Jonelle Baxter is a young woman in a man’s world – a tough, hardworking motor mechanic from an idyllic country family. But lately things in her perfect life have been changing, and her workshop isn’t the only local business that’s struggling.
Daniel Tyler is new in town, posted from the city to manage the community bank. As he tries to rein in the spiralling debts of Bundara, he uncovers all sorts of personal dramas and challenges. The last thing Jonny and Dan need is an unwanted attraction to each other
-
Sexual Content - 3/5
3/5
-
Violence - 2/5
2/5
-
Language - 2/5
2/5
-
Drugs and Alcohol - 2/5
2/5
Summary
Reviewer Name: rileybanks The Sunburnt Country is an Australian romance set in the harsh beauty of the West Australian bush. The main protagonist is Jonelle (Jonny) Baxter – a tough as nails tomboy raised in a home full of boys. There is very little femininity to Jonny. In fact, I’m not even sure I like the shortened version of her name – I think a more feminine name would have offset her ‘blokey’ qualities and softened her overall tomboy persona. That being said, Jonny is not unlikeable. In fact, she is quite endearing. She is fiercely loyal, hardworking and honest. Until city banker, Daniel comes along and turns her ordered little world upside down. There was something comical about their first meeting that actually made me cheer – Daniel stranded with a flat tyre on the open highway and Jonny coming to his rescue. It was a cute scene but, as are there really many ‘city’ boys that don’t know how to change a tyre? I’m a city girl and I can do it – okay, I CHOOSE not to, but I know the basics for tyre changing and could do it if my life depended on it. The fact that Daniel doesn’t kind of lessened his sex appeal, at least for me. But moving on – it quickly becomes apparent that Dan is going to struggle in town. After all, with the town suffering from drought and the bank closing out on many of the farmers, just the word ‘banker’ is as dirty as any four letter word. And that is rammed home when his first official meeting with one of the farmers is with Jonny’s best friend Ryan, who tries to take his own life rather than lose his farm. Thankfully Jonny and Daniel arrive in time and manage to save Ryan’s life. I did like these scenes because it touched on the There is very little femininity to Jonny. In fact, I’m not even sure I like the shortened version of her name – I think a more feminine name would have offset her ‘blokey’ qualities and softened her overall tomboy persona. That being said, Jonny is not unlikeable. In fact, she is quite endearing. She is fiercely loyal, hardworking and honest. Until city banker, Daniel comes along and turns her ordered little world upside down. There was something comical about their first meeting that actually made me cheer – Daniel stranded with a flat tyre on the open highway and Jonny coming to his rescue. It was a cute scene but, as are there really many ‘city’ boys that don’t know how to change a tyre? I’m a city girl and I can do it – okay, I CHOOSE not to, but I know the basics for tyre changing and could do it if my life depended on it. The fact that Daniel doesn’t kind of lessened his sex appeal, at least for me. But moving on – it quickly becomes apparent that Dan is going to struggle in town. After all, with the town suffering from drought and the bank closing out on many of the farmers, just the word ‘banker’ is as dirty as any four letter word. And that is rammed home when his first official meeting with one of the farmers is with Jonny’s best friend Ryan, who tries to take his own life rather than lose his farm. Thankfully Jonny and Daniel arrive in time and manage to save Ryan’s life. I did like these scenes because it touched on the country does not automatically make someone good and honest, any more than living in the city makes someone selfish and dishonest. My third criticism is not really that but more a warning – a lot of people who read my blogs are not Australian and this IS an Australian book, full of Australiana and slang! I’m Aussie, so I had no problems with the terminology used but non¬Australians might want to have a slang dictionary close at hand. That way you’ll know that when Dan wears his thongs down to the pub, he’s not actually indecent but wearing a casual pair of flip¬flops on his feet! Overall, a very decent book that put a smile on my face as I read it. Would definitely read more of Fiona Palmer’s work.