Cathryn Hein is a talented Australian who writes bittersweet romance with more than a touch of heartbreak. She writes characters that suffer and work hard for their shot at a happily ever after, and characters that only think they’re human.

The Country Girl has all of these elements and I read it while I was still on holidays….a lifetime ago. I know that I really enjoyed the book, and the characters, but now I have to think a little further than that because it is finally time to write the review.
Tash Ranger is a small town girl who swapped her saddle for a transit pass when she moved to Melbourne. Originally she headed to the city for uni but in the end stayed and made a name for herself in her chosen field. Tash has put a lot of time and effort into building a loyal following for her internet business The Urban Ranger, a food and lifestyle blog and social media presence. Finally she has secured a contract to publish a cookbook and The Urban Ranger is going country as Tash returns to her small country hometown to work on the book, and continue to build her social media presence.
Digital media is a fickle game and it seems like every week there’s a new sensation but it certainly seems to be a big money game if you know how to play it, and Tash is making a career out of playing it. She’s cluey enough to realise that the wheels turn fast in digital media and with every new success story there is someone falling off the radar. She knows that her social media super stardom has an expiration date and she plans to make her mark and move off the web before her star wanes, ensuring that she can continue to move her career forward.
I actually really enjoyed going behind the scenes of a food and lifestyle blog to see how it all comes together into a bill paying commercial enterprise.
Tash is an energetic, vibrant character whose optimism shines from the pages. She is also a realistic, down-to-earth woman who doesn’t give herself enough credit. She has a gorgeous heart and seems to be a little on the curvy side; which is something she accepts about herself and has no desire to change but it also sees her doubting her appeal to others.
It may be that her home will always be in the country but Tash has built a life and some pretty special friendships in Melbourne so there will always be a citified side to her now.

Patrick is a childhood friend of Tash, and the fiancé of her best friend Maddie. He is struggling to find a happy place in his life with the constant despair of knowing that his future plans have all been wiped away. He made a promise to Maddie when he proposed and he intends to honour it, except that Maddie suffered a horrific injury in a horseriding accident and will never be the same again. He is young and he has a long future ahead of him but is determined to stand by and look after Maddie.
The Country Girl is the story of Tash and her dedication to making The Urban Ranger a hit, her passion for food and her love of her hometown. It’s also the story of Patrick, his hopelessness and despair. His struggle to uphold his promise to his lover while everyone around him is trying to push him to move forward and to move on while he can’t be sure what it is that Maddie wants. It’s also the story of Khan, the gorgeous horse cast as a villain by the part he played in Maddie’s accident.
The Country Girl is a rural romance that ties together many elements in a complete package that will offer you tears of heartbreak and tears of laughter as you ache with longing for these characters to finally catch a break. Hein tells a story of friendship, guilt, moving forward and letting go; but not always in the sense that you would expect.
As always the secondary cast of characters is filled with colour and vibrancy; from Tash’s friends Thom and Ceci to Tash’s lovable octogenarian grandfather ‘Pa’.
Pa may be long in the tooth and a little unsure of what all the digital media fuss is about but that doesn’t stop him from agreeing to help Tash out, on camera, with the gardening segments of her blog. He is witty, genuine and great fun.
Hein’s animal characters are always beautifully drawn and easy to fall in love with, and the menagerie of four-legged and furry characters in The Country Girl are no different.
The Country Girl is definitely well worth a read and it was a story that I devoured on my holiday.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

After landing a major cookbook deal, star food blogger Tash Ranger swaps city life for the family farm. But Tash’s homecoming is bittersweet, for now she can no longer avoid seeing her best friend Maddie, who was severely injured in a riding accident. No one knows that Maddie and Tash had a deep falling out and with every visit Tash must pretend to be the friend everyone believes her to be.
Patrick Lawson, Maddie’s fiancé, battles despair and hope daily as Maddie lies imprisoned in her body. When Tash returns to Castlereagh Road with her joy and boundless appetite for life, he realises finally what his loved ones have been trying to tell him for months – that Maddie wouldn’t want him to throw his life away. It’s time to move on. But letting go is no easy feat.
Can these two friends step out of the shadow of Maddie’s tragic life and accept love, or is the past forever destined to dictate their future?

*4.5 stars*

Well, didn't this one pack a punch? Not that I was expecting an ordinary rural romance novel - not that I would have expected that from Cathryn Hein, that's for sure - but this story really does tug on the heartstrings. And I think that is due to the characters that Hein has created here. Without going into the plot (it's just above this paragraph...), the friends to lovers story of Tash and Patrick is filled with heartbreak, pride, honor, friendship, and the art of letting go.

While Patrick and Tash are the centre of this story, it is filled with others that bring this story to life. Firstly, Maddy - who was Tash's best friend years ago, and now Patrick's fiancée. She has an accident on her horse and is left with a serious brain injury and is uncommunicative. She is the centre of Patrick's world and his sense of loyalty to a promise he made is heartbreaking. While she isn't an "active" participant in the novel, Maddy certainly fills a space quite superbly.
Also, on the flipside of that, we have Tash's grandfather - also known as "Pa" - is certainly the secondary character that grabs all the attention on a different level. After Tash returns home, she includes Pa in her online blogging - and his cheeky nature brings her plenty of more followers. Also, though, he is a warm and caring man who has plenty of personality to bring a fine counterpoint to Maddy.

