Margaret WayKirja-arvosteluja

Romance

Romance

I enjoyed this Australian romance that was in my TBR pile. I bought this at a local library sale and I voluntarily chose to review this story. I gave a 4* rating. This is not for the under 18 readers. This story pulled me in quickly with the heroine's immediate anger and antagonism. Turns she had some reasons to feel that way. There is a little bit of action and some exploring of Australia. Lot of action toward the end and a real nice ending.

Colby was happy and excited to be going back to live in King Country, her childhood home in the heart of the Australian Outback, still ruled over by her dashing cousin Dart King. He had been like a god to Colby when she was a small girl..only Colby wasn't a small girl any longer.

Delightful hero and heroine.

Adrienne's home situation was hardly a happy one, with her father absorbed in his glamorous new young second wife, who barely troubled to conceal her jealousy and dislike of Adrienne. So she took a job as secretary at the outback station of Saranga as a means of escape. Saranga boasted a beautiful old homestead, all colonial elegance, of mellow sandstone and white cast-iron lace, framed in cloudy jacaranda trees -- paradise on earth, in fact! Even its owner, Grant Manning, was in keeping with the heavenly surroundings -- handsome, clever, and a man to contend with. Adrienne had escaped from one difficult situation, but didn't it look as if she had got herself straight into another?

Rosslyn was spending her summer vacation in Northern Australia, looking after a rather difficult small child.
Her biggest problem turned out to be the child's uncle, the attractive but antagonizing cattle baron, Boyd Ballinger, who announced at the outset that he was a bachelor and intended to remain one!

Another man determined to remain a bachelor, great repartee. Wonderful child. Rosslyn a terrific heroine.

To take her mind off the tragic death of her father, Corinne went to work on Bahl Bahla, the great cattle station in the Outback. There she met Kiall Ballantine, who thought her just a society orchid and misinterpreted the reason for her unhappiness. It was the beginning of a tempestuous relationship.

Another one for my quest to read the first 100 HPs. This one is numbered 78 and was first published in 1972. It's the 43rd one I've read so far.

Okay so this book was strange. The writing style was extremely overwrought. It was all quite dramatic and flowery. Here's an example from the first of the book:

She was lying outstretched against a flat boulder, her arms gently floated open, one hand clutching a clump of white lilies, her long silvery hair trailing like sea silk in the stream. A ghostly light enshrouded her, a kind of deathly trance. Her beauty was eerie, heartbreaking. She looked like a beaten child, bleeding hands and feet, lacerated by the tearing thorns and clinging vines that had put him through a living hell, and him with a machete! Her face was miraculously untouched. a gleaming alabaster, like the lilies that grew in profusion along the reed flats.

and later:

The sunlight shafted across her bare head gleaming like a silvery cap; her hat hung by its strap down her back. Her face was glowing, impregnated with colour whipped up under the skin, her eyes enormous. There was something different about her, he saw, some lack of restraint, like spring water effervescing from sandstone into the sunlight, pure and tingling. Whatever it was, it fanned his anger.

Nobody's character was pinned down very well. Everything was sort of seen through a vaseline coated lens. The most clear cut character was the evil aunt of the hero. I really quite enjoyed her. Still even with her you never quite knew exactly what she had done in the past to the hero's mother or was going to do in the future to keep the heroine away from the hero. Details were lacking throughout the book. This book was a whole lot of telling and relatively little showing.

So the heroine was so tragic and wonderful that everyone loves her except the evil aunt of course. The hero blows hot and cold and never says what he means. There is a lovelorn other man, amnesia and a great cattle station complete with aboriginal ceremonies. It wasn't the worst I've read for stereotyping native cultures but it did have that going on a bit. I liked the aboriginal maid though. She seemed to have a fairly well developed character and came across as a real woman who was living within her culture but who managed to be fairly modern anyway.

The book ended pretty much with a whimper. There was no crisis or climax to be resolved. She's like "I think I'm well enough to get a job" and he's all "how dare you? You will obviously marry me instead." I mean it wasn't awful. There were words of love exchanged but they did sort of come out of nowhere.

So a few of my friends were talking about this book and I just had to read it. It was a whole bunch of crazy fun. Well written to keep your attention and not full of purple prose like the last MW book I read. There was a lot going on so the romance kind of took a back seat in this one. I didn't really mind here since the rest of it was so fun. I wish the other woman had just been really nasty instead of certifiably crazy. It would have made her death a victory for all heroines who have been at the mercy of a shitty OW. She really go what was coming to her/them

oddly written

OMG, just OMG. Maybe I need a What the Heck Did I Just Read shelf. I've read Margaret Way before and liked her but wow. Here are a couple of random samples

"McCabe's Kingdom! She said with a funny touch of irony."It moves inexorably over all of us. It's your whole existence. I want to escape it, yet somehow I can't. The fierce seasons, the cattle, the cloud castles, the spirit of the bush. Corroboree and dawn rituals and inhuman chants. And those lovely curving mahogany banisters. Why use the stairs? The house."

She tried to frame an answer. What answer did he want? It seemed he had no need for one, could not have listened to her in any event. Lions might have been roaring outside the cage, waiting to get in, but she didn't care . It was worth annihilation to be trapped in a labyrinth of impossibly blossoming emotions, the most willful challenges that she met and rose to, bewitched and bewitching , set on a brilliant vocation. To give him what he wanted. Warm, silken, her black hair caught in the neck of his shirt, brushing his face. The cool scented darkness was shimmering, breaking all sense of discipline. Of time and place. She no longer knew where she was. Only with whom was important - Thorn.

