Ryders Ridge in Aussie Readers

Mar 16, 2013 Brenda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: aussie-authors, rural, borrowed-from-library, 2013-release

Dr Daniella Bell had just moved from Brisbane to the small outback town of Ryders Ridge in far north-west Queensland, and her first week was already proving to be nerve-wracking. Her supervisor, Dr Martin Harris, was working on young Sarah who was having an asthma attack. Daniella was tense and unable to relax, she had a vivid fear of being unable to save Sarah. But the danger was past, as Dr Harris had her breathing under control, explaining to Daniella that this was a regular occurrence with S Dr Daniella Bell had just moved from Brisbane to the small outback town of Ryders Ridge in far north-west Queensland, and her first week was already proving to be nerve-wracking. Her supervisor, Dr Martin Harris, was working on young Sarah who was having an asthma attack. Daniella was tense and unable to relax, she had a vivid fear of being unable to save Sarah. But the danger was past, as Dr Harris had her breathing under control, explaining to Daniella that this was a regular occurrence with Sarah.

Daniella was trying to escape a traumatic event which occurred in the Brisbane hospital where she worked, just a few months previously. Her father was an esteemed and brilliant surgeon at the same hospital, and he was already pressuring her to return, not to waste her talents in the backwater of Ryders Ridge. But Daniella needed to do this, she needed to find peace with herself, and she was hopeful this would be the place to do it for her.

As the new doctor became friends with Jackie, the nurse/receptionist in Dr Harris’ clinic, she earned the trust of the patients quickly as well. While settling into life in the town she met some of the locals, including the owner of a nearby cattle station, Mark Walker. The man was devastatingly handsome, she could feel her stomach doing somersaults just from looking at him!

But there appeared to be secrets in the town, secrets that certain people didn’t want known. And with a vindictive female added to the mix, emotions ran high. As Daniella felt her feelings become more complex for Mark, she was determined not to let him into her life; she wanted no-one to know what had happened. So she had to leave again, didn’t she? Would she run away again…could she ever escape her past?

With her life threatening to crash around her once again, it took a terrible accident to make her face up to her past. Would she finally find the peace and happiness she needed?

I really enjoyed this book; I loved the characters, their strengths and weaknesses, the small outback town with everything that was typically Australian. I very much enjoyed the character of Valerie; though only a minor one, she made her mark! There was mystery, suspense and romance in this book, with family values up there too. I have no hesitation in recommending this book highly.
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Jun 23, 2014 Bree T rated it really liked it

Shelves: australian, romance, rural-lit, aww2014

After a tragedy that haunts her in the city hospital where she was working, doctor Daniella needs a change and she figures that a small town might just be the thing to help her get over her nerves. She’ll be working closely with the other local doctor and the nurses, she’ll be well supported and hopefully, she just might be able to move on from the terrible event that still weighs so much on her mind.

Quickly Daniella finds a friend and settles into the small community although it doesn’t really After a tragedy that haunts her in the city hospital where she was working, doctor Daniella needs a change and she figures that a small town might just be the thing to help her get over her nerves. She’ll be working closely with the other local doctor and the nurses, she’ll be well supported and hopefully, she just might be able to move on from the terrible event that still weighs so much on her mind.

Quickly Daniella finds a friend and settles into the small community although it doesn’t really feel like home yet. She hasn’t even unpacked and spends little time in the home that comes with the job. She also catches the eye of local farmer Mark Walker who lives 50k’s out of town on one of the local area’s largest properties. As their friendship turns into a budding relationship, Daniella wonders if she might be able to stay in Ryders Ridge. But she’s a doctor, and still a young one with a lot to learn and experience. Settling in Ryders Ridge might mean sacrificing advancement in her chosen career.

Mark and his father had a tough few years and they accepted some outside investment into their farm. It was a relationship that never sat totally well with them, although they accepted that they’d needed it at the time. Now it seems like there’s pressure coming from every direction to sell to overseas interest. Everything Mark has is invested in the next sales and whether or not they’ll make a profit and can begin paying back the debts. Mark needs and wants a woman who is going to stick around and not someone who will ever make it seem like a choice, her or the farm.

A couple of months ago, I read Iron Junction by Australian rural author Charlotte Nash, not realising that it was kind of loosely linked to her first novel, Ryders Ridge. You can read both stand alone as they take place on opposite sides of Australia but the hero of Iron Junction is Will Walker, the brother of Mark, the hero in this book and late in the book, they visit Ryders Ridge and we meet Daniella and Mark. For readers of Ryders Ridge, that would’ve been a lovely little glimpse into seeing how they were doing. I decided then and there that I really wanted to go back and read Ryders Ridge given that I’d enjoyed Iron Junction and Will so much. And so the lovely Rachael Johns generously loaned me her copy.

I immediately warmed to Daniella as she settled into her new town and wanted to know what it was that had sent her running from the city. It’s clear that something terrible has happened, something that she can’t quite get over. You can put together a few ideas based on the panic she feels in certain situations. I loved the friendship she develops with Jackie, a nurse in the clinic and the way that Jackie teases Daniella into the small society, getting her to be a little more involved but without totally throwing her into the deep end. Jackie has her own sort of sub-plot in this book and I enjoyed that just as much as I did the budding romance and complications of Mark and Daniella.

I like the way Mark and Daniella grow as a couple – both of them have other interests that keep them apart. Daniella has to be close to the clinic/hospital. She and the other doctor take turns being on call overnight and there are times when Daniella just cannot leave the small town and travel the 50k’s out to Mark’s farm. Likewise Mark has a lot going on with the farm and the investors and trying to pull through after several years of drought and a devastating fire. Both of them remain very much separate to each other as much as they are together, as they both have ambitions and responsibilities that keep them apart. Barely after they get together, the other doctor sends Daniella on a rotation to Mt Isa for experience. The thing is, the two of them make it work. They want to be together and they find ways to see it each other but they also respect each other’s need for distance too. It isn’t until Mark realises that Daniella hasn’t unpacked and may have absolutely no plans to ever stick around, that things begin to become difficult.

I liked this book just as much as I liked Iron Junction and really got invested in the characters, their problems and their relationships. I wanted Mark to be able to find a way to free himself and the farm from the outside investors and I wanted Daniella to be able to find that balance between staying with Mark and finding happiness but also challenging herself with her career and I think it’s fantastic this was considered as necessary by so many people, including Mark. I loved the setting, which was not really somewhere that I’m overly familiar with. I appreciate the rurals that take me into unfamiliar territory (and let’s face it, given where I’ve lived, most of the country is unfamiliar territory!). I hope that Charlotte Nash keeps writing books linking them loosely together in this way. I mentioned that I’d love to see a book featuring Daniella’s brother and I’d like to see Will and Mark’s sister in her own book too at some stage. ...more

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