Seeing the rave reviews for this book, I almost wonder whether I read them same thing to them. My experience was quite different.

The premise is great. After the death of her husband, Diana needs to get away. So she packs up her 3 kids and jumps on a plane back to Australia and the family farm. It's been 10 years since she last visited, and even longer since she left to embark on her own life.

Now, I don't know if this was due to the fact it was an advanced copy and had some issues with formatting, but I found it quite disjointed reading. Aside from those formatting issues, thoughts and conversations would jump to completely different topics from one paragraph to the next. I'd have to go back and reread to see if I could find the link between the two, and there just seemed to be none.

Diana, Stella and Rosie are probably our main characters. Yet for me, I found them to be flat and two dimensional. There was just nothing to them. I like a book character that comes to life for me, that I want to know more about. But these ladies just didn't do it for me. They were just names on a page, there was nothing to make them real for me.

Diana's kids almost seemed more of a footnote. Aside for one anecdote about the plane trip, they almost seemed to disappear once they were in Australia, left with the grandparents and just occasionally brought up as a topic of conversation. And yet, when those conversations about them took place it just brought up things that had never even been mentioned or hinted at previously in the book. To be honest, I'd struggle to even tell you how old any of the kids are. They just weren't a feature and ultimately were forgettable.

Ended up as a DNF at 50%. I just couldn't force myself to read anymore, I wasn't enjoying it.

Book blurb...
Is there any place like home...?
Twenty years ago, in a hot-headed rage, Diana Crawford left the family farm to build a new life in London. Now, following her husband’s fatal accident and unable to find respite from the barrage of guilt-inducing and heartrending memories at every turn, she runs to the one place she feels Charlie’s ghost can’t follow her: Mog’s Hill, the Crawford farm in New South Wales. There, among the smell of lanolin, the dust of the sheep yards and the beauty of the land, Diana hopes she can regain her strength and put her life, as well as those of her three shell-shocked kids, back on track. But home isn’t as she remembers, and her return cracks open old family wounds.
Stella has longed for her prodigal daughter’s return for years. Now if she can convince Diana to open up and let them back into her heart, she might just be able to keep her grandchildren close by and find the family peace she craves. But Stella already has her hands full trying to hold everything together, and now the Crawford family is a hair’s breadth from shattering forever. Can Stella keep the peace? Can she make Diana see the strength in relying on family, or will Diana leave them behind once again?
‘A heartwarming story of family, love and loss with characters you won’t want to leave.’ — Tricia Stringer, Australian bestselling author.


My thoughts…
Prodigal Daughter was a perfect title for this novel.
This story gave me a glimpse at the difficulties families on the land face, especially deciding how to plan for their children’s future. I enjoyed the authenticity the author brought to the tale in this regard. The novel is a light read with the drama kicking in the latter part of the book when big decisions need to be made and children considered. (Always an emotional element.)
The theme is very much about loss and family and how running away from either simply makes life more complicated.
I particularly enjoyed the contrast between the English winter and the Australian summer on a sheep property.

Diana Crawford’s grief at her husband’s pointless death wouldn’t ease – her children, son Milo and daughters Sienna and Saskia were shattered. Diana had been unable to continue with her potting; her agent was a little concerned, but her next exhibition wasn’t until September. So, in a rush of decision-making, she booked them tickets to Australia – her return home to Mog’s Hill near Albury in NSW was a long time coming.

Stella and Tom, Diana’s parents, were thrilled to see her and the children. The distance between London and their farm in NSW meant they didn’t see each other nearly often enough - but ten years was way too long. And then it had only been for a few days when Charlie and Diana were on their honeymoon. But the same old dramas, jealousies and bitterness seemed to hover over everyone – Diana’s sister Rosie was particularly put out to have her sister back.

How would Diana cope with the loss of Charlie, her children’s grief and the worry of her parents and sister? Would she only stay in Australia for a few weeks? Or would they remain, making Australia home again as Stella so desperately wanted?

Prodigal Daughter by Aussie author Jane Carter takes place in both London and country NSW, where drought was affecting farmers throughout the area, whether they owned sheep or cattle. It covers a vast area of grief, from both the adults and the children’s perspective. I wasn’t particularly drawn to Diana or Rosie, or even Stella, but the children were delightful, especially Saskia and Milo. A rural contemporary novel, Prodigal Daughter is recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read and review.

This was an enjoyable story about Diana who travels home to Australia after losing her husband. The family reunion doesn't all go smoothly, as most family reunions don't. Past grievances and secrets from 20 years ago are dug up and everyone must learn to communicate and live again. The characters were believable and I enjoyed getting to know them, I would be interested to know if there is a sequel to this.