Fifty Bales of Hay

by Rachael Treasure

Come have a roll in the hay with one of Australia′s leading rural fiction authors, Rachael Treasure, in her romping, rollicking first-ever collection of romantic stories, celebrating the sexy side of rural life. Guaranteed to get your tractor revving, FIFTY BALES OF HAY is an honest and imaginative exploration of everyday men and women getting down and dirty on the land.

From the dairy shed to the Royal Agricultural Show pavilion, Treasure′s cheeky satirical humour and wicked imagination offers up a dozen fun-filled, and sometimes poignant, tales of dust and lust. This collection will have you clamoring for a stock whip, a saddle and a jackaroo.

Genres: Romance, Australia, Fiction, Unfinished, M F Romance, Short Stories, Erotica

248 pages, Paperback

First published December 3, 2012

About the author

Rachael Treasure lives in southern rural Tasmania with her two young children. She is passionate about encouraging non-readers to read, inspiring farmers to consider regenerative agricultural practices and animal handlers to better understand their dogs and livestock. She is a graduate of Orange Agricultural College and has a Bachelor of Arts (Communication) from Charles Sturt University, Bathurst. She has worked as a jillaroo, rural journalist, ABC radio broadcaster, professional woolclasser, part-time vet nurse, family farm manager, drover and stock camp cook. She has written 4 novels and a short story collection, all bestsellers.
Follow her on facebook:
www.facebook.com/rach.treasure

Reviews

[Shelleyrae at Book'd Out · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rachael Treasure is a well known Australian author of rural fiction and Fifty Bales of Hay is an entertaining collection of 12 sexy short stories between consenting adults on the land.

'Lust in the dust' says the blurb, and in Droving Done and Milking Time the dust is certainly stirred. In The Crutching and Cattle Crush familiar farming equipment is re purposed in inventive ways.

What I particularly loved about this collection is that the women and men featured range widely in age from new adult through to couples in mid life and beyond. I also really appreciated that generally the women take charge of their sexuality and their pleasure, from cougar Krissy in Branded to lonely long haul driver, Celia, in Truck Wash.

There is plenty of Sex in Fifty Bales of Hay - I don't think it's quite explicit enough to be termed erotica but for most readers I think the difference would be immaterial.
The references to EL James Fifty Shades of Grey are slyly amusing and I was glad to find there is no attempt to imitate the novel's story or characters.

Fifty Bales of Hay is an entertaining read, provocative, amusing and even tender. My husband has been trying to convince me to let him buy a ride on mower, I might just let him now ;)

[Preet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still haven't read Fifty Shades of Grey. I know I should be put in stocks and have rotten food thrown at me. But when I saw that one of my favorite Aussie authors, Rachael Treasure was publishing an anthology of "farm porn", I knew I had to read it. I've read all of Ms.Treasure's previously published books, and while there were some that had some sex and steam, there weren't any that were dedicated exclusively to it, so I was a little hesitant I wouldn't like it.

Guess what? I totally loved it. There are about a dozen stories that cover various aspects of farm life and range in naughtiness. There wasn't anything too kinky, and I enjoyed the stories very much. I'd be hard pressed to pick a favorite, but I'm happy to add this to my library of Rachael Treasure books. If you've never read anything written by her, any you're a fan of western/rural stories, I'd recommend you correct that quickly!

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fifty Bales of Hay is a collection of twelve erotic short stories with a farming flavour, written by Australian journalist, sheep dog breeder and trainer and author, Rachael Treasure. This collection has appealing characters, realistic dialogue and varied plots that are more than just a vehicle for sex. There is plenty of humour, and Treasure has her characters getting up close and personal: under the harvest moon; on horseback; in the cattle crush; under the gaze of a voyeuristic stallion; in the show ring; on a ride-on mower; and on a wool bale. A shearing sling is put to novel use, as is a bucket of raspberries and a water hose. Inspiration comes from dog joinings, cows in season and Nigella’s cookbooks. There are quite a few tongue-in-cheek references to Fifty Shades of Grey, besides the obvious dig in the title, and this is a lovely light, funny read that is much more enjoyable (and much less tedious) than FSOG. Great fun.

