The Road to Ironbark in Aussie Readers

Aug 05, 2020 Brenda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own-read, historical-fiction, arc, aussie-authors, 2020-release, net-galley, read-on-kindle

Ironbark, Victoria in 1874 when the Cobb & Co coach line was being overtaken by the new railroad; owner of the Ironbark hotel, Aurora Scott was expecting a letter when the coach arrived to say it was their last journey to the hotel. The few passengers were to be fed and rested for a couple of hours before it headed away again. But one of the passengers was very pregnant and exhausted from the journey. Aurora took Ally to one of the bedrooms upstairs to rest, while below, immediate chaos reigned. ...more

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Sep 02, 2020 Helen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

If you enjoy going back to the Australian gold rush days and a little mystery to solve then this is a book you should pick up, a beautifully told and written story that pulled me in, made me feel like I was in two timelines. The characters are true and easy to get to know I do hope that you will pick this one up and enjoy it as much as I did.

It is 1874 and Aurora Scott is running the Ironbark hotel and doing her best to keep the town going but that is getting harder and harder especially now the ...more

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Nov 14, 2020 Rhoda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

4.5 stars

Thank you to @harlequinaus for sending me a copy of this book to review.

This book is written as a dual timeline. In 1874 Aurora is the proprietor of the Ironbark Hotel near the Ballarat goldfields. The lifeline of her hotel is the Cobb & Co coach line, which is being replaced slowly by rail. The payroll of the Starburst Mine has switched from being sent by coach to rail, however one day it mysteriously reappears on the coach and there is some confusion over who is picking it up.

When b ...more

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Sep 09, 2020 Bree T rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc, australian, hist-contemp-blend, aww2020

I have read and enjoyed a Kaye Dobbie book before so I was quite excited about reading this – I had seen a few very positive reviews around and now having read it, I definitely agree with them. I absolutely loved this and read it in just a couple of hours.

It’s a dual timeline – 1874 and 2017 with a few snippets from a couple of other years as well. In 1874, Aurora Scott is the proprietor of the Ironbark Hotel, which is in the small town of Ironbark in the Victorian Goldfields. A widow, she has e I have read and enjoyed a Kaye Dobbie book before so I was quite excited about reading this – I had seen a few very positive reviews around and now having read it, I definitely agree with them. I absolutely loved this and read it in just a couple of hours.

It’s a dual timeline – 1874 and 2017 with a few snippets from a couple of other years as well. In 1874, Aurora Scott is the proprietor of the Ironbark Hotel, which is in the small town of Ironbark in the Victorian Goldfields. A widow, she has experiencing some difficulty financially, spending long hours agonising over how to cut costs and now the Cobb & Co coach line will no longer stop in the town, which will impact incredibly on her business. On the very last run, the payroll from the Starburst Mine is unexpectedly on the coach and bushrangers take Aurora and the others in her hotel hostage, demanding the payroll and threatening their lives.

In the present day, Melody Lawson returns to Ironbark, which she left after high school, after a family tragedy. The town relies heavily on the story of Aurora Scott for their Gold Hunt Weekend, a large tourism event which brings many to the small town. As well as dealing with that tragedy, Melody is also hit with a second bombshell – a surprise inheritance that makes her question everything about herself. She undertakes a bit of an investigation into her own past and the circumstances surrounding being left these assets but is unaware of just how much she might be putting herself in danger.

Both timelines are really interesting. Aurora is a strong, independent woman who has experienced grief and hardship and has also taken steps to protect herself from someone who would use her and who doesn’t take kindly to being told no. He’s the sort of person that has done wrong to many people but is wealthy enough and feared enough to always come out the victor. There’s a lot about Aurora’s background that comes out over the course of her being taken hostage in the hotel and she’s under a lot of pressure to protect everyone. It’s her hotel, she has employees there, people she cares about and people that were on the Cobb & Co coach. For some, it’s about winning, about not being a victim anymore – about taking something that will provide leverage to allow them freedom. I really enjoyed the historical aspect of the story, getting to know Aurora and what had happened to her and how she’d come to be managing the Ironbark Hotel and how the actions of those on that day changed her life.

In the present day, Melody has been eking out a living working for a community newspaper in Melbourne when she’s called home. Despite the tragedy they have experienced, Melody and her brother (her brother in particular) have a ‘show must go on’ type of attitude for the Gold Hunt Weekend. Melody’s brother is involved with all the organisation and it’s very important to him and his situation in the town that the weekend be a success. Melody is also reeling from the news of a mysterious inheritance and all that means as well as dealing with an enigmatic stranger and the high school boyfriend she left behind when she went to Melbourne – who seems to want her back. But he’ll never leave Ironbark and Melody has never been sure she wanted to live there again….until the inheritance that suddenly gives her more options. I got really invested in Melody’s story as well, both the aspect of her finding out about this mysterious inheritance and also her romantic life. Melody had to figure out what she wanted out of life and what was more important to her and being back in Ironbark definitely put her on the right path about that. Especially as she was motivated to stay there a bit longer because of the personal circumstances – she wasn’t really able to duck in and duck out quickly, as it seemed she had in the past when returning to visit her family. This made her spend more time with Hugh, who had been her high school boyfriend but had stayed behind in Ironbark for personal reasons when the two finished school. He’s now the local policeman and there are times when his role causes a bit of conflict with Melody but Hugh knows what he wants and has made it clear. It’s Melody who has to figure out where her heart really lies.

This was such an entertaining read, I was equally invested in both timelines and enjoyed all aspects of the story. I really do need to read some more of Kaye Dobbie’s books.

***A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for the purpose of an honest review*** ...more

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