AUTHOR: Stella Quinn GENRE: Contemporary Romance PAGES: 352 RELEASED: 2 June 2021 SYNOPSIS: 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? A romance that highlights to power of small communities and the family they become.
After packing up and leaving her old life behind in Queanbeyan, Vera De Rossi has arrived in Hanrahan, the owner of the new Billy Button Cafe. With a court case looming over her head and an aunt to keep safe and cared for in hospice, she’s determined to keep her head down, make her cafe a success, and keep her old life in the past. What she wasn’t counting on was how friendly, and nosey, small town communities can be. Despite her best efforts, it’s not long before she’s befriended the stray cat that hangs out in the back alley, the town busybody with her finger in every pie, and the daughter of the vet who she’s most definitely attracted to despite acting otherwise. With her aunt the only real family she’s got left, Vera soon realises that family is all around her in Hanrahan, if only she could learn to let them in. I absolutely churned through this book and totally fell in love with Hanrahan – if only it was a real place because I’d totally want to visit! As some who lives in, and has grown up in, a small rural community, I can safely say that Stella has perfectly captured the intricacies of small town life, from the crazy but loveable cast of characters, to the sense of support and family that comes with living in a tight-knit community. The characters were already so familiar when we were introduced to them because I already know-of similar people in my own town, right down the that one woman who seems to be involved in every single organisation and project, and her quiet husband who just goes along with it all. Another place this book hit close to home for me was with Jill’s aunt, who suffers from dementia – my grandmother was probably the same age as Jill when she developed early-onset dementia, and although she’s still with us all these years later, the women I grew up with is no longer there. It’s a sad reality that I could really connect with, and I enjoyed how Stella explored this area of Vera’s life and the actions that lead her to being in Hanrahan. The romance in this story was also super sweet and definitely a slow-burn, which is a nice change of pace for me. Josh and Vera were both really interesting characters on their own, and together they just worked so well, even if it took them a while to both be on the same page about how good they were together. And as much as I love romance, I actually really liked that the community aspect of the story was just as strong, if not stronger, than the romance. Rural romance is quickly becoming my favourite romance genre (although, can it really knock sports romance off the top spot? Only time will tell!), and Stella has delivered a must-read. If you’re an Aussie and a romance fan but haven’t explored our rural romance genre, now’s the time to dive in and fall in love with rural Australia! |
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