Turning to her best friend, Taylor doesn't find much solace as she is about to embark on a holiday in Paris and beyond for a year. Left with little choice she decides to go with her distraught mother, driving to stark country side in a dry and dusty region in South Australia where her grandparents live. At first she isn't too keen on them but soon develops a loving close friendship with them as she learns they ways and wisdom.

This is where the story takes some incredible twists and becomes a fascinating and most enjoyable dive into two distinct eras, both with fabulous story lines,

in 1877 we meet Anna the shy and lacking in self esteem, eldest daughter in a German migrant family in this German settlement town. Anna is convinced her sister is far prettier and nicer than herself and wonders if she will attract a husband.,

 One Sunday as her parents and some siblings are at church a bushfire rages towards the homestead across their paddocks and Anna is put into a situation where she becomes the heroine in what was seen as unbecoming attire. The handsome local farmer in her age group, Luke Hartmann is first to come to her aid and after her recovery and painful shyness he becomes the man of her dreams.

As chapters change timelines there was a little disappointment to not continue reading along the storylines, but the author has masterfully created cliff hangers that made me eager to read more.

The two timelines are connected in some not so surprising ways, but there are several revelations in each, with joyous moments, sadness, romance with a few hot and steamy moments, disappointment and death that it is easy to think these could be true events. Perhaps they are similar to some established families in the district.

It is also a good look into life in country South Australia over both timelines and satisfaction with life outside major cities and all that it entails.

This is an entertaining and throughly enjoyable, feel good story ideal for getting away from reality.

The Author

Raised initially in a tiny, no-horse town on South Australia's Fleurieu coast, then in the slightly more populated wheat and sheep farming land at Pallamana, Léonie is a country girl through and through. Growing up without a television, she developed a love of reading before she reached primary school, swiftly followed by a desire to write.