for my third book review

I am now officially half way through my Australia Women Writers Reading Challenge!!
This is book 3 of 6 and once again a country romance novel.

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I had never heard of Barbara Hannay before but saw this in my local Big W store, read the blurb and was immediately intrigued, and it was on sale (I'm not going to lie). Barbara lives in Far North Queensland and the book is set in Queensland which I think also drew me to it, like I could actually know the people that she was writing about as the places she wrote about were so familiar to me.

"There must be some mistake" Zoe tells her Mother "You and Dad can't both be O blood type"

"Why not?" her mother asks, "Because two O parents can't make a B baby."

And that was how Zoe found out her father was not really her father... Even her Mother hadn't thought it possible that the handsome farmer from Far North Queensland whom she'd had a fling with could be Zoe's father but the blood tests don't lie. Zoe, a chef running her own catering business in inner city Brisbane, immediately starts to research he biological father who runs a large cattle station in the Gulf and before she knows it she has applied for a job to be their new camp cook, sworn to secrecy by her mother.

Out on the muster at Mullinjim, Zoe meets brooding cattleman Mac McKinnon. Every instinct tells Mac that Zoe is hiding something, and as the pressure to reveal her mother's secret builds, Zoe fears she must confide in him or burst.

Another book that kept me turning the pages because, despite predicting correctly how the story was going to end, I wasn't sure how it was going to get there and I was not disappointed.

This book also produced one of my favourite lines from a book that I've read in a long time:

"I've spent my life drifting with the currents, rather than steering my own course"

Love that line and it really resonates with me at the moment!

If you want to check out my previous reviews click below:

An Outback Life - by Mary Groves

Poppy's Dilemma - by Karly Lane

Linking up this review with Essentially Jess for IBOT and at the Australian Women Writers webpage

Am also keen to get some suggestions for my next book, something a little different perhaps?

to check out what I'm reading!

I must confess..... I am a slacker...

I must confess....I have been thinking of this post since last Monday when Kirsty posted the prompt..

I must confess... I had plans of getting to the post prior to 9:34pm on the night of the link up..

I must confess... I love reading and getting lost in a good book and it's something that I used to do a hell of a lot more of than I do now and I will honestly blame social media and my ipad for that. I used love reading before going to sleep, I love nothing more than curling up in bed with a good bed and getting lost in the storyline before drifting off to sleep. Before I knew it the books were being replaced with scrolling mindlessly through Facebook and Twitter and playing endless (pointless) games. This year I made a conscience effort to change that, I started leaving my ipad and iphone downstairs and getting back into reading. Joining the Australian Women Writers Challenge has also helped. I have pledged to read and promote 6 books written by Australian Authors.

We have some amazingly talented authors in this country and I have loved getting to know some new ones, like the one I am currently reading.

I had not heard of Barbara Hannay until I saw this in Big W and was drawn in by the blurb on the back. I am a sucker for a good country romance novel and this sounded right up my alley. I am about 100 pages off finishing and whilst I am pretty sure I know where it's heading I'm not quite sure how it's going to get there and that's what is keeping me turning the pages.

Stay tuned for my book review soon!

What are you reading???

Linking up with My Home Truths and One Mother Hen!

for my first book review.

In case you missed it, I am doing a reading challenge this year. I have joined with many other reading lovers to complete the 2014 Australian Women Writers Challenge, where we read, review and promote stories written by Australian Authors.

My goal is 6 books for the year and so I am so excited that I have finished my first one as I am such a slow reader!

Book number one was actually given to me as a Christmas present from my sister, she chose it after I told her I like to read real life stories and country romance novels. Well this book ticked both those boxes.

The year was 1959 and Mary Groves was just fourteen years old when her parents uprooted their family from Melbourne and moved to Mataranka; a small, isolated town in the Northern Territory, to run the Post Office and General Store.

This autobiography follows Mary's journey from Melbourne to Mataranka and beyond. She was just 17 when the handsome horse-breaker, drover and rodeo rider Joe Groves wanders into the store and catches her attention. Despite him being 15 years her senior, their relationship develops and not everyone is happy about it.

We travel through the relationship with Mary and Joe as they bunny hop their way around the Top End working on, managing and sometimes owning cattle station after cattle station. We see the birth of their 4 children and follow the trials and tribulations that come with being in such a remote part of Australia in the 1960's and 1970's, often living in little more than a caravan, as they pursue their dream property and dream home.

The stories she recalls are set in a time in Australian history that I think many people would know little about. A time of such change and development for our white society, but more so for our Aboriginal people and Mary treats these changes with, what I think, is a great deal of respect.

Whilst I did not find this to be a book that 'you can't put down' I did find Mary's stories interesting, her life intriguing and it kept me turning the pages ready for the next yarn til the very end.Anyone with an interest in Australian history, the Outback and rural life in general will find this story appealing.

Linking my review to Essentially Jess for IBOT but also to the Australian Women Writers page.

for a reading challenge..

I saw on Facebook that one of my blogging colleagues was participating in a reading challenge in 2014 and thought that I would join her.

Reading is something that I absolutely love and don't do anywhere near enough of, especially once the iPad came into my life, but lately I have been leaving the iPad in the kitchen when I go to bed and making sure I read before bedtime. I am yet to be converted to reading on a tablet/kindle/iPad as I think you just can't beat the feel of a good real life book. And besides, when you fall asleep reading a book it doesn't hurt anywhere near as much or break when you drop it!

So the challenge that I have signed up for is the Australian Women Writers Challenge. Basically it's a way of promoting Australian Women Writers as you nominate how many books you are going to read and then, if you want to, you can review them as well and share your opinions with other readers through blogs, social media and the Australian Women Writers Website.

I am aiming for 6 books in 2014.... I am a sloooow reader though so while that may not sound like many it will certainly be a challenge. I have a few books already in mind to read but would love to hear any recommendations you may have!

Better still join me in the challenge!