Book picks similar to
Our Country Christmas by Darry Fraser


romance
australian
australian-author
rural-romance

Home to Turtle Bay


Marion Lennox - 2018
    Dr Jennifer Kelly has reached the pinnacle of her career as a successful Manhattan obstetrician, complete with ambitious, blue-blooded fianc�. After a desolate childhood with a distant grandmother, life seems everything she's ever wanted.When a grandfather she's never heard of leaves her a dairy farm on an isolated Australian island - plus one depressed dog, thirty geriatric cows and a bunch of ancient surfboards - she plans a quick trip to put the farm up for sale. Her aloof, socialite grandmother Muriel is appalled, yet insists on accompanying her.Once there, Jenny finds herself caught, by cows, by turtles - and by Jack McLachlan, the overworked island doctor who desperately needs her help. Muriel's caught too, with ghosts of her wartime past threatening to crack the shell she's built with such dedication and care.But isn't Manhattan their home? How can two women give up the perfect world they've worked so hard for by taking a chance on...life?'Joyous and breathtaking, a story to touch your heart, make you smile and see the world as a better place.' - Barbara Hannay

Wildflower Ridge


Maya Linnell - 2019
    So when she's floored by a mystery illness, and ordered back to the family farm for three months' rest and recuperation, she is horrified to find her perfect life imploding. Within days, Penny has to leave her much-loved job, her live-in boyfriend, and her beloved city apartment... to return to the small country town in which she grew up. Back to her dad and three sisters, one of whom has never forgiven her for abandoning her family. And to her ex-boyfriend, Tim Patterson, who was the biggest reason she ran in the first place. When Penny's father is injured in a farming accident and Tim campaigns to buy the property, she must choose between the city life she loves and the farming dream she buried long ago. Wildflower Ridge is rural fiction straight from the heart.

Close to Home


Janet Gover - 2021
    She's rarely left its comforting embrace. She knows everyone in it; in fact, she's related to most of them. All she wants is to keep her family safe and the town running exactly the way it always has. Her way. But when an exotic French artist comes to town, her hold begins to weaken...Lucienne Chevalier, once the toast of Europe, has come to Nyringa after a tragic loss to hang up her sequins and create a place for her circus family to rest between tours. With her is Simon, her grandson, recovering from an injury so damaging he can no longer perform. Lucienne fears he'll never embrace a new future. That is, until she notices the chemistry between him and the new schoolteacher... All they need is a push.Both grande dames think they know what's best, but with equal amounts of stubbornness on both sides, peace looks unlikely. Then a relationship between Alice's rebellious great-niece and a teenage acrobat sets the two communities on a collision course. But when the bakery starts making patisseries over lamingtons, the battle lines are truly drawn...A story of community and family. Of the love that brings them together ... and the fears that would tear them apart.

Inheritance


Kate Loveday - 2007
    What does she know about running cattle? But the property has been in her family for generations, and Cassie is not a quitter. She leaves behind her Sydney life and heads to the station, determined to make a go of it. But a long drought and falling prices mean challenges Cassie doesn’t expect. To save her heritage, she’s going to have to come up with some new ideas — and fast. Then the threatening letters start to arrive. Someone doesn’t want Cassie to succeed, and they’re willing to go to any lengths to stop her...

Matryoshka


Katherine Johnson - 2018
    Sara’s grandmother, Nina Barsova, a Russian post-war immigrant, lovingly raised Sara in the cottage at the foot of Mt Wellington but without ever explaining why Sara’s own mother, Helena, abandoned her as a baby. Sara, a geneticist, also longs to know the identity of her father, and Helena won’t tell her. Now, estranged not only from her mother but also from her husband, Sara raises her daughter, Ellie, with a central wish to spare her the same feeling of abandonment that she experienced as a child. When Sara meets an Afghani refugee separated from his beloved wife and family, she decides to try to repair relations with Helena – but when a lie told by her grandmother years before begins to unravel, a darker truth than she could ever imagine is revealed.Matryoshka is a haunting and beautifully written story about the power of maternal love, and the danger of secrets passed down through generations.

