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Heart on Fire
An incomparable love story set amidst the shimmering landscape and untamed beauty of the Australian Outback.
Jody Johnson is the rising Queen of Country who's just been outed by the press. Adoring fans and groupies are fascinated by her cool image and unique voice, but they don’t see the loneliness beneath her seductive exterior.
On tour in the Australian Outback, the Johnson Band bus is marooned at Davanzo's, a dot-on-the-map truck-stop motel. Also marooned—not that she'd admit it—is painter Grace Davanzo. She helps her parents in their restaurant kitchen and avoids anything that might stir past dark memories.
Grace is not charmed by the flirtatious musicians and definitely not by their leader. Yet there is a spark between Jody and Grace and it could be the one to start a bushfire, if they let it. Both are fearful, cautious and destined to go in different directions. Will Jody's next album be one of heartbreak, or of hearts on fire?
Jody Johnson is the rising Queen of Country who's just been outed by the press. Adoring fans and groupies are fascinated by her cool image and unique voice, but they don’t see the loneliness beneath her seductive exterior.
On tour in the Australian Outback, the Johnson Band bus is marooned at Davanzo's, a dot-on-the-map truck-stop motel. Also marooned—not that she'd admit it—is painter Grace Davanzo. She helps her parents in their restaurant kitchen and avoids anything that might stir past dark memories.
Grace is not charmed by the flirtatious musicians and definitely not by their leader. Yet there is a spark between Jody and Grace and it could be the one to start a bushfire, if they let it. Both are fearful, cautious and destined to go in different directions. Will Jody's next album be one of heartbreak, or of hearts on fire?
167 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1996
About the author
Diana Simmonds
17 books10 followersDiana Simmonds (born 1953) is an Australian journalist and arts critic, currently editor of Stage Noise and Sydney Alumni Magazine. She has written several novels and non-fiction books.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 19, 2013
When a book says it's the next "whatever" popular book, don't believe it. On the cover of this one, it claims to be the next "Curious Wine". That's laughable. It's not even close. The dialogue is cheesy and overwrought, the meeting between the lesbian Jody and the heterosexual Grace is predictable - straight chick pursues gay chick, gay chick pushes straight chick away. Of course, eventually they do get together, but there are a lot of bumps and roadblocks along the way. This book is a prime example of why I don't buy lesbian literature any more.
May 23, 2018
I especially loved it because I am an Aussie living in the US. The description of the Australian landscape brought back a lot of memories and I thoroughly enjoyed being transported back home.
October 6, 2019
Trite, characters were limited and one had a complete 180 from sexual assaults and predation to 'good guy'. Development was decent, but filled with the cliches typical of the genre.
August 28, 2023
I originally rated this 5 stars because at the time I read it, when it was first published, it was one of the best reads for me in a long time. Things have changed a lot, and I would not rate this classic with 5 stars anymore. But I will leave the original rating just because. Loved the revisit.
April 26, 2011
Nice, sweet romance.
March 12, 2017
A delightful romance happening mostly in the Australian outback. Apart from the many skillfully portrayed characters I really enjoyed the descriptions of the nature and wildlife.
January 6, 2015
Amazing!! Man this is the reason why I love reading books getting lost in them. Because of books like this one another amazing book.!!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews