AustLit

'Welcome to Bundilla. A new close-knit community where romance can blossom. A compelling story of homecoming and family secrets from bestselling Australian author Alissa Callen.

'The road home isn't for the faint-hearted...

'Peony flower farmer Clancy Parker was born and bred in the Australian high country. Small-town Bundilla is the only place she will ever truly belong, even if staying means remaining alone. The man she'd loved is long gone and single men are as rare as a summer snowfall.

'As soon as he could, street artist Heath MacBride escaped his complicated family and traded mountain peaks for city concrete. Now a commission to paint a mural on Bundilla's water tower brings him home. It doesn't matter how long he's been away, the animosity of his cattleman father hasn't waned. As soon as the water tower is painted, he will be gone.

'But between steadfast Clancy, who'd once been his muse, a free-spirited kelpie who becomes his shadow and a corrosive family secret, his best laid plans disintegrate. When life again backs him into a corner, will he have no choice but to leave or will he and Clancy have the second chance they'd each thought would forever remain out of reach?' (Publication summary)

'The greatest risk of all is love ...

'Interior stylist Grace Davenport has come to the mountains for solitude and a place to heal after her parents' death. Returning to their beloved town of Bundilla, she plans to restore a local bluestone mansion in honour of their memory. She'll just be there for the summer, until she figures out her next step.

'Rowan Parker never used to think twice about taking risks until his love for a woman blinded him to all common sense. Now, between his cattle farm in the high country and his work as a stonemason, there's no room in his life for further mistakes. But when he meets the beautiful but reserved new owner of the historic mansion he's been hired to rebuild, he realises his best laid plans have run amuck.

'Together, Grace and Rowan work to bring the mansion back to life. But when they uncover a hidden trove of post-WWII secrets about the house's former inhabitants, their quest to find answers draws them ever closer. And just when the stone rubble around them begins to resemble a home, a landslide threatens all that Rowan and Grace have rebuilt. With their futures as unstable as the mountainside, each must fight for what they really want, even if it means losing everything...'

Source : publisher's blurb

'A town scandal. A kelpie chaperone. A winter ball. The bush telegraph has never had so much to talk about...

'A delightfully charming rural story about love and healing from bestselling Australian author Alissa Callen.

'Hettie Burbrook is the first to admit she's happiest when flying solo through the outback skies. After her hobby of photographing farmers lands her a book deal, it provides the ideal cover story to visit small-town Bundilla. But every photograph brings her closer to uncovering the answers behind why she is really in the mountains...

'Deer farmer Taite Lancaster is as strong as the tempered steel he welds into lifelike animal sculptures. Unlike his father, he will never allow feelings to break him. But when the old schoolfriend of his twin sister lands on the airstrip of their high-country station, he knows he's in trouble. Hettie is the one woman he can't forget.

'While they're both determined to keep to themselves, between dog races, a ute muster and a winter ball, Hettie and Taite are forced to face how much they need each other. And when a long-buried scandal erupts into the present, relationships and lives are threatened.

'Can a man who locks away his emotions reveal his vulnerability before the mountain snow melts? And can a woman intent on righting a decades-old tragedy listen to her heart before history repeats itself?' (Publication summary)

'A diehard country girl. A city-boy newcomer. Some rules were meant to be broken... Opposites attract in this delightful rural romance, set in charming small-town Bundilla, from bestselling Australian author Alissa Callen

'Horsewoman Brenna Lancaster has no time for relationships. Unless a man looks good on a horse and lets her call the shots, she isn't interested. She'd rather wear a dress and heels than give someone else power over her life.

'Finance guru Wyatt Killian is a self-made man who has left the train wreck of his childhood behind. There is zero room in his workaholic world for downtime and distractions, let alone emotions or country girls.

'When Wyatt's corporate horse-riding retreat is led by a woman determined to unplug him from his urban life, it isn't just his laser focus that becomes compromised. Being in a saddle unlocks a part of himself that he'd long ago discarded. In a rare moment of nostalgia, he prolongs his stay in the high country.

'After Brenna becomes mired in a family secret that involves a historic feud and bushrangers, she has no choice but to involve Wyatt in the search for answers. But as Wyatt's past collides with his future, and the only home Brenna has known comes under threat, both must decide what they need to let go of and what is worth fighting for.' (Publication summary)