In the dusty Australian outback, a priceless treasure lies under ancient silt stone and sand: opals that gleam with rainbow fire and spark greed and betrayal in the hearts of men.
Kelsey Donovan doesn't care about opal. She arrives in Coober Pedy to look for a different treasure, the precious jewels of family and belonging. But when Kelsey finds Jake Donovan, the father she's never known, she is almost too late. Jake is in a coma, hovering between life and death after a mysterious cave-in at the Rainbow Fire mine that he owns with a stranger named Dillon Ward.
And who better to benefit from Jake's death than his partner?
What can Kelsey do for the father whose love she's always craved except safeguard what belongs to him? She sets out to protect the Rainbow Fire from Dillon himself, and to discover the truth behind her father's accident.
Sometimes though, the most precious of treasures isn't found in mines or in rewriting a difficult past, a painful lesson Kelsey learns almost too late. After all her struggles, could the greatest of treasures be standing right in front of her?
I'm the author of seventy-something novels, including romance, women's fiction and mystery. When We Were Sisters debuted in June 2016, a stand alone novel about two foster sisters traveling back into their past together. I loved writing it and love the cover my publisher chose.
I'm also excited about my recent series, Goddesses Anonymous, which started with One Mountain Away and was followed by Somewhere Between Luck and Trust. The third book in the series, A River Too Wide, came out in July 2014. The Color of Light debuted in August 2015. Will there be more? We'll see.
I'm also putting up my newly edited romance backlist and love re-reading and updating them a bit.
Last year my husband and I moved from Virginia, to Osprey, Florida, the state where both of us were raised, met, and married. In the summer we live in Chautauqua, New York. I'm a quilter, knitter, kayaker, and the mother of four children, whom I regard as my greatest creative endeavors. And now there are four wonderful grandchildren to spoil.
Visit me at my web site, emilierichards.com, and my blog, www.emilierichards.com/blog. You can also find me at Twitter and on my Facebook reader page.
This is the third book in the series and features Dillon, who we met in the first book. He is Australian and likes to mine opal. As has been the case in the series the setting is really unique and Emilie really brings the details alive with her writing. I think the reason I didn't rate it higher was because I just had a tough time with the prickly heroine. The heroine grew up as an unwanted child, passed around by her relatives after the death of her mother (an abandoned by a father she came to track, who happens to be the hero's partner) so I guess she did have reasons to be wary. Her entire life she has had only herself to depend on. What I liked about her was that she knew how to defend herself but she did pull away a little too much from the hero and took her independence too far(when she gets stuck in a windstorm). Also I felt there were things I didn't know about Dillon and didn't understand. Also I didn't see how someone could live their lives mining opal but that's just me, a total city person. If the romance had been strong enough this would not have bothered me at all. Thumbs up for the setting!
Book 3 of the Tales of the Pacific series is set in Coober Pedy, South Australia. This one features Dillon who we first met in book 1 From Glowing Embers. I’m so glad he got his own story because I was intrigued by him in book 1. I’ve recently discovered Emilie Richards and have been devouring her older books. Her books are written with depth and emotion. I’m drawn to her characters and fascinated by her stories which are deeply researched. Got to say I did not guess the villain in this one. Made perfect sense, but he snuck up on me. This story is a mix of mystery, danger, excitement, and romance and a nice addition to the series. Eager to start on the final book in the series, Out of the Ashes.