Meant to Be (Button Jar

The Button Jar #3

by Fiona McCallum

The inspiring conclusion to Emily’s journey, from the bestselling author of Saving Grace, and Time Will Tell

Emily Oliphant’s life finally seems to be settling down. Her new boyfriend Jake has joined her on the farm, they are looking forward to starting their life together, and her financial security seems safe and sound.

They both love the peace and tranquillity of the setting of Emily’s beloved old cottage which had been reduced to rubble by her deceased husband. Jake suggests they rebuild it — it will be a big job, but a good project for them: a potential business for Emily, and a good advertisement for his building company.

Their plans and the building progress well. But where Emily is involved, life doesn’t tend to run smoothly for long. This time it is her two best friends who face a personal crisis and Emily finally gets the chance to repay them for the kindness and support they gave her when she needed it. But now she has a new dilemma. How will she and Jake announce their news to Barbara and David? And what will happen to their friendship when they do?

Book Three of The Button Jar series

"Saving Grace is a must-read." Woman's Day

"Time Will Tell is yet again another fine read by McCallum that is sure to have you keenly awaiting the third book in The Button Jar series...” The Weekly Times

Genres: Romance, Audiobook

Audio CD

First published November 1, 2014

About the author

** Please be aware Fiona is not active on this site. She can be best found on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/fionamccallu... **

Fiona McCallum spent her childhood years on the family cereal and wool farm outside the small town of Cleve on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula.

Fiona now lives in Adelaide and works full-time as a novelist. She writes "heart-warming journey of self-discovery stories" - often with a rural setting, sometimes with a romantic thread and sometimes without. Her tales tie together her love of animals and fascination with the journey people go on to find what really makes their heart sing and then follow their true passions to find happiness, even if it means taking risks and facing seemingly impossible obstacles. It's a storyline very close to Fiona's heart because it reflects her own life.

Fiona now has nine Australian bestsellers to her name: 'Paycheque', 'Nowhere Else', 'Wattle Creek', 'Saving Grace' (Book one of The Button Jar series), 'Time Will Tell' (Book two of The Button Jar series) and 'Meant To Be' (Book three (and at this stage final) in The Button Jar series), 'Leap of Faith', 'Standing Strong' (a sequel to Wattle Creek), and 'Finding Hannah'. Her tenth book, 'Making Peace' has just been released (late March 2018).

Fiona is proof dreams can come true...

Please note, Fiona isn't active here. She only signed up to try and get books by authors of the same name removed from her listing. (Note, this Fiona McCallum is not the clairvoyant and author of "Dear Fiona". Nor is she the Scottish academic who writes about Christianity in the Middle East.) She's too busy writing to be on multiple social media platforms and only does Facebook. She can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/fionamccallu...

Reviews

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5★

At last Emily Oliphant's life was beginning to turn a corner and she couldn't be happier and especially now since, Jake had moved in with her. All her money troubles were starting to sort themselves out and her future was looking brighter. The previous year, Emily's life was looking very bleak after her husband died in an accident. Her friends, Barbara and David had helped her whilst she struggled with emotions and making life changing decisions. The farm that Emily and Jake lived on was situated in Adelaide and Emily had inherited it from her husband.

Although Emily was happy living with Jake and her beloved dog, Grace she still felt like something was lacking in her life. And it wasn't until, Jake suggested that they should reconstruct the old cottage which her husband had destroyed that, Emily knew this could be just what she needed. At first she was a little hesitant, but the more she imagined and talked about it with, Jake the better it sounded. Ideas were thrown back and forth and it looked like they might turn it into a business of some kind. Perhaps they would be able to combine their ideas and have a business they could both play a role in.

As the rebuilding began, Jake found himself wanting to help out as much as he could. After taking a few tractor lessons, Jake helped out, David with the seeding on the farm which he thoroughly enjoyed. With many people helping out with the rebuilding of the cottage it seemed to be coming along quite quickly. Then sudden devastation stuck, Barbara and David which left Emily heartbroken for the pair. Both Emily and Jake were both very upset and concerned for Barbara and David, but just how could they help them after what had just happened.

