A holidaying sports heroine crosses paths with a cheeky but charming cattleman, as they try to work their way out of a jam… curveball Alex would love to catch—but she’s also a risk to his heart and homelife he’d rather avoid.
But finding himself in a jam, Alex herds Verily into a wild scheme that could propel his dreams into fruition. Until a feud between old friends threatens to derail everything.
With her return tickets booked, can Alex convince Verily to stay or will they find themselves on opposite sides of the globe forever?
From dusty cattle stations to flourishing mango orchards, welcome to Elsie Creek, a sweet small town series set in a place where the summer never ends.
*?*Book II of the ELSIE CREEK SERIES can be enjoyed as a standalone*?*
♥6 x finalist for the AUSTRALIAN ROMANCE READERS AWARD
♥2 x finalist for the AUSTRALIAN RuBY – ROMANTIC BOOK OF THE YEAR
“Loved the settings & the characters…” Fiona McArthur International Bestselling Author
‘Mel A. Rowe writes stunningly evocative rural romance… It’s So. Damn. Good.’ Blush Magazine
“RUGGED. ROMANTIC. OUTBACK. … you are going to want this, oh yes, you are!” Cathryn Hein, Australian Bestselling Award Winning Author.
“This rural romance has a heart that beats” Imprint Magazine
★ The Reading Order for ELSIE CREEK SERIES: ★
The Art of DUST
Diamond in the DUST
Caked in DUST
Xmas DUST
Muster in the DUST
more
A story with so many feels; romance, family, and detailed writing so the reader feels like they are visiting the outback as they read the story. Strong characters that you’ll fall in love with. A story that’s sweet and lively. I’m never disappointed with a story written by Mel A. Rowe.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I loved that former pro player Verily talked about living the mantra about softball princesses: a helmet for her tiara, the field her castle, her diamonds in the dust.
For a young woman who lost her sister, her career and many teammates en route to a pro game, it is fitting that she return to Elsie Creek where she was born.
Growth means pain, mourning and discovering losing some dreams can mean finding others, if Verily is strong enough emotionally to try – to embrace the woman within, the women beside her, and maybe one stubborn brewmaster.
A town with a tame water buffalo with its own pet chicken and a fondness for flowers is an amazing setting for life to re-shape, and perhaps for love.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
First and foremost, Cecil is back, and he has a friend – a red hen rides around on his back. Verily goes to visit her Aunt Molly in Elsie Creek, where her mother grew up. Alex leases part of the property, which is now co-owned by Verily and Molly. Alex drives trucks with his father, is the caretaker of the mango groves, which he uses for craft beer that he’s developing, and is the catcher on the local softball team. Verily played softball, and was a star pitcher, even playing in the Olympics. But that was before… When Verily finds some of her mother’s possessions at Molly’s house, she finds the family connection that she’s been searching for. But she’s only here for holiday. She and Alex embark on a terrific friendship, although it drives him crazy when she shrugs instead of answering a question. The relationship turns physical, and when he’s on the road with the truck, he misses her so much. But she’s only here for holiday. After a verbal row with Agnes, the softball coach, Verily begins to coach the team on her property. And Speedy manages to get the ball across the plate. But she’s only here for holiday. Until she stays. Nothing about the story drags, but I found myself trying not to read too fast, so that I could enjoy the visions that were created by the author. I hope that there are more books in this series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Cecil the flower loving water buffalo is back and he has now adopted a crazy red chicken who lives on it’s back! Cecil is the mascot and walking billboard of Elsie Creek, a small town ship in the Australian outback.
“For there was nowhere like Elsie Creek, that may be just a speck on a map, but it was a place that many champions called home, making it a tru-blu Aussie diamond in the middle of the outback’s dust”
The writing in this book is so beautiful and poetic so even though it could feel a little slow at times it actually didn’t matter because I was enthralled by the poetic descriptions and it fitted the feeling of living in the middle of a slow and sometimes lonely outback township where they had to drive a while to get to another town.
This story is about the famous softball player, Verily, who returns to Elsie Creek to recover from a horrible accident that led to her loosing her stepsister and a forced retirement because of an injury. She lives with her aunt Molly in the house where Verily’s mother grew up and she wants to learn about her mother and also figure out what she wants out of life now her dream is taken from her. Here she meets Alex who lives in a little cottage at Molly’s place. Alex is the caretaker of Molly’s mango orchard, a beer brewer and a cattle truck driver and he is the chatcher of the towns softball team. He is scared of confrontation and of commitment but when he meets Verily that all changes. They become really good friends and they help each other out of their shells and overcome their fears and the friendship turns into a lot more. But what happens when her holiday is over? Will they figure out how to be together anyway?
