Dust on the Heather

 Dust on the Heather

Outback Skye #2

Heather Reyburn

Reviewed by Helen

Book two in this beautiful series after seeing Lucy find her HEA on the Isle of Skye in the first book we now get to meet her friend Helen after the sudden death at her husband on their outback property Helen uncovers things that will change her life, their marriage had not been a happy one but her three adult children are there for her and there is nothing for her to do now than sell up, her children Tim, Steve and Lisa decide a trip to the Isle of Skye to visit Lucy is just what she needs and her and Lisa embark on a journey, will it heal Helen and turn her life around?

Dr. Michael Blakeney is a doctor in a busy Sydney hospital but after the loss of his young daughter and the break-up of his marriage, Michael is feeling that he needs a change and a holiday is just what he needs he loves walking and trekking so he decides on a trip to Scotland and the Isle of Skye here he sees things differently and when he comes across a woman on a walk who has hurt herself after a fall he is there to help could this be the turning point in his life that he needs, Helen and he get on really well and then he is thrilled that his son Julian arrives to join him.

Soon this group of people have become friends and you can almost feel Helen and Michael healing and Lisa and Julian are also making friends that may lead onto more, but when Helen gets a phone call from home this starts her worrying again will the police get to the bottom of what happened to her husband and why, will she be able to put it all behind her and move on now that she feels that life is changing for the better.

This is a fabulous story, moving and heart-warming as the author takes in many emotions that cause stress and heartache for these characters and brings them out the other side, I loved this one from start to finish catching up with Lucy and Fergus, Callum and Ingrid and another trip to the Isle of Sky was awesome and it is one that I do highly recommend and I am hoping that Roslyn will get her story as well, MS Reyburn you made me smile again, many thanks.

Thank you to the author for my digital copy to read and review.

5 stars

December 4, 2025

Home to the Heart Country

 Home to the Heart Country

Libby Iriks

Reviewed by Helen

WOW what a brilliant debut book, this one is an emotional roller coaster of ups and downs and I felt every one of those emotions, happy, sad, frustration the lot as we get to know Beth Sullivan, you won’t want to put this one down when you pick it up.

Beth has lived her life roaming the country with her mother, Rosie after losing her father when she was five but she has always craved a place she belonged to put down roots to be able to make friends and now she is twenty six and after losing her mum four years ago she has a job and is renting a small cottage in Townsville but still does not have friends making them is not easy for Beth so when the cottage she has been renting is put up for sale she is losing her stability.

Then a phone call and a letter send Beth on a trip to a small town Karlup, Western Australia to claim an inheritance from a great aunt she never knew she had, things change quickly for Beth firstly meeting Ellie who runs the B & B she is staying and when she hires Ellie’s cousin Noah, farmer who really wants to be a renovator to help flip the run down house that she will own is she adheres to the stipulation in her aunt’s will that she stay in Karlup for three months, Beth does wonder why Aunt Prue put that caveat in her will, she must have had a reason.

As Beth starts to feel very welcome in Karlup and appears to be making friends for the first time in her life and she is also finding out about her family on her father’s side and this is opening up a whole new world for Beth but it is also playing havoc with her heart and her feelings, her emotions are all over the place and she is finding it vey hard to make any decisions as to what she should do, stay or sell up the renovated house and move back to Townsville.

Again wow what a story, a beautifully told one that opens up a whole new world for Beth (and many that may read this book) not only does she discover family and make friends, she discovers herself, her true identity and makes dreams for herself but they do include one very handsome farmer slash renovator, Noah, will it all become her life?

I loved this one from start to finish there are so many fabulous characters in this one that add so much to the story and I cannot highly recommend it enough this is one not to be missed, there were tears from this reader.

My thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin HQ for my copy to read and review.

