Dear Banjo (Daughters of the Outback, #1) in Aussie Readers

May 31, 2017 Brenda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: first-in-a-series, aussie-authors, sent-by-publisher, rural, reviewing-by-request, romance, arc, 2017-release, own-read

Willow (Banjo) Paterson and Tom Forrest were best friends and had been for as long as they could remember. Growing up in the Kimberley’s with their parents’ properties side by side, Tom and Banjo had had many hours of adventure and laughter as they explored the stations, getting up to what kids, then teens all over do. But the day both received their acceptances into uni in Perth, everything changed – Banjo fled to Perth to become deeply involved in her university degree while Tom deferred and r Willow (Banjo) Paterson and Tom Forrest were best friends and had been for as long as they could remember. Growing up in the Kimberley’s with their parents’ properties side by side, Tom and Banjo had had many hours of adventure and laughter as they explored the stations, getting up to what kids, then teens all over do. But the day both received their acceptances into uni in Perth, everything changed – Banjo fled to Perth to become deeply involved in her university degree while Tom deferred and remained at the family farm.

Ten years on and Willow still fondly recalled Tom, but always with a side of grief and guilt for the friendship lost. Tom had sent many letters to her in her first year, but after the first two Willow hadn’t read any more of them – and they had stopped. Then when Beth, Willow’s sister, called to say their father was in hospital after a heart attack, she packed up everything and headed back to Paterson Downs. Barry Paterson wanted Willow to take over the running of the station so he could retire and retain his health…

Willow’s vision of a sustainable, organic cattle station had been a long time dream for both Paterson Downs and the Forrest station, but she was delighted to hear Tom was already there with his dream. But when she finally met up with him, the vast distance between them; the coldness of Tom’s greeting, was obvious to all. Willow was shocked – she had no idea what the ten year gap had done to Tom. Needing his help with her ideas for the station was proving too difficult – her thoughts were in turmoil; her confusion great. Was it time to read his letters? And what would she find if she did?

Dear Banjo by Aussie author Sasha Wasley is an emotional story of growth; of overcoming your fears and not shutting people out. The author has two fantastic characters in Banjo and Tom, and the many side characters play their parts well. There was only one character I didn’t like – and he wasn’t meant to be liked! Dear Banjo isn’t what I thought it would be – the cover is deceptive – and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Highly recommended.

With thanks to Penguin Random House AU for my ARC to read and review.
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Dec 09, 2023 Helen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: purchased

Best friends and neighbours Willow (Banjo) Patterson and Tom Forrest, their relationship was never meant to be more than friends according to Willow but maybe it was too late for Tom, what happens when a pact made when they were fifteen is broken?

The day both of them received their results and acceptance for university changed their lives, Willow left the family cattle station Patterson Downs in the Kimberly’s and went to Perth and university, Tom stayed home on his families cattle station Quint ...more

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Apr 05, 2024 Catsalive rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2024

A pleasant, entertaining read. The setting is great & most of the characters were likeable & interesting. Who wouldn't want a Tom in their life? I'm afraid Willow could have done with a smack up the back of the head with a frypan for being slow-witted, self-centred & judgemental. Wow! After ten years radio silence, Tom was cold & distant, who'da thunk it, eh?! ...more

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Dec 19, 2019 Donna rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019, australian_author, contemporary_romance, homecoming, rural_romance

So, an Australian rural romance ... not what you'd usually see come up in my feed, however, here it is. Needed something 'light' for the cricket on the ereader as rain predicted and knew there would be long breaks between play - long breaks filled with loud music. This book read on the train and finished by the tea break. Interesting information on organic, sustainable farming practices and what is required for stations to receive accreditation.

Tom is too good for Willow. Dude ... seriously ... ...more

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Aug 04, 2018 Janine rated it really liked it

Really enjoyed Banjo and Toms story. All that tension and miscommunication between them! Nice little side stories about the bad station manager added to the story, would have loved a better more juicer outcome for him. A little slow in the build up but came together well at the end.

