Man Drought in Aussie Readers

Dec 29, 2016 Brenda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own-read, 2013-release, romance, rural, aussie-authors, read-on-kindle

4.5★s

Imogen Bates needed a fresh start after her husband had died. Her life in Perth was busy, she had a lot of friends including best friends Jenna and Amy, but she wasn’t happy. Her love of all things rural sent her searching the small country towns east of Perth and when she found Gibson’s Find and saw the beautiful, rustic old Majestic Hotel was for sale, she knew it was a sign. Within a month it was hers – Imogen knew she had challenges ahead, but she also knew she was up for them.

Charlie w ...more

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Dec 16, 2012 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc-are, provided-by-publisher, aussie-author

As I enjoyed Jilted, Rachael John's debut contemporary rural romance novel published in 2012, I have been eagerly awaiting her next release and I am pleased to report that I found Man Drought a charming and delightful read.

After her husband's death, Imogen Bates decides to escape the city and begin a new life in the small Western Australian country town of Gibson's Find, becoming the sole owner of The Majestic Hotel. The town is happy to welcome Imogen who is content to pour her heart and soul i
As I enjoyed Jilted, Rachael John's debut contemporary rural romance novel published in 2012, I have been eagerly awaiting her next release and I am pleased to report that I found Man Drought a charming and delightful read.

After her husband's death, Imogen Bates decides to escape the city and begin a new life in the small Western Australian country town of Gibson's Find, becoming the sole owner of The Majestic Hotel. The town is happy to welcome Imogen who is content to pour her heart and soul into revitalising the pub, and with it the community, but Gibson Black isn't so sure change is a good thing, especially when Imogen threatens to turn his whole world upside down.

It didn't take me long to fall in love with the main protagonists of Man Drought. Imogen proves to be determined and feisty, but vulnerable in her grief over the death of her husband. I really liked the way in which the author allowed Imogen to slowly work out her growing feelings for Gibson, without ignoring the very real emotions and contradictions inherent in such a situation.

Gibson had to work a little harder to earn my affection given the giant chip on his shoulder, a result of his own failed marriage, but I was immediately attracted to his physical portrait,
"He was tall with liquorice dark hair and a two day growth along his jawline. He wore faded jeans and a flannelette shirt rolled up to his elbows." This being a romance Gibson is, of course, hiding a heart of gold behind his gruff exterior and with the care he takes of his grandfather and his respect for Imogen's confused emotional state he quickly redeems himself.

The chemistry between Imogen and Gibson is terrific with Johns building the tension between the pair so that when they finally succumb to their mutual attraction it's an explosive scene, only to repeat the process as their relationship stumbles.

One of John's strengths is her ability to create a community among the pages of her book with appealing and authentic supporting characters. Imogen's employees and patrons evoke both the peculiarities and spirit of the residents in small rural towns. It is Charlie that nearly steals the show though as Imogen's surprising confidante. A grizzly man of the land, yet a romantic at heart, Gibson's grandfather gives the story an unexpected depth as he battles with a failing memory and the enduring pain of his own long ago loss.
Imogen's city friends round out her past nicely and I liked the way in which they interacted with Imogen's new life. Jenna and Guy provide an enjoyable secondary romantic subplot with their culture clash proving to be no obstacle to true love (and lust). I also have to applaud Johns for the subtle development of the relationship between Pauli and Cal, I was both surprised and pleased by it's inclusion in the novel, given the traditional genre constraints of romance fiction.

Like Imogen I have always admired old fashioned country Australian pubs with their wide verandah's and graceful facades so I found the setting particularly appealing and thought Johns captured the details beautifully. The novel is well grounded in rural Australia but Johns also brought country and city together with the modernisation of the pub, the intermingling of Imogen's friends with the locals and the idea of the Man Drought weekend.

