When Patience Cartwright is stranded in her hometown, the last thing she expects is a second chance at love…
Fiercely independent naval officer, Patience Cartwright has never had a place to call home, but she knows where she doesn’t belong. After an unhappy childhood and a badly broken heart, she’ll never return to the country.
But to save her career, Patience is forced to accept a secondment – to an environmental team working near the town where she grew up. There she encounters once more the infuriatingly attractive biologist Hugo Halstead – the very man she’s sworn never to forgive.
Given their history, Hugo, as self-assured and honest as Patience is secretive and self-contained, has vowed never to trust her again, but that doesn’t stop him feeling just as helplessly drawn to her complicated mix of courage and fragility as he ever was.
As Patience recuperates from a life-threatening illness in the small country town of Horseshoe Hill, she realises the beauty of the landscape and close-knit community promise something very different to the future she’s mapped out.
But could the secrets she keeps and the shadows of her past send her adrift all over again?
Penelope Janu was a solicitor and legal academic and raised six children before she finally had the time to put pen to paper and write. Her debut novel, In at the Deep End, was published in 2017. Since then, she’s written rural and coastal romances such as Starting from Scratch, Up on Horseshoe Hill and Clouds on the Horizon. Her stories explore social and environmental issues but are fundamentally a celebration of Australian characters and communities. Her latest novel is called Shelter from the Storm and focusses on two minor characters from previous novels. Judging by all the 5-star reviews that are coming in via our Preview program, this is going to be very popular.
Patience Cartwright, known as Imp, is an appealing protagonist who often behaves in complete opposition to her name. A navy lieutenant, Patience has been sent to work near Horseshoe Hill, a place she swore to never return to. And to make matters worse, she’s working with an environmental team that includes Hugo, a biologist – and her first love.
At the forefront are compelling characters, descriptive landscape, and sizzling chemistry between Patience and Hugo, immersing readers into a small-town community. On a deeper level, Janu effortlessly weaves together themes of PTSD, sexual harassment, childhood abuse, illness, neurodiversity and, as always, topical environmental issues, but never strays into didactic territory. Instead, it makes for an unusually multilayered rural romance.
Shelter from the Storm is another excellent story about love, healing and second chances from Penelope Janu. The perfect addition to your new year TBR pile.
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