Not sure what else to say here. Patrick has to come to terms with moving on and getting on with his life, Tash has to move on from the guilt she feels about Maddy's accident and tries to find a way to make amends - all the while, the two of them grow closer...

More than just a rural romance novel, this has all the hallmarks of a brilliant story - that just happens to be set in rural Australia...


Paul
ARH

As soon as I started reading The Country Girl my heart was breaking for Patrick and Maddy. Patrick and Maddy were engaged when Maddy suffers a tragic accident and is left unable to communicate.

Tash, a highly successful food blogger with a cookbook deal in the works, decides to return home to Castlereagh, her parent’s farm near Emu Springs, where she will film new episodes for her blog, Urban Ranger. The addition of a gardening spot by her cheeky Grandfather has her subscriber numbers skyrocketing. However this is only a temporary stop for Tash. She has big ideas for Urban Ranger and they don’t include staying at Castlereagh.

Old jealousies and tiffs threaten to arise when Tash returns home. However hard it may be Patrick needs to leave the past behind and move on with his life but a promise was made and Patrick is an honourable man.

Hein has created real characters with Maddy and Patrick. Maddy is strong and has a real sense of self, outgoing and fun she is a perfect balance for Patrick who is full of sorrow and grief, stuck in a time lock with no real future in sight. The road is never smooth with plenty of road bumps and misunderstandings which are cause for some very scary moments. Hein’s descriptions of the countryside and the supporting characters give a perfect sense of place and add to the ambience of the story.

The story is fun and the romance is a slow burn. Food and cooking feature prominently in this rural romance and the descriptions of Tash’s delicacies will have you wishing there really was a cookbook in the works.

Cathryn Hein combines her love of romance and her love of cooking to give her readers yet another unmissable rural romance story.

Tash Ranger's life as a food blogger had bloomed with hundreds of followers online. Her success had landed her a major cookbook deal and she couldn't tamp down her excitement. Tash's decision to return home to the family property in Castlereagh, Victoria meant she was even more popular and in demand than before - the inclusion of her Pa in her online blogging meant she soon had hundreds more followers.

But Tash's best friend Maddy was someone she felt intense guilt about. Maddy had suffered a serious accident which left her completely reliant on her parents and friends, with no ability to communicate - she was trapped in her body and although her family and fiancé Patrick had high hopes for her recovery, Maddy's doctors weren't so convinced. Tash's guilt stemmed from the argument the two had had before the accident - now Tash couldn't make amends, and it hurt her badly...

Patrick's anger at the situation, and his guilt at his ongoing attraction to Tash - his friends had continued to tell him it was okay to move on and that Maddy wouldn't want him to waste his life - plus Tash's rising star status meant his confliction of feelings was intense. And what about Tash? How did she feel?

What would be the outcome for these two young people who had been friends since their school days?

The Country Girl by Aussie author Cathryn Hein is an emotional and tormenting story of guilt, unhappiness and letting go. Of forgiving yourself, and moving forward. Another lovely rural romance by this author that I happily recommend.

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

Cathryn Hein has written another superb story. This is a book that you won’t want to put down. It has everything in it, it will make you laugh and cry.
This rural romance follows the characters of Tash Ranger and Patrick Lawson. Tash is The Urban Ranger Food Blogger. Patrick is her best friend’s fiancé.
Tash has moved home to her family’s farm and has moved into her grandfathers old flat, she is renovating the flat and cooking up a storm for her blog using locally grown produce, she wrangles in her grandfather to help with her video blogs of growing your own produce. He is such a wonderful character that you will adore.
Patrick remains loyal to his fiancé and he is keeping his promise to be with her forever. When Maddie’s horse that injured her is given to Tash he does everything in his power to protect Tash from coming to the same fate as Maddie. Will Patrick see that there is more to life then sitting in a room with a fiancé that cannot communicate with him.
Tash needs to decide whether to stay in Emu Springs and follow her heart of leave and follow her dream.
Now one thing I have to say is where are al the recipes for all the wonderful meals that were cooked in this book, besides them making me salivate for them while reading I so wanted to try making them. I was praying there was some at the back of the book but no.
Tash Ranger needs to release her cookbook. I am sure I am not the only one who reads this and wants the recipes.
Cathryn Hein, you have pulled a rabbit out of the hat!!!

Published 18th December 2017 By Harlequin Enterprises (Australia) Pty Ltd
Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin (Australia), TEEN/MIRA for a copy for my honest opinion and review.

I found this a bit hard to get into at the start but once I got a few chapters in I was hooked. An epic story full of emotion, love and heartbreak. The part I enjoyed most was the whole "foodie" side of it and the descriptions of the food and recipes had me watering at the mouth!

This is a beautifully written story but you will need some tissues at the ready, I loved the setting a small country town where the neighbours are all good friends and there to support, and of course I loved that friends that had gone to school together re connect and journey to a HEA that has a few matters that take a bit to overcome that will end in lots of smiles.

