A review by rhodaj
Close to Home by Janet Gover
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