No Job For a Girl

by Meredith Appleyard

From the bestselling author of The Country Practice comes a quirky and insightful story about fighting for what you believe in, and finding love where you least expect it.Leah Jackson leaves behind everything familiar, taking up a job as the resident safety supervisor and nurse in a construction fly camp in the remote South Australian outback. Everyone has told her that it’s no job for a girl, but this isn’t the first time she’s had to prove her mettle. Project adviser Alex McKinley is happy to be as far away from the city as he can get. Recently divorced, he’s reassessing where he went wrong. Alex has nothing against women specifically. He’d just rather they weren’t working on his construction site, sharing his office, invading his space.In the close confines of the desert camp, anything can happen, and Leah soon finds herself the centre of attention – from bothersome bureaucrats to injured workers and hordes of isolated men. But it is one man in particular who pushes her to her limits … in more ways than one.

Genres: Romance, Australia

472 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2017

About the author

Meredith Appleyard lives in the Clare Valley wine-growing region of South Australia, two hours north of Adelaide. As a registered nurse and midwife, she has worked in a wide range of country health practice settings, including the Royal Flying Doctor Service. She has done agency nursing in London and volunteer work in Vietnam. After her first manuscript was rejected, she joined a writers' group, attended workshops and successfully completed an Advanced Diploma of Arts in Professional Writing with the Adelaide College of the Arts. And she kept working. When she isn't writing, Meredith is reading, helping organise the annual Clare Writers' Festival, or at home with her husband and her border collie, Daisy. The Country Practice is her first novel.

Reviews

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leah Jackson hated small planes and the rocky flight had her heart in her mouth. But Leah’s new position as resident safety supervisor and nurse in the construction fly camp in the South Australian outback was a chance for her to make some good money to put a dent in her hefty mortgage. She knew she’d have to prove herself first and foremost – it was a man’s world out there and she’d already been told it was no job for a girl. But Leah’s meeting with project advisor Alex McKinley when she arrived at the small airport had her shaken – things weren’t looking promising…

As Leah came to know the men in the desert camp, she could immediately categorize them. They were mostly friendly and accepting, but unfortunately there was one in particular who wasn’t. But she set to work and was soon finding her way, learning the ropes and loving her job. Even the three month probation didn’t bother her – much. After all, nothing would go wrong – she’d make sure of it. But things did go wrong. What was she to do? Did it mean her job?

No Job For A Girl is the third book by Aussie author Meredith Appleyard and it’s her best yet in my opinion. An absolutely wonderful read – the woman working in a man’s world and the hardships she faced, even though fully qualified for her position; the prejudices that men still feel in this day and age against women, and the sexist attitude of some. All was handled with empathy and knowledge by the author (almost as if she’d been in the same situation herself) – the book was an easy read, but also a meaningful one. And, her well-worded descriptions of the vast, desolate South Australian outback; the dust, the flies and the relentless heat – I felt like I was there. I have no hesitation in recommending No Job For A Girl highly.

With thanks to Penguin Random House AU for my copy to read and review.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

No Job for a Girl is about Leah Jackson who needs money to pay off her house, so she took a job of resident safety supervisor and nurse at FIFO rural constructions site. Alex McKinley was the site supervisor and Leah's boss, and they clashed on the first day. Alex did not believe that women should be allowed on his construction site. The readers of No Job For A Girl will continue to follow Alex and Leah to see what happens.

I love reading No Job For a Girl. For me, No Job For a Girl is the best book by Meredith Appleyard. I love the way Meredith Appleyard describes living in rural construction camp where there are more men than women. I liked Meredith Appleyard writing style allowed the readers to feel like they are part of the staff living in the camp. I like the way Meredith Appleyard portrays her characters especially Alex and Leah. I love the way Meredith Appleyard characters interact with each other. By reading No Job For A Girl, I started to understand the issues facing FIFO workers especially women.

Readers of No Job For a Girl will learn about living in a construction camp. Also, the importance and the role of safety supervisor and nurse. Reading No Job For a Girl, you will find out how to be a construction site supervisor. Readers of No Job For A Girl will enjoy the way Meredith Appleyard describes each section of the project that allows her readers to understand about large construction projects.

I recommend this book.

[Bree T · Rating 3 out of 5]

I spotted this for sale recently and I’ve read and enjoyed a few of Meredith Appleyard’s other books so I snapped it up. I started reading right away it at school pick ups, intrigued by the premise. Leah is a nurse who is also qualified to be a site safety supervisor, leading to her taking a dual role on a construction camp in South Australia. She’s immediately made aware of the fact that the project advisor Alex McKinley isn’t happy with her appointment, believing that the job and location are no place for a girl. Especially an attractive one. He wants to avoid any trouble and it seems the best way to accomplish that would be to send Leah back to where she came from and get a man in to take over.

I enjoyed a lot of this book – loved the setting, learning about the construction site and what they were doing and the various roles that people had and how Leah fitted in. She’s got qualifications and has worked on a site before but she also needs to make sure she asserts herself. As safety supervisor she often finds herself caught between the rules and the dollars. Sticking to the book keeps everyone safe but it also means that budgets blow out and the job gets behind and runs up costs no one anticipated. This puts her in the firing line and it’s clear that Leah is supposed to ‘look the other way’ sometimes in order for the site to keep moving. This isn’t something she’s willing to do in the way that perhaps her predecessor may have and it means that she incurs the wrath of one of the workers.

The biggest problem I had with this book for most of it, was Alex. Look he’s nice looking and he’s dedicated to his job, practically a workaholic. But he’s also incredibly inherently sexist and for the longest time he doesn’t actually realise that the problem isn’t Leah, it’s basically just one worker. He tends to override her at times and I understand that he has pressures and is probably being pulled in seventeen different directions at once but he also refuses to really take Leah’s concerns seriously about a guy that is harassing her until it’s basically way too late. Leah actually fits in on the site really well – the men like her, she’s tough on her requirements but also fair, not tolerating anything that could be a danger and she has a good attitude. It was therefore quite disappointing to see Alex not back her time and time again in what he thought was an attempt to keep the peace or smooth things over and it was pretty obvious everything was escalating and was probably going to end badly. Alex is suitably angry and remorseful toward the end of the story, having seen the error of his thinking and that Leah can do this job and is very well suited to it personality and qualification wise. But I felt that his early thinking was very archaic and basically blaming the victim, not the actual problem. And I’m not sure why Leah was so attracted to him! Sometimes he treated her like a child, chiding her for arguing with him or having a smart mouth even though most of the time she’s only attempting to get him to see her point of view as safety advisor. He felt quite patronising toward her at times, using his position as her boss and the fact that she was on probation to almost cow her into submission and do what he wanted, even when it went against her role.

Look, Alex does redeem himself and shows a very different side of himself but I’m not going to lie, it was a slog through some of his earlier opinions and scenes. He judges Leah straight away on seeing her, he’s basically rude to her because no one told him the replacement was a woman and he doesn’t want to have to deal with it. Most of the men on site are far more grown up about it than Alex is! If he’d been a bit more open minded about it, he might’ve been able to see the issue from a different perspective.

[Janine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an easy read but I had some concerns about how the characters were portrayed.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read from Meredith. The story line was so easy to believe - a strong-willed woman struggling to overcome prejudice in a man's world. I knew nothing about fly-in-fly-out work and yet i found myself fascinated by the descriptions of the work undertaken each day on site. The main stars of the book - Alex and Leah - had me on an emotional rollercoaster throughout the entire story - from frustration and disgust, love and lust to pity and sadness. It was a joy to read and i hope for more stories from Meredith in the near future

[Nigelle-ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meredith just gets better and better. Loved this book so much, lots of guts and good rounded characters that could really just step off a page and be in the same room as you. Meredith brings us something different each time with her books and that's so good. This time its about mining camps and I have to say that by the end I really wanted to go and have a look at one. While Meredith touches on some touchy subject, ultimately she tells us a great story and that's what a reader wants. We learn enough about the camp life with out being given a sermon and that's what make her a good storyteller. Can't wait till the next book. This book is a 2017 must read.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I really enjoyed this book and didn't want to stop reading it. However I had some issues with what seemed like several instances of slut shaming. In addition to this, the book perpetuated the myth that only young, good looking women are at risk of getting sexually assaulted. NOT true. Also after reading another review I realised that some of the things Alex did (e.g. turning up at her house unannounced) would have been perceived as very creepy if he wasn't a hottie. So enjoyment was higher than 3.5 but had to rate it lower because of these issues.

[Melanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book - I loved the idea of a woman in a male-dominated field winning over the boys, and of a late 30s, childless heroine with a really interesting job. The book itself was fairly readable as well, with natural character voices.

Unfortunately it didn't take long before I wanted to throw the book at the wall - the 'hero' is a complete ass! First he's blatantly sexist, then he pressures his subordinate into having sex with him by repeatedly turning up on her doorstep during her leave, while he's still deciding how to deal with her probation and after she's made it clear to him that she doesn't think it's a good idea to sleep with her boss… seriously?! He's not much of a catch anyway, as a sexist, workaholic, divorced man with a nasty ex-wife hanging around, teenage kids, no desire to have more children (when our heroine does want kids), and the compassion of a brick… what on earth does she see in him??

