She ran away when younger.
Now, she returns to the only place that ever felt like home.
But for how long… workshop seeking his help.
For Kat, Kyle was her best friend —her first and only love. But his rejection tore her heart apart.
Kyle’s scars still sting over Kat’s desertion—especially when he’d needed her the most.
Yet, these long-lost soulmates are compelled to team-up for a man they both care for. But can they work together without re-igniting that spark shared all those summers ago?
In this second-chance rural romance, discover the authentic essence of the rugged and romantic Northern Territory outback in this bestselling small-town series of Elsie Creek.
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Mel A Rowe is a underrated author in my opinion. I thought this when I first read her book Unplanned Party. She writes 3rd beautifully and that’s pretty big coming from me because 3rd person is my least favorite of all POV. Her writing make it so easy to follow, and not want to throw the book across the room.
In The Art of Dust she takes us to the Outback of Australia, which if you didn’t know, Mel is Australian. So you’ll notice the difference when some words and quotation marks are used. I, for one have always like reading from non-American authors. It was honestly fascinating to me because I know very little about Australia. She paints a picture of just how awful and beautiful life can be at times. Life is hard enough without having to live in the Outback.
The book begins with our heroine Kat, who’s had her fair share of life’s struggles and disappointments. She is making her way back to where she stayed for a take, at her uncles house in the country at his request. We get flashbacks of her life before she had so much responsibility, when life was simpler, in her own words. Despite her setbacks, shes grown into a woman who has been successful. Upon seeing her aunt and uncles she’s thrown back in time and the story begins rolling from there.
Her uncle is a sick man and he asks her start up his old Ute, which if you didn’t know is a classic truck. Well the thing has been sitting for years, so she’s tasked with getting the truck fixed. One of mechanics is an old friend she wasn’t expecting to see, stirring up old memories and feelings. Kyle is a man with deep insecurities and still harbors a resentment toward Kat from the past. They find each other helping to keep her uncle happy during his last days.
They find themselves in a sticky situations, one where the past and present collide. And cause a whirlwind of feelings and complications. Will life renew what was once there or will they choose their present over their past?
I recommend this book because it is written so simple but it is anything but simple! If you haven’t read anything from Mel A Rowe read this book. You won’t be disappointed!
Amazing Aussie Stars
A delightful book. I had to read it in one day to see how it ended. I loved the townspeople and their unselfish help and concern for each other. This is the 2nd book I’ve read by this author (Mel A Rowe) and I plan to read more of her work.
Loved the setting and the characters. A pick-up until finished book.
Emotionally moving, well written – simply fantastic!
This one packed a really strong emotional punch to the gut. I was crying, I was laughing, I was smiling, I cheered for the main characters and in more moments than one I was frustrated with them so hard that I wanted to go there and slap some sense into both of them. Looks like old habits die hard and it is very very hard to start trusting in the world and people around you especially with the emotional baggage and experiences that only solidified our worst nightmares and fears. Beautifully written second chance romance with a lot of twists and plots and a build up that lead to some strong feeling that I had with hero and heroines stubbornness and reluctance to open their hearts again for possibilities to have the lost love back. What started as a sweet summer love and transformed by misunderstandings and situations that couldn’t be foreseen into bitterness and broken hearts lead to a fantastic story line and even more enjoyable happy ending. Hold tight because this story will get you through some serious roller-coaster of emotions and won’t let you forget it for some time after you’d finish reading.
A beautiful well written exciting sweet small town story. This engaging storyline had me addicted page after page. This fast paced gripping contemporary romance has them getting a second chance at love, once they can get past loneliness, rejection, trusting and secrets while told from dual POVs. The characters are interesting and well developed with great chemistry. I voluntarily read and reviewed this ARC.
Kat returns to the Outback town that she grew up in when her beloved uncle is nearing the end of his life. Her young daughter is very curious about life in the countryside. One of the first things that Kat does is get her uncle’s truck in shape. There’s only one garage in town, and there she runs into her former old flame, Kyle. As the uncle’s life is winding down, Kyle and Kat renew their friendship—and more—as they both work towards making his final days the best they can be. Kyle had been on the verge of proposing to his girlfriend, but everything changes once these two former lovers meet again. They both have secrets and past hurts that could derail any future they might have together.
