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Outback Australia #2
Ruby's Outback Love
Bourke, a small country town. The gateway to outback Australia.
Where skies are bluer than blue, flies and mozzies abound and wide open spaces and fresh country air regenerate the spirit.
It was this small town her heart led her back to after fifteen long years away. The place where Ruby's heart had always belonged.
Securing a position with the Flying Doctor Service and working for a local doctor was like a dream come true - she was ready to give back to the people who had done so much to help her.
Her own home, jobs she loved, a family and friends she adored. Life was good, until.....
Phil was a man who had grown up with Ruby and he'd had his eye on her for years.
He'd intended to marry her as soon as he had qualified as a cop and she had qualified as a nurse.
So, what caused everything to go so horribly wrong?
Will a disaster bring them together?
Or will they forever be separated by mistakes from the past?
Where skies are bluer than blue, flies and mozzies abound and wide open spaces and fresh country air regenerate the spirit.
It was this small town her heart led her back to after fifteen long years away. The place where Ruby's heart had always belonged.
Securing a position with the Flying Doctor Service and working for a local doctor was like a dream come true - she was ready to give back to the people who had done so much to help her.
Her own home, jobs she loved, a family and friends she adored. Life was good, until.....
Phil was a man who had grown up with Ruby and he'd had his eye on her for years.
He'd intended to marry her as soon as he had qualified as a cop and she had qualified as a nurse.
So, what caused everything to go so horribly wrong?
Will a disaster bring them together?
Or will they forever be separated by mistakes from the past?
214 pages, Paperback
First published June 24, 2019
26 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
About the author
Susan Horsnell
234 books174 followersI was born in Manly on the Northern Beaches in Sydney, Australia and grew up in the west after we moved there to help my brother’s eczema which was made worse by salt air. I now reside in the beautiful sunny state of Queensland.
My dad had the biggest impact on my life. I have always had an overactive imagination and would often tell him stories which floated in my mind. He encouraged me to put pen to paper convinced that one day they would become published books.
Apart from marrying the love of my life, the highlight of my life was being accepted into Nursing just before my 16th birthday. It had been a long-time dream and one which encompassed 37 years of my life. Along with nursing, being married to a Naval Officer for almost 47 years, and posted in numerous places, gave me experiences which I have written into many of my books.
We enjoy traveling the country with our Caravan/RV, and Jack Russell puppy by the name of Gemma who will be joining us.
As my parents were British, never Australian citizens, I hold dual citizenship and we plan to take advantage of this to spend two years traveling the UK and Europe in the near future. It will also give me the opportunity to catch up with many family members who reside in England.
My books are in various genres - Western Historical Romance-both steamy and sweet, Contemporary Romance-steamy and sweet, Male/Male, Australian Outback and City Romance. I also have one menage and one paranormal romance along with two children's books. As I said earlier, I have a rather overactive imagination.
I hope you will pick up one of my books and when you close the cover on one of my stories it will be with a satisfied sigh.
Author Links
Blog:
http://susanhorsnell.com
Web:
http://www.susanhorsnellromanceauthor...
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/susanhorsnel...
Bookbub:
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/susan...
You can email me at:
horsnells@yahoo.com.au
My dad had the biggest impact on my life. I have always had an overactive imagination and would often tell him stories which floated in my mind. He encouraged me to put pen to paper convinced that one day they would become published books.
Apart from marrying the love of my life, the highlight of my life was being accepted into Nursing just before my 16th birthday. It had been a long-time dream and one which encompassed 37 years of my life. Along with nursing, being married to a Naval Officer for almost 47 years, and posted in numerous places, gave me experiences which I have written into many of my books.
We enjoy traveling the country with our Caravan/RV, and Jack Russell puppy by the name of Gemma who will be joining us.
As my parents were British, never Australian citizens, I hold dual citizenship and we plan to take advantage of this to spend two years traveling the UK and Europe in the near future. It will also give me the opportunity to catch up with many family members who reside in England.
My books are in various genres - Western Historical Romance-both steamy and sweet, Contemporary Romance-steamy and sweet, Male/Male, Australian Outback and City Romance. I also have one menage and one paranormal romance along with two children's books. As I said earlier, I have a rather overactive imagination.
I hope you will pick up one of my books and when you close the cover on one of my stories it will be with a satisfied sigh.
