Red Sand Sunrise (Aussie Outback Medical #3) in Aussie Readers

Mar 19, 2014 Brenda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, own-read, net-galley, rural, romance, aussie-authors, read-on-kindle, 2014-release

4.5★s

Three sisters – Eve Wilson, Sienna Wilson and their half-sister Callie Wilson – were all about to have their lives changed irrevocably, and all because of one man, Duncan Wilson. Eve was a dedicated mid-wife from Brisbane and a recent tragedy had shaken her to the core; Sienna was a top obstetrician from Melbourne and working her way rapidly up the ladder; and Callie was a doctor with her own practice in Sydney, and hadn’t realized it but was unhappily married.

When Eve received an unexpecte 4.5★s

Three sisters – Eve Wilson, Sienna Wilson and their half-sister Callie Wilson – were all about to have their lives changed irrevocably, and all because of one man, Duncan Wilson. Eve was a dedicated mid-wife from Brisbane and a recent tragedy had shaken her to the core; Sienna was a top obstetrician from Melbourne and working her way rapidly up the ladder; and Callie was a doctor with her own practice in Sydney, and hadn’t realized it but was unhappily married.

When Eve received an unexpected phone call from Red Sand, the sudden shock death of the father she barely knew hit her hard. Determined to attend the funeral she found she wasn’t surprised when Sienna said she wouldn’t go. Red Sand was an isolated township in far west Queensland, and even for Eve, the trip there from Brisbane was an extremely long one. But meeting her half-sister Callie and Callie’s mum, Sylvia for the first time made the long trip worthwhile.

After a few days at home again, Callie decided now was the time to cut her ties in Sydney and move back with her mother – she hadn’t spent enough time at home in the past fifteen years, so the change felt right to her. And getting to know Eve was proving to be a bonus – they were getting along well. So when dynamic matriarch and local station owner, Blanche McKay approached Callie with the idea of a medical clinic for Red Sand and the outlying communities, it felt like everything was falling into place for Callie. Blanche ruled with an iron fist – her sons Henry and Lex (mostly) did her bidding, and the men were well known in the district for their handsome good looks.

Fate was definitely conspiring to bring the three sisters together, because before long Sienna was heading to Red Sand; as part of her role as a medical researcher she was to investigate a medical issue which was affecting women in the area. Not happy to be in the “back of beyond” she nonetheless settled into her role and found herself gradually getting to know her sisters – until the day tragedy struck and they found themselves going above and beyond….

What a wonderful story! I thoroughly enjoyed this novel; the connecting of the three sisters after so long shows the power of familial love; the different strengths of the women was inspiring and it was deeply emotional. I must admit to needing the tissues quite a few times especially in the second half of the book. I have no hesitation in recommending Red Sand Sunrise highly.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy to read and review.
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Mar 27, 2014 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arc-are, netgalley-reviews, aussie-author

Red Sand Sunrise is an engaging novel combining drama and romance in an outback setting written by accomplished author Fiona McArthur.

On the same day that her husband admits his affair with a neighbour and asks for a divorce, Dr Callie Wilson receives the news that her beloved father has passed away. Home in Red Sand, a remote township in far west Queensland, for the funeral, Callie is blindsided by yet more bad news and, with no pressing reason to return to Sydney, resolves to stay indefinitely
Red Sand Sunrise is an engaging novel combining drama and romance in an outback setting written by accomplished author Fiona McArthur.

On the same day that her husband admits his affair with a neighbour and asks for a divorce, Dr Callie Wilson receives the news that her beloved father has passed away. Home in Red Sand, a remote township in far west Queensland, for the funeral, Callie is blindsided by yet more bad news and, with no pressing reason to return to Sydney, resolves to stay indefinitely. Fortunately she is offered the opportunity to oversee the establishment of the area's first medical clinic, and with it the chance to get to know her half sister, Eve.
Eve Wilson, a Brisbane midwife, isn't sure of the reception she will receive from her father's widow and the half sister she has never met, but she feels certain that attending his funeral is the right thing to do. Their warm welcome is a surprise, as is Callie's invitation to remain in Red Sand to staff the new clinic, and her attraction to local station owner, Lex McKay.
Dr Sienna Wilson, an ambitious Melbourne obstetrician, doesn't understand her sister's decision to attend their estranged father's funeral, nor why Eve would choose to remain in the middle of nowhere. She is horrified when her hospital, encouraged by a substantial donation from the the Red Sand clinic's benefactor, insists she spends three months in the town to investigate the cause of a series of premature births and stillbirths in the region.