Tash Ranger grew up in Emu Springs and had lots of friends but always felt the frumpy one and she loves cooking and food, Tash moved away started a blog and has had huge success she now has a cookbook deal and has moved back home to take her show back to the country, but one thing she is worried about is visiting her best friend Maddie this is heartbreaking for Tash as Maddie was badly injured when riding her horse and life will never been the same for her.

Patrick Lawson lives with heartbreak he is Maddie’s fiancé and is true to his promise to love and care for her but Maddie lives with her parents Patrick is not coping well, when Tash moves back home and somehow she gives him the strength to make some decisions and move on start a new life and listen to his feelings for Tash.

Patrick and Tash have this pull between them both were so close to Maddie but now it is time for them, the journey isn’t easy but oh I do love Tash what a beautiful caring loving strong woman she is and Patrick so vulnerable but gorgeous and these two make the perfect couple. Of course Tash’s cooking is to die for as well I am sure I put on a couple of kilos just reading this book oh my goodness the fun and friendships along the journey are so beautiful woohoo MS Hein I loved Tash and Patrick’s story another one for the keeper shelf and one that I highly recommend.

Tash Ranger has made her career as a food vlogger, her good recipes and camera presence building her a steady following. In an attempt to keep her output fresh she’s moving back to her family farm – the Urban Ranger goes (back to the) country! It’s the place Tash grew up and she’s remodelling her grandfather’s old flat for cooking and filming. She has lots of ideas about fresh, local produce but it’s not supposed to be a permanent thing. Her mind is always ticking over, thinking of new ideas, keeping her output new and innovative.

Tash knows Patrick Lawson as first the boyfriend and then later the fiance of her childhood best friend Maddie. A shocking accident means that Maddie is no longer the person she was, but Patrick has remained loyal to her. He still visits her every day and he intends to keep his promises to her. This is severely complicated by Tash’s return and the reactions that Patrick has whilst around her. It starts off as overprotective as he seeks to stop Tash from doing the very thing that injured Maddie and he is very adamant about it. Tash however, is not really into being bossed around by Patrick, nor is she incapable of making her own judgements. Tash challenges Patrick and isn’t afraid to tell him off and despite their rocky start when Tash arrives back in town, they keep crossing paths.

I’m not going to lie – I had some reservations about this pairing before I started the story. Tash knows Patrick as her best friend’s boyfriend. It’s true that Maddie isn’t the same anymore and won’t ever be the same. But I was wary about the whole “best friend’s boyfriend/girlfriend’s best friend’ sort of thing. It’s not an entanglement I usually enjoy although the circumstances in this story were very different. And the way it was handled definitely won me over. Patrick is so obviously such a tortured soul. He’s still so young but he’s stuck by Maddie, even though they will never be able to have that life together that they’d planned anymore. He’s so determined to keep his promises, despite the fact that other people are concerned about him an want him to embrace his life. The way that the attraction between him and Tash unfolds felt really natural and that like Patrick was ready to move on, he just had to make that conscious decision to actually do so, which he was struggling with because he had made promises to Maddie. I have to admit, Patrick didn’t endear himself to me at first – there’s an incident towards the beginning of the story that’s a bit hard to take although I know the logistics of why Patrick wanted to do something but ultimately the fault doesn’t lie where he was trying to place it. He needs something to blame though, and that’s the easiest option. There’s also how bossy and arrogant he was with Tash, but she puts him in his place relatively quickly and once he kind of settled down a bit and realised no one had a death wish, he began to grow on me. I thought that his internal struggle was very well written and I could really feel his pain and indecision. The desire to do what he’d promised versus the possibility of a more fulfilling life with someone who was in a position to love him in return.

I absolutely loved Tash’s job as a food vlogger and the devotion to her creations in this story. There’s lots of amazing meals described – Cathryn Hein is a pretty enthusiastic cook so I wouldn’t be surprised if most are these are some of her favourite dishes! Tash spends quite a bit of time with her grandfather starting up the farm’s vegetable garden too and I loved their chats – her grandfather goes kind of “viral” which was cute. He was a fantastic character, a cheeky older man who in some ways reminded me of my own (sadly gone now) grandfather. Mine could be cheeky as well and enjoyed a story over a veggie garden. I think if I’d asked him to help me revive one he’d have been in on that before you could blink.

The Country Girl definitely won me over, which is no surprise really because Cathryn Hein is one of my favourite authors and her rurals are always sweet with a bit of a sassy twist. I went from my original slight skepticism to fully on board with Patrick and Tash because I think they were bringing out the best in each other as well as showing each other that they had options.

8/10

Another great rural romance by Cathryn Hein. Food plays an important roll in the story, and while not being a big foodie myself, I like how it was weaved into the story. The two main characters had a lot to work through, especially guilt, memories and future expectations. It also shows how important communication and honesty are in all relationships.

Tash and Patrick's characters had some likeable moments in a happily ever after story. While the story did not jump at me, there were some notable moments throughout the read.
Review copy received from Harlequin Australia via Netgalley