Author Links
Blog:
http://susanhorsnell.com
Web:
http://www.susanhorsnellromanceauthor...
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/susanhorsnel...
Bookbub:
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/susan...
You can email me at:
horsnells@yahoo.com.au
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 23, 2019
I absolutely loved the first book in this series, Andrew’s Outback Love, so was excited to hear about the release of book two. Ruby is an interesting character with an intriguing past, one that I was itching to discover. I mean why would she slug a local policeman in the nose and not find herself arrested for assault?
The story is told in two time frames; the present and the past starting fifteen years prior. Both lead characters, Ruby and Phil, narrate different parts and this helps us to get a better understanding of each of them. Ruby is a very stubborn woman but also compassionate, caring and honest, she knows her flaws and owns them. Phil is an honourable, understanding and caring man, even if he was somewhat stupid when he was younger.
One of the outstanding elements of this story is the descriptive text, including some excellent expressions like this one-‘He... had the mental range of a windscreen wiper’. 😆 There are quite a few moments when you find yourself chuckling but too you feel all of the emotions in the story, and there are plenty.
This story has passion in many forms, a true sense of community and rural issues, interesting medical drama as well as other dramatic scenes that quicken your heartbeat with a touch of fear or anticipation. But above everything else it is a story about a second chance at love and leaves you feeling so uplifted.
I thoroughly enjoyed this very entertaining story.
The story is told in two time frames; the present and the past starting fifteen years prior. Both lead characters, Ruby and Phil, narrate different parts and this helps us to get a better understanding of each of them. Ruby is a very stubborn woman but also compassionate, caring and honest, she knows her flaws and owns them. Phil is an honourable, understanding and caring man, even if he was somewhat stupid when he was younger.
One of the outstanding elements of this story is the descriptive text, including some excellent expressions like this one-‘He... had the mental range of a windscreen wiper’. 😆 There are quite a few moments when you find yourself chuckling but too you feel all of the emotions in the story, and there are plenty.
This story has passion in many forms, a true sense of community and rural issues, interesting medical drama as well as other dramatic scenes that quicken your heartbeat with a touch of fear or anticipation. But above everything else it is a story about a second chance at love and leaves you feeling so uplifted.
I thoroughly enjoyed this very entertaining story.
June 26, 2019
Bam!, why did Ruby hit the cop? This story goes back in time so we have their history. Set in the outback areas of Australia where properties are so far apart we need flying Doctors. The Royal Flying Doctor Service has always fascinated me, how could a city girl like me imagine living so far away. I loved Ruby's story, her broken heart, betrayal and lack of communication kept her and her love apart for years. This is the story of their second chance, an emotional story that grabbed me all the way.
July 22, 2019
More romance than Book 1, less doctoring.
I loved Ruby when we met her in Book 1. She is no nonsense and dedicated, not only to nursing, but to her people. Once she earned her master’s degree, she walked into the offices of the Flying Doctor Service and demanded a job so she could help the indigenous people of Australia, who are usually located far outside of the cities and who usually don’t trust the doctors. Ruby is amazingly refreshing character and I was excited to see how her story unfolded.
My complaint with Book 1 was that, because it was such a short story, there was not enough build on the romance. In Ruby’s story, she and Phil grew up together. They were neighbors, they went to school together and their families hung out together. So we understand that Phil admired young, smart Ruby and fell in love with her. Before she left for college and he returned to Police training, they had a night of passion where Phil confessed his love and intended to marry her once they both finished their education.
Everything is wonderful until Phil’s ex-girlfriend shows up and tells him she got pregnant from their night of passion before he went to see Ruby. Phil is devastated because he wants a life with Ruby and his parents tell him he has to “do the right thing” and marry the pregnant ex-girlfriend. Unfortunately, Phil is too much of a chicken to call Ruby and tell her what happened because he know she’ll be hurt so Ruby finds out by accident when she calls looking for Phil and is told he is at his engagement party. Yikes! Ruby being the no nonsense girls that she is, she let’s Phil know very firmly that he can go drop dead.