[Anna Renzenbrink · Rating 3 out of 5]

Best thing was the variety of strong Aussie country women featuring in these short stories. Rarely do I read erotica and certainly never about 40- 50 year old women but then again I have never read a short story about women being turned on by watching cows, dogs and sheep doing it like they do on the discovery channel. This is meant to be a tribute/piss take of Fifty Shades of Grey but more engaging than the sex were the descriptions of cattle stations, wool classing and rodeo clowns!

[Cate Ellink · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and clever. Rachael Treasure has a great wit and lovely characterisation.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of short stories is, as most collections are, a bit of mixed bag. All of the stories take place either on a ranch or a farm of some type. The woman are usually take charge and know what they want. The men aren't bad.

The couples are nicely varied - so you have people who just met but you also have a married couple for instance, and I though the different types of relationships highlighted in each story was a nice touch.

[Sam Still Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re thinking that the title sounds familiar to the ‘other’ Fifty-type book that blazed through 2012, you’re right – nearly. This is a steamy book, but the only ropes you’ll find will be on the back of a farm ute or down the shed. Welcome to the world of agricultural erotica – i.e. getting down and dirty in the Australian bush. This book is a collection of 12 short stories all by rural romance author, Rachael Treasure.

Below you stop reading, thinking that you’ve read everything there is to know on the latest hot genre, read this: the bush settings in this book are incredibly diverse, celebrating all the different types of agriculture that we can do in the Aussie country. So you might learn something about rounding up cattle, shearing, wool classing or even berry farming. Even though I have lived in rural Australia for several years, this book got me thinking about how there’s more than wheat and sheep to Aussie farming. Plus, Treasure writes the kind of story that will have you looking completely differently at road trains and ride on lawnmowers from now on!

There were several things I enjoyed about this book. One, that it’s easy to pick up and read a story and then go back to work, cook dinner or do whatever demands your attention more. Two, Treasure is efficient with plot and characterisation so that each story is more than a bonkfest! You get to know something about the main character and her motivations. Three, the country settings are diverse but all well characterised.

Treasure is also rather cheeky in mentioning on several occasions about a raunchy book that ‘everyone’ is reading, having bought it in the supermarket or elsewhere. This tribute to the infamous Fifty Shades of Grey made me laugh, as did the ladies taking the bull by the horns after reading said book to bring lust back into their lovelives. The women portrayed in this book are all ages too – from young jillaroos to widowed boss cockies. I can’t say that I’ve read erotica before where the participants are in their 50s, but hey, everyone’s entitled!

I wouldn’t pick this book up if you were after down and dirty erotica, but it’s a book that’s not too dirty (especially after the story ‘Car Wash’), light and a little steamy. It’s a light-hearted read.

Thank you to The Reading Room for providing me with this book – the antithesis to a hard week at work!

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well......
I'm still getting the occasional giggle and working in the stockyards has never had the opportunity to get so kinky! !
I read this after the original 50 book, needing something believable and less...well..shit. Since erotica is not my thing, I read this out of sheer bloody mindedness after also reading 50 shames of Earl Grey, the terrible and kinky My Inner Goddess and various other parodies, needing to take the mickey out of the book these all spun out from....
I expected a good laugh and a mindless read, but it turned out I quite enjoyed it and it was over too soon...they were pretty much all HEA stories, and a bit on the dirrrty side but good for a giggle!

[Majella Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this a much more enjoyable read than that other '50 shades' book (that this one parodies). The more famous and supposedly erotic '50 shades' book didn't turn me on in any way, but this one certainly got my 'cox ride-on' motor revving! A funny, light-hearted and sexy collection of down-on-the-farm fantasies that left me wanting to track down an eager, lusty country boy of my own!

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanted to give this 3.5! A tongue-in-cheek take on the whole 50 shades wave but much more fun and much better writing. This is a great introduction to Australian rural fiction with a twist of the erotic - 12 short stories with titles like Truck Wash and The Crutching. A hoot. Great to see all kinds of lovers featured too, not just the young and beautiful.

[Bettina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really wasn't my type of book. Just felt like a rip off of the 'Fifty Shades' books. Only read this book because Rachael Treasure is one of my favourite authors. Oh well, each to their own I guess.

[Christy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just made it through the first story. Possibly the worst book I have ever attempted to read. Won't be able to finish. Agricultural romance is clearly not for me.

