The Opal Miner's Daughter (Aussie Outback Medical Romance #2) in Aussie Readers

Aug 14, 2022 Brenda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: aussie-authors, sent-by-publisher, reviewing-by-request, 2022-release, 3500-2022, contemporary-fiction, own-read, arc, outback-romance, rural

Adelaide Brand and her husband Tyler were both retired and had settled into a rut. Adelaide decided to head to Lightning Ridge to investigate opal mining, sure she would love it, the challenge of it, and the ruggedness of the outback. Tyler was happy at home in Sydney and they stayed in contact. Riley, Adelaide and Tyler's daughter, had just given boyfriend Josh the break-up news and while he wasn't happy, Riley was. She took four weeks leave from her position as obstetrician and pediatrician, a ...more

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Aug 24, 2022 Helen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: review-copy-from-publisher

I know when I pick up a Fiona McArthur book that I am going to swept away with a beautiful heartfelt and heartwarming story filled with characters that are caring and show so much love and to another beautiful setting and I was not disappointed in her new book, come along for a trip to Lightning Ridge and meet Obstetrician Riley Brand the handsome Doctor Konrad Grey.

Riley is a well know obstetrician from Sydney, her career is everything to her, but when her mother, Adelaide retires and decides t I know when I pick up a Fiona McArthur book that I am going to swept away with a beautiful heartfelt and heartwarming story filled with characters that are caring and show so much love and to another beautiful setting and I was not disappointed in her new book, come along for a trip to Lightning Ridge and meet Obstetrician Riley Brand the handsome Doctor Konrad Grey.

Riley is a well know obstetrician from Sydney, her career is everything to her, but when her mother, Adelaide retires and decides that staying at home with her husband of forty years is not what she wants she takes off for an adventure, opal mining and is loving it, Riley decides it is time to go and talk to her Mum, so Riley takes on a post as locum at the Opal medical centre and does an out-reach post helping families with fertility problems, something that is badly needed in this region.

Riley is welcomed with open arms not only by the woman desperately trying to start families, but the men who mine for opals and live rough and tough lives, and then there are the woman who have a Friday night get together that Riley loves going to, and then there is her boss, Doctor Konrad Grey who is caring understanding and one of the most handsomest of men Riley has ever met.

Melinda is the receptionist at the medical centre, she is quiet and there are reasons for that but when she makes an appointment to see Riley and confesses that she is pregnant and nearly full term, Riley and Konrad are pulled together to work with Melinda this also sees the spark between them grow and grow in the most beautiful way, love is growing but how will it work Riley is only there for four weeks.

I loved this story so much, what can I say gorgeous characters, emotional, filled with love and caring a true Fiona McArthur story, where friendships grow as well as the characters and it is one that I would highly recommend, Riley and Konrad are made for each other, will they get over the obstacles that are in the way and find their well deserved happiness? This is a must read, it is sure to leave the reader very happy.

My thanks to the publisher, Penguin Random House for my copy to read and review.
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Sep 07, 2022 Tien rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance, for-review, australia, australian-author

I really do enjoy rural romance but yet I don't read that many and this is one of my reading goals this year, to read some more! The Opal Miner's Daughter is definitely an excellent rural romance read and I'm thrilled to have been sent one for review. I must say that the title somehow led me to have had a different expectation. It just sounds more like one of those historical fiction with family tragedy etc etc but it is very much NOT. Also, I know 2 boys named Riley and having a female protagon ...more

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Aug 30, 2022 Rina rated it really liked it

First of all, shame on me for initially thinking that the Opal Miner in the title would be Riley’s dad. Nope, it was Adelaide; her mum and a badass woman.

Adelaide Brand spent her whole life being a good wife and mum. In her retirement, she caught the opal mining bug. So she bought a mine and moved to Lightning Ridge. Obstetrician Riley Brand decided to take a leave from her popular Sydney practice to entice her mum to come home. So she accepted a short-term posting as a fertility expert in Light ...more

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Oct 02, 2022 Bree T rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc, australian, contemporary, rural, romance, medical, family

I really enjoy Fiona McArthur’s books – I always love the rural settings, the characters and the stories that revolve around obstetric and natal medicine. Her characters are always doctors and midwives and I find the challenges of that in a rural and remote setting super interesting. This book is no exception, being set in Lightning Ridge, which is a famous opal mining town in north west New South Wales. Riley is a obstetrician in Sydney who takes a locum GP role (and adds a consulting clinic fo I really enjoy Fiona McArthur’s books – I always love the rural settings, the characters and the stories that revolve around obstetric and natal medicine. Her characters are always doctors and midwives and I find the challenges of that in a rural and remote setting super interesting. This book is no exception, being set in Lightning Ridge, which is a famous opal mining town in north west New South Wales. Riley is a obstetrician in Sydney who takes a locum GP role (and adds a consulting clinic for her speciality) in order to seek out her mother, who has, in her retirement, left Riley’s father behind in Sydney and is working an opal claim. Riley’s first instinct is to talk some sense into her mother, to get her to give up this dream and go back to her life in Sydney with Riley’s father.

But then Riley arrives in town and discovers just how much her mother is thriving. And she also discovers just how much the town needs her, someone with her specialist training. There are a lot of women in the local and surrounding areas desperate for an appointment with Riley and she sees just how much she can help, when she’s working with Konrad Grey in the GP practice. Ooh a little fun aside – Konrad’s parents live in my home town which was fun to see. Despite it being a super popular coastal town, it doesn’t turn up in books very often. It’s not urban enough for a big city setting but it’s also not small enough anymore, to really qualify as rural.

This was such an interesting example of how certain services that you can take for granted in the city can be almost impossible to access in a remote location and how far people can travel in order to access them when they are available. Riley initially offers two afternoons a week as an obstetric consultant and is booked out for weeks, leading for her to open after more afternoons. As well as that there’s also someone in the book who has a pregnancy with a complication that needs to involve a careful delivery plan and this story also shows how all the careful plans in the world can go out the window sometimes and nature dictates.

I thought the story of Riley’s mother Adelaide was great – Adelaide devoted herself to being a wife and mother and then late in life, began a career in nursing when Riley was old enough to not need quite so much attention. Now she’s retired, so is her husband Tyler but he’s content to stay at home and watch Netflix, go to the gym. Not so for Adelaide -she wants some adventure and so she’s out fossicking for opals and loving it. I thought it was arrogant of Riley at first, to make this journey out to the Ridge in order to get Adelaide to “see sense” and go home. Adelaide is a grown woman, capable of making her own choices and Riley does seem to freely admit she’s a bit of a golden girl in her dad’s eyes and he’s her hero, perhaps that’s why she can’t see why her mother has chosen to not leave him in the relationship sense, but leave him in the physical sense and do something for herself after years of looking after other people. Thankfully however, Riley realises quickly that her mother is enjoying herself enormously and it’s not for her to interrupt that and that parents must sort out their issues themselves.

This story also highlights mental health (it does contain references to suicide, if that is something that you are not comfortable reading) and I thought that perhaps there were characters left open for a revisit in the future, if Fiona McArthur so desires to come back to the Lightning Ridge setting. It was a delight to read, as her books always are – the perfect thing to break a drought of 2 weeks without picking up a single book.

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

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