Wood Green


Sean Rabin - 2016
    Peopled by an ensemble cast, the local publican the single mother who manages the pub’s kitchen, the unhappily married couple that runs the corner store, a newcomer from Johannesburg with a murky past, a snivelling B&B proprietor and a determined ex-girlfriend, Wood Green artfully evokes the claustrophobia of small-town life. While Michael believes he is making a new life for himself, Lucian has other plans. Rabin writes with wit and intelligence – and deftly executes an unsuspected plot twist – in his exploration of the perils of literary ambition and the elusive prospect of artistic legacy.

The Wattle Seed Inn


Leonie Kelsall - 2021
    All he needed was the right woman to come along, and he was ready to settle down. But one poor choice stole that chance and he'll never risk caring for anyone again.Living at Wurruldi Hotel for … goodness, so many years, Ilse has seen more changes of ownership than she can recall. Clinging to her failing memories, she's tired of trying to protect the property her grandparents built. With the arrival of the elegant Gabrielle Moreau, however, it seems that finally an owner may recognise the importance of recapturing the grace and dignity of Ilse's past.For Ilse to find peace, Hayden forgiveness and Gabrielle her true passion, three aching hearts must reveal their secrets.

Christmas at the Inn on Main Street


E. Ayers - 2016
    The Authors of Main Street is a delightful gathering of talented writers who hope you enjoy reading this collection as much as they have taken pleasure in creating it for you! Happy Holidays from the Authors of Main Street! _________________________________________________________ Chelsea's Christmas by E. Ayers Leaving behind an unhealthy relationship, Chelsea Montgomery has come home to lick her wounds. Working in her father’s law firm gives her the perfect place to hide as she avoids men and relationships. Until she meets a charming man with a beautiful son. Keefe Assam is a successful attorney with a great life. Then, his ex-girlfriend suddenly drops off a toddler she claims belongs to him, and he is faced with the possibility, and the responsibility, of raising the boy alone. Christmas might just herald the start of something wonderful for Chelsea, except for one problem. Her ex-boyfriend has decided if he can’t her…nobody can. Waking Up for Christmas by Jill James Christmas is the time for wishes to come true. All Chase Thanos wants for the holidays is for his comatose wife to awaken. Darcy Bennett Thanos has been his life since they were in college. Now, twenty years later, their marriage and their lives have fallen apart and the only thing that can put it back together is Darcy coming out of her coma and remembering all they had and could have. Just as soon as she wakes up for Christmas. Christmas at the Granger Inn by Carol DeVaney Ten years after Cole and Sydney broke up, the ache in their hearts remains. Now, a Christmas reunion, complete with a mischievous ghost, offers the possibility that Sydney and Cole can rekindle the love they once shared. Will they risk facing what tore them apart to find a new place they can call home? Christmas at the Roses by Susan R. Hughes All Ellie wants for Christmas is to avoid it altogether. Reeling from her broken romance with Spencer, she plans to spend the holidays at the historic Roses Inn writing her novel. Spencer has a plan of his own—to rekindle both her love for him and her fondness for the holidays. To win back her stubborn heart, he might just need a little help from the inn’s resident ghost. Candi Cain Kisses by Nan O'Berry Jonathan Barlow needs a change of pace. When his beloved wife passes away, Jonathan finds himself wallowing in grief and determined to find a new start. Accepting a job with a law firm just a few weeks before the holidays, Jonathan and his young daughter make the move to Mistletoe, Texas. A rented room at an old Victorian Inn is just the place to begin again. Candi Cain inherited the old Victorian from family. It’s a place she can call home, a place where all the worries in the world can be forgotten over a cup of hot chocolate and a homemade pastry. When Felicia Barlow and her father come for a stay, she feels drawn the child—a sense of déjà view, for just like Jonathan’s daughter, she experienced the loss of a loved one as a child. Can the wonders of the season and a little girl’s wish to Santa awaken two lonely hearts? Things look promising this holiday season at the Candy Cane Inn. _______________ Christmas at the Inn on Main Street is a collection of five expertly-crafted clean romance books.

