We’ve finished the ninth month of the Unlocking the Past 2022 Reading Challenge: Around the World. This month we traveled to Oceania, and my choice of story was A Girl’s Guide to the Outback by Jessica Kate. Once you read my review, don’t forget to comment to be entered for your chance to win a copy.
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A Girl’s Guide to the Outback
by Jessica Kate
For this month’s reading challenge, I picked up A Girl’s Guide to the Outback written by Aussie native, Jessica Kate. It was a joy to get to experience Australia (or ‘Straya) through the eyes of a native. Between the landscapes, authentic Aussie lingo (translated seamlessly), peek into the grit it takes to run a farm in the outback, and the wide array of characters in the story, it truly felt like I’d made a trip around the world. Especially as the heroine was an American experiencing it for the first time The Aussie lingo was a delight to read and experience through the eyes of an American setting foot in the country for the first time. The characters were complex and real, and the storyline true-to-life. The wrestle of faith and growth in Christ with this book was well-done, not preachy, and oh, so needed.
I definitely recommend this story for those who want storylines that are rich with complex characters and transport you to another location. This was my first Jessica Kate book, but will not be my last.
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Rom-Com
Plot Overview:
How far will a girl go to win back a guy she can’t stand? This funny, sweet, and romantic story proves that opposites do attract—and that God has a sense of humor.
Samuel Payton is a passionate youth pastor in Virginia, but below the surface, he’s still recovering from the blow of a failed business and insecurities he can’t shake. His coworker, start-up expert Kimberly Foster, is brilliant, fearless, and capable, but years of personal rejection have left her defensive and longing for a family. Two people have never been more at odds—or more attracted to one another. And every day at work, the sparks sure do fly.
When Kimberly’s ambitious plans for Sam’s ministry butt up against his risk-averse nature, Sam decides that obligations to family trump his work for the church. He quits the ministry and heads home to Australia to help his sister, Jules, save her struggling farm. As Kimberly’s grand plans flounder, she is forced to face the truth: that no one can replace Sam. Together they strike up a deal: If Kimberly comes to work on Jules’s dairy farm and lends her business brains to their endeavor, then maybe—just maybe—Sam will reconsider his future with the church.
As Kimberly tries her hand at Australian farm life, she learns more about herself than she could’ve ever expected. Meanwhile Sam is forced to re-evaluate this spunky woman he thought he already knew. As foes slowly morph into friends, they wonder if they might be something even more. But when disaster strikes the farm, will Sam find it within himself to take a risk that could lead to love? And will Kimberly trust God with her future?
PURCHASE LINKS
Amazon | Baker Bookhouse | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million | Book Depository | Bookshop.org | Christianbook.com
Giveaway
For your chance to win a print copy, comment with what book YOU read for this month and you will also be entered into the year-end Grand Prize Reader Basket. Use the Rafflecopter below for extra entries and to mark that you left a comment. Entries end on October 7th at midnight EST, and the winner will be drawn sometime that week and notified by email. The winner will be announced don’t the Rafflecopter widget. *Open to all residents of the contiguous USA, legally able to enter, and an e-book format or Amazon Gift Card will be awarded to those outside that range who are legally able to enter.
I read The Joy of Falling in September. Looking for recommendations for October.
For September I read “The Joy of Falling.” For October, I’m looking at “The Sunflower,” but I’m open to suggestions.
I’ll try to get a list of suggestions up next week. I’ve been sick and on a nonstop run, so I haven’t done one for this month (or the last couple).
Your the second person to say the Joy of Falling! Did you enjoy it?
I have Crossfire by Jeanette Windle out from the library, but I just realized how long it is, so I may choose to read The Sunflower by Richard Paul Evans or Wither Shall I Go by Gina Holder which is available on KU.
I read The Naturalist’s Daughter by Tea Cooper- Australia.
Not decided for October.
That’s the second person who’s said Tea Cooper. I’m going to have to look up their books purely because of their name!
I read the Woman in the Green Dress by Tea Cooper. For October, I’m trying to decide what to read for South America. I keep leaning towards reading a couple Juvenile fiction books – the Trailblazers by Dave and Neta Jackson, but are reading kids books allowed?
Absolutely. 🙂 It’s all about traveling around the world through fiction. 😉
I read The Joy of Falling by Lindsay Harrel. I really really enjoyed. I had read her book The Secrets of Paper and Ink months ago, and had planned to read The Joy of Falling, but had to return it to the library before I got to it. So, when I realized it fit September’s Oceania challenge, I felt it would be perfect. I very glad I read it.
For October I have Crossfire by Jeanette Windle out from the library, but I just realized how long it is, so I may choose to read The Sunflower by Richard Paul Evans or Wither Shall I Go by Gina Holder which is available on KU.