Author- Fiona McCallum
Genre- Australian Fiction
Release Date- 1st of April 2013
Publisher- Harlequin MIRA
Review copy provided by publisher
Blurb- When Emily Oliphant married John Stratten, she thought it was the beginning of an exciting new adventure, imagining herself standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the most eligible farmer in the district, mucking in to build a thriving agricultural business. Three years later, however, Emily sees her marriage for what it is — a loveless tie to a callous man, her advice heeded only when it pertains to her husband’s dinner.
The last straw comes when John threatens to harm her new puppy, and Emily is forced to brave her husband’s wrath, and her mother’s glaring disapproval, and move out. With the encouragement of her new friend Barbara, Emily moves into an abandoned property, taking on the mammoth task of making the unloved house into a home. As she begins to work on the property, she discovers a new side of her father, meets some new friends and finds an inner strength she never knew she had.
Emily’s fragile confidence is soon tested, though, when the owners of the property make her a tempting offer. Will she risk everything and invest in the ramshackle house that has finally given her a sense of purpose? Or will Emily listen to the views of the community, and the voice of her mother, and go back to her sensible, but meaningless, life with John?
3 Sassy Books!
Review- I must admit, I have mixed feelings about Saving Grace. Let's start with the good. I don't often read many books that are set in my homeland of Australia so I really enjoyed the familiarity of the language and described landscapes. It was easier for me to create images in my head of buildings and locations because I am so familiar with it. The familiarity of a small country town setting where everyone knows everyone also relateable. I also found it easy to relate to the characters because they are country Australian's which I have grown up around, not to mention reading something with Australian lingo in it. If it weren't for this connection, I think I would have given it a lesser rating.
Onto the storyline itself. It was fairly flat-line. It just seemed like one continuous and somewhat repetitive story. There weren't really any highs or lows or anything overly exciting. There was no intensity within the story, good or bad. It is described that Emily finds an "inner strength she never knew she had", I never discovered that. I found her depressing and quite annoying at times with zero self esteem. Rather frustrating.
All together I found the story lighthearted but not heart felt. This is the type of book you would read if you didn't feel like investing yourself entirely in a book.
All together I found the story lighthearted but not heart felt. This is the type of book you would read if you didn't feel like investing yourself entirely in a book.
To find out more about Fiona and her other projects you can check out her WEBSITE.
You can purchase your copy from any good book stockist or online at AMAZON and
Happy Reading!
