I love Rachael Johns' writing style and Talk to the Heart was no different. She has done a fantastic job at Adeline's redemptive arc- making a previously unlikeable character one you find yourself rooting for as the story progresses. It's set in rural Western Australia and is the perfect blend of humour, heartwarming moments, and more serious issues. I also like that while it is the third book in the series, it is perfectly fine to read as a stand-alone. I loved the setting, characters and the slight Sound of Music vibe it has. Highly recommend for lovers of small town Australian romance.

A massive thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Rachael Johns for the complimentary ARC in return for my honest review.

Adeline Walsh is having a crisis as her life is falling apart. She joins a nunnery but the very handsome guy she keeps running into is driving her crazy! I fell in love with the dogs of course and the enemies to lovers romance had me blushing! I enjoyed every delicious moment of reading this book and I hope it won't be the last.

After Adeline Walsh discovers the truth about her beloved grandmother, she starts to questions her whole purpose in life and turns to God. Whilst living with the Sisters and deciding on her new path, she comes across brothers Holden and Ford and their collection of foster kids and dogs. Will her devotion to God be tested by a man who has no positive thoughts about religion? A great read

This book had me intrigued before I even started reading it, how will Rachael write about such a seemingly complex issue? Will the storyline be believable, how does religion blend with romance and then there’s the disliked main character!
I was not disappointed and neither will anyone who reads this amazing novel.
Adeline has her beloved grandmother on a pedestal, her passing reveals a secret that shatters Adeline’s beliefs and sense of reality.
Adeline turns to a life of religious commitment, her dog Bella leads her, not only to a convent, but to a hunky neighbour!
The storyline describes Adeline’s journey perfectly, she feels at home with the nuns, renewing her sense of purpose and belonging.
The characters are diverse but also extremely likeable. Hunky neighbour Holden and his brother Ford have devoted their lives to helping disadvantaged children, this is how Adeline is drawn into their world.
This story is a gem, no doubt, there’s a lot going on within these pages!

Sincere thanks and appreciation to Harlequin Australia, NetGalley and our wonderfully talented Rachael Johns for the opportunity to read and review this amazing book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Talk to the Heart is Australian rural romance at its best, engaging and keeps the reader interested in seeing how the story unfolds, with a great bunch of characters.

Adeline Walsh moves from her small rural WA town to country Victoria where she has a calling to join the sisterhood. Leaving her family and town after discovering family secrets, Adeline begins a journey of self-discovery and I absolutely loved reading the emotions and highs and lows of her personal growth.

In the town of Smallton where Adeline moves to, we meet brothers Holden and Ford who raise teen foster boys and have their own history and story to tell. Holden is fun and a true Aussie bloke, yet he is guarded with his heart. I loved the way Holden and Ford look after and build the boys confidence, giving them a home and the skills to become competent men in the community.

There are dramas of the heart, friendship and hope within the pages of Talk to the Heart, lots of gorgeous dogs and an intriguing storyline and a romance that I really enjoyed reading!
Talk to the Heart is out now.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy I received.

I have to confess that I approached this book with a lot of trepidation. A character who I really, really disliked in the previous books in this series - a real nasty pasty - ends up in a nunnery, resists the temptation of a nearby hot male neighbour and then actually gets a happy every after that she tried to prevent two previous happy ending in the other two books in the ‘Rose Hill’ series.

Now I know Rachael is a top writer, but how on earth was she going to pull this off successfully without insulting nuns, change my mind about a much disliked character AND for the story to seem believably?

Well rest easy people, she did it!

Talk to the Heart opens as Adeline’s beloved grandmother dies. While going through her grandmother’s journal to write up her obituary, Adeline finds out a dreadful secret that her grandmother has kept hidden for decades. This turns Adelaide’s world upside down and leaves her feeling lost and questioning her place in the world. She realises she has been a selfish, conniving bully So much so, in fact, that Adelaide leaves all her worldly possessions and heads across country to join a nunnery in a small country town in Victoria. The only thing that she brings with her is her beloved Meremma dog, Bella.

The convent welcomes Adeline and Bella with much love and its not long before the nuns become family to her and she feels she has found her place in life at last. Adeline is not immediately a nun, she is a postulate, a nun in training if you will, she lives and prays with the rest of the Covent until she is ready to take her vows. She finally feels she is part of a family and is doing her best to succeed at becoming a nun until one day Bella gets out and Adelaide meets Holden and his brother who live on the neighbouring property.

Holden and his brother foster teenage boys who have a tough life giving them a chance to have a fresh start, he has given each boy a dog to care for as part of the rehabilitation process - hence Bella’s interest and why she leaves the nunnery to find some doggy playmates.

Holden is not looking for any sort of relationship and is dealing with drama from the past. Adelaide is not looking for a relationship she is quite prepared to devote her life to God. Maybe the two of them might just find the miracle they don’t know they’re looking for.

