Maggie's Run

Maggie Walker returns to Wirra Station after her great aunt's death. An orphan who nearly died in the car accident that killed both her parents, Maggie has had a chequered history with her great aunt and the boy next door Max O'Connor. She intends to sell the property but Max convinces her to spend three months, learning about how to manage the farm and come to peace with the past before she sells up and moves back to the city for good. I hate to have to say this because I have enjoyed several of Kelly Hunter's other novels but this was just a bit meh. Maggie has had a difficult childhood and Max has been front and centre for much of her worst moments. He sort of hates her for leaving him, but not really. There's a mild sub-plot about trying to divide the ownership of Wirra Station so that Max gets the land for farming and Maggie has a smaller area around the house to run a wedding planning business. Even worse, it was all a bit fade to black. If my review seems vague it's because nothing really stuck. There was nothing wrong with the novel, but it also didn't have any grit, it was all a bit greige for me the reader. I saw that the second book in this series is available for request on NetGalley but I won't be requesting it. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I loved reading the Maggie’s Run by Kelly Hunter, book one in the Outback Brides series, a wonderful friends to lovers story. Maggie returned to Wirra Station after the death of her great aunt. She has inherited everything and decides to get it ready to sell as it holds only bad and sad memories for her. Her next door neighbor Max wants to buy it, use the land for the sheep they both raise and restore the house to its former glory. However, he wants Maggie to know what exactly she would be giving up. He challenges her to live there for three months while he manages the farm. If she still doesn’t love the place then he’d happily pay her and she can be off, carefree with no ties to anything or anyone. I loved the changes in Maggie as she spent time at Wirra Station and returning the estate to its former beauty. As she cleaned and remodeled the house to be an event center she uncovered a lot of history as well as secrets. She became a stronger and more confident person. Meanwhile, while Max spends time teaching Maggie how to run the ranch he is also courting her. Maggie was the only survivor of a car crash after Max pulled her from the burning car. Left to be raised by an unhappy and cold great aunt, this shy, scarred girl struggled to make friends and believe in herself. As they spend time together Maggie opens up to Max and allows herself to respond to his charisma and charm because there is a definite attraction and shared chemistry between them. The nightmares Maggie still has, reliving the crash and changing the outcome worry Max making him fear that she resents his saving her. Max needs Maggie to work through this issue before she can commit to a future together. This was a fun book to read and easy to visualize the story as it occurred. I totally loved these characters and didn’t want to put this book down. Ms. Hunter did a fantastic job creating her characters, making them realistic, keeping the story interesting, making me forget the world around me and not letting me go until I turned the last page, wanting more. I highly recommend this book to other readers and look forward to the next book in the series. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

Maggie's Run is the first book in a new multi author series from Tule Publishing and so far I am really enjoying what I've read. The series is set in the Australian Outback and this author's writing style brought the setting to life for me. The story had a nice easy flow, that along with some great characters made it a wonderful relaxing read. I enjoyed the banter between Maggie and Max and their nice slow build romance. Max really challenges Maggie and the time they spend together has her learning to love the crazy little town of Wirra Station as well as Max. I would definitely recommend this one.