Snowy River Man


Lizzy Chandler - 2015
    Is the romance of the majestic Snowy Mountains enough to heal the wounds of the past so that they get a second chance at a future? The last time Katrina Delaney saw Jack Fairley was the morning after a one-night stand, when she discovered he was engaged to be married. Seven years later, she dreams of a missing boy – Jack’s son. Katrina has worked with police to find missing children before, and she knows she must help. But seeing Jack again comes with its own set of dangers, and Katrina fears the risks she is taking with her heart. Jack Fairley’s standing in the community can’t keep his son from wandering off during a country rodeo. Frantic with worry, Jack is willing to do anything to find him, even put aside his scepticism and accept the help of a woman who sees his son in a dream. But when that woman turns out to be Katrina Delaney, he’s immediately suspicious. Neither Katrina nor Jack have any reason to trust each other, or the attraction that flares between them again. But trust they will have to, if they want any chance at love.

Unforgettable Christmas Joy: Hope and Promises (The Unforgettables Book 20)


Mimi BarbourSuzanne Jenkins - 2020
    

The Lost Letters of Playfair Street


Michelle Montebello - 2020
    A chest of clues.Come find me... I’ll be waiting…1929: On the night of her engagement to austere banker Floyd Clark, Charlotte Greene meets enigmatic Sydney Harbour Bridge engineer, Alexander Young. Their encounter is brief, but their attraction instant.During a second-chance meeting, Alex invites Charlotte to play a game with him, one of daring clues and secret meeting places. She accepts and they embark on a thrilling lover’s chase across the city.But with her arranged marriage to Floyd looming, will she have the strength to let Alex go?Present Day: Paige Westwood is helping her boss establish a publishing company in his newly-purchased Playfair Street house in The Rocks, Sydney. In the attic, she discovers a chest of old clues that lead the reader on a journey across the city. Paige contacts the former owner, Ryan Greene, who explains the clues belonged to his great-aunt Charlotte, who once lived in the house, but who mysteriously disappeared in 1929.Together, they follow Charlotte and Alex’s clues to unravel a fascinating tale of lies and intrigue, of two lovers bound by hope, but also by deceit. Can they solve the mystery of Charlotte’s disappearance or has all hope been lost to the past?

Matilda Next Door


Kelly Hunter - 2020
    But London is daunting, crowded and noisy, and that’s before Tilly finds a baby on the doorstep. There’s a note attached: “Henry, if you’re reading this, please know the worst has happened.”Probability expert Henry Church has finally returned home to Wirralong, Australia to see his grandparents when he gets a phone call from Tilly that breaks every statistical analysis. The probability of him being the father is marginal. Plus, he knows nothing about caring for a baby. Emotions and socializing are even bigger mysteries. He begs Tilly for help—can she cut her holiday short and bring the baby to Wirralong?Tilly will do almost anything for her childhood best friend, but falling in love with him and his motherless baby is an emphatic no. Out of the question. Or is it?

Dear Santa


Samuel Johnson - 2018
    It will make you laugh, think and feel and is the perfect Christmas gift for those who speak human. Illustrations by Shaun Tan Every copy sold will contribute to cancer research

A Slave To Him (Book 2) (An Alpha Billionaire Romance)


Kelly Favor - 2016
    From New York Times bestselling author Kelly Favor, comes a sexy and gripping new series that will leave you breathless… HIS OBSESSION Orlando Parker is one of the richest, most powerful men in the free world.And when he decides he wants something, or someone, he gets it.If he chooses you, be ready to give him everything.Be ready to take everything you can take.Be ready to be… A SLAVE TO HIM.

Love by Christmas


Sarah Gay - 2018
    She takes a chance and kisses him, only to be rejected. The universe mocks her pain by making him her room mom. Garrett Macey, fire captain at Park City Fire Department, receives bad news and loses his cool in his daughter’s school parking lot. When a pretty teacher calls him out on his unbecoming behavior, he is pulled in by her charm, but with his heart ripped to shreds, the only thing he has to offer his daughter’s teacher is his time as her volunteer. When a little old lady shows up at Garrett’s fire station with a Christmas wish for him to find love by Christmas, Garrett wants to believe that Christmas magic is real. With renewed faith, he reaches out to Maci Bell, hoping he hasn’t lost his chance with her. Will Christmas magic bring love to the fire captain by Christmas? Other books in the series: Her Christmas Miracle by Daniel Banner Snowed-In for Christmas by Cami Checketts Married by Christmas by Taylor Hart Engaged by Christmas by Sarah Gay Yours by Christmas by Jennifer Youngblood