busyreading's review
4.0
Calla Maloney’s trip to Kangaroo Island was purely to find her estranged brother, Jem. Calla struggled with seasickness during the boat trip, but once she stepped off the boat that sick feeling didn’t seem to ease.
Firefighter Sam Hunter is returning to his hometown of Kangaroo Island after leaving there twenty years ago. His father's health is deteriorating and it’s been suggested he move into care, but Sam is going to have a battle on his hands trying to convince his father, Charlie of going anywhere.
As Calla and Sam’s paths crossed they both felt a connection, but Calla only had one thing on her mind and that was to find her brother. There was no time for either of them to explore the feelings they had for each other or was there?
The majority of this story is set in Kangaroo Island a place I would actually like to visit one day. Aussie author Victoria Purman has written a beautiful story about family secrets, love and loss. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and look forward to reading more books by this author.
Firefighter Sam Hunter is returning to his hometown of Kangaroo Island after leaving there twenty years ago. His father's health is deteriorating and it’s been suggested he move into care, but Sam is going to have a battle on his hands trying to convince his father, Charlie of going anywhere.
As Calla and Sam’s paths crossed they both felt a connection, but Calla only had one thing on her mind and that was to find her brother. There was no time for either of them to explore the feelings they had for each other or was there?
The majority of this story is set in Kangaroo Island a place I would actually like to visit one day. Aussie author Victoria Purman has written a beautiful story about family secrets, love and loss. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and look forward to reading more books by this author.
mandi_m's review
Customer Review:
"Only We Know certainly gets off to an unusual start. Calla is just about to throw up on the ferry to Kangaroo Island, and level-headed fireman Sam quickly guides her to the side of the boat – one way to meet someone new! However, unbeknown to them both, their family lives are already intertwined. As events unfold, Sam and Calla find themselves facing all sorts of challenges, not least of which is the relationship emerging between them. This makes for a good storyline. I did, however, find this book to be a bit light on character development - Calla and Sam are largely the same people from beginning to end, and their responses to situations that arise are fairly predictable. The exception to this is Calla’s approach to Sam’s elderly father, where she shows greater depth than we have seen before. The author’s description of Kangaroo Island is delightful – the scenery, the people, the way of life and the culture of the island really come alive. This, and an engaging storyline, make Only We Know an enjoyable read."
Many thanks to the wonderful Linda for this review :)
"Only We Know certainly gets off to an unusual start. Calla is just about to throw up on the ferry to Kangaroo Island, and level-headed fireman Sam quickly guides her to the side of the boat – one way to meet someone new! However, unbeknown to them both, their family lives are already intertwined. As events unfold, Sam and Calla find themselves facing all sorts of challenges, not least of which is the relationship emerging between them. This makes for a good storyline. I did, however, find this book to be a bit light on character development - Calla and Sam are largely the same people from beginning to end, and their responses to situations that arise are fairly predictable. The exception to this is Calla’s approach to Sam’s elderly father, where she shows greater depth than we have seen before. The author’s description of Kangaroo Island is delightful – the scenery, the people, the way of life and the culture of the island really come alive. This, and an engaging storyline, make Only We Know an enjoyable read."
Many thanks to the wonderful Linda for this review :)
samstillreading's review
5.0
I don’t think I’ve ever read a book set on Australia’s Kangaroo Island, but in retrospect it’s a gorgeous place to set a book. A ferry ride away from South Australia’s coast, it’s a wild, rugged and beautiful place. The perfect place to set a story about love, loss, family and letting go, which is what Only We Know is about. Victoria Purman proves once again that she’s a talented writer with a particular flair for making settings a character in the story. I haven’t been to Kangaroo Island (only the ferry terminal at Cape Jervis), but now I definitely want to check it out. It sounds idyllic, curled up in front of a log fire while watching a beautiful sunset…
That’s kind of what Calla, the main character had in mind when she imagined herself on the island. Hell, she’d even bought her paints along in the hope she would start painting again. But Calla had a deeper reason for wanting to go to Kangaroo Island, as she had heard that her brother was there, who disappeared from her life two years ago. Calla hoped to give Jem something that was his, whether Jem thought it belonged to him or not. The one thing Calla forgot was that she gets dreadfully seasick. A chance meeting with a stranger on the ferry and then again in the supermarket leads Calla to Sam, a firefighter with a family secret of his own. Sam’s dad is getting old and forgetful and can’t live on the family farm much longer. But will he move? No, he’s dreadfully stubborn and this is Sam’s last chance to get him to leave the family home. Then he will sell and return to Adelaide.
