mandylovestoread's review
4.0
An Aussie rural romance and so much more! A circus troupe, a new teacher, the town's favourite Aunt and teenagers finding love for the first time. It is a story of love, of new starts, of family and regret.
Nyringa is a small town in rural NSW. "Aunt" Alice Dwyer has lived there all her life, she knows everybody and they know her. She likes things a certain way and doe not deal well with change. So when a former circus performer Lucienne and her grandson Simon move to town to retire, Alice is not happy. She tries her best to get rid of them, telling anybody that will listen that they are bad for the small town. But when Lucienne opens up her land for her circus to setup camp and rehearse it is the last straw. She wants them gone.
Alice was not a very likeable character at all. She is rude and obnoxious but I think that was the whole point. She is stuck in her ways and the prologue, set 60 years earlier gives some clues as to why. Along with Lucienne and the new teacher Meg, they all try to find their feet in town, all hiding something from their pasts and scared to open up to anybody.
It was a lovely read, I loved the circus scenes in particular.
Thanks to Harlequin Australia for my copy of this book to read.
Nyringa is a small town in rural NSW. "Aunt" Alice Dwyer has lived there all her life, she knows everybody and they know her. She likes things a certain way and doe not deal well with change. So when a former circus performer Lucienne and her grandson Simon move to town to retire, Alice is not happy. She tries her best to get rid of them, telling anybody that will listen that they are bad for the small town. But when Lucienne opens up her land for her circus to setup camp and rehearse it is the last straw. She wants them gone.
Alice was not a very likeable character at all. She is rude and obnoxious but I think that was the whole point. She is stuck in her ways and the prologue, set 60 years earlier gives some clues as to why. Along with Lucienne and the new teacher Meg, they all try to find their feet in town, all hiding something from their pasts and scared to open up to anybody.
It was a lovely read, I loved the circus scenes in particular.
Thanks to Harlequin Australia for my copy of this book to read.
rhodaj's review
4.0
4.5 stars
Thank you to @harlequinaus for sending me a copy of this book!
The book begins with a young Alice out greeting the circus coming to her small country town with her boyfriend, however when her boyfriend is overly taken by a young circus performer on a horse, she is gutted. Fast forward many years, Alice is the matriarch in her small country town and is furious to learn that a vacant property has been purchased by circus performers.
Meg has also recently moved to town, taking a teaching position at the local school as she tries to put a traumatic experience behind her. As the circus performers and the townspeople’s worlds collide there are both tensions and friendships that are formed as a number of the characters are trying to recover from past traumas.
Although I guess this book would be classified a rural romance, this is a ‘romance’ I am totally on board with as there are so many other interesting things going on, that romance is only one aspect of it. The circus storyline is fun and interesting as is the storyline about the rather frosty relationship between Alice and Lucienne, the circus matriarch.
The characters are engaging as is the small town community vibe, where you feel like the characters are actually people that you know. This was a quick and entertaining read about family, loss, change and friendship that I really enjoyed. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
Thank you to @harlequinaus for sending me a copy of this book!
The book begins with a young Alice out greeting the circus coming to her small country town with her boyfriend, however when her boyfriend is overly taken by a young circus performer on a horse, she is gutted. Fast forward many years, Alice is the matriarch in her small country town and is furious to learn that a vacant property has been purchased by circus performers.
Meg has also recently moved to town, taking a teaching position at the local school as she tries to put a traumatic experience behind her. As the circus performers and the townspeople’s worlds collide there are both tensions and friendships that are formed as a number of the characters are trying to recover from past traumas.
Although I guess this book would be classified a rural romance, this is a ‘romance’ I am totally on board with as there are so many other interesting things going on, that romance is only one aspect of it. The circus storyline is fun and interesting as is the storyline about the rather frosty relationship between Alice and Lucienne, the circus matriarch.
The characters are engaging as is the small town community vibe, where you feel like the characters are actually people that you know. This was a quick and entertaining read about family, loss, change and friendship that I really enjoyed. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
aplace_inthesun's review against another edition
4.0
Rural New South Wales, Australia.
A Circus.
Family secrets.
French pastries.
Love lost.
Love found.
Sounds like ingredients for a great Australian rural romance. This one certainly delivered.
Initially when I started reading Close to Home by Janet Gover I thought I was reading a historical fiction but it's the prologue to the here and now of the book. And what a prologue it is. Alice is a young woman smitten with a young man, holding out hope of romance and a future. They are both captivated by a visiting circus which was to be a special date for both of them.
Fast-forward 60 years or so and Alice is the pillar of Nyringa (a fictional town as far as I can tell) in northern New South Wales, Australia. Most of the small community is related directly or through marriage to Alice. There's not much that goes on that Alice doesn't know about, or hasn't given approval for.
Within the context of the small town there are some new residents. A teacher called Meg, who is escaping an incident of violence in her past. She's looking for peace and tranquility. She's teaching many of the young impressionable students (including Alice's granddaughter Jenny). There's also Simon, a man who has moved to town with his grandmother Lucienne. They are "circus folk" and are wanting to settle in town to build a retreat of sorts where other circus workers can train, or call home during their time between towns or seasons. The stories of all these characters are entwined in rich detail. Some are preferring to live in the past, begrudging the world moving forward. Others are needing to put the past behind them, in order to forge a future.
There are a couple of blossoming romances, some miscommunication, secrets, intrafamilial violence, and domestic drama. This made for a wonderful enchanting read. Overall it's a book heavy on sentiment in the right places and very bittersweet. I would have loved a little more intensity in one of the romances as the buildup was lovely!
This was a lovely way to round out my reading for 2020.
Thank you to Harlequin Australia for providing me an e-copy of this book to read and review. The book will be published on 3 February 2021!
A Circus.
Family secrets.
French pastries.
Love lost.
Love found.
Sounds like ingredients for a great Australian rural romance. This one certainly delivered.
Initially when I started reading Close to Home by Janet Gover I thought I was reading a historical fiction but it's the prologue to the here and now of the book. And what a prologue it is. Alice is a young woman smitten with a young man, holding out hope of romance and a future. They are both captivated by a visiting circus which was to be a special date for both of them.
Fast-forward 60 years or so and Alice is the pillar of Nyringa (a fictional town as far as I can tell) in northern New South Wales, Australia. Most of the small community is related directly or through marriage to Alice. There's not much that goes on that Alice doesn't know about, or hasn't given approval for.
Within the context of the small town there are some new residents. A teacher called Meg, who is escaping an incident of violence in her past. She's looking for peace and tranquility. She's teaching many of the young impressionable students (including Alice's granddaughter Jenny). There's also Simon, a man who has moved to town with his grandmother Lucienne. They are "circus folk" and are wanting to settle in town to build a retreat of sorts where other circus workers can train, or call home during their time between towns or seasons. The stories of all these characters are entwined in rich detail. Some are preferring to live in the past, begrudging the world moving forward. Others are needing to put the past behind them, in order to forge a future.
There are a couple of blossoming romances, some miscommunication, secrets, intrafamilial violence, and domestic drama. This made for a wonderful enchanting read. Overall it's a book heavy on sentiment in the right places and very bittersweet. I would have loved a little more intensity in one of the romances as the buildup was lovely!
This was a lovely way to round out my reading for 2020.
Thank you to Harlequin Australia for providing me an e-copy of this book to read and review. The book will be published on 3 February 2021!
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