Queen of the Road in Aussie Readers

May 27, 2015 Brenda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own-read, romance, rural, read-on-kindle, 2012-release

4.5★s

Angela Ranger was at her wit’s end – her credit card was maxed out and the second one she had taken out was almost at its limit as well. Raising her four year old daughter Claudia by herself, plus trying to work full time was taking it out of her. When her dad, who owned Ranger Transport, asked her to take over a month long contract moving freight between the little town of Munirilla and Adelaide as the regular driver was injured, she initially said she couldn’t. But on reflection she reali 4.5★s

Angela Ranger was at her wit’s end – her credit card was maxed out and the second one she had taken out was almost at its limit as well. Raising her four year old daughter Claudia by herself, plus trying to work full time was taking it out of her. When her dad, who owned Ranger Transport, asked her to take over a month long contract moving freight between the little town of Munirilla and Adelaide as the regular driver was injured, she initially said she couldn’t. But on reflection she realized the money would help reduce her debts, plus she’d always loved the freedom of driving the big rigs. Little Claudia was excited about the ‘venture as well…

That first trip driving Big Red from Melbourne (her home city) to Munirilla went well, but both Angela and Claudia were happy to arrive at the depot. The shock on the faces of the men she immediately encountered made her realize that her father hadn’t told anyone she was female. And so began the old school prejudice of a female in a male role. With the dingy little flat she was told was her accommodation for the next month looking less than inviting, Angela began to wonder at the wisdom of her decision.

When Angela met Coop he was picking up some parts for his boss. Coop was farm manager on a property out of town and had taken over completely while his boss, Alice, went to Adelaide for hospital treatment. He knew she’d be unable to return for some time so had promised Alice he would care for the property, including the sheep that were almost ready to lamb.

As both Angela and Coop faced their own problems - Angela with the battle of keeping the business running against all odds as well as family problems; Coop with strange occurrences happening at the farm – they were drawn together. But their problems continued to escalate – what would be the outcome for them both?

I thoroughly enjoyed Queen of the Road which is Aussie author Tricia Stringer’s debut novel. Angela was a little annoying at times – I felt she needed a good talking to! Claudia was adorable and occasionally cantankerous (which is usual for a four year old!) and Coop was…well, Coop! An excellent rural romance which I have no hesitation in recommending highly.
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Sep 06, 2013 Lauredhel rated it it was amazing

Shelves: australian-women-writers-challenge, contemporary, rural-setting, romance, australian, mystery, aww2013

This was really good! Shelved "romance" in my library, it's more of a family drama/rural fiction/mystery with romantic elements. What I didn't expect to find, and was rather overjoyed at, was a book examining in detail what it's like to be a single mother working in a nontraditional job (rural trucking), with what seems to be the world against you.

Good stuff. I'll be looking for Stringer's next book. ...more

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Nov 23, 2012 Bree T rated it really liked it

Shelves: aww2012, women-s-fiction, australian, arc, romance, rural-lit

Single mother Angela Ranger is struggling. Abandoned by her former boyfriend, the father of her 4yo daughter Claudia, she’s been slowly drowning in debt ever since. So when her father, who runs a freight business offers her a job driving B-double freight loads between Adelaide and the town of Munirilla, a small rural spot on the map between Adelaide and Perth, she hesitantly accepts. The job will enable her to have Claudia with her and hopefully, she will be able to save some money and get back Single mother Angela Ranger is struggling. Abandoned by her former boyfriend, the father of her 4yo daughter Claudia, she’s been slowly drowning in debt ever since. So when her father, who runs a freight business offers her a job driving B-double freight loads between Adelaide and the town of Munirilla, a small rural spot on the map between Adelaide and Perth, she hesitantly accepts. The job will enable her to have Claudia with her and hopefully, she will be able to save some money and get back on her feet.

