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Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Createspace 2011
Source: Gift from an Australian friend.
First Sentences: "I've met someone!" The words hung in the air, resonating in Dani Santi's head. She looked at her boyfriend, Darren Reid, in disbelief, noting his firm stance as he stood before her, his blonde hair tousled,blue eyes intense.
My Opinion: A gentle pleasant read but nothing to excite me.
A gentle pleasant read but nothing to excite me, passed on to me by an Australian friend it sounded interesting mainly because of the Italian link. The layout of the book was a little strange with an unusual page layout and over use of quotation marks which I found distracting.
Set in the nineteen eighties which I think of as fairly modern times I found the way our heroine was treated by her parents difficult to understand, but then maybe that is because I know next to nothing about life in Australia. Maybe it was really hard still in those days for families from Italy and other countries, there is certainly an international cast of characters which helps create an idea of life in Australia then for them as foreigners.
The novel tells the story of an eighteen year old Australian - Italian girl who has just spent a year studying in Perth and returns home to I guess the outback, the way she describes her home town of Waroona, after breaking up with her boyfriend. There is not really much of a storyline as the book concentrates on relationships, mainly those of our heroine Daniela Sante with the people that surround her, in particular with her parents new house guest Antonio. Having struggled all her young life to accept her Italian heritage this newcomer in her life represents all that she has come to hate.
There is really nothing more I can say about this, without spoiling it for those that might want to read it. If you enjoy a relationship driven novel and are interested in learning more about the life of Australian - Italian families in the eighties then you may well like this more than I did.
Author Profile.
Jeanette Hornby was born on October 11th 1964 and has lived all her life in a small town in Western Australia. Her first two novels 'Heart's Promise' and 'Where The Heart Is', are set in her hometown and are based on observations of real people and relationships. She also shares some local history with readers hoping to provide a glimpse of small town life.
Her third novel 'Grapevines and Gum Trees' is set in country Western Australia and is in the final editing stages.
She likes variety and has also just released a sexy romance, 'Candy's Man'.
While all her novels are different, there is a common thread that runs through them - they are all love stories.
Photo and Biographical Information is with thanks to the following sites where you can also find out more about the author and her writing.
Jeanette Hornby - Official Website Goodreads - Author Profile Jeanette Hornby Books on FB
Jeanette Hornby - Twitter
I have chosen to read this title as the letter W for The A - Z Book Challenge which I decided to attempt to achieve in alphabetical order. I had a good selection of titles to choose from our bookshelves, so am pleased that it now looks as I have achieved my aim. You can follow my progress here.
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