When the sudden death of his mother forces outback opal miner Jack Hargreaves home to Wirralong, his plan is simple: mourn his mother, sort out the family farm, and get the hell out of the town that has always hated him. But Elsa O’Donoghue, the beautiful hairdresser with a big heart and even brighter smile, has other plans. From the moment Jack strides into her salon and helps himself to her … to her clippers, Elsa is in lust. He might be a poster boy for the strong silent type, but she senses there’s a good man behind that stoic facade. With her business taking off, Elsa is finally ready for a relationship and Jack is just her kind of man. Not to mention, she’s never said no to a challenge.
Worried their association will harm Elsa’s business, Jack tries to avoid her, but Elsa is irresistible. Soon, she has him believing and hoping for a future with her in Wirralong, but another family tragedy shatters Jack’s fragile dream. Jack knows he must leave Elsa to protect her, no matter the cost to himself.
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11/28/2020 I found “Elsa’s Stand” (nook) to be intensely emotional and heartwrenching. Jack is a complex person who gradually opens up with Elsa’s encouragement. They quickly fall in love, give each other a chance and, end up with a HEA.
An absolutely wonderful story and extremely relevant to our times.
Cute story, maybe not the most realistic but still an enjoyable, easy read.
Lovely story filled with interesting characters. Loved it!!!
A man with to many insecurities, can’t seem to get it together— then finally does.
The Australian outback made for greater interest.
Enjoyable story with wonderful characters.
Sweet romance. She was so upfront with her feelings for him and life that he couldn’t run fast enough. It was a cute story.
Some of the Australian lingo made it confusing, but it was a good book.
Loved it!
I loved this book, I loved the characters, the plot and the way the story was woven.
Very entertaining.
Novel setting in Australia, informative, held my attention without explicit sex.
A sweet romantic story. They are total opposites yet they totally work. It was nice to read a book that was about the relationship and not what happens in the bedroom. Great ending!
Outback is Wirra Station… destination wedding site. I’ve read at least 2 other stories set here and I really like the writing style and the community. This one has a very quirky family … wealthy but doesn’t seem like it and aren’t treated like it. Love the hairdresser, her family, and beautician
Small towns are what to love. Why? Because everyone who REALLY counts helps those who need help or support. So, HEA lovers take a read.
Ok book
Jack Hargreaves returns home after his mother’s death to settle the farm and than leave again. However his heart has another plan as he meets Elsa O’Donoghue. Small Australian town of Wirralong, romance and overcoming old hurts bring a good tale.
Ebook from Netgalley and publishers with thanks. Opinions are entirely my own.
This is the third book in the Outback Brides series. If you have read the first two books you will know that Elsa is the hairdresser that Maggie and Izzy are friends with. If you have not read the other books, no biggie, as each book is easily read as a stand alone book. BUT might I highly suggest reading all the books. You will really enjoy this series of friends and enjoy the series so much more too. Now on to Elsa and her story. Elsa is the stronger of all the “Brides”. She knows what she wants and she doesn’t let anyone stand in her way. When the book opens we meet Jack Hargreaves and really get to know about the true Outback. Jack is an opal miner and he is back in town for his mother’s funeral. She lived in town and was a sapphire miner herself. Oh yes one could say the need to hunt for stones runs deep with this family. He was left a voicemail on the day she passed away saying she finally found the sapphires and hide them again on the family farm. The one he inherited upon hr death. So does he stay and become a gentleman farmer or sell and go back to being an opal miner?
But see Jake is not the only person left behind, he has a brother Jesse and their father as well. Jesse and their father live in Melbourne and lets just say they are different as night and day to Jake and his mom. And because of the fact that his father is known as a gangland person many of the people in the town look down on Jake. He thinks he is not worthy of Elsa and this is the theme we see in the book. So far this is my favorite of the three i have read. It has shown me so of how strong Elsa is both in character and mental strength. Jake had me in tears so many times reading his story and the backstory. I loved how well written this book is. I can see the outback in all the dirt and dust. The caves and all the places that the miners hunker down at night. Then we move into town and we get to meet the townsfolk some are nice,some not so much. But all true to a small town all up in each others business. What a I really loved this book and I especially loved the ending.
This is such an amazing story of love. Jack Hargreaves is a quiet lost soul who just like his mother inherited her love for finding gems, especially a special legendary sapphire. Jack’s world is turned upside down when he receives news of his mom. Going back home to the town of Wirralong, where he never really fit in was supposed to be bittersweet and quick, until he walked into that salon. Jack takes us on an adventure of self discovery and finding the balance of where he belongs and finding happiness. Elsa’s a sweet and caring woman who is drawn to a recluse who just walked into her salon gave himself a cut when she wasn’t able to. Elsa being too busy with the wedding party picked up on the pain emmited from this grizzly of a man who so desperately needed a haircut that she let him without judgement or prejudice; she even tried to help him before he left. I loved the interaction between Elsa and Jack, especially how Elsa was able to bring out a side of Jack no one saw. This is a sweet, romantic, heartbreaking, sad, caring and heartfelt story.
I loved Elsa’s Stand by Cathryn Hein, book three in the Outback Brides series, a wonderful friend to lovers story. Jack disliked the way people in Wirralong treated and thought of him, his brother and mother while growing up. This was because of who his father is and many of the Wirralong townspeople believed in the old adage ‘like father like son’. I liked how Jack proved everyone wrong. Elsa was a businesswoman, operating the hair salon, before Wirralong became the destination for weddings. Elsa was kind, caring, resilient, courageous, which had me enjoying how determined and stubborn she was to win over Jack. I also liked how she wasn’t afraid to stand up for Jack, even if it could harm her business. The fact that she believes no one has the right to judge someone because of who their parents are is another point in her favor. I also liked that Jack would do anything to protect Elsa from people’s judgment, especially when she’s so determined to defend him. Jack definitely had a streak of protectiveness in him as he showed in keeping his brother safe after their father is injured.
Ms. Hein wrote a wonderful story that made me smile and laugh because of the heroine’s determination to show the hero that there are good people in Wirralong. Also, the chemistry between these two was strong and kept getting stronger every time they interacted. Jack being unsure whether he will stay had me worrying for a happy ending.
This was a wonderful story which was easy to visualize in my head as I read. I totally loved these characters and didn’t want to put this book down. Ms. Heim did a fantastic job creating realistic characters, keeping the story line interesting, making me forget the world around me and not letting me go until I turned the last page, wanting more. I highly recommend this book to other readers and look forward to the next book in the series.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.