This book exceeded my expectations. I loved it. It has memorable characters and moments you will never forget. I was entertained the whole way through from start to finish. This book has a bit of everything. Fractured family relationships, farming lifestyle, love triangles and heartbreak. Eva captures the country exactly how it is.

While You Were in the Country was such a delightful story of romance blooming, farm life, publicity and just having fun surrounded by people.

Frankie Fox signs a contract to look after her crush AFL player Jed Murphy who is recovering from a car crash and who needs to lay low. Unbeknownst to Frankie, Jed’s brother Ant is the guy she had a one night stand with who she thought was The One. 😱

I absolutely love this heartwarming story, even though at times I felt the pace was a bit slow to my liking but that could have been me being impatient because that first chapter (prologue) had me at hello 👋 and all I was thinking “fight! Ooh food fight” 😆

The characters in this story felt real and so likeable even the ones that get on your nerves. The relationship between Frankie and Ant while they are helping Jed to recover from his accident was just swoon worthy. At times I felt sorry for Frankie and Ant because you want them to be together but at the same time you are worried about the consequences they might face.

Can Frankie and Ant wait 6 long weeks or does the roof come tumbling down around them?

Thanks Eva Scott, Harlequin Aus and Netgalley for the digital copy of While You Were in the Country for reviewing purposes.

Rural Queensland meets While You Were Sleeping in this sweet romance of a young woman unexpectedly caught between two brothers...

While in Coolangatta for her birthday, Frankie Fox meets a stranger and spends an evening with him, and it turns out to be the best night of her life. Until he never calls her after their night together. Just when she thinks she’ll never cross paths with Ant Murphy again, their worlds collide in an unexpected way when Frankie ends up posing as the girlfriend of Ant’s brother, AFL superstar Jed Murphy, after he’s involved in a car accident after another night of drugs and alcohol. Jed’s manager wants to reinvent his image, and having a girlfriend who lives in the rural town of Kalbar is just what they need to show the AFL world that Jed is getting his life back on track. Between needing a new roof on her farmhouse and wanting to help her favourite AFL player, Frankie agrees to go along with the plan until after the AFL Commission decides Jed’s fate. Ant and Jed haven’t had the smoothest relationship in recent years, and now they’re not only living under the same roof, but Ant and Frankie can’t fight their growing attraction to one another. Contracts have been signed and the media are wanting the latest scoop, so all three have to be on their best behaviour or have this whole plan unravel in an instant.

Eva has once again delivered a fabulous rural Australian version of a classic 90s rom-com! I’ll admit, I’ve never actually seen While You Were Sleeping, so while I knew the general premise of the story, I didn’t really know what to expect going into this book, but I thoroughly enjoyed the story that Eva crafted with the influence of the original story – you definitely don’t need to have any knowledge of the films that inspire Eva’s books because they’re just that good on their own!

I absolutely LOVED being in Kalbar, and one aspect I really enjoyed was the Kalbar Community Facebook group posts between each chapter – they gave such a fun insight into the residents of the community and really make you feel like you’re part of the community too! As someone from a small regional town with similar Facebook groups, the posts and comments were way too relatable.

This book is filled with so many fabulous characters and relationships, and not just romantic relationships, but also sibling and friendship ones that are just as important to the story as the romance. From Frankie and Ant’s sweet and swoony relationship, to the differing sibling bonds between Frankie & Adele and Ant & Jed, to the friendships that develop throughout the book, there was just so much to enjoy and become invested in.

Whether you’re a 90s rom-com fan, love rural Aussie romances, or maybe a bit of both, this is definitely the book for you! You’ll be left wanting to high-tail it to Kalbar in the hopes of being caught between two attractive brothers on a farm surrounded by goats and geese.

Eva Scott has written a fabulous book that takes the reader on a heartwarming rural romance journey!
The storyline weaves a wonderful tale of perhaps finding the perfect man, the characters are relatable and refreshing!
I loved Frankie’s warm and caring nature, she could be anyone’s friend. The rural aspect of this story is absolutely a joy to read!

Thanks to Harlequin AU, NetGalley and the wonderful Eva Scott for the opportunity to read and review this book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this book, so easy to visualise each character and surroundings, it was a hard book to put down and go about my daily work, hopefully a sequel may come out, I want to know more what happens to each character. Fabulous read.

Eva Scott’s new rural romance has it all!

Great humour, witty banter, wonderful characters, a small town setting and a faux romance / love triangle!

