the time of writing my review
other Goodreads readers had awarded
Secrets of Silvergum
an average of 4.07 stars
from 171 ratings
and 19 reviews
Secrets of Silvergum
can be purchased online at
Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon
Book-Review-Riverstone-Ridge
~~~~~
Riverstone Ridge
by
Mandy Magro
Mandy Magro’s, Riverstone Ridge was my sixth read of this author’s works and as with Ms Magro’s works, it is set in Far North Queensland.
As 17-year-olds are prone to do Nina slipped out her window to go to a party while she was grounded. A car pulls over and she is offered a ride. When she declines, however, the sleazy driver becomes insistent and she is only saved when her high school crush also pulls up to see if all is okay. A month or so later she leaves Huntingvale, for city life, without so much as a goodbye to school friends. Only her adoptive mother Bea knows why.
Around two decades later Nina receives word that Bea has passed away. Upon her return to Riverstone Ridge and Huntingvale, Nina again meets up with her high school crush and now the local law enforcer Logan. Bea has tasked Nina with the sale of Riverstone Ridge if Nina does not want to keep it
The only questions to be answered are, will widower and local policeman Logan admit they have feelings for each other? And what information has Bea left in her five weekly letters, from the grave, being delivered by the family lawyer? And, finally, will Nina sell Riverstone Ridge, or will she find something that will keep her in Huntingvale?
I rated
Riverstone Ridge
as an enjoyable
three-star audiobook
***
At the time of writing my review
other Goodreads readers had awarded
Riverstone Ridge
an average of 4.20 stars
from 174 ratings
and 32 reviews
Riverstone Ridge
can be purchased online at
Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon
Book-Review-The-Stockman’s-Secret
~~~~~
The Stockman’s Secret
by
Mandy Magro
Mandy Magro’s The Stockman’s Secret was my fifth of her books and as usual, it is set in Queensland.
Juliette is the step-daughter of Little Heart’s minister. Unknown to step-Dad, Juliette and Joel have been seeing each other for some time and have become a couple because both had been the target of school bullies.
Juliette and Joel are attacked one night by these bullies and Joel cannot understand why Juliette wants to keep the attack a secret.
However, when one of the bullies confronts Joel and tells Joel what he will do to Juliette next time, it is more than Joel can bear.
In a bar room brawl, Joel punches Bully. Juliette breaks up with Joel. Joel packs his bags and takes a jackaroo’s job a Rosalee station.
When Joel eventually decides it’s time to return to Little Heart, he finds things have changed quite a lot. Bully 1, is a respected doctor and Juliette’s husband is trying to make his mark on local politics. The main questions which need to be answered are: Will bully 1 get his comeuppance? Does Juliette still have feelings for Joel or is she happily married? Will Joel’s family accept his return?
I enjoyed The Stockman’s Secret.
I rated
The Stockman’s Secret
as a
three star read/audiobook
At the time of writing my review
other Goodreads readers had awarded
The Stockman’s Secret
an average of 4.08 stars
from 159 ratings
and 32 reviews
The Stockman’s Secret
can be purchased online at
Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon
Book-Review-Flame-Tree-Hill
~~~~~
Flame Tree Hill
by
Mandy Magro
Flame Tree Hill was my fourth Mandy Magro book and according to Google it was Ms Magro’s eleventh which explains why I thought it her best read/listen so far.
In the past 18 months I have read several authors’ works and while a first book generally is okay storylines improve as an author’s body of work grows.
Flame Tree Hill dealt with some country issues I can relate to as a country boy. However, the main issue and primary focus of Flame Tree Hill, is breast cancer.
Chapter one sees Kirsty Mitchell thinking of returning home to her family property, Flame Tree Hill, located just out of Cairns in Far North Queensland. She is out on her first cattle muster when she has to scratch an itch and before we know there is a distressing diagnosis at hand.
From there we follow the highs and lows of an on again and off again romance and insecurities associated with breast cancer and its treatment.
I enjoyed Flame Tree Hill, however, I am not a fan of the topic. Flame Tree Hill has a nice ending particularly as a revelation threatens to break the romance.
I rated
Flame Tree Hill
as a three star read/audiobook
At the time of writing my review
other Goodreads readers had awarded
Flame Tree Hill
an average of 4.13 stars
from 248 ratings
and 39 reviews
Flame Tree Hill
can be purchased online at
Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon
Book-Review-Return-to-Rosalee-Station
Return To Rosalee Station
(Rosalee Station #2)
by
Return to Rosalee Station was my third book written by Mandy Magro and possibly the pick of the three.
Return to Rosalee Station is set about eight years after Matt and Sarah elope in Rosalee Station, and in the first twelve months after an accident claimed the life of their young daughter Eve. Matt has taken to substance abuse leaving Sarah to battle her own demons, alone and lonely. Both are considering the future of their marriage. Will it survive the strain of an untimely death?
Eventually Matt decides to return to Rosalee Station (his parents property) on his own believing the isolation will help him in his ‘cold turkey’ bid to overcome his addiction. While he is away Sarah returns to her parents or a few weeks.
Part of my review of Rosalee Station contained negative comments regarding Louise Crawford’s character voices. Based on the fact that throughout my life jackaroos (station hands) have usually been in their twenties, I stated that many of the ‘boys’ sounded like old men. Some of these characters are reprised in Return to Rosalee Station with two of them being aged at nearly seventy and in his sixties, if my memory is correct. My apologies to Ms Crawford for my earlier comments; her character voices sounded more appropriate this time round.
Fortunately rhyming slang was minimal in Return To Rosalee Station and if I was listening properly there only seemed to be one outstanding passage where coarse language was over used.
Overall, I found Return to Rosalee Station more believable than its predecessor Rosalee Station. How, family members manage their grief after a death in the family is totally different for everyone, so much so that it can tear a family apart as Matt and Sarah feared.
I rated
Return To Rosalee Station
as a three star audiobook
At the time of writing my review
other Goodreads readers had awarded
Return To Rosalee Station
an average of 4.02 stars
from 123 ratings and 25 reviews
~~~~~
Return To Rosalee Station
can be purchased online at
Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon
Book-Review-Jacaranda
~~~~~
Jacaranda
by
Mandy Magro
Jacaranda was my second Mandy Magro book and turned out to be very similar to Rosalee Station only this time round the story focused on Molly Jones and her daughter Rose. Rose is the product of a one night stand when Molly was a drunken nineteen year old. Six years later she is still trying to find Rose’s father while ignoring her long-time friend and mate, Heath.
Eventually Rose’s father, Mark, does return with a rodeo. Molly and Mark meet up, get together and you will have to read the book to find out what happens.
Jacaranda is not (thankfully) littered with Australian slang to the overpowering extent of Rosalee Station. The lack of Australian slang made Jacaranda much easier to listen to and earned it an extra star. However, Jacaranda still is definitely of the ‘chick lit’ genre and does provide a breather from the crime genre which is my choice of reading material.
I would like to hear Ms Magro’s books co-narrated by Louise Crawford and a male narrator. This would, hopefully, provide better male character voices. One brief appearance by a male who I thought should have been at least ten years older than the boys actually sounds much younger.
Overall, a light read with some insight into Australia’s Outback.
I rated Jacaranda as a three star audiobook.
I rated
Jacaranda
as a star audiobook.
*****
At the time of writing my review
other Goodreads readers had awarded
Jacaranda
an average of 4.14 stars
from 354 ratings
and 26 reviews.
Jacaranda
can be purchased online at
Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon
Book-Review-Rosalee-Station
~~~~~
Rosalee Station
(Rosalee Station #1)
by
Mandy Magro
WoollyMuses 