5 stars

November 25, 2025 by HQ Fiction

A Kiss of Southern Magic

 A Kiss of Southern Magic

Southern Love Spells #4

Sinclaire Jayne

Reviewed by Helen

This is an awesome ending to a fabulous series, this time eldest Maye sister Sarah falls to the magic of the recipe book filled with recipes a very old book that has a magical twist to it when she is encouraged by her sisters to get to know Professor Dr. Raimy who also has the most beautiful of daughters Sage.

Sarah is a paediatrician and is widowed and has finally moved back home to be close to her family after losing their beloved Grandma Millie and sisters Jessica and Meaghan and moved back home and are now living on the old family farm and all three sisters have now found their soul mates maybe it is time for Sarah to think about love again. Sarah is living in the old Maye home and meeting history professor Raimy and his daughter the plans to make the home into a museum goes full steam ahead and the more time she spends with Forster Raimy the more her heart opens up.

Forster Luke Raimy, history professor and single dad is doing his best to make a happy, stable and loving life with his six year old daughter Sage, when he meets her doctor he is shocked to see her here but soon they are becoming friends and then more but can he really open up to love after all that he and Sage have been through?

This really is a beautiful story, filled with emotion I loved Forster and Sarah and of course the Maye sisters are the best and Sage is gorgeous, does magic play a part in their happiness? Sinclair Jayne has ended this series so well it was a joy to read and I do highly recommend this book and the series, I loved it.

My thanks to Tule Publishing for my digital copy to read and review.

5 stars

November 20, 2025 by Tule Publishing

The Firefighter's Christmas

 The Firefighter's Christmas

The Bloom Sisters #2

Nicole Flockton

Reviewed by Helen

Tulip (Tilly) Bloom is bright, bubbly and eager to help but she has a habit of getting part way through things and giving up but as Christmas approaches Tilly has an idea for a Christmas Extravaganza and is thrilled when the Marietta Mayor agrees to her plans but she does rope in someone to help her along the way. Tilly is not sure about this but will take the help.

Zachery Langley has moved to Marietta to get away from Hollywood and his mother Zach is a hotshot firefighter and after he and his team save a family in a wild fire, his mother, a famous talk show host uses her show to get ratings from the experience, Zach is happy now away from the limelight and getting used to the colder weather. When he is told to step in and help a local with a Christmas Extravaganza he is not happy but will help where he can.

When they meet the chemistry sparks instantly but they have work to do and lots of it, soon they are working really well together and getting things done, Zach can see Tilly’s vulnerability and is so good and encouraging her and Tilly can see that Zach has something that is bothering especially when she wants his mother to emcee the event, will Tilly get her event through to the end and how will Zach cope if his mother does come?

This is a beautiful, Christmassy romance, sensual and moving one that had me cheering them on, there were a few ups and downs as they navigate their way to a HEA, but they deserve to find love and happiness, I loved this one and I do highly recommend it, don’t miss this one and I am looking forward to the next one in the series.

My thanks to Tule Publishing for my digital copy to read and review.

5 stars

November 17, 2025 by Tule Publishing

How to Fake Dater Her Billionaire

How to Fake Date Her Billionaire

Clare Miles

 

Reviewed by Helen

Eleanor Ainsworth grew up with feuding parents after a nasty divorce, paparazzi the works and as she grew up she had some life rules and the main one never fall in love, luckily she had close friends the Kosmas family who were there for her through it all father, Leo, Mother Jackie and two sons Nic and Liam, Nic was the one who Eleanor always felt close too and for a while there, six months they had a very sensual relationship but Eleanor puts the brakes on because of her life rules and fled to Australia, but now she is back in London to help launch a foundation honouring Nic’s late father Leo, this brings her in very close contact with Nic again can she stand firm on her life rules?

When Ellie left all those years ago Nic was devastated he had just had some news that shocked him but they must work together and so they will but it is way too hard to hide the sensual pull that is still there and when the paparazzi catch them and photos are released they decide on a fake relationship till the foundation is launched, will they cope with fake or will it all turn real?