I loved this story, loved how Rachael made it work out. The nuns were lovely modern nuns - helping the community and supporting each other. As well as the story of Holden and Adelaide, Rachel focuses on foster children, youth homelessness, workplace sexism and family interactions.

Being a Territory girl - I know there is no community called ‘middle of nowhere’ around where Rachel had it. But the fictional place has all the elements of the Daly Waters pub in it - so that is where my imagination went when Holden travelled there at some stage.

With thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Books for my copy to review

Talk To The Heart
Racheal Johns
2023

5 Stars



Thank you NetGalley and Publisher HQ Fiction for my copy of Talk To The Heart. I have not received any rewards or compensation for this review and therefore all views and opinions are of my own, the reviewer.

In summary: Third book in the Rose Hill series by Racheal Johns, following Adeline Walsh and Holden Campbell and their journey to love.

Adeline has left Walsh ( a small town of same name) to find herself after making a mess of her life and abandoned by the rockstar Ryder. Arriving in Smallton thousands of kilometres away from Walsh Adeline arrives at a convent prepared to give her life to god. At first when I read the synopsis I did not think Racheal could pull off such a unique storyline. It is a bizarre - quite out there idea. A romance involving a woman entering the convent finding love? No, not possible! Racheal did it and in my opinion pulled off the impossible.
I enjoyed the complexity of the relationship built between Adeline and Holden. It’s playful, intriguing in the sense of ‘how can I be a sister of god when it is clear I am in love with Holden?’ Adeline from previous stories was misguided in her beliefs meddling in everyone else’s life and this book really gave Adeline closure. I found myself cheering for both Adeline and Holden.
I admit to laughing at lines “Holy Koala!” more than once, and felt it was a nice humorous touch to break up the story a little bit. I also found it humorous in the naming of characters. Holden and Ford? Rachel made it work, I don’t know how. If you’re a fan of Rachel’s work as I am, the uniqueness of the character names make her work more unique.
I enjoyed the writing in this story, I enjoyed the plot and felt the ending was satisfying. I liked how Rachel was able to weave themes such as religious themes respectfully, youth issues and life in a small town all in to one.
5 stars.

I'm a fan of this author, but not really the 'romance' genre, however I quite enjoyed this book. The plot was sturdy and I think strong enough that it wasn't all about the love story.
Adeline, is a young journalist who feels stuck in regional WA. She is not able to find a partner and still living on the family farm. She doesn't have a strong relationship with her parents and siblings but feels close to her paternal grandmother.
When what she sees as a strong romantic prospect turns out to be a one night stand, she is humiliated and angry. Then her grandmother passes away and she feels completely untethered. This leads Adeline to make some dramatic changes in her life that situates her in regional Victoria.
Thank you Harlequin Australia and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this digital ARC.

Talk To The Heart is the third book in Rachael Johns Rose Hill series and I absolutely adored this book. The premise of the story is based on main character Adeline, who has had no luck in past relationships with men and has been an unlikable person in the past. After her grandmother dies with whom she was close to, she reads her journals and discovers a family secret. This sets her off on a path of redemption and trying to rediscover and improve herself, and she devote her life to God by joining a convent and becomes a sister or nun in training. She is quite happy in her new community and content with the journey she is heading or is she? Enter Holden, a man with tattoos and a motorbike who is a foster carer to teenagers. After meeting Holden and working with him on local charity event, Adeline falls head over heels in love with Holden, and this threatens her newfound life of devotion to the Lord.

A Rachael Johns book is always a treat, with quality writing that includes such enjoyable characters and storylines. This book was no different to her previous books. There is some heartfelt highs and lows and we go through the many emotions with these characters, but by the end, both characters have seemingly ‘redeemed’ themselves and reconciled with their ‘troubled’ pasts. Such an engaging story, especially the ‘Nun’ angle, it was original and I loved it. I did not want to stop reading this story of Adeline and Holden.

I give this books, 5 stars. Thank you to Harper Collins and Netgalley for a digital copy to review.

Give me The Sound of Music crossed with rural romance, and you've won me already. Add in the fact Rachael Johns wrote it, and it's like I won the lotto! Or at least beat the nuns in a tractor pull competition.

Talk to the Heart has all the feels, and then some. If you've read Talk of the Town and Something to Talk About, you'll already know a little about our main character Adeline... and probably hate her. But all is forgiven when you read on. There's a lot of soul searching, a bit of nun-tok, cute puppes and Holden... what more can i say. A heavenly five stars from me.

And if you haven't read those other books in the series, you don't need to, to enjoy this book, but they are fabulous too, so I highly recommend.