The story of Red Sand Sunrise unfolds as these three women, Callie, Eve and Sienna, face various personal and professional challenges, ranging from Callie's fear of providing maternity care after her own tragic loss, to Eve's search to find somewhere she 'fits', and to Sienna's realisation she doesn't have all the answers. McArthur ably crafts distinct individual personalities for the sisters and I found them each to be appealing characters.

There is quite a lot of emotional drama in Red Sand Sunrise, Callie especially is forced to cope with several distressing events in a relatively short period of time. I was surprised to find myself tearing up (just a little) during two pivotal scenes, but also wondered if perhaps it was a little too much.
There are also some moments of high tension which involve a few of the medical emergencies Callie, Eve and Sienna have to manage. McArthur, who has years of experience as a rural midwife, draws on her own experience and expertise to illustrate the challenges of accessing and providing medical assistance, and in particular antenatal care, in remote regions of Australia.

I enjoyed the romantic elements in the novel, Callie reconnects with her teenage sweetheart, Eve is smitten by Lex McKay and Sienna sets her sights on local police officer, Sergeant McCabe. Somewhat surprisingly, the developing relationships don't overwhelm the story, which I appreciated.

Red Sand Sunrise is an engaging story of three sisters challenged by family, grief, romance and tragedy, set within the remote landscape of the Australian outback. I would happily recommend this heartfelt novel to fans of contemporary rural or medical romance.
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Aug 25, 2019 Janine rated it it was amazing

I am yet to read a book of Fiona's that I haven't enjoyed and this book is no exception. I had already read The Baby doctor last year which I devoured in a day and didn't realise until later that it was the second book in a series, so this book was the first! The story involves three sisters - Callie who is a GP and returns home to the outback for the funeral of her father. She has two half sisters as well - Eve who is a midwife and Sienna who is a high flying Obstetrician who begrudgingly retur ...more

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Jun 28, 2014 Helen rated it it was amazing

This is an amazing story of three woman in the harsh Australian outback and the setting is just glorious When Eve Wilson who is a midwife living and working in Brisbane goes to the town of Red Sand in Queensland for her father's funeral although she didn't know him she finally meets her half sister Callie and Callie's Mum Sylivia this starts a friendship and a bond that means so much to both girls. Callie is a GP in Sydney and is estranged from her husband and decides to stay in Red Sand and whe ...more

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Jun 03, 2014 Bree T rated it it was amazing

Shelves: romance, arc, australian, rural-lit, aww2014, medical

Midwife Eve Wilson barely knew her father but when he dies she decides that she owes it to him to travel to the funeral in outback Queensland and meet her stepfamily. She doesn’t expect to be so taken with both the other part of her father’s family and also, the town itself. Far west Queensland is brutal but also breathtakingly beautiful as well.

Eve’s half sister Dr Callie Wilson not only has to deal with the shock death of her father but also another personal tragedy as well. She moves back to Midwife Eve Wilson barely knew her father but when he dies she decides that she owes it to him to travel to the funeral in outback Queensland and meet her stepfamily. She doesn’t expect to be so taken with both the other part of her father’s family and also, the town itself. Far west Queensland is brutal but also breathtakingly beautiful as well.

Eve’s half sister Dr Callie Wilson not only has to deal with the shock death of her father but also another personal tragedy as well. She moves back to Red Sand to spend time with her mother, the two of them providing support for each other in their shared grief. It also gives Callie a chance to meet one of her two half sisters, when Eve arrives for their father’s funeral. Eve and Callie find a common ground almost immediately and are both keen to get to know each other and develop their relationship. Eve and Callie are both given a chance to help establish the area’s first medical clinic, where both will get a chance to share their expertise and help in the day to day medical issues of their rural community.