I thought the writing very accomplished, in many ways each of the main elements of the story - plot, character and setting, are much stronger in Man Drought than in Jilted. I enjoyed John's humour and the way in which she captures the natural rhythm of Australian speech in her dialogue. The pacing is just right and all the threads lead to a happy and satisfying conclusion.

Man Drought is a heartwarming, well crafted contemporary romance with appealing characters and engaging story and Rachael Johns is proving herself to be one of my favourite rural romance novelists. ...more

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Nov 08, 2012 Bree T rated it it was amazing

Shelves: australian, rural-lit, arc, romance, aww2013

Imogen is looking for a fresh start. She lost her husband and a chance passing of The Majestic Hotel in rural town Gibson’s Find has given her an idea. She uses her husband’s life insurance money to purchase the pub, filled with ideas about how to restore it to its former glory. Her friends are a little wary of her moving away to somewhere so remote, where she doesn’t know anyone but Imogen knows this can work.

Gibson Black has lived in Gibson’s Find all his life and knows he’ll never leave. The Imogen is looking for a fresh start. She lost her husband and a chance passing of The Majestic Hotel in rural town Gibson’s Find has given her an idea. She uses her husband’s life insurance money to purchase the pub, filled with ideas about how to restore it to its former glory. Her friends are a little wary of her moving away to somewhere so remote, where she doesn’t know anyone but Imogen knows this can work.

Gibson Black has lived in Gibson’s Find all his life and knows he’ll never leave. The town has a serious lack of women between the ages of 20 and 50 and that’s the way he likes it. Gibson was married once to a city girl and it ended in disaster. When Imogen blows in with her grand ideas for the pub, Gibson doesn’t like it at all. She upsets his calm life in many ways with her plans for the pub and also her looks. The redhead has immediately caught Gibson’s reluctant eye and he’s helpless to fight the growing attraction between them.

Imogen loves a challenge and the pub and enigmatic Gibson Black are certainly providing her with that. As much as he intrigues her and frustrates her with his hot/cold attitude, Imogen is a throwing her everything into The Majestic. She has ideas to bring women back to the town, bring the life back to this dying town and save it from becoming a ghost town. And now that Gibson’s thawed a little, she’s thoroughly enjoying herself and her new life.

But Imogen has guilt and Gibson still has a secret that might threaten the happy ending that these two deserve.

It kind of feels like I was waiting for this novel forever but let’s face it, it was probably only about six months because I think I read Jilted back in June. Of course it arrived after we left for our holiday and for three weeks I watched others read it and love it and the anticipation continued to build. Sometimes the anticipation is much greater than the pay off but I’m happy that wasn’t the case with this one. This book had me hooked from start to finish!

Imogen and I are the same age and she is already a widow, something I can’t even imagine facing. Since she lost her husband she’s been on a sort of autopilot until she sees The Majestic Hotel during a rural drive and is suddenly struck by an idea of her future. The pub is grand in style, a real old country pub but has seen better days and needs a good scrub, some new furniture and a bit of TLC. Imogen wastes no time hiring herself a new bar tender and cook to replace the married couple selling up and heading off to be grey nomads and begins to put her grand plans into action. It seems like the one thorn in her side is Gibson Black, who seems to be the only local not particularly friendly.

The chemistry between Imogen and Gibson sizzles from the time they first lock eyes. They dance around each other, clearly interested but suffering from their own baggage and issues – Imogen is still grieving her husband, believing that she’ll never marry again or have a family and she often feels extremely guilty over the fact that she’s attracted to another man. Gibson had a fairly disastrous marriage to a woman who walked out on him and went back to the city and he’s kept himself closed off to people, especially women, ever since. That hasn’t been a problem before, because there were no women in Gibson’s Find. But the arrival of Imogen has turned his cool world upside down and things are definitely heating up!