Ellie soon finds it hard to stick to her rules and Nic is falling in love more everyday but can they move forward and find the love and happiness that they both hold in their hearts, I loved this one there are so many emotions and past hurts that play a big part in their future, I loved both Nic and Ellie and the other characters, the settings are fabulous and this is a book that I would highly recommend, sensual, moving and fabulous, huge congratulations MS Miles on your story, a must read for any romance lovers.

My thanks to Harlequin Romance and Netgalley for my copy to read and review.

5 stars

November 11, 2025 by Mills & Boon Forever

The Rancher's Christmas Bride

 The Rancher's Christmas Bride

The Westons of Montana #4

Elas Winckler

Reviewed by Helen

I do love Marietta and especially at Christmas time, this is book four in this series and Willow’s story, Willow is fey and very determined not to marry, ever but when her brother hires cowboy Hunter Grant to help on the ranch Willow is having trouble keeping the wall around her heart up, how will this turn out?

Because Willow is fey getting too close to someone can be emotional hence no marriage for her, but Hunter what can she say the man is gorgeous and he just gets under her skin in so many ways and she is finding it hard to ignore him, she is busy painting for an exhibition in Seattle and has no time for romance anyway but her mother has other ideas and soon she finds herself in a fake engagement to the one man who maybe could steal her heart.

Hunter originally from Colorado has every intention of going back to his family ranch but being in Marietta not only is he learning about the Weston’s way of ranching he is losing his heart to Willow, will he be able to convince her that they can love, she is very stubborn and has her reasons for not wanting to marry, he is very determined to win her without being pushy.

This is a beautiful story a beautiful setting and wonderful characters, will Willow and Hunter find their way to a HEA? I do highly recommend this one to any lover of a romance that is filled with emotions and so much sensuality, I loved this one and I am sure you will as well.

My thanks to Tule Publishing for my copy to read and review.

4 stars

November 11, 2025 by Tule Publishing

Promise Me This Christmas

 Promise Me This Christmas

Bramble House Chronicles #4

C J Carmichael

Reviewed by Helen

I do love a Christmas story and Marietta add them together with Bramble House and you have a winner and this one is no exception, Amy and Chet are one of my favourite couples and with Christmas upon them and their Bramble House traditions will there be another couple who find love this year?

Amy’s brother Carson Wilcox has booked for the for Christmas as well as journalist Larkin Carrillo and you can see already that there is something between them, but when there is a series mishaps happen Amy is getting worried and the hopes she had for Carson and Larkin are fading, when Larkin is asked to do a piece for the local paper on Bramble House Amy is even more worried about what she will write.

Larkin is at Bramble House to help her grandmother after hip surgery and is stunned when she arrives for breakfast the first morning and sees her first love Carson there, nine years ago they were inseparable but one night changed all of that and Larkin left.

Carson has a chance to make things right with the only woman he will ever love that is if she will let him, but talking to her and finding out what happened all those years ago makes him more determined to convince her of his love.

Things are getting more worrying at Bramble House and Larkin is determined to get to the bottom of what is happening, will she find out the truth of the mishaps and more so will she let the walls fall that she has built around her heart and let Carson back in?
I loved this one, it is a beautiful story and one that I would highly recommend, don’t miss this one.

My thanks to Tule Publishing for my digital copy to read and review.

5 stars

November 10, 2025 by Tule Publishing

Hot Christmas Cowboy

Hot Christmas Cowboy

Montana Made #4

Eve Gaddy

Reviewed by Helen

We are back in Marietta for another beautiful Christmas romance, Riley Fletcher has known his sister, Val’s best friend, Letty North forever she even lived with them for a while after a tragedy took her parents, back then she was too young for him but these days Riley is really noticing Letty and he is convinced that she is the perfect woman for him, but convincing Letty that, is very hard.

