Review: Back on Track

Title: Back on Track

Author: Tricia Stringer

Publisher: 4th October 2023 by Harlequin Australia, HQ & MIRA

Pages: 464 pages

Genre: fiction, contemporary, romance

Rating: 4 crowns

Synopsis:

Bestselling author and voice of Australian storytelling Tricia Stringer tackles troubled relationships, ageism, and love old and new in this warm, funny, uplifting story of colleagues and unlikely travel companions thrown together on an astonishing (and revealing) train trip across Australia.

Ketty Clift's couture dressmaking business is thriving but the same can't be said for her staff. Lately, cracks have appeared in the team's harmony, testing relationships and causing issues with customers. Worse, the rumour that Ketty has lost her touch is circulating. So when Ketty's old friend Carlos suggests a holiday by train - on the iconic Ghan, no less - Ketty decides to take her surprised staff with her in the hope of fixing what ails them. 

But it's not turning out to be the cure-all Ketty had hoped for. Her protective second-in-command, Judith, doubts Carlos's intentions and sows suspicion in Ketty's mind. Her younger staff members, Birgit and Lacey, are beset by relationship disasters and financial worries, whereas invaluable employee Ning is under pressure from her family to retire, and seamstress Tien is terrified of everything outside her comfort zone - especially the outback. 

Each new stop on the way, and the surprising behaviour of some of the other passengers, affects the group and reveals something more about each of them. As the train pulls deeper into the mesmerising outback, matters seem set to come to a disturbing crescendo. Ketty must sidestep the drama, reunite her troubled workers and save her business and relationships. But will her transformative magic work to bring them all back on track?

My Thoughts

Back on Track is the latest offering from Aussie favourite Tricia Stringer. Tricia's talent extends across a range of genres from rural fiction through to contemporary and her readers are always guaranteed some wonderful escapism. On this occasion Tricia gives us another multi generational drama and all set on the iconic train, ‘The Ghan’ a trip from Darwin at the top of Australia to Adelaide in the south of Australia. 

‘And just as on a cruise ship, every surface gleamed. She closed her eyes, inhaled the lingering trace of eucalyptus scent and anticipated the trip ahead. Her spirits lifted.’

As usual Tricia includes a strong cast of characters that cover all ages - from Ketty in her 70s, Judith in her 50s through to Lacey in her 20s and many others. So, already you can see, there is sure to be something for everybody to relate to. Also, who could surpass Tricia’s wonderful descriptions of outback Australia with stop offs at Katherine, Alice Springs and Coober Pedy. I also appreciated the descriptions of The Ghan itself from the cabins to the dining experience.There are some topical issues in this book - ageism is at the top but Tricia also touches on retirement, work place tensions, discrimination, working visas, disabilities, family breakdowns -  dealing with them in her usual sensitive way. 

“I think sometimes we’re our own worst enemies when it comes to ageism. People make jokes about it and we go along with them.”

This is an easy read with engaging characters, encompassing problems and solutions common in today’s society. Yet, delve a little deeper - this is a story about how we treat those over the age of 50/60 in our society and even the way we talk to ourselves into fitting into a stereotype.  This is a story of understanding and compassion, growth and development. As the title so aptly indicates, when the wheels come off (pardon the pun) how do we go about getting ourselves and those around us, ‘back on track’?

‘The timeline was short, only three nights, and Ketty needed all the help she could to make sure she got her staff back on track.’

This is another great story of family and friends with Tricia, a master at producing authentic, real people and places that take you right to the centre of the community. Not only a story that takes you to some iconic destinations in Australia but also the importance of communication and maintaining positive relationships. 

“Who wrote the rule there’s a cut-off age for enjoying life? You’re never too old for friendship, companionship, even love.”

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

 

Review: Keeping Up Appearances

Title: Keeping Up Appearances

Author: Tricia Stringer

Publisher: 5th October 2022 by Harlequin Australia, HQ & MIRA

Pages: 464 pages

Genre: contemporary

My Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

As tensions simmer in a small country town, three women are going to need more than CWA sausage rolls and can-do community spirit to put things right. From a bestselling Australian author comes a delightful novel full of practical wisdom and dry humour that examines female friendship, buried secrets and why honesty is (usually) the best policy.

Privacy is hard to maintain in Badara, the kind of small Australian country town where everyone knows everyone else's business. So discovers single mum Paige when she and her three children arrive from the city seeking refuge. Paige's only respite from child care and loneliness is the Tuesday gym club, where she had feared the judgement of the town matriarchs, but she is met only with generosity and a plethora of baked goods. Besides, both the brusque Marion and her polished sister-in-law Briony are too busy dealing with their own dramas to examine hers.