[Stacey Houllis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my third book by Meredith Apppleyard and I like to say the characters in the book felt so real. The challenges faced by Leah Jackson taking up a job a safety supervisor and nurse in fly in camp in South Australia outback. Alex the site doesn't believe a woman place is on a construction site but he also begins to have fellongs for her. Leah has to fight every step of way to proof herself. Alex was once married has teenager twin boys. His father is recovering for open heart surgery and is been cared for by his sister Heather. Leah has a dog, ahouse that her neighbor Rose looks after while she works her three weeks and has one week off. She is attracted to Alex but the both know a relationship between them wont because of how it will look to the workers. Meredith tells a very respectful story of two people falling for each other who try to find a way for theirrelationship to work. A great read.

[Catsalive · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable tale. Leah Jackson is taking on a tough role in a very masculine world & doing it very well despite the hardships of the locale & the sexist attitudes that prevail. As the safety advisor, I do think she should have been more aware of her own welfare, more attuned to the people around her & the effects of excessive alcohol on people who are already untrustworthy - points lost for predictability there. I could certainly understand Alex McKinley being annoyed because he hadn't been informed & his misgivings about Leah being there - he is the site supervisor, responsible for everyone there, & things do happen in such rarefied atmospheres, even when they shouldn't in this "enlightened" world. The descriptions of the outback location & the working environment are very good, that desert atmosphere is almost palpable. The ending with Sam Templeton is fun but I could have done without Eve's troubles as I just found them irritating.

[Vicki Robe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leah Jackson has decided to take a job as a safety officer and nurse in the remote outback of South Australia.

She arrives to get a hard time from the Project Manager of the site and newly divorced, Alex McKinley. Also she gets unwanted attention from many different males at the site. As she works to prove herself in a male-dominated environment she comes up against many problems which she works through bit-by-bit.

One male gets her attention, but she can't see any future with him. Or can she?

A fabulous romance novel well woth the read.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read and an interesting background in outback Australia. I also learnt a bit more about what a Safety Officer does in these situations and how it often conflicts with getting the job done. There's still a heap of professions where a woman has to work harder to be accepted and has to put up with a lot of prejudice and sexual harassment along the way. The ending was no surprise of course, but all in all, well written.

[Bec · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first book of Meredith Appleyard’s, and it didn’t disappoint. I could relate to Leah’s uncomfortable-ness in the steel capped boots (as I used to have to wear them to work). I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading others of Meredith’s.

[Zoe Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much, well done Meredith!
It's a well written novel about a girl trying to make ends meet in a career that is a mans world.

[Bettina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always do enjoy Meredith's books. This was an easy and fun read. It reminded me a lot of Loretta Hill's 'The Girl In The Steel-Capped Boots' at times.

[Martina Žáková · Rating 3 out of 5]

I´m boring with this book...

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy, humorous, enjoyable read. Down to earth characters and I’m able to better picture the mining industry.

[Tracey Charlton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another 'read from cover to cover' with barely a break. Loved the characters and the detail in the area.

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ho hum, now I know why I no longer pick up romance fiction. Totally predictable storyline, cliched characters, not much plot. Having said that this book wasn’t poorly written, just a little dull.

[Kay Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice story.

[Jill Shortt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Predictable, enjoyable romance.

[Trudi Lawley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first of her books and I really enjoyed it.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reminded me a lot of Loretta Hill's "The Girl in the Steel-Capped Boots"

[Amy Perera · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. It was easy to read. I liked the characters and I liked how the story developed. I’m a sucker for a happy ending.

[John Milliner · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a brilliant book

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting setting and insightful look into health and safety procedures in construction fly camp set up remotely. The fly in fly out nature of the role really strong with similarities to mining or oil rigs. Gender imbalance in the workplace high priority. Realistic read. Worth waiting for.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read Meredith Appleyards other books and really enjoyed them. This book however just dragged on for me. The characters and story line were defined early on, never really building any further depth and then everything ends happily ever after at the last minute. I gave 3 stars however more 2.5 stars.

[Cookie1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew how this book was going to turn out before I had read much of it. It has similarities to those written about FIFO workers by Loretta Hill and others. However the means to the end is always different. It was interesting in this book to read about the work of the Safety Officer and work done in building the pylons.
I really couldn't put this down and loved every word of it.