Jilted in Aussie Readers

Jan 21, 2022 Helen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I do love a good rural romance and one from Rachael Johns is sure to have me turning the pages and this one did that, I loved getting to know Ellie and Flynn in the small town of Hope Junction, this is filled with a cast of wonderful characters that all add to this beautiful romance of second chance love.

Ellie Hughes left the small town of Hope Junction ten years ago in a rush and left her fiancé Flynn Quartermaine standing at the altar, this did not make her a popular person in the town but she ...more

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Mar 29, 2012 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it really liked it

Shelves: aussie-author, provided-by-publisher

Rachel Johns contemporary rural romance, Jilted, is a wonderful story of second chance love in small town Australia. Ellie Hughes, a television soap star, has returned to Hope Springs to help her godmother, Matilda, while she is recovering from a broken ankle. A decade ago, Ellie fled the town leaving her fiance at the altar without any explanation. Ellie's return to Hope Springs puts her at the mercy of whispered speculation, more than a few dirty looks, and Flynn Quartermaine.

I found Ellie a Rachel Johns contemporary rural romance, Jilted, is a wonderful story of second chance love in small town Australia. Ellie Hughes, a television soap star, has returned to Hope Springs to help her godmother, Matilda, while she is recovering from a broken ankle. A decade ago, Ellie fled the town leaving her fiance at the altar without any explanation. Ellie's return to Hope Springs puts her at the mercy of whispered speculation, more than a few dirty looks, and Flynn Quartermaine.

I found Ellie a likeable protagonist, despite her stardom, she is grounded and authentic. While at times she is insecure and vulnerable she has a core strength that allows her to face down those her shun her. Her loyalty to, and love for, Matilda is lovely and I enjoyed their close relationship. That Ellie finds the courage to confront Flynn and apologise without any expectation of forgiveness is also admirable. Ellie's reasons for jilting Flynn are not immediately clear, Johns hints at a deeper reason that that which she offers to both Matilda and Flynn but doesn't reveal it til near the end of the book.
Ellie leaving the way she did left things unresolved for both she and Flynn and its this lack of closure that has left both of them vulnerable during the interceding years. I like the way in which the author shows how wary the pair are in renewing their acquaintance and the fragile process of rebuilding trust between them.
As with most traditional romance leads, Flynn is handsome, desirable and a genuinely nice guy but he is not without his flaws, after Ellie's desertion he went a little wild, drinking too much and taking off. Johns skillfully illustrates Flynn's hurt at Ellie's rejection, his bewilderment as he discovers he is still attracted to Ellie and his pain and anger when he discovers why Ellie jilted him. I appreciate that his character is as well developed as Ellie's own.
Jilted doesn't have the distinct Australian setting as some of the other rural romance novels I have read recently but between the weekend footy games, drama society, CWA functions and the odd eccentric resident, Hope Springs is a charming background for the novel. It takes courage for Ellie to return to the town where she is the subject of scorn for leaving Flynn in the lurch and she has to work hard to be accepted in the community. It is her love for Matilda that allows Ellie to brave, but it is Flynn's offer of forgiveness that gives her the opportunity she needs to regain acceptance.
Jilted has a surprising depth, though the rekindling of the romance between Ellie and Flynn is the heart of this novel, Johns sensitively explores the emotive issues of terminal illness, alcoholism and rape. These rather dramatic subplots complement the growth of the protagonists rather than provide distraction which is important for me to believe in the story.
I have very few criticisms of Jilted, I'm not fond of the town name which is a little twee, and I'm not keen on women throwing their career away for the sake of a relationship but they are minor quibbles. I thought the writing and dialogue accomplished - particularly for what is essentially a debut novel and the pacing just right.

I enjoyed Jilted as a contemporary romance and being an ex-Sandgroper (whose maiden name is Hughes!), I quickly grew fond of Hope Springs and it's residents. I'm a sucker for a happy ending and Rachael Johns provides one for Ellie and Flynn that left me smiling. I'm looking forward to the author's next novel, likely to be published in 2013.

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Aug 30, 2012 Paula Phillips rated it it was amazing

Have you ever thought when you write a review with coloured font that sometimes certain books just scream out a colour and that's what you associate the story with ? For me Jilted screamed out Purple.
I have to say when it comes to Australian Rural fiction, I am in two minds as I have read some really amazing ones like North Star by Karly Lane , The Girl in the Steel Capped Boots by Loretta Hill and then I have also read a few that I just couldn't get into. Jilted by Rachael Johns falls into the ...more

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May 02, 2012 Bree T rated it really liked it

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

After more than 10 years away from the tiny town of Hope Junction, Ellie Hughes has returned. She was just a teenager when she left the town and its golden boy, Flynn Quartermaine and fled, right to the other side of the country. There Ellie found work as an actress and now after a stint on a long-running and successful soap, she has taken a leave of absence and returned to Hope Springs in order to look after her godmother Matilda, the one woman who has cared for her and supported her.

Matilda ha After more than 10 years away from the tiny town of Hope Junction, Ellie Hughes has returned. She was just a teenager when she left the town and its golden boy, Flynn Quartermaine and fled, right to the other side of the country. There Ellie found work as an actress and now after a stint on a long-running and successful soap, she has taken a leave of absence and returned to Hope Springs in order to look after her godmother Matilda, the one woman who has cared for her and supported her.