I don’t think I will be able to watch the AFL’s big night of nights in the same way after reading this book.

While You Were in the Country is a must read for all lovers of romance novels!

I love a good small town/rural romance and this one doesn't disappoint. While You Were in the Country is a new take on the fake relationship trope.
Set on the Gold Coast and the Scenic Rim you get a good sense of what life is like in this part of the world.
Frankie meets an amazing guy called Ant on her 30th birthday and has a life changing night with him. But when he nevers calls her she thinks she'll never see him again. Then one night she is driving behind an impaired driver who has an accident and turns out to be her AFL superstar crush, Jed Murphy who is known as AFL's bad boy. Somehow she ends up starting a fake relationship with Jed and then gets the shock of her life when Ant turns up on her farm. Turns out he's Jed's brother and the two don't get along.
This is not the book for someone expecting a lot of hot and steamy, this is really a look but not touch type of romance. The characters are great though and I think it's the first time I've read a book centered around an AFL star.
Thanks to Harlequin Mira and Netgalley.com for my complimentary eARC copy.

Ant Murphy has found himself once again, trying to resolve the problems of famous AFL star brother, Jed. So when he gets a phone call telling him that Jed has ended up in the hospital after a drink-driving incident, Ant arrives at the hospital to find that Jed’s new girlfriend is Frankie Fox. What Jed doesn’t know is that Frankie and Ant, spent one together several weeks ago. Thinking that Ant ghosted her, Frankie is confused to find that he never saw the note she left him, with her contact details. Yet it might all be too late for them, as she is holding tight to a secret that she is forbidden to reveal. So now she has feelings for Ant but must stay with Jed to help him hold onto his career.
An easy to read story, with two very likeable characters in Ant and Frankie. Both care for Jed, trying to save him from his dependence on alcohol, whilst fighting their very apparent feelings for each other. There is plenty of angst and some near hook-ups which were quite entertaining. Altogether, this was a great story, filled with amazing descriptions of southeast Queensland.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and Harlequin Australia. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

There’s so much to love about Eva Scott’s new book, While You Were In The Country. The story is filled with fabulous characters, both in terms of heroine Frankie Fox and her hero, Ant Murphy, and in terms of their supporting cast, Ant’s footballer brother Jed, Frankie’s sister Adele and Jed’s seriously scary manager Charlotte.
Ant and Frankie are both so easy to love. Both are decent, kind and caring people stuck in an awful situation when Frankie is forced to not only pretend to be Jed’s girlfriend but also to take him into her home, dry him out from his alcohol dependency, and put up with his entitled attitude. Meanwhile, poor Ant is anguished at the thought the girl he has fallen for appears to have fallen for his brother. I truly felt for him.
Although plenty of emotion is generated by the fact that Ant and Frankie have fallen for each other but can’t let on to Jed, there is also plenty of humour. The plot had me hooked from the start and when the story shifted from the Gold Coast to Kalbar in Queensland’s Scenic Rim, I felt right at home. Frankie has a hobby farm where she houses a quirky collection of rescue goats, geese and chooks, each with their own personalities. At times they almost stole the show with their antics.
This story flows effortlessly. I think it’s Eva Scott’s best yet. I couldn’t put it down and when I finished it, I wanted to go back to the beginning and read it all over again.

I enjoyed reading While you were in the country.
A story about the importance of family and friends, a good community, surrounding yourself with the right people,
It was An interesting insight into the lives of those affected by media, and showing how two different sides live.

The main character is a likable strong "real" woman, who loves her animals and rural living and Community.
Some lines in the novel did irk me a little though, particularly the insinuation multiple times a couple of goats and some geese is all you need to have a 'real farm' a bit derogatory to those who dedicate their lives to looking after hundreds of animals
A romance with a few complications

I enjoyed the descriptive writing of the surroundings, making you feel a part of the story, the character development, and touching on some important issues to today's society.

I hope to read more by the author soon.

Another good read by Eva Scott.

This is a fabulous story inspired by the movie While You Were Sleeping it pulled me in with its witty dialogue and fabulous characters, it is filled with emotion and a loving heroine who will do an awful lot to help her AFL hero the one she has had a crush on for many years, but is he the person she thought he was, or maybe there is someone else for Frankie?

Frankie Fox is enjoying her 30th birthday on the Gold Coast with her sister Adele, after a few drinks she decides that it is time to get the old Frankie back an altercation in the pub brings her to meet Ant and a very fabulous and fun night is had but Frankie is called home to her small farm after a storm takes the roof of her house and that is the last she sees of Ant sadly even though she left her number.