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Aug 19, 2017 Paula Phillips rated it really liked it

Willow Paterson aka Banjo and Tom Forrest were the best of friends, and they were inseparable growing up, and when they were fifteen, they made a blood pact never to fall in love with one another. Years pass and they are now 18 years old, and Tom has kissed Willow as he loves her and wants to be more than friends. To her, this was a full-on betrayal and the next day she disappears off to College. Tom needs to explain to her writes her letters for a whole year and then after that, he stopped, and ...more

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Apr 16, 2019 Bree T rated it it was amazing

Shelves: kindle-version, romance, series, australian, rural-lit, aww2019

I had heard some really excellent things about this book but I’d missed out on reading it when it was published. Not that long ago, someone posted in an online book club that I’m in, that this and the 2nd book were greatly reduced on eBook retailers, presumably because the third is soon to be published. I snapped them both up. I haven’t read a lot of rural novels lately – it’s possible that the trend is easing off, because it’s been very strong for quite a number of years now and there’s probabl I had heard some really excellent things about this book but I’d missed out on reading it when it was published. Not that long ago, someone posted in an online book club that I’m in, that this and the 2nd book were greatly reduced on eBook retailers, presumably because the third is soon to be published. I snapped them both up. I haven’t read a lot of rural novels lately – it’s possible that the trend is easing off, because it’s been very strong for quite a number of years now and there’s probably going to be a natural ebb and flow in that. Books like this though, are why this genre attained such popularity and why it is so beloved by a lot of Australian readers.

Willow ‘Banjo’ Paterson grew up on a family farm with her two sisters, older sister Beth and the younger Freya. They lost their mother when Willow was about 11 and since then, there’s been plenty of challenges. Next door on the neighbouring farm was Tom Forrest and he and Willow were the best of friends, always thinking and planning about how they were going to modernise and change the family farms when they both took over. They were like one voice and whilst Willow was thinking of a business merger for the two properties, as they approached adulthood, Tom was definitely thinking of a more romantic proposal. For Willow, this was not supposed to be the way things went and she fled to university. 10 years later and now she’s back to help out (take over) on the farm after her father falls ill. There’s no way to avoid Tom now and Willow wants them to make their way back to that friendship they had.

I really, really loved this. Willow is such a well constructed character – she’s somewhat emotionally stunted and she hasn’t really developed friendships or had any meaningful relationships since she left the farm. She’s very passionate about the farm and she has a lot of ideas based on her study in the city on how to really change their methods and go for organic certification. It will mean some outlay and a drop in profits at first, but later on they will be rewarded. She has some really fresh and exciting ideas but she also knows she has to tread carefully – her dad has run this farm for a long time and he’s not really going to be knowledgeable about some of her ideas and also, he’s been quite ill so she doesn’t want to worry him or have him stressed out unnecessarily. She also knows she needs to tread carefully with some of the men/staff who probably won’t like the change, especially a woman coming in with all these new ideas and changing everything and all their known methods. Willow is juggling a lot of plates and it’s very precarious for her. Just one mistake and everything will collapse.

And then there’s Tom. Things between them are so awkward at first – but soon the connection that has always been there between them is reestablished and they find much to talk about in terms of improvements to the farms, new methods and directions to go in, troubleshooting problems and the like. Tom is a huge help to Willow, providing advice and a sounding board when she feels that she cannot confide in anyone else – she can’t stress out her father, she’s struggling with the farm manager, her sister Beth doesn’t see things the same way. With Tom, Willow is able to get out all her fears, her frustrations and her hopes and dreams for the future. Willow is sure that Tom understands this time around, that he can’t spoil things with feelings anything other than friendship……right?

This is a book that takes a lot of time to really establish the bond that Tom and Willow have, both as children and then again as adults after Willow moves back to the farm. They have so many similar ideas and dreams for their properties and they work together so well. But Willow has a lot of issues with what she’s allowed herself to feel and the sort of ways that she’s seen people in her life. She realises that she never lets anyone in – and that one of the women she was friends with in Perth is genuinely upset at her moving back, whereas Willow hadn’t thought too much about it at all. I like that Willow develops this self-awareness and she does attempt to make some of those changes. She has a lot to learn about feelings and what she wants in life and what is actually waiting for her. The romance is in both ways strong in this and yet not at all, because Willow has to grow a lot as a person to someone who can actually recognise her own feelings and think about being in a relationship. Tom’s feelings are there the whole time, but Willow spends a huge portion of the book denying the existence of hers, especially to herself.