Just WTF? The whole book was like wading through syrup. I kind of felt like I was reading an affected pretentious play from the 1950s. They all talked like they were declaiming lines all the time on an off Broadway play.

Best thing about this book was the cover illustration.

Didn't finish

Romántica126

Her Australian Cattle Baron by Margaret Way
The Australians #2

Romance set in Australia starring two sets of siblings – Royce and his half-brother Jimmy AND Amelia and her adopted sister Marigold. The plot was predictable, the depictions of scenery gorgeous, the characters like many I have seen before and for the most part I felt I was reading a book written decades ago – perhaps formulaic is the term I should use to describe this romance. Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books – Lyrical Shine for the ARC. This is my honest review.

2-3 Stars½

The storyline had promise but the author took unnecessary time getting to the point!!!! Took a lot away from the book

I can't lie this book was a bit everywhere, but the anticipation waiting for the wicked grandmother to die or be exposed was great, I can't lie I was disappointed she died, I wanted punishment not death, Kyall was annoying believing what his grandmother said but I guess it's family so you can't blame him!

Sarah being scared of Ruth at 30 would be ridiculous but with her previous sins, believable! But honestly though the Ruth got away with her sins which was soo annoying to me, I also didn't like how she tried to work in all the other characters into the book!

The storyline had promise but the author took unnecessary time getting to the point!!!! Took a lot away from the book

I can't lie this book was a bit everywhere, but the anticipation waiting for the wicked grandmother to die or be exposed was great, I can't lie I was disappointed she died, I wanted punishment not death, Kyall was annoying believing what his grandmother said but I guess it's family so you can't blame him!

Sarah being scared of Ruth at 30 would be ridiculous but with her previous sins, believable! But honestly though the Ruth got away with her sins which was soo annoying to me, I also didn't like how she tried to work in all the other characters into the book!

quick and fast read

For some reason I felt I had fallen into a historical romance although I knew it was contemporary. I am not sure if it was the style of writing or the way the characters behaved or just what it was but it had a different feel to it from most contemporary romances that I have read recently…an interesting feel that kept me turning page after page to find out what would happen.

Charlotte had loving parents and a wonderful life until she turned 12. Then, her parents died and her life was turned upside down. Put in boarding school, ignored by most of her family and left to her own devices she became stronger through adversity. Her one mainstay was Brendan and though their families were enemies their friendship never wavered.

Five years later, when her grandfather died her life changed again. She was suddenly an heiress with more money than others in the family received – they were not happy. For four years she continued to study and work and wait till her money would be in her own hands and not be overseen by others.

A young beautiful heiress has dreams but she also has responsibilities. She planned to eventually marry and have a family. She was plotting her future while dealing with much going on around her. Charlotte must have been an old soul because she had the strength of a lioness and an indomitable will.

This is a love story that was somewhat predictable but a pleasure to read and I would like to thank NetGalley and Kensington Books for the copy to read in exchange for my honest review.

AUTHOR Way, Margaret
TITLE: Australia's Most Eligible Bachelor
DATE READ 06/02/16
RATING 4/B
GENRE/ PUB DATE/PUBLISHER / # OF PAGES Romance/210/ Harlequin / 184 pgs
SERIES/STAND-ALONE: #1 in Rylance Dynasty
CHARACTERS Miranda Thornton/ farmer's daughter; Corin Rylance / heir to the Rylance industrial empire
TIME/PLACE: Present / Brisbane, Queensland Australia
FIRST LINES For Miranda in her hyped-up state, everything seemed to be rushing at her; cars, buses, cabs, pedestrians.
COMMENTS: Miranda was raised on a farm. Her "parents" did not have her until later in life. Both parents died when she was a late teen, before her mother passed she revealed the secret she had kept re: Miranda's birth. She is really their granddaughter and her bio mother is Leila Rylance the wife of Dalton Rylance -- CEO of Rylance Metals. Miranda has always wanted to be a doctor and decides to contact the Rylance family to put her through medical school. She meets w/ Corin and after determining her story to be true she is accepted in their scholarship program, however, he takes a personal interest in her and serves as a mentor and guide while she is studying. Miranda has no desire to meet Leila she just wants to reach her goal of becoming a doctor. Nice romance and story.

harlequin romance, plot includes usual fluff, but there's a murderer on the trail of the heiress

AUTHOR: Way, Margaret
TITLE: Guardian to the Heiress
Date Read: 02/06/11
RATING: 4/B
GENRE/PUB DATE/PUBLISHER/# OF PGS: Romance/2013/Harlequin/186 pgs
SERIES/STAND ALONE: SA

TIME/PLACE: Present/Sydney, Australia
CHARACTERS: Carol Chancellor/heiress; Damon Hunter/lawyer

FIRST LINES: Damon Hunter was placing some files in his briefcase when Marcus Bradfield walked through the open door of his office, an attempt at a solemn expression on his handsome, fleshy face.

COMMENTS: Carol's father died young in a boating accident. His parents never quite trusted their daughter-in-law and Carol grew up estranged from her family. Her grandfather did keep tabs on her & thought she was the most capable of managing his fortune and had assigned Damon Hunter as her guardian. Light romance.

Two sweet Christmas novellas. Fun quick seasonal reads.

In Way’s romance novel, bachelor Linc Mastermann is never without female company as women throw themselves at the sheep baron. But women want his wealth not him and he finds himself unable to trust women in general. Daniela Adami has come to Briar’s Ridge to escape London and the pain she left behind. Taking their past into consideration, Linc and Daniela are perfect for each other—he wants a marriage for the sake of his legacy and she wants to protect her heart. But will the arrangement heal what ails them both or cause more pain?

A nice addition to the Cowboy at Heart series.