However it seems that things aren’t going exactly to plan – some of the locals are surprised and a bit wary upon finding out that she’s a woman and a small, blonde, delicate-looking woman at that. Soon she finds some trouble with orders being cancelled, being stuffed around and a rival trucking firm that seems to want to run her right out of town. Angela is doing her best but the odds are already against her being a woman and some of the delays and issues that seem to her like sabotage are just making her seem even less reliable to the locals who need a freight service that they can count on. The town has been crying out for it and now that she’s here, it seems like they’re not happy with what they’re being offered. Angela wants to make a go of it so she’s determined to get to the bottom of what’s happening but she’s also got Claudia’s father turning up in her life and wanting access to her after months of no contact and a family member who seems to be making an underhanded bid for Claudia, behind Angela’s back.

Coop has never been one to stay in the one place. He likes moving around, drifting from job to job, not putting down any roots and not having people depend on him. For the past 18 months he’s been working for local farmer Alice Tansell who needs to go to Adelaide for some medical treatment. She’s depending on Coop to keep her farm going in her absence and so far there’s been a few strange happenings that he’s trying to get a handle on. Angela is a breath of fresh air for Coop and he finds himself spending more and more time with her and her daughter Claudia, helping her out occasionally in ways that are mutually beneficial to both of them.

Angela wants to stay in Munirilla but she also needs the people to trust her and give her their business. If they can’t do that, then her father will pull the contract. Coop is feeling restless, like it’s time to move on but his newfound friendship with Angela might just be a sign that Munirilla is the place he’s meant to be.

Queen Of The Road introduces us to Angela, down on her luck, living in Melbourne and struggling with debt and credit cards. She’s been abandoned by her former partner and is raising their daughter alone. She’s always been able to drive the big rigs, her dad used to take her on the road with him a lot and its been the one thing she’s been able to keep between the two of them after he married her stepmother Janice. When he offers her a job doing freight between Adelaide and Munirilla, she has to think about it but ultimately decides to accept even though she has some reservations. A woman who drives a B-double? Fabulous! I love characters that break ground and having Angela firmly ensconced in what is pretty predominantly still a man’s world, was such an interesting idea. I have to admit – I’ve watched Ice Road Truckers and I’m a fan of Lisa, the one girl that does long-haul freight in Alaska. She’s seriously five foot nothing and watching her maneuver these huge trucks is amazing. And given my eldest son is the same age as Claudia, I had a huge amount of respect for Angela taking her daughter along with her. I know how difficult it would be, even with plenty of snacks and activities for kids, to have them on a lot of long trips. I admired her, for making a decision to hopefully better the future, for both herself and Claudia. Angela was determined and strong, but not without her faults as well – hotheadedness, a tendency not to stop at one drink even though she was often in a situation where she should, not exactly good with money. But she was a good mother, a good daughter and she worked hard at her job, worked hard to get in with the local people and provide a good service. She didn’t want to let her father down and she came to really care about the job she was doing and the fact that it was making her and Claudia happy.

I also enjoyed the story of Coop, a bit of a drifter who found himself unexpectedly landed with more responsibility than he bargained for when his boss had to go to the city for medical treatment. I really enjoyed the friendship that blossomed between him and Angela as they got to know each other. As I said to someone I talked about this book to, I feel as though this was a novel first and foremost about Angela’s journey, learning to stand on her own two feet and get her life back. She negotiated with people, she won contracts, she foiled attempts at sabotage. The romance that was just beginning to bloom with Coop towards the end of the book was secondary to that and it really worked. Angela wasn’t trying to fix her problems by finding herself a man, he was just a bonus that came along basically after everything else was sorted.

Queen Of The Road was such an enjoyable story, I burned through it in about 3 hours! I found myself really invested in Angela’s situation and wanting her to fight the sabotage and be accepted by the community. I was also really incensed on her behalf with the accusations that she wasn’t a good mother – pretty much everything she did was because she was a mother and she was trying to do her best. It’s not easy to be any sort of parent, even harder to be a single one. She was making a go of it and her daughter was fed, clothed, well looked after and happy. The situation wasn’t perfect but it’s probably more preferable to have Claudia with her and sleeping in the rig and spending time with her mother than being in a city daycare while her mother worked in the city. I’ll be definitely looking forward to more from this author in the future. ...more

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