What a beautiful story and one in which I really enjoyed. Meant To be was the third book in The Button Jar series and what a fantastic series it has been and I really do hope there will be another book to follow in the near future. I have now read quite a few books by Aussie author Fiona McCallum and I have enjoyed all of them, including this one which I have no hesitation in recommending.

[Dale Harcombe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half stars.
Emily Oliphant’s life has taken an upward turn, since the death of her abusive husband John and the arrival of Jake, a new love in her life. This is all covered in book two of the Button Jar series. I had read book one but never read book two, still it was easy enough to pick up on what has happened in the interim. With the love of Jake and the support of dear friends Barbara and David, Emily sets about building a life for herself on the property she has inherited from John. Barbara and David are two of the loveliest characters and there is very much the feel of people banding together to help out in tough times as happens for Barbara and David at one stage. In a way I thought it was a shame more of the story wasn’t about them instead of Emily and Jake.
Emily and Jake toss around ideas about re building the old cottage John has smashed down and eventually come up with a plan they think will work. Others are only too keen to help out. I quite enjoyed this story but have to say I never emotionally connected with Emily. Still, this is a pleasant rural Australian story about getting on with things when life has handed you a rough deal. I kept waiting for something to happen to the button jar and the rough diamonds given the attention it revived in the story. A lot of the information about the button jar and the rough diamonds and the Indian prince and India doesn’t need to be there as nothing happens except the button jar s the inspiration of Emily’s idea for the cottage. Despite being quite an enjoyable read, I thought the whole book could have been a bit shorter. But maybe that was just me.

[Sue Gerhardt Griffiths · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ⭐️s

Book #3 in the Button Jar Trilogy

In the last 2 books Emily lacked courage to stand up for herself, in this book we find she has matured significantly and evolved from a doormat to an assertive person.

There was no point mentioning diamonds and the prince as nothing ever came of it. It could have been an exciting subplot.

Enjoyable enough but not thrilling.


One question: Why do authors use ugly, old fashioned names when naming a baby in this day and age? Especially when the two people have modern names and is set in current times. And it’s always the same names. Do all authors get together and say ‘hey, listen why don't we use these 2 names when naming babies, adults, etc.’ Lol.


Audiobook via BorrowBox
Published by: Bolinda audio
Read by Annabelle Tudor
Duration: 9 hrs, 54 min. 1.25x Speed

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jake had joined Emily at the farm north of Adelaide which she had inherited from her husband John after he had died in a car accident the previous year. Along with Grace, her beloved dog, and friends Barbara and David who lived on a nearby farm, Emily finally felt content – her financial worries had lessened, she was enjoying Jake’s company; life felt good at last. Of course her mother Enid was a force to be reckoned with, but her dad Des always gave her support.

When Jake suggested they rebuild the old cottage which John had demolished in a fit of rage some years previously, Emily wasn’t sure – but then the inspiration and ideas flowed – as they discussed their plans, suddenly Emily was excited for the future. Could she make a go of this with Jake? A new business venture for herself, plus a start in the area for Jake to advertise his skills? Their excitement was infectious…

As the plans started to come together, Jake was also learning to be a farmer – helping David with seeding, driving the tractor for hours at a time; he thoroughly enjoyed it, and found the fresh air and sunshine a welcome relief to Melbourne’s weather. Suddenly though, there were problems once again – but not for Emily – she was distraught for her friends; would it be possible for her to help them? As the community rallied, Emily felt humbled by the amount of support which was being so freely given.

I thoroughly enjoyed this latest in the Button Jar series by Aussie author Fiona McCallum. It’s a possible final book of the series, but seems to have been left open for more. I hope so, as I feel there are a lot more stories left to be told. Especially after this ending! Emily showed she felt much more comfortable in her own skin this time, and the story flowed beautifully. Once again descriptions of the Australian countryside, with the small towns easily visualised made it an easy and delightful read. I have no hesitation in recommending this novel highly.