I haven’t read much Australian literature, but I think this author did an excellent job of setting the scene of living in a small town in the Outback. I could very easily imagine it. This book felt like a combination of chick lit and romance because it isn’t just about the romance but also about what it means to come home, to better understand your roots, and to understand ultimately who you are and what matters in life. I love the part about her rebuilt friendship with old friend Wendy. The secrets that are revealed about their past misunderstandings are typical of those seen in books of this kind, but they are given more interest because of family backgrounds and circumstances that illuminate the deeper reasons that still resonate with the difficulties they have today. Both Kat and Kyle seem like real people who were thrust into difficult circumstances and did the best they could.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
The author paints an amazing picture of the outback with her words drawing you into the story. While that life is not for everyone the residents, while knowing each others business, look out for each other.
Kats life wasn’t always ideal however she loved her holiday visits to her uncle & aunt in the bush. Here she met & fell in love with Kyle. However circumstances years later kept them apart.
Kat returns, reasonably successful in her life & career, to see her dying uncle. Old wounds are dredged up when she again sees Kyle, who is now doing well with his brother in a mechanical business. She needs him to help repair & restore her uncles old ute as a farewell gift to him.
Of course there’s more to the story than this but I don’t want to spoil the experience for the reader. Kat has to deal with returning to a place she once loved & Kyle has to decide his feelings for her. If you’re fan of Aussie outback stories then you will enjoy this.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is a well written and fastpaced story that I enjoyed reading. The storyline is great and the characters well developed.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It was very difficult to put down. It was a great mix of fun, serious, and interest. I look forward to reading more from Mel.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Entertaining second chance romance about Kyle and Kat. They are interesting characters and the second chance story is great!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
What a fabulous start to a new series, MS Rowe has created a town in The Northern Territory with some fabulous characters that we are sure to become friends with, including Cecil the water buffalo who loves having messages drawn on him. This story we meet Kat and Kyle and journey with them as they get their chance at love second time around, pull up a chair make yourself a drink because you will not want to put this one down.
Kathryn Jones returns to Elsie Creek after being away for seven years, she has returned because her beloved uncle is ill and he needs a lot of work done around the house and his truck needs repair she has also returned with a beautiful tutu loving daughter. Emotions run high for Kat when she returns but her first job get the truck to the mechanic and here her legs turn to jelly when she meets up with her first love and the man that she felt rejected by Kyle.
Kyle Smythe now runs the mechanic shop and he is a workaholic he lives in the family home with his brother and sister in law and their two children, when he sees the big red beast pull into the workshop and the still gorgeous Kat get out of the car his heart is jumping about, the girl he loved once who walked out on him years before took everything with her and now she is back and with a daughter, but he knows that he has never stopped loving her.
What a story, so many emotions flowing and lots of things that both Kat and Kyle need to work through before they can have their second chance at love, there are misunderstands and a secret, both Kate and Kyle are strong but vulnerable at times, first loves are never forgotten, there are also lots of laughs and smiles through this story the people of Elsie Creek are fabulous, and I am really looking forward to getting to know them better in future books. I loved this one and can highly recommend it.
You are definitely going to want to read this book, like I said before in any of my other reviews for her books anything she writes is a good read.
Kyle and Kat met each other and fell in love when Kat visited her aunt and uncle. When Kat felt felt rejected by Kyle, she returned to the city for her education and becomes successful in business. When Kat returns to help fulfill her uncle’s dying wish and runs in to Kyle. Kyle thought he was getting over Kat by getting ready to propose to someone else but seeing her again may start to stir the feelings he thought he’d buried. Will these two give in to the feelings they both still have for each other? A well written story and great characters.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The first book in The Elsie Creek Series a well written story of second chance, the people of Elise Creek, and the quarks of a small town. A well written story with a great storyline. I enjoyed reading.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
What a town: a fab setting for a 2nd chance at love for a mum-preneur and the summer BFF of youth!
May 23, 2019
Format: Kindle Edition
Well-written, great characters and a lovely second-chance romance in small-town Outback Australia. I loved the touching moments with Uncle Frank and the quirky characters in town, including a flower-loving water buffalo that earns his keep as a roving billboard! The couple’s backstory as summer BFF’s is described in loving detail and makes their reunion all the more special. Of the two main protagonists, Kyle was my favorite: such a sweet, loyal, loving guy with a horrible break and limited prospects until his roaming lost love finds her way back to Elsie Creek. The ending was a bit over the top, but overall the story was engaging and a great read. This is the second book I’ve read by the author and, to me, it was better and had more of the Australian atmosphere that draws me to Australian writers.