Eve’s other sister Sienna, the one she grew up with, can’t understand why Eve would throw everything away to go and stay out in some rural backwater for six months. An obstetrician on her way up the career ladder as fast as possible, Sienna lives and works in Melbourne and has no interest in visiting Red Sand, for their father’s funeral or otherwise. Unfortunately for Sienna, Red Sand has Blanche McKay, the driving force behind the small town’s first medical clinic and she wants Sienna’s expertise. There’s a medical mystery to solve in Red Sand and Sienna finds herself sold out and heading bush in order to investigate what is going on up there.

Fate is bringing the three sisters together and giving them the chance to have what they were denied growing up – a proper family relationship. They’ll need to be there for each other and they’re going to need all the skills they have in order to not only work out what the medical mystery is but also work to save someone special when disaster wants to take them away.

I’ve never been very far west in my life. When I was 12, my parents took us to the Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo, which was a lot of fun (and exhausting). I think that is the furthest west in Australia I’ve ever been. I grew up on the Mid North Coast of NSW and since then have never lived much further than 10-15m from the ocean. However, this book took me into the heart of far western Queensland and I loved every bit of it!

When I pick up a rural romance, it’s ones like these that I really enjoy reading. Eve and Callie are such wonderful characters. They share a father but have different mothers – it’s a bit of a complicated family past but Fiona McArthur explains it well. Both Eve and Callie are open to getting to know each other, enthusiastic about it even. Eve’s mother has passed but Callie’s welcomes Eve to Red Sand and into their lives. A trip for her father’s funeral and to meet her other family members turns into returning to help set up the town’s first medical clinic. Birthing in rural areas can be difficult – often women have to leave at 36wks and travel to an area that has a fully equipped hospital. This leaves them away from their family for weeks at a time – it could be anything up to 7 or 8 weeks depending on when they actually birthed and how long they and their babies spend in hospital. This obviously doesn’t suit everyone, especially busy farming women who also often already have other small children. Many would appreciate being able to at least have all their check ups much closer to home and maybe even the chance to birth close too, providing they are deemed low risk.

Experiencing Eve and Callie form a friendship was such a fun process to watch. I don’t have a sister and even though Eve grew up with her other sister Sienna, the two of them aren’t particularly close. Sienna is ambitious and dedicated and I think Eve feels that Sienna seems to regard her as a bit of a mess, a poor Eve type thing. With Callie Eve is a person fully formed and the two of them are both adults, forging that adult relationship. Both Eve and Callie are so likable, they’re exactly the sort of people I’d want to be friends with myself. Especially if I lived in a small community like Red Sand. The introduction of Sienna, who is very different, was fascinating because in the first few times the reader sees her, she’s not really that likable. She is not backwards in her thoughts about Red Sand and just how much she doesn’t want to be there, either. However the more Sienna appeared, the more I liked her. She was greatly improved when she met the local police officer, a man of few words. Sienna came to realise that rural medicine wasn’t a lesser career and that skills were just important out there in the real world in everyday situations as they were in an operating theater in a big hospital. Whereas she wasn’t particularly ‘hands on’ in the past, Sienna gets the chance to give it a go more than once and she finds it’s not really so bad!

There are three heroines in this novel, so that gives us three heroes. And they are all so very wonderful! I’m a big fan of the tall, handsome and mysterious type so….Lex McKay quickly became my favourite. Or as Eve describes him, ‘a stern-faced giant’. The sparks fly early on between those two but it’s also quite an understated budding romance. Lex has some complications that he must deal with and Eve has to decide if Red Sand is for her on a more permanent basis. I loved their interactions though – actually I loved all of the interactions all of the characters had in this book. There’s so much warmth and charm here. That laid-back vibe kind of makes it all the more shocking when something terrible occurs and I was utterly immersed in that scene. As a mother, I do have a bit of an interest in delivery – sometimes I think that I should’ve done widwifery. It’s the only aspect of nursing that interests me at all but when I was applying to university, I didn’t care for babies. If I was to do a degree now, it would most likely be that. Watching Eve and Sienna work was very interesting and I was definitely keen to find out what the answer was behind the medical mystery that kept affecting pregnant women in Red Sand.