[Bronte · Rating 2 out of 5]

Writing was not that good.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, what’s to say, this was a whole lot of fun to read. Fifty Bales of Hay is a collection of short stories set in rural Australia. I haven’t read any of Rachael Treasure’s books before this one, but I must say I will definitely be picking some up now. Her writing style is fabulous, easy to read and funny. This is classed as erotica, but I mean you just take it all like a grain of salt, so funny. There were quite a few digs at the Fifty Shades of Gray books, but that too was in humour.

There are twelve short stories and they are straight to the point where it comes to the sexy scenes. Some you just can’t believe that would ever happen in real life, but hey, I guess it could happen. If I had to pick a favourite, it would be Truck Wash.

TRUCK WASH
Celia was having trouble with her husband; they were growing distant and not having as much intimate time. Driving and delivering a load of cattle, she had to wash out the truck and found a truck wash along the way. Pulling in she couldn’t work out how to use the machine to start the automated hose, so goes over to the only other truck in the bays. The man in the bay didn’t see her and washed her down with the water (by accident). Her shirt is saturated and this starts the stirrings in her body, from the blast of hard water directed at her chest. Hilarious and shocking!

They all contained female protagonists and were all strong characters. Some had sad back-stories and found “fun” in order to overcome their sadness and move forward in their lives. Each night I would read a couple stories and the next day would tell the tales to my husband and we would laugh together and wonder if these things actually happened in reality. Who knows, maybe an older woman would find riding a ride-on-mower “exciting” and essential to her garden maintenance. LOL I find that the summary tells it all though.

Thank you to Harper Collins Australia and The Reading Room for supplying a copy for review.

[Any Length · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only was this book extremely funny, it sure can hold it's head proud as a member of the erotica genre. Rachel Treasure has done a fantastic job combining outback australian stories (ficiton of course) with so much steamy sex one might just need a shower.
But that's not all, she was able to somehow reference another book in the erotica genre, not by naming it, but by hinting at it, at least 50 times, in all sorts of grey shades, if you get my drift. Extremely well done, a great book. I highly recommend it.

[Karen]

HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT!!! for Erotica fiction...this author I was so excited to read as she has been given rave reviews on her other stories..she said she was inspired to try her hand at Erotica....but if her definition of Erotica is using slang terms for body parts then she needs to go back to her general fiction stories...Several stories set in Austrailia and largely based on ideas from friends of the farming world...this book could've been way hotter if each story actually had a plot...not just walking into sex & then the story was over....

[Julie (Bookish.Intoxication) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book! Yes it is a bit cheeky and R rated, it is hilarious and had me laughing all the way through.
All the characters within each short story were likeable larrikans and had the feel of real people, which made it more relateable.

a fantastic novel of short stories, that everyone should read!! Hilarious and honest, Great work as always from Rachael Treasure!!

[Tina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the sort of thing I usually read, but very entertaining nonetheless. I get that it's meant to be a piss take of 50 Shades of Grey, but I'm not sure I was meant to laugh as much as I did while reading. Some of the situations were downright hilarious - and perhaps a bit uncomfortable/impossible! The writing itself was quite good - just not my cup of tea.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute, funny and clever. Loved all the strong female characters. Also thought it was fantastic how all ages, looks and sizes were portrayed, reinforcing the idea that sex and desire isn't confined to pretty, young, skinny girls.

[Meagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rollicking, fun read! Some of the stories were quite touching and others laugh out loud fun!!

[Just · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really not my cup of tea. I still haven't read the "other" fifty books either as I just don't like that type of read. Steer clear of Mills and Boon too. Maybe I'm just a bit strange....

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea - I prefer longer stories with more character development rather than "wham bam thankyou mam" type short, sexy/erotic stories.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!!!! 12 short stories....
Being a counrty girl, i could really relate!!
I had a great laugh... Who would have thought so mant places!!!

[Prue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't realise this was a bunch of short stories, needless to say I really enjoyed every one of them

[Kylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. Life very busy but still able to find time to read a short story. The stories where easy reading. A cheeky plot for each.

[Kristyn Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun to read but has nothing on the real Fifty!!

[Emily Olive · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hahahaha such a good book you'll have to read it :')))

[Paulette · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good easy read! A book for the cowgirl in all of us that want a bit of extra fun on the side! ;P

[Mel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was funny and light. not nearly as grotty as that other 'fifty' book.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very stimulating, and much more exciting than 50 shades of grey, (which gets a few mentions in this book)