I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.
I give this book 3,5 stars.
The dust in the bush township of Elsie Creek always settled in the winter but when summer came the whirlwind of Kathryn rolled into town and livened up the life of all the inhabitants and especially Kyle Love! Kyle and Kathryn falls in love but a misunderstanding happens and she leaves town and doesn’t let anyone hear from her until she returns about 7 years later because her uncle is dying of cancer! She returns with her daughter Kaiytlyn to help her aunt with the house and help get her uncle out of the hospital to do all the things he loves one last time.
Kathryn and Kyle meet again and he still loves her but can he convince her that he is the one for her?
Kathryn is a very independent, sassy, stubborn, loving, amazing woman and mother. She raises her daughter as a single mother and college student in design. As she says she is a designer who decorates! When she wants things she makes it happen and she turns the township on it’s head and brings a lot of new things and ideas into the townspeople’s homes and heads. The only thing she doesn’t think she can get is Kyle!
Kyle is amazing, open hearted and open minded but he has closed his heart of to love when he lost her and now he just gets through the day and works in his mechanics shop that he bought after something happened to him on his 21. birthday. And when he figures out what her secret is he is very forgiving, sweet and caring. Can they find their way back to each other?
I loved Cecil. Cecil is the cutest male water buffalo and town banner who loves to flowers and Kaiytlyns candy bars. He walks around town with messages like “Choose your favorite movie on Saturday” or “Frank is sick”. He lives at the school where Kaiytlyn goes and the kids love him.
The book is very sweet, heartwarming but also a bit slow and I am not the biggest fan of the main tropes in it but I can recommend this book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The setting of this story – in Outback Australia – was fascinating. Those people there haven’t had the easiest life but they always had the community to rely on. I liked the picture I imagined of Elsie Creek and its residents.
I liked Kat. She had her fair share of disappointments in life, some of them left scars on her soul and made it impossibly hard for her to rely on anyone. Despite all hardships she’s doing great, has success in her field and is overall very nice.
Kyle buried himself in work after the last summer he spent with Kat. Like keeping himself busy and to settle with the wrong woman could lessen his sadness in losing her. He way a good guy with deep feelings and a good dose of insecurities put in the mix.
Both had a lot to learn about friends and family and love. Their journey was worth reading.
Once upon a time, a young singe mum came back to town at the request of her dying uncle – the nearest thing she had even had to a father figure.
On a quest to restore his beloved Beast of a truck, she stumbles across the love of her young life.
as their tale unravels, and the final hours and minutes of life wind down for her uncle, it becomes clear the each felt that the other deserted them during the final summer spent with each other, seven years ago.
things beyond dashed hopes connect them – more than the love they both share for her dying uncle, who acted as a father Kyle and his brother after the death of their own father.
do they have it in them to move past the years in between and all that their pasts hid and revealed?
the world is filled with all sorts of love and family, and a small rural town is filled with family of a different sort.
Moving story about a variety of loves in life.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is well written book set in the Outback of Australia that well describes the land and the characters. Kat had visited her aunt and uncle when she was growing up and while there she meet Kyle and they fell in young love but when she feels rejected by Kyle she goes back to the city where she gets her education and in her business she gets successful but when she hears that her uncle in seriously ill she goes for a visit. Kyle has been seeing Emalie and is set to propose and when Kat comes to him to help her restore her uncle’s ute he agrees. Will Kat and Kyle renew their relationship or will Kyle propose to Emalie?
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is my first read from this author – what a great story! Didn’t make it too far into this book before I decided that I love this author – something about the writing completely drew me into the story. Kat’s back after a long absence – Uncle Frank is dying, and she’s made it her mission to make his last days memorable, including an overhaul of Beast, his old truck. She’s also trying real hard not to think about her past with Kyle. Now that Kat’s back, Kyle is torn – between his past with the woman he’s always loved, and the future he thought he wanted with someone else. I boohoo’d all the way through Kat’s conversation with Aunty Bea about Kaytlyn’s father, even though I’d long ago figured out that secret. Kat and Kyle should have been together all along, and it’s a heart-wrenching story as to why they were not.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.