I really enjoyed every aspect of this book. It was such a wonderful read and I am so keen to get out there and track down more books by Fiona McArthur. Highly recommend this one. ...more

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Mar 26, 2014 Lauredhel rated it really liked it

Shelves: australian-women-writers-challenge, rural-setting, romance, australian, netgalley, aww2014

What a cast of characters Red Sand Sunrise has!

Long-lost sisters gather in the western Queensland town of Red Sand after the death of their father. Callie the down-to-earth GP is just out of a bad marriage; Eve the birth-centre midwife is distressed after a serious incident at her high-dependency OB relief job; and Sienna the driven, brusque big-city obstetrician doesn't want to be in the outback at all.

But wait, there's more! Blanche McKay, rural grand dame, is sick of the lack of women's heal What a cast of characters Red Sand Sunrise has!

Long-lost sisters gather in the western Queensland town of Red Sand after the death of their father. Callie the down-to-earth GP is just out of a bad marriage; Eve the birth-centre midwife is distressed after a serious incident at her high-dependency OB relief job; and Sienna the driven, brusque big-city obstetrician doesn't want to be in the outback at all.

But wait, there's more! Blanche McKay, rural grand dame, is sick of the lack of women's healthcare in the town, and decides to do something about it.
The chalk-and-cheese MacKay brothers, Lex and Henry (who I keep thinking of as the Luthor brothers, because Lex), take an interest in the sisters. Bennett, vet and cabinet-maker, has a past with Callie, and the flame still lingers. Blanche, of course, hires Bennett to fit out the new health centre, meaning he has to work closely with Callie. And then there's the buttoned-up Sergeant McCabe, the new cop in town.

And the imaginary town, Red Sand, is a character of its own. It is out past the opal town of Quilpie, where the brown cattle-station outback meets the red dunes of the Red Centre. The town is in the multi-braided Cooper Creek Channel Country, near the corner of Queensland, South Australia, and the Northern territory. The red dirt, the distances, the isolation, and the community all imbue this town with a character of its own.

Red Sand Sunrise really delivers on plot: three romantic threads, and the story of setting up the new town medical centre and researching the reason behind the spate of premature births. There is a happily ever after or two, but not after tears. I often get into trouble med-picking books that deal with this field. There was only one tiny hiccup - how did Callie get her Dip Obs having only delivered 2 babies? However, the rest of the medicine & midwifery was solid, leading to a disruption-free read for me. Hoorah!

I have a couple of other nitpicks, the most obvious being the terrible cover, which looks like a bad self-pubbed paste-job. I'm also not sure that I believed all of Sienna's dialogue (but hey, we're all different, maybe I just didn't relate to her as much?). Lastly, where are the Aboriginal people? There is some talk of "brave settlers", but the white colonisation of Channel Country was the result of bitter, bloody massacre. Mary Durack, early Channel Country settler, wrote that by 1874-75 “many settlers now openly declared Western Queensland could only be habitable for whites when the last of the blacks had been killed out ‘by bullet or by bait’”. I would have liked to have seen a bit of recognition of this, and of the fact that rural towns in Australia generally contain more than just white people. Maybe a mention of native title disputes? The ancient Dreaming and trade pathways that weave through Channel Country? The oil and gas exploitation controversy that is hot in that region at the moment? (Can you tell I've been reading a string of rural romances that do tackle the thornier social, political, and environmental issues?)

However! This book does tackle thorny midwifery and obstetric issues, which is wonderful! And there is a likeable cast of different women, hurrah! It's thoroughly Bechdelicious. I love the way this book honours the strength of women and normality of birth, while acknowledging that when it does go wrong, it is terrifying for women and carers alike. And that it takes a look at the difficult practicalities of accessing high-risk obstetric care from the Outback. I also love the examination of what we bring to caring and birthing as caregivers from our own backgrounds. I'm also glad that Blanche recognised that the town didn't just need on-the-ground primary medical care, it also needed a researcher to puzzle out why outcomes were suboptimal in the first place.

Could this be McArthur's move from medical category romance to "mainstream" contemporary fiction, while single-title rural romance is so hot? I think so. ...more

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Jun 10, 2014 Kira marked it as to-read

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Aug 27, 2014 Bree T added it · review of another edition

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