Well-to-do farmer's wife and proud mother Briony is in full denial of her family's troubles. Even with her eldest daughter's marriage in ruins and her son Blake's recent bombshell. Suddenly Briony and husband Vince have a full house again - and the piles of laundry aren't the only dirty linen that's about to be aired.

For Marion, the unearthing of a time capsule - its contents to be read at the Celebrate Badara weekend - is a disaster. She was only a teenager when she wrote down those poisonous words, but that doesn't mean she won't lose friends and family if they hear what she really thinks of them - especially as the letter reveals their darkest secrets to the world.

When the truth comes out for Badara, keeping up appearances may no longer be an option for anyone ...

My Thoughts

A small fictional country town called Badara in South Australia, is the setting for Tricia Stringer’s latest offering, Keeping Up Appearances. A place where lies and secrets are about to all come out - don’t they always? Tricia writes a real to life story of the fallout and ramifications of keeping secrets in an effort to ‘keep up appearances’.

“We just got on with it, I suppose ... We were…” Briony felt sick. "Keeping up appearances." Chelsea nodded. The realisation that her daughter had learned to keep secrets like she had hit Briony like a rock to the head.’

As usual Tricia includes a strong cast of characters that cover all ages, from early twenties to those in their seventies, and their accompanying diverse family circumstances. There are some big issues in this book - sexuality, drugs, relationships -  and Tricia deals with them in her usual sensitive way. Some people may find opinions and viewpoints dated but that comes down to Tricia covering a spectrum of  individual ages, experience and personal opinions. 

‘You're not the only one who can keep up appearances - but what's normal anyway? Who really knows what anyone's marriage is truly like? Is anyone's relationship like the images we're bombarded with in the media?’

This is an easy read with engaging characters, encompassing problems and solutions typical to small town living. Yet, delve a little deeper - this is a story about how we each have our flaws and imperfections and the facades and secrets we apply often lead to drama. This is a story of understanding and compassion, growth and development. As the title so aptly indicates, what lengths people are prepared to go to in keeping up appearances for others and more importantly, at what cost? 

This is another great story of family and friends with Tricia, a master at producing authentic and real people and places that takes you right to the centre of the community. A story of the pressures of keeping up the facade as opposed to love and acceptance. 

“Deep breath in." Courtney dipped her hands below her knees, swept them in a high arc above her head and flung her arms out as they came down. "Throw away your cares.”

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: Birds of a Feather

 Title: Birds of a Feather

Author: Tricia Stringer

Publisher: 29th September 2021 by Harlequin Australia, HQ & MIRA

Pages: 352 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: contemporary fiction, women’s fiction

My Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

Who will find you when you lose your place in the world?

Full of practical wisdom, this heart-warming novel from a bestselling author celebrates finding help where you least expect it as well as the ties between women that can change - and save - lives.

Eve has been a partner in a Wallaby Bay fishing fleet as long as she can remember. Now they want her to sell - but what would her life be without work? She lives alone, her role on the town committee has been spiked by malicious gossip and she is incapacitated after surgery. For the first time in her life she feels weak, vulnerable - old.

When her troubled god-daughter Julia arrives at Wallaby Bay, she seems to offer Eve a reprieve from her own concerns. But there is no such thing as plain sailing. Eve has another house guest, the abrasive Lucy, who is helping her recuperate and does not look kindly on Julia's desire for Eve's attention.

But Lucy, too, has demons to battle and as each woman struggles to overcome their loss of place in the world, they start to realise that there may be more that holds them together, than keeps them apart.

But will these birds of feather truly be able to reinvent what family means? Or will the secrets and hurts of the past shatter their precarious hold on their new lives ... and each other?

My Thoughts

‘Sometimes you just get sick of fighting to keep your head above water.’

Birds of a Feather is the latest offering from Aussie favourite Tricia Stringer. Her books always strike a chord with her faithful following. On this occasion, Tricia gives us a multi generational family drama but with the emphasis on what exactly is family? A fantastic theme to ponder in these new and uncertain times.

Tricia brings together three very different women under the same roof - none of them are technically family - yet they embrace to be a ‘family’ for each other in their time of need. There is the retired Eve who required help after shoulder surgery. Middle aged Julia (Eve’s goddaughter) who has come to stay between jobs. The younger Lucy who is employed by Eve to assist with her recuperation. 

‘I wasn’t perfect and neither was life … we have to make adjustments and understand that we all have foibles and make mistakes. It’s how we deal with the lumps and bumps of life that make us.’

Each of the women are at a stage of their life where they have questions and concerns. Currently living under the same roof, they come together through cups of tea or glasses of wine to provide the support that a family traditionally would. As they talk about their past or present dilemmas an unlikely friendship forms.