Matilda has broken her ankle and needs some help until the cast comes off and she is mobile again. Ellie knows that returning to this small town won’t be easy for her – she ran away without a word and there are people that haven’t forgotten what she did to Flynn. She faces judgement from the entire town and outright hostility from some. Despite this though, Ellie puts her head down and remains determined to stay in order to help Matilda in any way she can, even seeking out Flynn to apologise and hope that they can perhaps attempt to put the past behind them and remain civil while she is in town. After all, if Flynn can be polite to her, when it was he she did wrong, then surely the rest of the town can too…

Jilted is a lovely new rural romance from Western Australian author Rachael Johns. As I’ve mentioned before, rural romance is enjoying a very strong resurgence in popularity recently and I’ve been enjoying quite a few new releases so I had been looking forward to this one.

Ellie Hughes knows once she steps off the bus into Hope Springs that life isn’t going to be easy for her. She’s been living a city life for the last 10 years in Sydney but now she’s returned to the tiny, rural town in order to play nursemaid to her godmother. Ellie is an unlikely soap star; she fell into the work rather than seeking it out and it’s been something that she turned out to be good at and it paid the bills. And most importantly, it meant that she didn’t have to return to Hope Springs. And face her past.

Ellie is just what I like to see in a main character – she’s tough, strong and very loyal but with a distinctly vulnerable side and a streak of uncertainty. She is well prepared for the hostility she knows she will face by well meaning local busybodies intent on ‘supporting’ the town golden boy, Flynn Quartermaine, who she jilted at the altar all those years ago. And I have to say, poor Ellie! Her first few days in town are really uncomfortable for her and it definitely made me form an attachment to her and give her my sympathies. I know what small towns can be like and I admired her bravery for repeatedly going out there to face these people day after day when she knew she’d get dirty looks, snide remarks and often outright insults to her face. It would’ve been tempting to just hole herself up with Matilda and hide away from the world, but she doesn’t. She keeps going back out and eventually, she begins to make headway, earning herself a few friends and having more people realise that she is still a person, no matter her past actions (which are mostly no one else’s business anyway!).

The backstory of Flynn and Ellie is extremely well explored – they were the golden teenage couple, passionately in love and engaged to be married. Until Ellie disappeared without a trace. Flynn has never quite recovered from that rejection and it sent him into a bit of a downward spiral that only ended when his father died. He’s still got his issues to work through and we see them laid bare. I liked Flynn right from the start, he was beautiful but he was also flawed – a nice, country boy with a passion for farming and his small town but who had also managed to see a bit of our big country as well. He had some deep issues, some related to Ellie’s leaving him and some not so. I admired the way he was able to be ‘okay’ with Ellie being in town so swiftly and it was nice to see two characters attempt to use maturity as a way to deal with their issues rather than fighting, accusations and bitterness. It’s quite clear that they both still have very strong unresolved feelings for each other, but also that it’s not that easy. There’s a lot of things they still need to work through and Ellie has been keeping quite a big secret from Flynn that she really needs to air out before they can ever take even a tentative step forward towards romance again.

Often ‘dark secrets’ are overrated or sort of a let-down but in this case I think enough backstory was laid and the secret was good enough (juicy enough) that I do believe it totally justified Ellie’s flight response as being her best option. Flynn is really painted as the town’s beautiful, golden boy – almost perfect in every way. I keep using the word ‘golden’ but it’s true. He’s the sort of bloke that everyone loves. He has a lovely property he’s doing exciting new things with, he is handsome, he is thoughtful, he is kind. He looks after his mother, grandmother and younger sister. Ellie was very much the town blow in, people considered her at the time barely good enough for Flynn as she wasn’t a local. Her secret plays on that I think, makes her feel that she is even less worthy of him and she needs to let that go fully which, 10 years ago she couldn’t.

Rural romance is primarily about the couple but there’s also a strong emphasis on the secondary characters, usually the local townspeople. I adored Ellie’s relationship with Matilda, and there’s some lovely foreshadowing of a secret Matilda is hiding from her goddaughter. Likewise I liked Ellie’s tentative friendships with various people in town – newbies who weren’t around when she left Flynn and also her blossoming friendship with Flynn’s teenage sister, taking her under her wing and helping her with her desire to become an actress. Johns has created a small town that, for all its judgement and flaws, you can still see yourself wanting to live in.

Thoroughly enjoyable and firmly at home on my ‘re-reads’ shelf. ...more

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May 18, 2012 Kat at Book Thingo rated it really liked it

Shelves: australian-authors, romance-contemporary, rural-fiction

Click here for my full review at Book Thingo.

Jilted is an outback romance with broad appeal. The setting never overshadows the characters, and the romance follows a familiar path without being too predictable. It feels like an extended Australian Superromance. The plot navigates some very emotional territory and, yes, it made me cry.

This book is a rare species is a rare species—an outback romance that fits squarely into the romance genre without losing its character. The setting is familiar but ...more

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Apr 15, 2012 Kathy rated it really liked it

Rachael Johns’ Jilted is an emotional story about love and forgiveness. To read my review in its entirety, please visit http://www.bookreviewsandmorebykathy.... ...more

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Apr 20, 2015 Janine rated it liked it · review of another edition

I am a bit of a late starter in discovering Rachael John's books so am playing catch up! Jilted tells the story of Ellie who returns to her home town to care for her much loved godmother Matilda, who has fallen ill. But Ellie left this town years ago and is now a TV soap star. She also left her fiancée Flynn for reasons only Ellie knows, and of course the local town gossips have their own theories about that.

Ellie and Flynn are thrown together again through circumstances and people are not happy ...more

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Dec 28, 2012 Tanya rated it it was amazing

From the minute I picked this book up, I couldn't put it down! It was just so easy to get sucked into the story and forget about the real world for the day.

Absolutely loved it, and highly recommend it for romance fans! :) ...more

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