With thanks to TRR and the publisher for my copy to read and review.

[Sally906 · Rating 4 out of 5]

MEANT TO BE is the third book in Fiona McCallum’s The Button Jar series. Emily has come a long way since we first met her in Saving Grace. Always a very nice young woman, she started off an emotional wreck – very self-contained and shy; definitely a little bit of a doormat as she was reluctant to stand up for herself and let her mother bully her and her husband mentally abuse her. The first book follows her story as she finds her gumption, and ignoring everyone’s opinions, finally leaves her husband and finds friends to support her. The growth continued as she finds more obstacles in Time Will Tell, this time she becomes a widow, loses her home, then falls in love again. Now as we start MEANT TO BE her new life is finally beginning and all she has left to do is tackle her mother and find a new career path. I still found myself occasionally rolling my eyes at her actions and saying “just do it already” to the pages – but as Emily has grown in character and confidence these events have become few and far between. And when she finally stood up to her mum I was just about standing in my chair and cheering!! I did think that Emily made an issue about shopping – she is now financially secure but spent time agonising over spending the money each time she spent it. The first time – ok I can understand being able to buy stuff without having to count her pennies would have been a strange experience – but each time she bought stuff after this the reader was taken through the whole oh my goodness I can’t believe I can afford this routine – which did get a bit tiring. Finally though Emily comes to grips with her current life and she starts to focus on the future and relax into the story. I also loved how Emily found the strength of character to give back to the community, and re-established her friendships – she talked to them instead of imagining what they may, or may not, be thinking – and joined them as they rallied around to help another person in need. Yes Emily has finally come the full circle and ends up looking into a happy and positive future. There is no real major climax in MEANT TO BE – it is a quiet story with a few stumbling blocks being overcome, friendships being tested and a farming community pulling together to help their own. There are some fabulous support characters in the story all of whom I’d love to learn more about – Barbara and David, Emily’s father Des, Jake’s sister Simone and Emily’s cousin Liz. Then there is Emily’s mother and the nasty Tara from Time Will Tell who played a major part in evicting Emily. While author Fiona McCallum says she is not planning on returning to Emily in the immediate future she is not ruling out a return one day and I would be happy if she switched to any of these support characters if she decides to return.

With thanks to Harlequin MIRA Australia and the author via Netgalley for my copy to read and review.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meant To Be carries where book 2 in the series left off. The main difference being that Meant To Be spans around a year, although that does include several months with the turn of a page.

Meant To Be finally sees Emily stand up for herself although she does still procrastinate and rely on friends and neighbours.

Settling back into the farm with Jake sees Emily focussing on rebuilding her dream cottage, only not to be a bed and breakfast as initially planned. No spoilers…

David and Barbara are still her best friends an Emily comes to their rescue when they are facing a tough period in their lives and a little earlier Emily realises that she is not as alone as she first thought as local townsfolk rally to help with some of her projects.

Again, narrator Jennifer Vuletic must receive accolades for her narration of Meant To Be. She has a remarkable vocal range assuming she provide all character voices. I have commented more than once that a narrator can make or break an audiobook.

Fiona McCallum’s books are an easy read, set in Australia and often it is easy to identify with, or remember someone who was ‘just like that’ in my hometown.

I like reading/listening to, Australian authors and stories and as previously mentioned Jennifer Vuletic is brilliant in making Wattle Creek come alive. For those reasons I will give Meant To Be a four star rating.

[Jenny Beattie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant if predictable easy read but too much like Mills and Boon for me to read more by this author.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely love this series 😊

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt that the plot lacked in substance. It was too predictable. There was no sense of anticipation or excitement. I also don't like that she has simplified the lives of country woman. Yes there are hardships that Emily faces, but I don't love that Emily finally got away from her boring, predictable life with John in the first book, and now has another boring and predictable life, minus John. It's many pages of Emily cooking and fussing over decorating her home. There is more to life than being a country woman than this. While I don't hate this book, and it is definitely readable, it was not a favourite.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, after getting all excited from having read the first two in the Button Jar series, and looking forward to this one, I was sadly let down.

