Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this Aussie romance
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 30, 2013
Well this is my first time I have read this Australian author and I will certainly be going back and reading her first book as well as any she writes from here on in.The Outback Bride is novel about love, loss and finding yourself again after going off track for a while. Lara and Jake grew up together in the Aussie outback and thought that they had it all worked out, but sometimes events and family obligations can throw a spanner in the works and when Lara suffers a great loss, her world continues to crumble so much that the only option left open for her to follow her dream, is to leave her beloved homestead and head to the city.Jake was a part of that dream but his controlling father has other plans and Jake is soon thrust into a life he is not comfortable with and a life he doesn't want.When tragic circumstances throw them back together, Lara finds that she may have left the country years ago but the country has never really left her. But she has a career now, a big city solicitor, a woman with a clear cut future, and no room in her heart for the one person that left her all those years ago."she didn't need him to fight her battles. The only time she's really needed him, he'd failed her. And she certainly wasn't going to give him another chance."Jake has come long way in the last 10 years, forging a career for himself, getting back to his roots and is now thrust into a situation that he never saw coming. Lara stirs up all the old emotions that he thought he had buried long ago and he is driven to find out if the spark is still there.What will Lara do when it comes time to return to the city?Are the feelings still there?Is it realistic for them to try to recapture the past?I really loved so much about this novel. The fact that is was set in my home town really enabled me to picture where the author was describing and the brilliant descriptions of the outback brought the vivid colours and scenes to life. The Australian references and the turn of phrase that are so distinctly Australian really brought a smile to my face and a sense of familiarity that thrust me right in to the story. The characters were so easy to connect to and I was able to feel their emotions, the sadness, the excitement, the happiness, the regret and the love. The author so eloquently described the feelings Lara had when she was 'home', I found myself picturing the river, the homestead, the dusty red earth and the comfort that it brought Lara.Sparse saltbush and mallee peppered the red earth beneath a sky so breathtakingly blue it was burned into her soul.So now to what I liked about the characters. Well, Jake was just so deliciously Aussie male, with his boyish charm, his muscular physique and his romantic nature, he was so swoon-worthy. Without spoiling the story, lets just say he melted my heart in many places in this book.Lara was the perfect mix of a strong, confident, self assured, down-to-earth woman, who also showed her compassionate, nurturing side and I thoroughly enjoyed her journey. I also really loved the interactions between the characters, the tension, the emotions, the familiar banter had me laughing and then tugging at my heartstrings.Overall this was a great read and I would recommend it to anyone who loves a good romance.