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Opal Fire
"Peter, hurry home quickly. I need you."
Four months after Polly Chase married an Australian, Peter, he went off to the War. Now, five years later, she is still waiting for his return. Coming back from town to her farm she encounters an itinerant, Colm Stawell, and lends him a needed hand. In gratitude he gives her a blue opal, alive with the sparkling "fire" that makes the best opals so valuable. He stays on as protection because her friend Maggie was attacked by no-goods. His friend David Kulgarra, an Aborigine, joins the party. When Colm seeks his fortune in the opal fields up north, Polly goes there as well to sell her handmade lace and build a nest-egg toward Peter's return. Polly has remained true in thought and deed to her Peter. Now she learns he is a vegetable, a war casualty in the vets hospital in Melbourne. Faced with the situation, she must decide whether God would have her annul her union with an insensate man to seek happiness with Colm or accept the responsibility of a promise made five years ago and destroy both her happiness and Colm's.
Four months after Polly Chase married an Australian, Peter, he went off to the War. Now, five years later, she is still waiting for his return. Coming back from town to her farm she encounters an itinerant, Colm Stawell, and lends him a needed hand. In gratitude he gives her a blue opal, alive with the sparkling "fire" that makes the best opals so valuable. He stays on as protection because her friend Maggie was attacked by no-goods. His friend David Kulgarra, an Aborigine, joins the party. When Colm seeks his fortune in the opal fields up north, Polly goes there as well to sell her handmade lace and build a nest-egg toward Peter's return. Polly has remained true in thought and deed to her Peter. Now she learns he is a vegetable, a war casualty in the vets hospital in Melbourne. Faced with the situation, she must decide whether God would have her annul her union with an insensate man to seek happiness with Colm or accept the responsibility of a promise made five years ago and destroy both her happiness and Colm's.
- GenresRomance
197 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1986
11 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
set-aside
September 20, 2022It's one thing to be attracted to someone else's spouse. It's another thing to try to pull God into the situation for your own benefit.
I got three quarters of the way through this book, but the whole "praying and begging God to let you have another man's wife" thing has ruined whatever the ending must be.
The absent husband's all-too-likely fate will already be decidedly on the rather convenient side for the plot's sake, which I was prepared for, since I know how genre romance plots basically work. Still, I wanted to see exactly how the two main characters would deal with it all, since they don't know they're characters in a novel with a guaranteed Happily Ever After ending. But now added to the likely convenience, even if "the other man" hero here turns and says he's sorry about his prayer, it'll still feel icky to me for him and the heroine to get together. Especially with only about a quarter of this short-ish novel left to try to get the bad taste about him out of my mouth.
So, no, I won't be finishing this one. But I do plan to try at least one more novel by this author, as I have one more book to go in the four-book Australian Destiny series.
I got three quarters of the way through this book, but the whole "praying and begging God to let you have another man's wife" thing has ruined whatever the ending must be.
The absent husband's all-too-likely fate will already be decidedly on the rather convenient side for the plot's sake, which I was prepared for, since I know how genre romance plots basically work. Still, I wanted to see exactly how the two main characters would deal with it all, since they don't know they're characters in a novel with a guaranteed Happily Ever After ending. But now added to the likely convenience, even if "the other man" hero here turns and says he's sorry about his prayer, it'll still feel icky to me for him and the heroine to get together. Especially with only about a quarter of this short-ish novel left to try to get the bad taste about him out of my mouth.
So, no, I won't be finishing this one. But I do plan to try at least one more novel by this author, as I have one more book to go in the four-book Australian Destiny series.
December 4, 2020
Yes, I love this book as much now as I did thirty years ago when I first read it, and all the times in between. I'm a huge fan of Sandy Dengler's Serenade books--I believe all but one of them survived my many moves as a military wife, which is saying something. One reason for my lasting fandom is the historical detail tucked into each story, along with personal drama, romance, and usually a hefty dose of thrilling suspense and action.
This one is set in Australia not long after the end of WWI and involves some mystery, a slow-build and subtle romance, lovable side characters (particularly David), a somewhat heart-rending reveal, and a slam-bang suspenseful ending!
At times the spiritual aspect feels a bit tacked on, but I do particularly love the hero. He is, in a word, awesome. The description of how he pronounces "fairy tales" to sound like "furry tiles" has stuck in my head for decades. LOL
If you enjoy historical romance and can lay your hands on a copy of this book, do it!
This one is set in Australia not long after the end of WWI and involves some mystery, a slow-build and subtle romance, lovable side characters (particularly David), a somewhat heart-rending reveal, and a slam-bang suspenseful ending!
At times the spiritual aspect feels a bit tacked on, but I do particularly love the hero. He is, in a word, awesome. The description of how he pronounces "fairy tales" to sound like "furry tiles" has stuck in my head for decades. LOL
If you enjoy historical romance and can lay your hands on a copy of this book, do it!
Read
July 23, 2019This story has many twists and surprises. The main characters honor God, and He is there for them in each situation.
September 22, 2015
When Polly's Australian husband went off to war four months after they were married, she was left to manage an isolated farm. Throw in opals, marauders, a helper named Colm, and his aborigine friend David for an enjoyable romp in the outback. As a desert ecologist, Sandy Dengler develops this type of story well. It grabbed me.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews