Snowy River Man in Aussie Readers

Dec 18, 2014 Brenda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc, own-read, net-galley, aussie-authors, romantic-suspense, read-on-kindle, 2015-release

When Katrina Delaney heard there was a missing boy up in the Snowy Mountains, the tremor she felt brought back the vividness of the dream – the boy in her dream was trapped and frightened…was it the same child? When she was told who the father of the child was; one Jack Fairley – she knew she had to put the grief of the past seven years to one side to help find Jack’s son.

Jack had been riding the silver brumby in the rodeo while six year old Nick had been watching from the sidelines; but when J When Katrina Delaney heard there was a missing boy up in the Snowy Mountains, the tremor she felt brought back the vividness of the dream – the boy in her dream was trapped and frightened…was it the same child? When she was told who the father of the child was; one Jack Fairley – she knew she had to put the grief of the past seven years to one side to help find Jack’s son.

Jack had been riding the silver brumby in the rodeo while six year old Nick had been watching from the sidelines; but when Jack’s event was over, the face he wanted to see wasn’t where it should be. With rising horror, Jack realized Nick was nowhere to be found. Frantic, he called the police – immediately the search commenced on the surrounding land; through the valleys, beside the lake. Jack wouldn’t let his thoughts go there; Nick couldn’t swim…

When Katrina arrived at the homestead, she was nervous about her meeting with Jack. But she was determined to put it aside to help find Nick. Jack’s scepticism was heightened even more when he saw who had turned up to help – he hadn’t seen Katrina for a lot of years and the heartache was still raw. When the flicker of attraction hit them both, they individually realized the spark was still there between them – Katrina refused to go there; find Nick, go back to Sydney and get on with her life – that was her aim. She didn’t trust Jack; and he certainly didn’t trust her…

Would Nick be found safe? What would happen when buried secrets began to surface? And why did Katrina feel a distinct connection to the area she was in?

I thoroughly enjoyed Snowy River Man which is the debut novel for Aussie author Lizzy Chandler. A nice mixture of suspense and romance, with a gritty plot and delightful characters; the word pictures painted of the countryside around the Snowy Mountains, the chill in the air, the blackness of the night sky plus the vividness and brightness of the stars – all was exceptionally well done. I did feel the ending was a little rushed, but I have no hesitation in recommending Snowy River Man highly, and will be looking out for the author’s next title with interest.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy to read and review.
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Feb 12, 2015 Bree T rated it really liked it

Shelves: suspense, romance, kindle-version, netgalley, arc, aww2015

When Katrina Delaney hears news of a missing boy she knows immediately that it’s connected to the dream she had. This has happened to her before and she’s worked with police to find missing children in the past. This situation will be different for Katrina though. This time she knows the missing boy’s father.

Seven years ago Katrina and Jack Fairley had a one night stand before she discovered that he was engaged to be married. She hasn’t seen him since. Even though seeing him now will be difficul When Katrina Delaney hears news of a missing boy she knows immediately that it’s connected to the dream she had. This has happened to her before and she’s worked with police to find missing children in the past. This situation will be different for Katrina though. This time she knows the missing boy’s father.

Seven years ago Katrina and Jack Fairley had a one night stand before she discovered that he was engaged to be married. She hasn’t seen him since. Even though seeing him now will be difficult she knows that she has to help. She could never stand by passively when she might be able to provide any piece of information, no matter how small, that might help find this missing child.

Jack Fairley is a busy single father, frantic with worry for his missing son Nick. He’s willing to try anything, even the psychic that someone has told him might have information. When the psychic arrives, Jack is stunned. And suspicious. He has reason to doubt that her motives are pure and Katrina’s arrival could put all Jack holds dear in danger. But even though he’s skeptical and disbelieving that she’s here purely to help him, he can’t held but feel that old attraction simmering inside again. And he isn’t the only one. Both Jack and Katrina have unfinished business but they have a lot of faith and trust to gain first before they can try for their second chance.

Snowy River Man is the debut novel of Lizzy Chandler and offers up a multi-layered story of mystery and betrayal to flesh out the romance. Katrina has had special gifts and occasionally experiences dreams which in the past, has connected her with missing children and allowed her to offer up information to enable them to be found. She cannot really explain her gift, but she’s learned not to ignore it and when she dreams of a boy and then hears on the news that a child has gone missing, she knows that she has to help and so she heads out to the location, hoping to be able to better connect and offer some more information. There’s just the slight problem of her now being in close proximity to Jack Fairley, a former lover whom she discovered was actually engaged.