‘Well,” she said. “You really are b …” She harrumphed again. “You really are birds of a feather.” Then she turned on her heel and left the hall. Norma scurried after her. Lucy shook her head. “Was that meant as an insult?’

Once more Tricia proves her mastery at highlighting current issues many face. Whether it be purposeful living in retirement, expectations of marriage or challenges faced by FIFO families as a few examples, she sensitively addresses these very real life situations for people. Written in 2020 Tricia addresses the elephant in the room - the Covid pandemic. She explains that in her small way she wished to pay tribute to the front line workers and, although not a priority in the story, Tricia does acknowledge its existence and impact.

‘We have to learn how to stop being controlled by it. Things happen in life, good and bad; you chalk them up to experience and move on. It took me a long time to work through that.’

This book is cleverly crafted to provide three inter generational viewpoints on a range of contemporary issues. It provides much to consider and contemplate. I only wish I could sit around with Eve, Julia and Lucy to have a cuppa whilst sharing our fears and failures, our hopes and dreams. 

‘It’s made me rethink many things. To begin with I was looking backwards, wishing life was how it had been before, but now I think I need to focus on a future where I may need to do some things differently.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: The Family Inheritance

Title: The Family Inheritance

Author: Tricia Stringer

Publisher: 15th October 2020 by Harlequin Australia, HQ Fiction & MIRA

Pages: 480 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: women’s fiction, contemporary

My Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

A toxic will plays havoc in the lives of three generations of women when they discover they have been living a lie. A keenly observed story of the danger of secrets, the legacy of betrayal and the power of family from a bestselling Australian author.

Sometimes an ending is really a beginning ...

Felicity Lewis's fiftieth birthday party in her newly renovated home, loving husband and daughter Greta by her side, is going off with a bang when disaster strikes. Her father, Franklyn, with his usual impeccable timing, has keeled over and died.

For some members of the family, his wife Hazel for example, Franklyn's death is not the great loss it first appears to be. But when his toxic and inexplicable will is read out, it becomes clear that long-buried secrets are about to surface, starting with the astonishing reappearance of Hazel's long-lost sister.

Indeed, Franklyn's death sets in motion a chain of events that will cause three generations of Gifford family women to question everything they hold dear - their relationships, their loyalties, even their identities. Until, that is, they choose to fight back against their dark inheritance ...

A clever, sympathetic and thought-provoking look at how a legacy of lies can seep through the generations and poison all it touches, and how the truth can set you free.

My Thoughts

The Family Inheritance is the latest offering from Aussie favourite Tricia Stringer. Tricia's talent extends across a range of genres from historical through to contemporary and her readers are always guaranteed some wonderful escapism. On this occasion Tricia gives us a multi generational, heartbreaking family drama - from Hazel in her 70s, her daughter Felicity celebrating her 50th, to Greta the 20 something granddaughter. So, already you can see, there is sure to be something for everybody to relate to.

‘There was comfort in them all being together.’

Tricia consistently delivers drama that is always engaging and leaves the reader wondering what they would do in such circumstances. The women, of this particular family, find their world turned upside down after the grandfather, Franklyn, passes away and leaves a most contentious will. This certainly opens a can of proverbial worms that brings into play the varied personality traits of both the women and men of this family. Can they rise above and see this as an opportunity to reevaluate their lives or will it destroy their family? Secrets and lies abound aplenty. 

“Your anger that day was greater than your fear and it propelled you forward. Make your love greater than your hate.”

One thing to appreciate is the light Tricia shines on issues such as inheritance and wills, cystic fibrosis and anxiety issues. Both through certain characters' stories and in her endnotes, Tricia draws attention to what it might feel like and where people could find help for these range of topical issues. 

This book is cleverly crafted around the passing of the controlling patriarch and the fallout when, from the grave, he attempts to cause division and devastation. With a family laden in secrets, readers are sure to be engaged to discover life changing results. 

‘Four women across three generations, two of them sisters, but all connected by the tangle of often tenuous threads that made up their family and a past that .. threatened ... to destroy them.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: The Model Wife

Title: The Model Wife

Author: Tricia Stringer

Publisher: 23rd September 2019 by Harlequin Australia, HQ & MIRA

Pages: 512 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: contemporary fiction, women's literature

My Rating: 4.5 cups

Synopsis:

Even a good woman can be pushed too far ... From bestselling author Tricia Stringer, this beautifully realised multi-generational family story looks at what happens when real-life betrayals and struggling relationships clash with outdated ideas of what a woman should be.

Natalie King's life is full. Some might say too full. With her teaching job, a farm to run, three grown daughters who have not quite got a handle on things, a reserved husband and a demanding mother-in-law, most days she is too busy to think about whether she is happy. But her life has meaning, doesn't it? After all, she is the one person everyone depends upon.

