Sunrise at Sunny Cross Farm
Maya Linnell
Reviewed by Helen
I loved this one so much Maya Linnell never disappoints me with her stories they are filled with so much heart and awesome characters and beautiful settings and the food is always good, it was just so good being back on the Limestone Coast catching up with friends we have met before and meeting new ones, throw in a reality TV show and this is one that is sure to keep you turning the pages.
Spencer Hawkins loves his job as an English teacher and being a bee-keeper he is a widower and stays close to the farm where he lives with his in-laws but a promise made to his wife sees him before the cameras as a contestant on Love on the Land will Spencer find love again?
Clem Crossley is a divorced mother of two little girls she is putting everything she has into running her Farm Gate Café at the gates of Sunny Cross Farm where she grows sunflowers, Clem has been through a lot and finding love or even looking for it is not on the cards but when she is called to do the catering for the TV production she soon sees a side of Spencer that she has never seen before.
When her daughter Harriet signs up for the Penwarra Players annual play and Clem also volunteers to help on the school camp, Clem and Spencer are spending more time in each others company and are drawn to each other in ways neither really though would happen again, could there be a chance for love for both of them or will things in their past and the TV show put a stop to what could be?
This is a beautiful story, moving and emotional, yes there were tears from me as they open up about their pasts and the author has taken on some issues that are deeply emotional and she has done it so well with care and empathy, I loved the characters who are in this one Harriet and Indie Clem’s daughters they are the best and they made me smile, I do highly recommend this one, a truly beautiful story, thank you MS Linnell.
My thanks to Allen & Unwin AU and Netgalley for my copy to read and review.
Spencer Hawkins loves his job as an English teacher and being a bee-keeper he is a widower and stays close to the farm where he lives with his in-laws but a promise made to his wife sees him before the cameras as a contestant on Love on the Land will Spencer find love again?
Clem Crossley is a divorced mother of two little girls she is putting everything she has into running her Farm Gate Café at the gates of Sunny Cross Farm where she grows sunflowers, Clem has been through a lot and finding love or even looking for it is not on the cards but when she is called to do the catering for the TV production she soon sees a side of Spencer that she has never seen before.
When her daughter Harriet signs up for the Penwarra Players annual play and Clem also volunteers to help on the school camp, Clem and Spencer are spending more time in each others company and are drawn to each other in ways neither really though would happen again, could there be a chance for love for both of them or will things in their past and the TV show put a stop to what could be?
This is a beautiful story, moving and emotional, yes there were tears from me as they open up about their pasts and the author has taken on some issues that are deeply emotional and she has done it so well with care and empathy, I loved the characters who are in this one Harriet and Indie Clem’s daughters they are the best and they made me smile, I do highly recommend this one, a truly beautiful story, thank you MS Linnell.
My thanks to Allen & Unwin AU and Netgalley for my copy to read and review.
5 stars
June 2, 2026 by Allen & Unwin
