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

Third-generation farmer Adam Burton has always tried to keep his family together, but twenty years after his little sister went missing from the family farm he’s losing hope. His dad has walked out, his mum is as reclusive as ever and he still blames himself for his sister’s disappearance.
When Stella Reynolds and her young daughter arrive from the big smoke to stay at the holiday cottage on their farm for the summer, Adam is immediately attracted to the beautiful single mum. Although he’s always steered clear of children and doesn’t believe he deserves love or a family of his own, he finds himself spending time with Stella and her young daughter, Heidi, and enjoying it.
As the twenty-year old mystery begins to unravel, Stella wonders if she should take her daughter and run. But doing so is easier said than done, because Stella just might be falling in love with Bunyip Bay and a gorgeous, but hurting, farmer.

As an Australian bookseller, I have read a number of rural romance novels of the last few years - some fantastic, some not so much. The start of this series was pretty good without being exceptional but as the series has developed, so have the characters and storylines.

This story focuses on Adam and Stella - and it was interesting to see the role-reversals here. For the most part, it is usually the woman who has the "complicated" history and a multitude of reasons as to why a relationship won't work. I enjoyed seeing Adam get that back-story, it was a refreshing change.

The unravelling of Adam's past and the current relationship was a fine balancing act - at no point did the story get overwrought with emotion, nor did it get sickly sweet with "Ohhhhh, you poor thing" kind of conversations. The slow-burn romance was good but I could have done without knowing dozens of times how sexy Adam was - not sure that was necessary, but that is a minor issue.

The one reason that this didn't get a full five stars was the detail - lots and lots of boring descriptive details about everything from washing dishes to seat belts. So tiring and draining - I won't even bother to mention the conversations about what DVD to watch or board game to play...

Overall, a very good story - one that I recommend happily...


Paul
ARH