Constant descriptions of almost everything the characters did or didn't do was starting to irritate me.
It really started to lose the shine the other two books had. Suddenly we are inundated with Emily's choices in life, nothing to indicate anything to do with the diamonds she had found. Not once did she try to investigate the mystery of Gran's letter. I felt led down the garden path with the plot changing so often.

Sadly I was not impressed with this book. I normally enjoy Fiona's stories, but not this time.

[Alicia Peters]

I really enjoyed reading the end of Emily's story it was a great story about the struggles one woman goes through and how in the end one can make amends with those who are hurting them. It was nice to read a happy ending although felt that Meant to Be needed a bigger complication other than Barbra in it. All in all it was an enjoyable read and i will look out for more books by Fiona McCallum in the future :)

[Tracy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh dear. 2.5 but only because it wasn't quite as bad as the second book.
Stilted dialogue and some pretty lame storylines together with the fact that by now I've really taken quite a disliking to this Emily.

I will still read books by this author but this whole series was pretty disappointing.

[Kerry Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

Incredibly boring storyline - nothing really happened.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though Meant to Be was the third book in a trilogy, it was easy to pick up the backstory and I didn't feel disadvantaged at not having read the first two books. I found the main protagonist, Emily, to be rather soppy, shallow and frustrating, and her mother was obnoxious, to say the least. However, the other characters - Jake, Barbara, Dave and Simone - made up for Emily and Enid. I liked how they supported and cared for Emily despite having problems of their own. I also loved the descriptions of Simone's artwork. I could easily picture them and, if they were real, would actually like to have some on my walls.

Unfortunately, I did find this book rather slow and predictable. The plot lacked depth, anticipation and excitement. Overall, an okay read but not a riveting one and I'm glad I didn't bother with the first two books in The Button Jar series.

[Bree T · Rating 4 out of 5]

For Emily Oliphant, life is finally looking up. She’s settled back onto the farm and boyfriend Jake has come over from Melbourne to spend some time as he needs rest and recuperation. After such financial uncertainty, Emily is grateful and happy that security will soon be hers and with careful management, she’ll be able to live quite comfortably, something that not so long ago didn’t look possible.

But she’s still a little restless – although her life is going well she still needs something to do. A hobby. Or a job. But Emily really isn’t sure what she wants and whatever it is, she doesn’t want it to be too expensive. She’s been too careful for too long to start blowing money now. Jake suggests they rebuild the cottage on the farm that her ex-husband John reduced to rubble and although apprehensive, Emily is immediately intrigued. She was always drawn to the cottage and always wanted it to be a part of her future and now it actually can be. Plus rebuilding the cottage will help promote Jake’s career locally as well which will help him being able to move there permanently.

Emily is incredibly busy but not too busy not to be there for her best friends, Barbara and David when they’re going through a horrible crisis. She wants to be there for them the same way they’ve always been there for her, through her good times and bad. However right in the middle of supporting them, Emily gets unexpected news that she’s terrified to confess to them. She’s worried that it will drive a wedge between them, something she couldn’t bear.

Meant To Be is the third and (I think) final book in The Button Jar series which began with Saving Grace and continued with Time Will Tell. Over the course of the three novels, a lot has happened to main character Emily Oliphant. Even though I know she went through a lot of difficult things, Emily’s early tendency towards self-pity and negativity often made her quite a frustrating character to be in the head of. Now that everything has turned around for Emily and she has a home, financial security, an income and a new boyfriend who adores her I hoped that her outlook would be much more positive, more of a what can she do rather than what isn’t going well for her. Emily transfers her negativity into a paranoia about money and spends the first portion of this book agonising over every single purchase because she fears not having any money. It got a bit tedious after a while because the reader can see just what an advantageous position Emily is in and her griping about whether or not she can afford towels is a bit ridiculous.