This story overall was just so…..satisfying. I enjoyed every part of it – Willow’s journey taking over the farm and implementing her changes, dealing with staff issues and potential sabotage, her adjustments being back living there and being around her family, her friendship and connection with Tom. I liked both of her sisters and I can’t wait to read their stories too. Also I really loved the inclusion of the letters, such a great core to build the story around. ...more

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Jul 26, 2017 Rachel (The Rest Is Still Unwritten) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: i-own, publisher-sent, for-review, read-in-2017, penguin

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Thank you to Penguin Australia and Sasha Wasley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Find this review and more on my blog The Rest Is Still Unwritten!

Dear Banjo is Sasha Wasley’s first release published by Penguin Australia and is a hardy and endearing rural fiction set in the rich Australian outback that explores a delightful tale of romance, growth and the possibilities that come with finally facing your fears.

Growing up on neighbouring cattle stations, Wi Thank you to Penguin Australia and Sasha Wasley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Find this review and more on my blog The Rest Is Still Unwritten!

Dear Banjo is Sasha Wasley’s first release published by Penguin Australia and is a hardy and endearing rural fiction set in the rich Australian outback that explores a delightful tale of romance, growth and the possibilities that come with finally facing your fears.

Growing up on neighbouring cattle stations, Willow “Banjo” Paterson and Tom Forrest were best friends, planning for their future until something came between them that saw Willow run for the hills. Ten years have passed since that fateful day, but when her father falls ill, Willow returns home to look after the family property. Having always dreamt of running a sustainable, organic cattle farm, all Willow’s hard work and research over the course of her academic career are about to pay off, yet putting research into action is harder than she thought. Willow needs Tom’s help, but approaching her former best friend is near impossible. Willows guilt over the multiple heartfelt letters Tom sent, left unopened and unread keep her from reaching out. Willow knows Tom poured his heart and soul into his words and she refused to even read them, fear keeping her from acknowledging what happened between them. Back in the Kimberley, Willow will find herself finally reading the letters so beautifully written and needing to decide once and for all where her heart lies. Yet with all the hurt and pain between them, can Tom forgive Willow or is their friendship destroyed forever?

In the interest of full disclosure, Sasha Wasley isn’t a new author to me. I’ve read a number of her YA novels written under the name S.D. Wasley in the past, however Dear Banjo was a completely different experience from the talented Aussie author. With the story featuring such a beautiful depth and development that only comes from a well written adult novel, Dear Banjo was an absolute joy to read and very hard to put down at times.

Rural fiction isn’t normally a genre I would seek out, but I was thoroughly entranced by the tale Wasley has created and quickly found myself lost amongst the wide open plains, hidden valleys and cattle stations of the Kimberley region in Western Australia that was so wonderfully depicted. It felt lush and vivid and very authentic. It was like being right alongside the characters as they mustered cattle and organised the day to day running of their farms.

Dear Banjo featured an independent and capable main character in the form of Willow as well as a laid back, genuine love interest in the form of Tom Forrest. They truly were solid characters with flaws, insecurities and individual personality traits. Their time apart hadn’t diminished the powerful friendship they shared and Sasha Wasley perfectly transitioned them into something more as Willow was forced to face her fears and true feelings.

Sasha Wasley packs a lot of endearing moments into Dear Banjo as well as a lot of light-hearted humour. Tom’s letters to Willow are absolutely adorable and so beautifully written. Admittedly it makes you think “what if” often as you read the tale. What if Willow had read them? What if she’d stayed? What if she’d reached out to Tom? Yet, as a novel that explores regrets, fears and even the power that comes with taking chances, Dear Banjo couldn’t have unfolded better.

Littered with a vast cast of tangible characters, including Willow’s two very different, but equally intriguing sisters Beth and Free who I hope will get their own stories, Dear Banjo is a perfectly told romance by Sasha Wasley that is enriched with the Australian spirit and entrancing until the very end. ...more

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Jun 16, 2019 Marg rated it really liked it

Shelves: awwc-2019

Really enjoyed this! Definitely intending to read more.

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Jan 18, 2018 Cate rated it liked it

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