6 March 2014

ACRBA Review: Falling for the Farmer by Narelle Atkins



3 - 7 March 2014
is introducing

Falling for the Farmer

Heartsong Presents

By
About the Book


KATE LAWSON IS A RUNAWAY BRIDE

And she’s incredibly grateful when Jack Bradley offers her a job on his apple farm. Working side by side in the orchards with her best friend’s brother seems like the perfect way to get over her disastrous engagement. Until Kate finds herself falling hard for the handsome farmer.

Jack Bradley knows city-girl Kate isn’t here to stay. Yet suddenly he’s imagining a life with her in the country. When Kate considers going back to the city, can Jack find a way to show her that her real home is here on the farm, by his side?





About the Author

NARELLE ATKINS writes contemporary inspirational romance and lives in Canberra, Australia. She sold her debut novel, set in Australia, to Harlequin's Love Inspired Heartsong Presents line in a six-book contract. She is also a member of International Christian Fiction Writers group blog.http://internationalchristianfictionwriters.blogspot.com

Narelle is a co-founder with Jenny Blake of the Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance (ACRBA). http://acrba.blogspot.com 

Her debut book, Falling for the Farmer, will be a February 2014 release, followed by The Nurse's Perfect Match in May 2014 andThe Doctor's Return in August 2014.


Twitter: @NarelleAtkins https://twitter.com/NarelleAtkins

My Review - A Fun Summer Read

Kate is about to enter the church for her wedding when she realises she can’t go through with it, no matter what her mother says. She needs to escape Sydney, needs a job and needs somewhere to live. Bridesmaid Megan and her brother have the perfect solution: Kate can work on the family apple orchard, situated in a small town near the Snowy Mountains.

As Kate settles in to life in Snowgum Creek, she finds she isn’t regretting leaving Rodney at the altar … and she is falling for the handsome farmer (I guess that technically, Jack is an orchardist, but Falling for the Orchardist doesn’t have quite the same ring, does it?).

The characters were excellent. Kate and Jack were likeable, Megan shows potential for future books, and Kate’s mother … well, I just wanted to have words with that woman! Her reputation with her posh Sydney friends is more important than her daughter.

The one fault with Falling for the Farmer is what I see as the common fault of category romance novels: they are short, which inevitably means part of it feels rushed (in this case, the last couple of chapters. Or it could be that I didn’t want it to end).

It is wonderful to see a Christian novel from one of the major US publishers set in my part of the world, even if it is across the ditch. Falling for the Farmer is the first of a trilogy, with the second book due out in May. I’ll be looking forward to reading it.

Recommended for fans of light romance.

Thanks to Narelle Atkins for a free copy of Falling for the Farmer for review. You can find out more about Narelle at her website.

4 comments:

  1. Hi Iola, Thanks so much for reading and reviewing Falling for the Farmer as part of the ACRBA Tour.

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  2. I enjoyed it too! I think I liked the length actually, just because at this moment in time I want to read but have so little time.

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  3. You summed it up perfectly, Iola - the only thing wrong with it is that it was short! But for those who struggle for time to read (busy mothers or full time workers, etc), this is the perfect kind of book for them as they can read it all in a sitting or few, without falling behind in the story between reading snatches. So for that market, this story is perfect.

    Plus, FALLING FOR THE FARMER shows the kind of promise that Narelle has for full-length fiction, as her characterisation is rich enough for us to want to know more. And to be set "Down Under" but still have an international feel to it - bonus!

    So very much looking forward to the next books!

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  4. I enjoyed it too, Iola - it was a perfect summer read. (And yes, I wanted to have a word or two with Kate's mother as well). So glad Narelle has more books coming out in quick succession.

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