I loved, loved, loved Talk To The Heart! In this book, Rachael Johns has turned Adeline Walsh, the resident bitch of the Western Australian town of Walsh, into a character I had no problem empathising with. Not only that but in this book, Adeline is a postulant. While The Sound of Music is clearly the kernel from which this story grew, it still takes some skill to develop a character that starts out just plain up themselves, reinvents themselves as a nun in training and subsequently falls for just about the most unlikely hero ever. Holden Campbell is a fabuous hero, nd not just in the male romantic lead sense of the word. Holden had a horrible upbringing and has used that as his motivation for becoming a foster carer for at risk teens. Tattooed and sporting a mighty beard, it’s obvious that he’s not Adeline’s first choice of love interest when they first meet. I loved watching him push her buttons as their relationship developed. These two are supported by wonderful secondary characters, both within the convent, where the sisters are an absolute hoot, and among the foster boys living with Hlden and his brother Ford. This story runs the gamut of emotions from humour, of which there is heaps, to sadness, guilt and loss. I could tell that Rachael Johns had a lot of fun writing the book and I had a lot of fun reading it. Highly recommended!

Thank you Netgalley, Harlequin Aus, and of course, Rachael Johns, for granting me access an advanced reader copy of this brand new book - released just yesterday.

Easy and enjoyable, ‘Talk to the Heart’ turned out to be a great title for me to pick up in a not so great week!

The story follows Adeline, who, prompted by a startling family secret, embarks on a life-altering journey to join a convent on the other side of the country. She wasn’t sure how she’d go, giving up certain things she had cherished so much over the years, but along the way, with the help of her dog, she finds new friends, new hobbies, and most importantly, a renewed sense of happiness.

However, the vow of celibacy in the convent presents a quite the dilemma when she finds herself developing feelings for the honorable man down the road. Although Holden’s feelings are mutual, there’s considerable concerns for him as well, as being a foster parent to teenage boys, he’s not ready for any sort of relationship either.

The question looms: will they choose the sparks of romance, or the causes so dear to their hearts?

I knew I’d like this, because I’ve loved every other book by Rachael that I have so far read, and ‘Talk to the Heart’ did not disappoint. It’s a heartwarming rural romance set in the Australian countryside, and it’s sure to evoke both laughter and smiles. Even if you haven't read the first two titles in the series, this book stands on its own - and I recommend it!

It was so great to return to this series and read Adeline's story. She has been called the nasty one in the previous two novels, but Rachael did a great job of giving her redemption in the form of a loose re-telling of The Sound of Music! After losing her grandmother she believes she needs to prove that she is a good person so decides to join a convent and become a nun.
She doesn't expect to run into Holden Sheppard who is a lumberjack of a man who lives with his brother and fosters young boys who have gone off the track. The trouble is once they turn 18 there is no where for them to go to be looked after so he wants to build Tiny Houses on his property so they can get themselves organised with life and work. One problem though - money to do this.
Enter Adeline (Maria) who wants to help, but can't keep her mind on the job with such a handsome man around.
Such a lovely story with a happy ending. Rachael has done it again, and this book wrapped up the series nicely.
Perfect for fans of rural fiction and family stories.

I was wondering how Rachael Johns was going to redeem Adeline Walsh, although she loves maremmas she was not the nicest of people, in the first two stories in this series, but woohoo Rachael Johns you have done it so well, I loved this story so much, Holden and Adeline, together, yes.

Adeline has just lost her beloved grandmother, Penelope and wants to write up an obituary to her in the Walsh Whisperer, finding her journals, she starts reading but what she finds changes everything for Adeline and she makes a decision to give up all of her worldly possesions, except Bella her beloved maremma and drive across the country and join a small convent in Smallton. Adeline feels very settled and is loving her life with the other sisters that is until Belle brings her in contact with neighbour Holden Campbell.

Holden Campbell has lived here in Smallton fostering young children with his brother Ford, a bad childhood and an accident when he was young see him have no plans to find love, his only plans are to care for the boys he has in his care now and that also includes rescue dogs who make a big difference, but when a maremma arrives with a beautiful woman following, Holden is rather shocked.

Adeline is doing what she can to become a nun and Holden bearded, tattooed and scruffy, with his opinions on religion are a very unlikely pairing but, Adeline is convinced God has his ways, will one kiss send both of them spiraling toward love or heartbreak?

This is a fabulous story, with feels of the wonderful movie, The Sound of Music, it is emotional, moving and heartwarming, the characters are wonderful, the foster boys, the dogs, I loved how both Adeline and Holden put the past behind them and moved towards the future.
I do highly recommend this one, there were tears and smiles from me while reading, it is a beautiful story, and one not to be missed.