But when an odd gift from her mother-in-law - an old book in the form of stern and outdated advice for young wives - surfaces again, it brings with it memories she thought she had buried deep. Has this insidious little book exerted some kind of hold over her? Could it be that in her attempts to be a loving wife and mother, she no longer knows who she is?

On a day when it seems everyone is taking her for granted, and as the ghost of a past betrayal rises, it becomes clear that even this good mother and model wife can be pushed too far ...

My Thoughts

Tricia Stringer books always strike a chord with her faithful audience. On this occasion, it involves how we all at some stage of life (without a doubt), dreamt of running away. When it all gets too much for this ‘model wife’, that’s exactly what she does! This is a truthful story of family life and the daily struggles that all members face, however, a special focus on Mum, Natalie. It’s a journey of her soul searching and eventual evolution into who she is and her role with the people she loves. 

You know how it is ... looking after those in your life, putting everyone’s needs ahead of your own. Just once you’d like someone to listen and care for you. The realism of this situation brings a real authenticity to this tale. In fact, there are messages that are sure to ring true for the variety of multigenerational characters portrayed - from the grandmother, to Natalie, to her daughters struggling with their own issues and finding their place in the world. There is surely something to appeal to everybody in this story. Bring into this mixture a spotlight on the plight of farmers - issues of land ownership and entitlements - and the story delves much deeper than just a character analysis. 

A long read at the 500 page mark, it does however, provide an in depth look at how varying people deal with the stresses in their lives. Tricia sets everything up for you get a feel for each member of the family and what they are facing. This is realistic reading at its best as many have faced feelings or situations similar and familiar to you or those close to you. Undoubtedly there have been conversations about some of the issues raised (for any of the family members) that you have surely discussed over a cup of tea at the kitchen table with regards to how they were to be handled. 

I definitely recommend this book as a deep and true exploration of families and all the baggage that they come with and how this particular family deals with it. 

‘Outside the landscape was familiar and yet alien. Like the pieces of her life she thought she knew so well but that were shifting around her again.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: Something in the Wine

Title: Something in the Wine

Author: Tricia Stringer

Publisher: 15th May 2019 by Harlequin Australia, HQ (Fiction, Non Fiction, YA) & MIRA

Pages: 384 pages
How I Read It: ARC book
Genre: romance, contemporary, womens fiction, Australia

My Rating: 3 cups

Synopsis:

A warm-hearted rural romance set among the scenic vineyards of the Margaret River from bestselling author Tricia Stringer, the authentic voice of Australian storytelling. Reserved high school teacher Keely Mitchell is more than ready for her holiday on the west coast of Australia, so when a medical emergency turns over all her plans and an intervention by a kind stranger finds her recovering in a Margaret River vineyard, she is at first downcast.

Keely had wanted to put recent traumatic events out of her mind, and recuperating alone in a stranger's house won't help that. But slowly the lovely food, spectacular wine and beautiful landscape of the area begin to work their spell. As Keely makes friends with the locals and adapts to the rhythms of the vintner's year, she starts to feel part of the scenery too, particularly when her artwork and jewellery-making somehow find a home at Levallier Dell Wines.

But clouds are on the horizon in the shape of a warring father and son, interfering family friends and a rival in love. Keely didn't mean to fall for anyone, but she can't help her feelings for clever, passionate wine-maker Flynn Levallier. Sadly, it seems he only has eyes for the beautiful Kat, daughter of a rival wine-maker. Can what Keely feels be real? Or is it just something in the wine?

My Thoughts

Over ten years ago, Tricia self published a short story which has now been refurbished into ‘Something in the Wine’. This story is set in the glorious Western Australian wine region of Margaret River. In essence, this is a sweet tale of learning to follow your heart.

This is an easy read, incorporating family dynamics and romance. I think the real enticement here though, is the wine growing region itself. Tricia beautifully captures the locality from the vines to the coast, including the flow of tourism to the area. If you are at all interested in wine making then this is the book for you! Much research has been undertaken and it is very interesting to learn about grape growing and the problems that can arise. It provides a wonderful backdrop to a story that was quite simple.

I struggled with some of the characters. I found the main female lead, Keely, to be too meek (given her age) especially when dealing with her parents. Also, as many other reviewers have noted, the family bickering between father/son and neighbouring wine growers, grew a little thin at times.

So whilst not my favourite Tricia Stringer book, it still makes for a interesting rural read, inclusive of all the necessary ingredients of fear and hope, rejection and love and the journey to learn to follow your heart and do what makes you happy.

“I was a little girl then.”

“The same Katerina lives within.” He reached across and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Follow your heart.”

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.