AT HOME WITH THE TEMPLETONS, by Monica McInerney

I'm a great fan of Australian author Monica McInerney’s novels--At Home With the Templetons is no exception. This family saga opens with the widow Nina Donovan and her son, Tom, invited to a fete at neighboring Templeton Hall in the historic goldfields area of Australia.

Secretive Nina is overwhelmed by the Templeton clan’s lavish family estate, which they open to the public for weekend tours. The family dresses in period costumes as they guide tourists through the Hall, and are wearing these costumes when Nina first encounters them.

As the story progresses, the reader comes to know each of the characters (and I use this term in every sense of its meaning) in the Templeton family as their lives intertwine ever more closely. McInerney does an impressive job of detailing each person’s life, although the focus of the story is on Gracie Templeton and Tom Donovan. When a tragedy tears the families apart, secret after secret is revealed about each life.  

The story reaches a satisfying climax, yet the thought-provoking issues raised left me pondering how I would have reacted in the same set of circumstances.

If you enjoy reading stories of family dynamics, as I do, you’ll love At Home With the Templetons. This novel is general market fiction and as such contains infrequent profanity and sexual references.

A great read!

Enduring Love, by Bonnie Leon, is Book 3 in Leon's Sydney Cove series, and an exciting and satisfying finale to a compelling adventure. 

Enduring Love draws the reader into the Australia of the early 1800's. The settings are so realistic that I could feel the heat and dust of John and Hannah Bradshaw's sheep farm.

Even more, I felt the tension in the story as Hannah and John struggle against the reality of his first wife's reappearance in his life. How could she be alive when John had been told of her death years before? What would happen to Hannah and John's marriage in a time when divorce was almost never permitted?

Leon's book is filled with unexpected plot twists, humor, and the warmth of an enduring love. The conclusion had me racing to turn the pages.

If you've missed this series, I recommend you return to the beginning and read Books 1 and 2--To Love Anew, and Longings of the Heart. You'll find yourself transported to another time and place.

Longings of the Heart

Bonnie Leon's latest book, Longings of the Heart, is a story about the consequences that arise when Hannah Bradshaw decides to withhold a truth about her past from her husband, John. Her decision to lie to him by omission creates ripples that affect many lives. A friendship is sundered, a marriage threatened, and a man violates his principles--all as a result of Hannah's decision.

I'm reminded of a quotation from one of Sir Walter Scott's poems: "Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive." Hannah's web of deception is tangled indeed.

Bonnie Leon has written a compelling story that draws the reader deeper and deeper as the consequences continue to unfold. Using the fascinating backdrop of early-day Australia, Leon brings her all-too-human characters to vibrant life on the page. I particularly enjoyed her portrayal of the boy, Thomas.

When Longings of the Heart soars to its heart-tugging conclusion, readers will reluctantly close the book, wishing the story didn't have to end. Fortunately, we will read more about John and Hannah Bradshaw in the final volume of the series, to be released next year.

Bonnie Leon is a long ways past being a debut author, but her writing is fresh with every volume. I recommend this book.