Now, might I suggest that although Phil is young and stupid, and having sex with your ex-girlfriend, who has been sleeping with other people and not using a condom is the height of stupidity, but he kind of deserved everything he got because what kind of man is sleeping with your ex-girlfriend just before you go home to tell the woman you love that you want to have a future with her. That goes under the same dumbass principle of having sex at your bachelor party because you aren’t yet married, and it really isn’t okay to do that. If he knows he loves Ruby and wants to have a life with her, then he shouldn’t have fell into bed with the ex-girlfriend. That wasn’t a weak moment, that was simply listening to the little brain. So I kind of lost my sympathy for Phil, while feeling for Ruby’s eventual heartbreak.
Fifteen years later, When Phil transfers to Burke where Ruby lives, she tells him quite clearly with a fist to the face, that he isn’t wanted around town and to never, ever speak to her. Go Ruby!
This story focuses mostly on the history between Ruby and Phil and we have very little time for any real Flying Doctor Service stories. Also since we also spend a lot of time on their history, we only get a very short, “life is short, let’s not waste anymore time” make up between Ruby and Phil. After giving us all that backstory, there really is very little romance as Phil tries to win Ruby back.
Overall this story was a let down and it all keeps coming back to the fact that these stories are so short that their isn’t enough pages to give us a fulfilling romance as well as dedicate time to the FDS and traveling the Outback. Sadly, it is a waste of a really good premise.
Received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
I loved Ruby when we met her in Book 1. She is no nonsense and dedicated, not only to nursing, but to her people. Once she earned her master’s degree, she walked into the offices of the Flying Doctor Service and demanded a job so she could help the indigenous people of Australia, who are usually located far outside of the cities and who usually don’t trust the doctors. Ruby is amazingly refreshing character and I was excited to see how her story unfolded.
My complaint with Book 1 was that, because it was such a short story, there was not enough build on the romance. In Ruby’s story, she and Phil grew up together. They were neighbors, they went to school together and their families hung out together. So we understand that Phil admired young, smart Ruby and fell in love with her. Before she left for college and he returned to Police training, they had a night of passion where Phil confessed his love and intended to marry her once they both finished their education.
Everything is wonderful until Phil’s ex-girlfriend shows up and tells him she got pregnant from their night of passion before he went to see Ruby. Phil is devastated because he wants a life with Ruby and his parents tell him he has to “do the right thing” and marry the pregnant ex-girlfriend. Unfortunately, Phil is too much of a chicken to call Ruby and tell her what happened because he know she’ll be hurt so Ruby finds out by accident when she calls looking for Phil and is told he is at his engagement party. Yikes! Ruby being the no nonsense girls that she is, she let’s Phil know very firmly that he can go drop dead.
Now, might I suggest that although Phil is young and stupid, and having sex with your ex-girlfriend, who has been sleeping with other people and not using a condom is the height of stupidity, but he kind of deserved everything he got because what kind of man is sleeping with your ex-girlfriend just before you go home to tell the woman you love that you want to have a future with her. That goes under the same dumbass principle of having sex at your bachelor party because you aren’t yet married, and it really isn’t okay to do that. If he knows he loves Ruby and wants to have a life with her, then he shouldn’t have fell into bed with the ex-girlfriend. That wasn’t a weak moment, that was simply listening to the little brain. So I kind of lost my sympathy for Phil, while feeling for Ruby’s eventual heartbreak.
Fifteen years later, When Phil transfers to Burke where Ruby lives, she tells him quite clearly with a fist to the face, that he isn’t wanted around town and to never, ever speak to her. Go Ruby!
This story focuses mostly on the history between Ruby and Phil and we have very little time for any real Flying Doctor Service stories. Also since we also spend a lot of time on their history, we only get a very short, “life is short, let’s not waste anymore time” make up between Ruby and Phil. After giving us all that backstory, there really is very little romance as Phil tries to win Ruby back.
Overall this story was a let down and it all keeps coming back to the fact that these stories are so short that their isn’t enough pages to give us a fulfilling romance as well as dedicate time to the FDS and traveling the Outback. Sadly, it is a waste of a really good premise.
Received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
August 16, 2019
I loved this story. It was realistic and brought the outback to life for me.
It was raw and portrayed life as it can be.
If you are looking for a sweet read, this is not the one.
Real emotions, real actions, and being a quick read wrap up a great story.
I look forward to the rest of the series.
It was raw and portrayed life as it can be.
If you are looking for a sweet read, this is not the one.
Real emotions, real actions, and being a quick read wrap up a great story.
I look forward to the rest of the series.
October 5, 2019
Great book to read
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews