Review: Interesting historical romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 3, 2013
I've not read many romances set in the time frame of WW1 and set in the Australian outback, with an Australian view of the war's progress. We tend not to think about how the war affected other nations, when our own suffered losses, that's just human nature, I guess. It was very moving and affecting to read about how deeply the Australian troops were entrenched against the German troops and how terrible their losses were.The heroine in this book is Harriet, always called Harry, who lost her father in the war and who's brother has been sent back with bad injuries, including an amputated hand. Gil and Harry have always been very close siblings, so she's taken a job as a scullery maid, just to earn a little money and be able to visit Gil in the hospital daily. She desperately wants to get Gil away from the city and into the ranches of the outback to help him heal. In order to do that, though, they'll have to pretend that Harry is Gil's kid brother. I loved Harry. She was feisty and sarcastic, brutally honest, often mouthing off to the wrong person, but she is fiercely protective of her family and determined to make things work out through the force of her will alone.They answer an advertisement for experienced riders to the Devil's Ridge ranch owned by Ross Calvert. Ross lost his brother in the war and has his own injuries and scars, which caused his fiancee to dump him when he came back on injured reserve leave. Ross can't figure out why young Harry makes him so uncomfortable, but he gives the pair a job- Gil with the cowhands and Harry as the cook. Ross is a good hero, he's a leader but compassionate towards Gil when he has nightmares. He protects and stewards his land and resources carefully so they will still be there for generations to come. He doesn't even beat Harry when she probably has it coming for losing her red headed temper and back talking to the boss.Just wait till he finds out her secret... Will it be better or will he throw her off his property? With Gil still suffering significant PTSD and the possibility that Ross will get called back to duty, the sure and stable future Harry longs for looks far out of reach.Heat factor moderate.