Letty is now a librarian and loves her job she has lots of friends Val being her best friend and she is now married to Liam and the have a beautiful baby, Vivian but for Letty marriage and a serious relationship is not for her, she cannot ever lose anyone she loved like she did her parents so single she will stay but Riley is pushing he wants her and she is up for a fling not a problem but she puts a time limit on the fling, New Year then that is it, she is determined that, that will not change but they are smoking hot together and it is fun but she is scared.

Riley and Letty’s fling is moving along well until Riley pushes a little but Letty’s fears are strong can he convince her that he loves her, he knows she loves him will he be able to get her to let go of her fears for a life of love and happiness?

This is a wonderful romance that I thoroughly enjoyed and it is one that I would highly recommend to any lover of a good romance.

My thanks to Tule Publishing for my digital copy to read and review.

4 stars

November 4, 2025 by Tule Publishing

The Outback Cowboy's Christmas Baby

 The Outback Cowboy's Christmas Baby

Outback Christmas #3

Kelly Hunter

Reviewed by Helen

Oh WOW this one is awesome, so moving, witty and so very good, I loved meeting Jess Lean and Mac Bodie come along and meet them.

Mac Bodie has arrived in the small country town of Wirralong he is looking for answers about his past about family things that he does not know, but when he meets the waitress at the pub he steps in to stand up for her and now his life has changed so very much he is now the owner of a cattle station, Calla Station in Wirralong and he has time to find the answers he wants and needs.

Jess has lived her whole life in Wirralong, she lives on Calla Station with her father who is very ill, she works at the pub and she works hard, she doesn’t need people to stand up for her but when a stranger does he becomes her knight in a dark hat and soon they have the best of one night stands and he soon owns the property they live on and he realises that she is pregnant.

Christmas is fast approaching and Bodie is determined to marry Jess but he must sort out his life first becoming a father has its worries and of course there is finding out what happened to him when he was born, is he going to meet family he never knew he has, is he going to convince Jess that they can make a life together for their baby?

This is a beautiful story, I laughed, smiled and cheered them on, there were tears as well. Jess is the best she is feisty, strong and determined and Bodie he is tough but so very caring and they make the best couple, I loved this one from start to finish, it was pretty much a one sitting read, I do highly recommend this one, so very Christmassy and gorgeous, don’t miss this one, I loved my visit back to Wirralong.

My thanks to Tule Publishing for my digital copy to read and review.

5 stars

November 6, 2025 by Tule Publishing

A Family for Christmas in Pelican Crossing

 Family for Christmas in Pelican Crossing

Pelican Crossing #7

Maggie Christensen

Reviewed by Helen

Lou Chalmers owner of Books and Coffee has lived her whole life in Pelican Crossing she was badly hurt by love forty years ago and this caused a rift between her and her sister Fleur they have not spoken in all those years and Lou has never been able to find her but Christmas is fast approaching and Lou is also getting older and has been thinking about her sister and she wants to find her.

Widow Blair Stevens has finally retired from is position at a Tasmanian university and finally given in to his daughter and packed up and moved to Pelican Crossing he has bought a villa in the over fifties complex but is worried about meeting new friends but history is his go to and there is lots to research in Pelican Crossing and there is also a fabulous bookshop where he meets the owner Lou.

Lou and Blair soon build up a friendship with Blair helping Lou search for her sister and soon feelings are getting stronger but Lou fights it all the way but Blair will not give up on her he knows that she has been independent for a long time but also knows that they are very good together when someone new arrives in Pelican Crossing this could mean the world to Lou, will she finally get the answers she has been looking for and will she follow her heart and find true love after all of these years?

This is another fabulous trip to Pelican Crossing written beautifully, I loved getting to know Lou better and Blair is such a great guy, meeting up with the friends that we have known for a while now is also fabulous, I would highly recommend this one especially if you love characters who are older, I loved it.

My thanks to the author for my digital copy to read and review.

4 stars

November 4, 2025 by Cala Publishing