Emily needs direction, something to focus her energy on and thankfully Jake gives her something when he suggests they rebuild the cottage her ex-husband John bulldozed. Emily always loved the cottage and always wanted to do something with it and the idea of having it back again quickly becomes something she can get behind. She knows she doesn’t want a B&B anymore which was her original idea but once she gets a new idea she’s off and running and she does have some really good ideas. The book turns a corner when Emily finds her direction and thankfully it seems that this focus flows over into her personal life.

Emily finally becomes the character I’ve wanted to see her be in this book. She grows in strength and confidence as the build begins to come together, realising that she does have ideas that can work and she can make a real go of this. She also addresses some issues in her personal life, particularly with her mother which is something that has long plagued her. Emily has never really had the ability to stand up for herself before, to assert herself and make herself heard and to have it happen was actually brilliant to see. That scene made a lot of things make sense and although perhaps the aftermath and reconciliation did feel a little rushed it does help bring about the closure that the last book of a series demands. Emily’s life has many facets, not just Jake and the farm so it was good to have that conflict finally play out and be on the way to resolution as well.

Emily has always had a strong friendship with Barbara, who took her under her wing after Emily left John. Barbara is a wonderful character, she’s always been incredibly supportive of Emily, even when I felt that Emily needed a rather swift kick up the backside to jolt her into life. Emily gets the chance to repay that here when Barbara suffers a rather devastating loss and Emily does her absolute best to be the wonderful friend and confidante to Barbara that Barbara was to her. I feel as though that portion of the book once again gives Emily her time to grow and shine – she has to be the strength in the friendship, although it’s coloured by the unexpected news that she gets when she’s trying to be supportive. Although Emily does panic and have some freak outs, they felt very natural, something that most people in her position would and not a slide back into negativity. And as she has support from many avenues, particularly Jake, it’s not something that lingers.

All in all, I enjoyed Meant To Be. For me it’s definitely the strongest book in the trilogy, the book where Emily really comes into her own and stands up for herself finally and also looks forward to being happy. I thought the idea she had for the cottage was really good and it’s the best of her and Jake put into it. It’s a fitting end to the series.

[Lorraine Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow what a series. The button jar series was amazing. I loved this book the story of Jake and Emily and thrir families was wonderful to follow. Through her sad times and good times she went through so very much to become the strong woman you made her. Loved the relationship with Jake and her friends David and Barbara and their sorrows. Love the inclusion of Jake's sister Simone and her at journey. Love love love. Well done on a great series. ❤️❤️❤️

[Sonja · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite series of Australian fiction ever. The button jar series is beautifully crafted. It touches on psychological abuse within a marriage, and also karmic payback. Its an excellent series for those women have have been through messy divorces, as it gives you hope that things will work out.

[Wendy Forsyth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first two books in this series. But somehow this third novel lacked anything of substance to hold the reader’s interest. ‘Meant to be’ is a long novel but it really doesn’t have much to say.

[Tim Arundell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fiona made such a great story of a couple who just recently met after the women lost her first husband. It was great to hear the stories of how they met and all about their families and friends and how these people helped the couple. So nice to have a very happy end to the story.

[Dianne Sidebottom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed catching up with Emily in the The Button Jar series and the community of Wattle Creek.

[Ruth Bingham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow what a way to finish a series follow Emily and her friend's as they help each other out even through heartache love and family issues. Seriously enjoyed this book and series.

[Sherryle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the storyline. Wish there was more to the series Fiona. Please more to this great series? 😁

[Janet Narrier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book just like the first two, lovely story and an easy read.

[Michelle McColl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice finish to the series.

[Val · Rating 2 out of 5]

All very predictable. Beautifully descriptive, I was there could picture everything. Enid added some contrast, but so annoying. No mystery, or plot just every day happenings.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

This series started well but was almost boring by the third book.

[Jennifer Kiernan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little predictable

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF not worth finishing, i don’t know why I bothered as I didn’t really enjoy the last in the series. Just way too slow for my liking and the main character drove me nuts.

[Trudi Lawley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this series sad it's over.