LUST-HAVE LIST: Rural Romance Novelists edition (p4)
Pamela Cook
A city girl with a country lifestyle and too many horses offers Pamela Cook the ideal perspective for her rural romance novels. Combining feisty women, tangled familial relationships, and a healthy dose of romance is just the icing on the cake!
Close to Home
Pamela Cook
For Charlie Anderson the only thing harder than letting go is moving on.
Orphaned at thirteen, Charlie has been on her own for over half her life. Not that she minds – she has her work as a vet and most days that’s enough. Most days. But when she’s sent to a small town on the New South Wales coast to investigate a possible outbreak of the deadly Hendra virus, Charlie finds herself torn between the haunting memories of her past, her dedication to the job and her attraction to a handsome local.
Travelling to Naringup means coming face to face with what is left of her dysfunctional family – her cousin Emma, who begged Charlie not to leave all those years ago, and her aunt Hazel, who let her go without a backwards glance. But it also means relying on the kindness of strangers and, when she meets local park ranger Joel Drummond, opening her heart to the possibility of something more . . .
As tensions in the country town rise, can Charlie reconcile with the past and find herself a new future in the town she left so long ago?
Victoria Purman
Hailed Australia’s brightest new star, Victoria Purman pens delicious coastal and rural romances that span the Australian landscape introducing strong and capable heroines with sighworthy heroes. What’s not to love about that?! The intriguing The Three Miss Allens releases this October and is available for pre-order now.
Hold On To Me
Victoria Purman
Can she learn to trust him and love again?
Stella wasn’t looking for love – and especially not from a younger man..
When Stella Ryan’s successful life in Sydney crumbled, she returned flat broke – and broken hearted – to the beachside town she’d once called home. Five years on, she’s opened a boutique and rebuilt her life in the tourist haven of Port Elliot.
Luca Morelli has been working flat out to establish his own building company in the city and doesn’t have time to be driving back and forth to the beach to do a small job in a shop that was almost destroyed in a fire. But he soon changes his mind when he meets the glamorous owner.
Before long, Stella and Luca find that a working relationship isn’t the only thing developing between them. But the closer they get, the ghosts of Stella’s past come to haunt her once more. Can she ever believe a man again? And if she can, is the much younger Luca Morelli the man she can trust with her heart?
Tea Cooper
Timeless romances that span the ocean to the outback is the calling card of bestselling author, Tea Cooper. Merging delectable romance with historical appeal and female leads who are commanding and deserving of your attention, Tea Cooper has a beautiful manner of storytelling that is uniquely Australian. The Cedar Cutter is due out next month.
The Cedar Cutter
Tea Cooper
Even if time heals all wounds, you still bear the scars…
Wollombi: 1855. When Roisin Ogilvie moves to Wollombi her thoughts are only of protecting her illegitimate son, Ruan, from the grasps of his powerful and dangerous father. Posing as an impoverished widow, she settles into a quiet existence as a local dressmaker. She doesn’t expect to catch the attention of Irish champion cedar cutter Carrick O’Connor, or any other man for that matter.
Carrick O’Connor may have won the coveted Wollombi Wood Chop, but his mind is on the beautiful seamstress and her son. Or rather, on who they remind him of. Determined to exact revenge for the horrors of his past, Carrick plans to return to Ireland to seek revenge on the land agent who was responsible for the death of his wife and child, and his transportation. Then, hopefully, he can return to Wollombi to start life afresh.
But a murder charge, a kidnapping, a growing attraction, and a past that refuses to stay silent will turn both his and Roisin’s lives upside down and will lead them to a hard choice. Redemption? Or cutters’ justice?
Jennifer Scoullar
Writing is in the blood for Jennifer Scoullar who comes from a long line of distinguished editors, novelists, and poets so it’s only natural that Jennifer too would have the gift of the storytelling gab. Jennifer’s novels deal with the difficulties of life on the land delivered with an uplifting and engaging angle.
Journey’s End
Jennifer Scoullar
When Sydney botanist Kim Sullivan and her husband inherit Journey’s End, a rundown farm high on the Great Eastern Escarpment, they dream of one day restoring it to its natural state. Ten years later, however, Kim is tragically widowed. Selling up is the only practical option, so she and her children head to the mountains to organise the sale. The last thing Kim expects is for Journey’s End to cast its wild spell on them all.
The family decide to stay, and Kim forges on with plans to rewild the property, propagating plants and acquiring a menagerie of native animals. But wayward wildlife, hostile farmers and her own lingering grief make the task seem hopeless. That is, until she meets the mysterious Taj, a man who has a way with animals. Kim begins to feel that she might find love again. But Taj has his own tragic past – one that could drive a wedge between them that cannot be overcome . . .
Trish Morey
Passionate, emotional, page turning stories are a guarantee from Trish Morey – and might we add she’s sold somewhere in the vicinity of 5 million plus books! Having written about sheikhs and tycoons, Italian and Greek billionaires and everything in between, it’s Trish’s foray into rural romance that has captured readers worldwide.
Cherry Season
Trish Morey
THEY SAY OPPOSITES ATTRACT. EVERYONE EXCEPT DAN THAT IS…
Dan Faraday is a thirty-seven years old Adelaide Hills third generation orchardist who is badly in need of a wife if this business is ever going to make it to a fourth generation. Luckily for Dan, his sisters have given him a gift that will make finding a wife easier – a subscription to a dating agency. And luckily Dan knows exactly what he needs – someone sensible with sober habits, who appreciates the primary producers life and is looking to settle down.
ENTER LUCY…
Lucy Marino has been a gipsy for all of her twenty-five years, never staying in one place long enough to call it home. Now she’s backpacking her way around Australia. Permanence isn’t part of her DNA, even if the cherry farmer she’s working for makes it hard to remember why and the property reminds her of another time, when life was more settled and secure…
AND LET THE GAMES COMMENCE!
Soon the sparks are flying, and not just because Lucy’s left the gas on and the caravan she’s been living in explodes. And soon Dan realises that the perfect matches he’s meeting on the dating site aren’t nearly as appealing as the impetuous, gorgeous blonde he now has living in his house. Would it kill him to give in to his desires?
Maybe not, but Dan’s not looking for temporary and Lucy’s not looking for permanent and there’s no way this is going to work.
Is there?
What do you think? Did we pick the top 20 that you were expecting? Any surprise inclusions or did we miss your favourite?
Let us know in the comments below for your chance to win a $5 Amazon or iBooks gift card!
If you enjoyed our Rural Romance Lust-Have list, you’ll love receiving our newsletter!
Get your FREE AusRom Today VIP MEMBERSHIP today!
AusRomToday 
Oh boy, so many of my favourite authors there. I love this list!
Glad to hear, Kerry!
I would have liked to see Bronwyn parry, Helene young and Sarah Barrie on there too. I know all Aussie writers can’t be listed but they are right up there too.
Thanks for the feedback, Jaye. We’ve definitely got Bronwyn and Helene on an upcoming romantic suspense list so stay tuned for that one!
Actually I have found this really helpful for suggesting new authors writing Aussie rural romance. I will follow this up, thanks!
Glad it was helpful, Sandra.