I did love the realism between Imogen and Gibson – I thought her guilt was very well done and probably very likely of someone in that position. When you marry someone it’s supposed to be for life and to have her husband taken from her when they’d barely started their married lives together would be horrible. She faces a dilemma of finding something that could possibly make her very happy but also having to let go of something else and feeling as though she has betrayed someone she loves, even though he’s not technically with her anymore. And likewise Gibson’s marriage breakdown was a bit of a blow to his ego and he’s still harbouring the sort of secret that makes him think that Imogen will definitely walk out of his life, just like his ex-wife did.

The supporting characters in this novel are a highlight as well – especially Charlie, Gibson’s grandfather and the 80-something year old bar worker at The Majestic Hotel. Charlie works hard in the early parts of the novel to push Gibson and Imogen together, which doesn’t really work as Gibson is mostly rude to her and doesn’t make the best impression so Charlie is forever apologising for him and trying to explain that normally, he’s a very good man! He was seriously adorable and his own life circumstances had quite a lesson for Imogen to learn in regards to her own future happiness.

Man Drought is a much stronger book than Jilted and even though I really did love Jilted, I see where Man Drought has benefited from being a second novel. There’s much more confidence in the story and the characters and as a reader, seeing each book improve and become better lends so well to anticipating the next one – which I already am! ...more

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Dec 26, 2012 Sheree rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2013, own, reviews, romance, aussie-author

My first time reading this Australian author but it won't be my last, Man Drought was a really delightful read.

Rachael Johns has created characters to adore, not just human ones either, I fell in love with the old Majestic Hotel, the local watering hole in the town of Gibson Find, and mentally cheered as it was brought back to life. Imogen was easy to love, vulnerable in her grief but resolutely seeking happiness and a new sense of purpose as owner and publican of the pub.

Gibson Black was easy My first time reading this Australian author but it won't be my last, Man Drought was a really delightful read.

Rachael Johns has created characters to adore, not just human ones either, I fell in love with the old Majestic Hotel, the local watering hole in the town of Gibson Find, and mentally cheered as it was brought back to life. Imogen was easy to love, vulnerable in her grief but resolutely seeking happiness and a new sense of purpose as owner and publican of the pub.

Gibson Black was easy to lust after despite an unpleasant divorce giving him a craptacular attitude regarding women. But his mulishness masked a whole lot of hurt and it didn't take long to see a heart of gold. The chemistry between Imogen & Gibson was charged and after lustfully jumping each others bones, I loved that the author allowed their relationship to develop at a natural pace with the odd hiccup of guilt and uncertainty.

I also had a soft spot for Gibson's grandfather Charlie, he's as much a part of the story as Imogen and Gibson and he reminded me of my dear pop who was the butcher in a small rural town in NSW. Imogen's besties Amy and Jenna aren't forgotten either. Rachael Johns has nailed it with the perfect balance of character driven and plot driven writing.

Having worked in A&E with four-wheeler accident victims with brains the consistency of cottage cheese I got really annoyed reading this -

"Do we need helmets?" Imogen asked when she eyed the red four-wheeler he planned on taking out.
"Nope." He shook his head. "We're tough in the bush." (umm bullshit)

I know ... it's a minor detail, just something I have a personal thing with but seeing that kind of blithe stupidity in writing got up my nose. Ok rant over, back to more good stuff.

Johns captures the essence of a small rural town, the genuine community spirit, loyalty, friendships, the highs and lows of life on the land with humour and honesty and an ease born of experience. Man Drought spoke to my romantic soul, putting your heart on the line and taking a chance made my heart glad.
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Nov 24, 2012 Ceri rated it really liked it

It is impossible not to fall in love with the characters in this book. Imogen and Gibson are so determined and passionate, making it impossible for them not to lock horns, but they are also in their own ways slightly damaged which makes it impossible not not to feel their pain.
Although Gibson's grandfather Charlie, was my favourite character. Charlie is just the right mixture of sweet and stubborn, and he really brings the story together.

Rachael's writing style paints a perfect picture of countr ...more

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