Then not long after Frankie finds herself babysitting her AFL crush Jed Murphy, in desperate need of a new roof she signs an agreement to help bad boy Jed stay clean and out of the spotlight, this happens very quickly and another shock Jed’s brother arrives at her little farm and it is none other than Ant the one person she feels that she can love and now she is supposedly dating his brother what a predicament she finds herself in and how will things turn out?

Frankie’s quiet life on the farm with her geese, goats and chickens suddenly becomes hectic with Jed, Ant her sister Adele and her girlfriend Natalie all living there and Frankie has to keep her secret about her and Jed but her heart is crying out for Ant, keeping Jed from straying is not easy but he does throw himself into the community and soon he is very popular and starting to have feelings for Frankie that is the worst thing that could happen.

Truly this is such a great story, so very well written, it is fun with a beautiful romance I absolutely loved Frankie she has a heart of gold and the patience of a saint with what she goes through with Jed and trying to keep everyone calm and Ant what a guy I loved him so much he is the perfect hero for Frankie but he really went through a lot to win his girl, add in Adele and Natalie and Jed and this is a story not to be missed, do highly recommend it.

My thanks to Harlequin AU for my copy to read and review.

Copy received via Netgalley for an honest review

I am loving Eva Scott's ru-ro retellings of some of my fav rom coms of the 90's, and now we have an Aussie version of While You Were Sleeping.

The Frankie/Ant/Jed triangle (don't worry, there's no cheating) had me hopeful, but also so frustrated, knowing that things should be different, could be different if people youknpw, talked.

I afored Frankie and Ant from the start but Jed, nope, his spoiled brat selfish self just annoyed me - but thst wad the way it was supposed to be.

The lobging, the glances across the room, the wanting just flew off the page, it was palpable. It was the other person in the room the whole time.

It was a long road to get to the HEA but so worth it.

I hope we gwt more books like this from Eva Scott

While You Were in the Country is a beautiful rural romance by Eva Scott. Frankie Fox after-party in town for her thirty birthday through she found Mr Right. However, Frankie realised that it was not the case after he did not reply to her message. On the way home from work one evening, Frankie comes across a car accident that would change her life forever and unexpectedly brings back into life her Mr Right. The readers of While You Were in the Country will continue to follow Frankie to find out what happens.

While You Were in the Country is another fantastic book by Eva Scott that I engaged with the characters and the book's plot from the start. At times I had to laugh at the actions of the characters. I also enjoy the way Eva Scott incorporates animals throughout this book. I love Eva Scott's portrayal of her characters and the way they interact with each other throughout this book. While You Were in the Country was well written and researched by Eva Scott. I like Eva Scott's description of the settings of While You Were in the Country, which allowed me to imagine being part of the book's plot.

The readers of While You Were in the Country will learn about the role of Sports managers to their clients. Also, the readers of While You Were in the Country will start to understand the problems of running a small rural property.

Frankie Fox has a magical night with Ant and leaves him her number, but he never calls. Never mind - there's soon another man in her life when Jed Murphy, her longstanding AFL crush and infamous bad boy, crashes his car in front of her. Frankie is quickly roped in to pose as Jed's fake girlfriend in an attempt to repair his reputation. There's an even bigger complication, however - Ant is Jed's brother!

I was a little wary after the last romcom-inspired book Eva Scott wrote, since it stayed too close to its source material, but she nailed this one. I absolutely loved reading While You Were in the Country. It contains the best aspects of its progenitor (While You Were Sleeping), but it's still quite capable of standing on its own - some parts of it might have even been better! And there's so much delicious drama that you're going to need a spoon to eat it all up.

Frankie Fox is an Australian Rules football tragic who has fantasised about football super star Jed Murphy. Frankie normally prim and proper had a night of wild passion with Antony (Ant) who she met at her thirtieth birthday party and she is depressed that he has not since contacted her.

Frankie witnesses a car accident by a drunken driver and tends to him until the ambulance arrives. He turns out to be her hero Jed Murphy. Jed is facing suspension for misbehaviour and Jed’s manager Charlotte enlists Frankie in a scheme to pretend to be Jed’s fiancée to clean up his image and avoid suspension.

The plot thickens when Frankie discovers that Jed is Ant’s brother and while she pretends to be Jed’s fiancée she and Ant have a strong mutual attraction. Thence follows a series of adventures and mishaps.

The book is well written but is lightweight and predictable.