I loved this book and all it’s characters and the township and it was amazing to experience the beautiful description of how it is to live in a township in the outback.
The book is funny, tragic, beautiful and heartwarming and I can definitely recommend it.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Verily and Alex has a terrible first meeting when he almost ran her over on her way to her aunts where she was staying on vacation after a career ending softball injury. They both feel guilty over the death of loved ones whom they felt were in the path of danger because of them. The other characters in the book were a little crazy and over the top. There were plenty of funny moments in this Australian romance.
The second book in the The Elsie Creek Series, the first book was good, this one is even better! I hope there is going to be more books in this series. Alex and Verily’s story is well written with a very good storyline. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A prodigal daughter returns to town and the mango farmer is hooked!
Mel Rowe has created an Outback small town with quirky characters and hard-won happiness for the couples at the heart of each story in this Elsie Creek romance series. The main characters are complex and, in this one, both getting over the absence of a mother’s comfort and love from an early age. The romance only really took off in the latter half of the story after a confrontational initial encounter and a whole lot of getting acquainted as neighbors and eventually friends, but hero Alex was a super cheerleader and partner for Elsie Creek’s prodigal daughter and former softball champ Verily. Their HEA hung in suspension for most of the story but touched a whole town!
Though the plot and characters were solid, I just was not that interested in the intricacies of craftbrewing or softball which took over the story on occasion. But the oddball characters like Cecil, the town’s billboard; Speedy, the local softball team’s abysmal pitcher; Agnes, the bullhorn softball coach; and the town’s tutu-obsessed kids added humor and joy to Alex and Verily’s story. And the serious life decisions Alex and Verily agonized over added drama as they threatened to end their relationship before it had much of a chance.
All in all, a good romance with a great setting and strong characters, though I think I preferred The Art of Dust, the first book in the series.
I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.
This is a beautiful story filled with emotion, romance and fun, the setting is just awesome and the characters that live in Elsie Creek are so good they are real people, people who become friends they make you laugh and shed a tear, this is the second book in this series and I loved getting to know Verily and Alex, I hope you join in the fun of their story that will leave you with a big smile.
Verily has returned to the town that she was born in, but not spent much time here, Elsie Creek in the Northern Territory, she has travelled the world playing softball and is a champion player, but a terrible accident changes all of that, she comes to stay with her Aunty Molly, not sure of what she is trying to find, never thinking that she will find love and such happiness when she meets Alex.
Alex is managing Molly’s mango farm while trying to become a brew master and create a special craft beer and driving big road trains for his father, he wants so much to follow his dream but is feeling pressured to follow in his father’s footsteps. When the gorgeous Verily arrives at the farm, there is big changes in the way he thinks, she is so good for him, they become fast friends and he falls head over heels for her.
This story is filled with witty banter that had me laughing out loud at times, but it also has the most beautiful romance as Verily and Alex open up and find their wings to do the things that they most want to do, seeing them come alive together had me turning the pages, MS Rowe this is a beautiful story that has all of the feels that a fabulous romance should have, this one has left me feeling very happy, I do hope that you will pick this one up and enjoy your trip to the Territory as I did the descriptions of the region, wildlife and plants are amazing, and I really want to visit Cecil and all of the friends I have made in Elsie Creek, thank you.
This quite a genuine & descriptive even detailed outback tale, which would appeal to readers of all ages. Alex & Verily don’t get off to a good start but with the slow build up of their relationship it eventually leads to more. Her aunt, Molly owns a farm near Elsie Creek. Verilys come to visit, due to an injury, which put a stop to her career. Alex is the local truck driver as well as a budding brewmaster.
The diamond analogy will become clear as the tale progresses & while the story deals with a lot of this it also depicts life in a small country town with its many varied characters.
So Verily has to make a choice whether to follow her heart or return home to the US?
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. 4.5*
Loved the book it was great, the story was well written and the characters are interesting. Once I started I could not put the book down from start to finish you just could not get enough with twists and turns hot and steamy like a rollercoaster ride. When Verily injured herself and go into early retirement, Verily was lost, softball was her life, Verily ends up at her aunts.
Thank you for allowing me to review your book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I really like how Mel Rowe develops her characters. Just enough detail for that part of the story and then later on…boom, more details. I loved how there were tiny little tidbits of information from other stories that brought the setting together. I look forward to more books from Mel Rowe.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.