A town scandal. A kelpie chaperone. A winter ball. The bush telegraph has never had so much to talk about…
Hettie Burbrook is the first to admit she’s happiest when flying solo through the outback skies. After her hobby of photographing farmers lands her a book deal, it provides the ideal cover story to visit small-town Bundilla. But every photograph brings her closer to uncovering the answers behind why she is really in the mountains…
Deer farmer Taite Lancaster is as strong as the tempered steel he welds into lifelike animal sculptures. Unlike his father, he will never allow feelings to break him. But when the old school friend of his twin sister lands on the airstrip of their high-country station, he knows he’s in trouble. Hettie is the one woman he can’t forget.
While they’re both determined to keep to themselves, between dog races, a ute muster and a winter ball, Hettie and Taite are forced to face how much they need each other. And when a long-buried scandal erupts into the present, relationships and lives are threatened.
Can a man who locks away his emotions reveal his vulnerability before the mountain snow melts? And can a woman intent on righting a decades-old tragedy listen to her heart before history repeats itself?
Alissa Callen is a bestselling author and the winner of the 2021 Australian Romance Readers Awards, and it’s easy to see why! Snowy Mountains Promise is a heartwarming novel about romance, grief and secrets left buried. Callen’s rural and small-town romance stories have always captivated me, and I was blown away by the vivid, beautiful depictions of Bundilla.
When Hettie arrives in Bundilla, she didn’t expect her teenage-crush, Taite, to throw her carefully curated world into chaos. You feel Hettie struggle as she tries to uncover secrets hidden by her family, but still finds herself being pulled towards him. Taite, a closed-off deer farmer struggling with grief, clearly feels this strong connection, too, and can’t stay away from Hettie. Their relationship had me hooked and I was desperate to find out if their love story would come true.
I think the intense connection between Hettie and Taite is electrifying. The novel alternates in perspective between Hettie and Taite, which really showcases their deep yearning for each other. Like any good rural romance, this makes the story even more unputdownable, waiting in anticipation to see their romance unfold, along with the secrets they’re both hiding. The stunning Bundilla landscape is the perfect setting for their romance and Callen truly transports you to this remote location in rural Australia.
Snowy Mountains Promise is a delightfully charming rural story about love and healing. If you love rural romance, electrifying chemistry and page-turning prose, this is the book for you.
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