Both the characters think that their respective missions on the island will be easy, but of course they aren’t. The story is full of dramatic events balanced with some lighter moments of Calla and Sam fancying the pants off each other but being too shy to say or do anything. Calla is damaged from a long term relationship with a married man, while Sam carries an injury with haunting memories. Plus both have family baggage, but sometimes the perspective of an outsider helps to settle things. All the characters jump to life off the page and are fully fleshed out, from the lady manning the craft shop to Jessie, Jem’s partner. It’s a story that gets into your head quickly and stays there. Purman treats her characters with a tender touch – every action is thought out and everyone gets their happy ending, even if they had an exceptionally bumpy road to get there. What I really liked too was that Calla and Sam became friends before falling in love. I found that refreshing, rather than the sex first, then friendship and love. I think their friendship demonstrated that the couple could rely on each other 100% in any situation.
Victoria Purman’s writing gets better and better with every book (it was pretty fine to start with, don’t get me wrong). But Only We Know just reaches out to you and pulls you into Calla and Sam’s world from the start. It’s easy to read and easy to forget the time when you read her books. I thought I’d miss the characters from the Boys of Summer trilogy, but I didn’t at all because Sam and Calla (and Charlie, and Jem) are all engaging enough to accept them.
I also adored the cover of Only We Know, I think it’s perfect. Victoria Purman took the background picture herself (so you know it’s really Kangaroo Island) and Calla is just how I imagined her. My only disappointment was that by reading the eBook I didn’t get to look at the gorgeous cover! If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about the beauty of South Australia while being engrossed in a great story, read Victoria Purman.
Thanks to Harlequin Australia for the eARC. I love Victoria Purman's books so much I'd be happy to pay for them, so this is a bonus!
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
That’s kind of what Calla, the main character had in mind when she imagined herself on the island. Hell, she’d even bought her paints along in the hope she would start painting again. But Calla had a deeper reason for wanting to go to Kangaroo Island, as she had heard that her brother was there, who disappeared from her life two years ago. Calla hoped to give Jem something that was his, whether Jem thought it belonged to him or not. The one thing Calla forgot was that she gets dreadfully seasick. A chance meeting with a stranger on the ferry and then again in the supermarket leads Calla to Sam, a firefighter with a family secret of his own. Sam’s dad is getting old and forgetful and can’t live on the family farm much longer. But will he move? No, he’s dreadfully stubborn and this is Sam’s last chance to get him to leave the family home. Then he will sell and return to Adelaide.
Both the characters think that their respective missions on the island will be easy, but of course they aren’t. The story is full of dramatic events balanced with some lighter moments of Calla and Sam fancying the pants off each other but being too shy to say or do anything. Calla is damaged from a long term relationship with a married man, while Sam carries an injury with haunting memories. Plus both have family baggage, but sometimes the perspective of an outsider helps to settle things. All the characters jump to life off the page and are fully fleshed out, from the lady manning the craft shop to Jessie, Jem’s partner. It’s a story that gets into your head quickly and stays there. Purman treats her characters with a tender touch – every action is thought out and everyone gets their happy ending, even if they had an exceptionally bumpy road to get there. What I really liked too was that Calla and Sam became friends before falling in love. I found that refreshing, rather than the sex first, then friendship and love. I think their friendship demonstrated that the couple could rely on each other 100% in any situation.
Victoria Purman’s writing gets better and better with every book (it was pretty fine to start with, don’t get me wrong). But Only We Know just reaches out to you and pulls you into Calla and Sam’s world from the start. It’s easy to read and easy to forget the time when you read her books. I thought I’d miss the characters from the Boys of Summer trilogy, but I didn’t at all because Sam and Calla (and Charlie, and Jem) are all engaging enough to accept them.
I also adored the cover of Only We Know, I think it’s perfect. Victoria Purman took the background picture herself (so you know it’s really Kangaroo Island) and Calla is just how I imagined her. My only disappointment was that by reading the eBook I didn’t get to look at the gorgeous cover! If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about the beauty of South Australia while being engrossed in a great story, read Victoria Purman.
Thanks to Harlequin Australia for the eARC. I love Victoria Purman's books so much I'd be happy to pay for them, so this is a bonus!
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
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