Jack and Katrina do have some amazing chemistry that’s brilliantly complex, for reasons that become clearer to the reader the further they get into the story. From their one night stand, Jack did see Katrina once afterward although it’s not something she has a clear memory of and because of that he develops a misunderstanding about her. He believes that Katrina may be a threat to him and his child but he’s not willing to send her away just in case she really does provide the information that may help them find his son. The more I got into this story the more I was surprised by several of the twists and turns and the ways in which Katrina’s connections to other characters developed. This isn’t a long book but Chandler has made the most of her words and really been able to not only flesh out her characters and their motives but also a lovely and engaging setting in the Snowy Mountains. I found Katrina a very sympathetic character who had not had an easy time of it, especially recently. Her dedication to using her gift for as much good as she can was admirable and she was willing to put herself through uncomfortable and emotionally painful and difficult situations in order to help.

I’m quite honestly a bit of a skeptic when it comes to psychic mediums and the like although I know police in real life have used clairvoyants and psychics to help locate missing children and solve crimes with some success. However despite my tendency towards disbelief in such things I did not find that this at all affected my enjoyment of this story and it was easy to accept that part of the plot because it really did help to enhance the mystery and some of the secrets. It was skilfully done.

Snowy River Man is a very enjoyable story populated with believable characters that possess a real chemistry, even when they’re at loggerheads. I felt as though their evolving relationship throughout the story was perfect as both of them had to overcome some preconceived ideas and share some secrets and also, accept things about the other and how it changed their relationship. My only quibble is that it probably was a bit short – there were aspects that could’ve been developed even further and would definitely have carried the story for longer. But it’s never a bad thing to want more of a story! ...more

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Jan 16, 2015 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it really liked it

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

Lizzy Chandler's debut novel, Snowy River Man, is an engaging contemporary romance, with an edge of suspense, set in rural Australia.

Katrina Delaney is stunned when she learns that the lost and frightened child she has seen in her dream is Jack Fairley's son. Seven years ago she and Jack spent a single passionate night together, only for everything to fall apart the morning after.
Jack Fairley is frantic when his young son disappears while at a rodeo, seemingly without a trace, and he is willin
Lizzy Chandler's debut novel, Snowy River Man, is an engaging contemporary romance, with an edge of suspense, set in rural Australia.

Katrina Delaney is stunned when she learns that the lost and frightened child she has seen in her dream is Jack Fairley's son. Seven years ago she and Jack spent a single passionate night together, only for everything to fall apart the morning after.
Jack Fairley is frantic when his young son disappears while at a rodeo, seemingly without a trace, and he is willing to do anything to ensure his safe return, even if that means accepting the help of Katrina Delaney.
Though wary of their history, Katrina and Jack are determined to put aside their differences in order to ensure Nick's safe recovery but in saving the lost boy, they just may lose their hearts.

I really like the bones of the story, for such a short novel (just 165 pages) the author has developed a well layered plot, even if several elements seem somewhat truncated. The main conflicts expose personal and professional betrayal and shocking family secrets providing plenty of dramatic tension. The suspense is well crafted and nicely paced.

Katrina is an interesting character, only recently having found some sense of equilibrium after enduring several difficult years related to a tragic loss and the intrusiveness of her psychic gift, it's brave of her to offer Jack her help, knowing she could be opening herself up to more pain.
Jack is a fairly typical leading man for the genre, he has made mistakes but in general is kind and honourable. He is a loving father and a savvy businessman though it's his rugged farming persona that I found most appealing.(I have to mention too, I am a fan of the cover model representing him - yum!)
The chemistry between Katrina and Jack is portrayed well, their simmering attraction, complicated by the past, eventually boils over in a sensual scene.

I must admit I wish the author had chosen to exploit the story's potential and developed Snowy River Man into a full length novel but it is a quick, engaging read offering an appealing tale of love, betrayal, forgiveness and family.

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Feb 16, 2015 Cathleen Ross rated it it was amazing

Beautifully written. Sensitive. Delving into the story of a woman who has a haunted side who finds her happy ending.

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Apr 12, 2015 Helen rated it really liked it

I really enjoyed this story it has a lot of twists and turns that will keep you turning the pages the setting is so lovely heroine Katrina Delaney has physic powers and for some reason they have been coming more often when there is a little boy lost and one of them brings her to The Snowy Mountains in NSW and this starts a very emotional journey to a HEA with Jack Fairley and a re-kindled love with lots of secrets unravelled. A very good story that I highly recommend.

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