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

Another easy read from Rachael Johns and it’s safe to say we know what we’re going to get….and that’s not a bad thing.
Adeline crosses the country with her dog Bella, after she discovers some distressing news in her grandmother’s journal. Everything she believed about her much loved grandmother has been turned upside down, so she crosses the country to settle in the convent in Smallton, a country town in Victoria. There she finds purpose and the nuns become family.
Meanwhile Holden and his brother Ford are running a home for boys in the foster system and it’s Holden’s dream to erect tiny houses on the property as a transition for the boys once they come of age. Unfortunately all his applications for grants keep getting knocked back.
It’s Bella that brings them together, can they work together to see Holden’s dream come to fruition?

I had a look at my previous reviews as I had forgotten the previous storylines and I see I had felt sorry for Adeline, therefore happy she comes to her own now.
I enjoyed the characters, do Nuns do Tic Tok? (I don’t know because I don’t), it was interesting to see the aspect of fostering that this book brought and also that it is important to forgive yourself.
I enjoyed this quick read, thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy to read.

Wow, Talk To The Heart by Rachael Johns is yet another book that is hard to put down.

Adeline Walsh is one of those girls that people love to hate especially as she thinks she's better than everyone else. She's soon brought back down to earth though after discovering a terrible family secret. Ultimately this secret is what drastically changes Adeline's outlook on life and she embarks on a new direction in life on the other side of Australia in a Convent.

Meanwhile Holden is working through his own issues with trying to set up a project that will ultimately help the kids he cares for when they're too old to be in the foster system.

Adeline and Holden cross paths when Adeline's dog Bella takes it apon herself to meet the neighbours. Before long subtle sparks emerge....

Life is full of surprises when you stop looking as Adeline soon discovers.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

WoW!!! I read this book in one sitting, I am one tired but happy camper.
What an incredible read! Rachael Johns takes an almost possible situation and turns it into a love story. I just HAD to know how she makes this work and I was not disappointed. This book is a great read with real and genuine characters. It represents small town living in Australia really well.
I highly recommend this book!
Now excuse me whilst I go and source Rachael Johns catalogue of books ❤️

Adeline Walsh, from the small town that bore her family name - Walsh - in rural Western Australia, was over her life and as she headed to Smallton in country Victoria to join the convent there, she hoped she would find her sense of self, and finally become someone she could respect. Her grandmother had recently passed away, and they had been close, but a secret she'd uncovered about the grandmother she'd adored had shattered Adeline, hence the convent calling to her. She had brought her beloved Maremma, Bella with her - the convent said she could have one dog - and not much else. No longer did she own a phone, a computer, make-up; she even got rid of her excess clothing and shoes. And she was content. Her roomie, Melissa, and the sisters were closer to her than her own family...

The day Bella escaped the convent, Adeline followed her, chasing after her and onto a long driveway, where she met Holden Campbell, a huge, tattooed scruff of a man, his brother Ford and some teenage boys. Bella was only interested in the other two dogs, which was why she'd escaped. And so began another change in Adeline's life. Working with the sisters, helping with the soup kitchen and the markets, doing what she could to help - was this what her future looked like?

Talk to the Heart is the 3rd in the Rose Hill series by Aussie author Rachael Johns and it's been three years since the 2nd, and was three years prior to that for #1. I read through my reviews to familiarise myself with the characters, and while the MCs from the first two books had small parts in Talk to the Heart, it was great to see how they'd grown. To be honest, I didn't much like either Adeline or Holden, but they were surrounded by well-crafted characters. Ford was a favourite, also Sally. An enjoyable and fast paced read, Talk to the Heart is one I recommend.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed reading Talk to the Heart, another fantastic book by Rachael Johns. Talk to the Heart is an excellent addition to the Rose Hill series. I had no problem engaging with the story and the characters of Talk To the Heart. I love Rachael Johns's portrayal of her characters and how they interacted with each other throughout this book. Talk To The Heart is well-written and researched by Rachael Johns. I like Rachael Johns's description of the settings of Talk To The Heart, which allowed me to imagine being part of the book's plot.

The readers of Talk to the Heart will learn about running and the importance of small community papers. Also, Talk to the Heart readers will understand the importance of dogs in helping children with trauma. I recommend this book.

I have a gripe with the cover.....that's not Holden for most of the book! Putting the cover aside, Talk to the Heart was a great book. Whilst this was the third in the Rose Hill series, I read it as a standalone.
Whilst I can see that having read the first 2 books first would have given me a deeper understanding of Adeline and potentially other characters, I didn't feel like I was missing out as things were made clear in this book about Adeline's past.

I loved the combination of Adeline, new to the convent and Holden and his brother Ford, taking on the 'rough, undesirable' foster kids (boys). It was great to read about both what it's like in a convent and what how life is for foster kids and their foster parents. The relationship between Holden and Adeline was fun to follow, they both liked each other but neither was going to admit it - both for very different reasons.

The ending was perfect and overall it was a heartwarming story with plenty of emotion.