Review: Return to Stringybark Creek by Karly Lane

Title: Return to Stringybark Creek {The Callahans of Stringybark Creek #3}

Published: April 1st 2020, Allen & Unwin

Status: Read April 2020, courtesy Allen & Unwin

+++++++

My Thoughts:

The third book in The Callahans of Stringybark Creek trilogy by Karly Lane, is aptly named Return to Stringybark Creek and features the youngest Callahan sibling, foreign correspondent, Hadley Callahan.

When Hadley’s short marriage to on-air celebrity anchor Mitch Samuals implodes, she retreats to the family farm in Stringybark Creek to avoid the scrutiny of the media. She is glad to be home, even if she’s nervous about telling her parents the real reason for her impending divorce, but the last thing she expects is to fall in love with the boy next door.

Return to Stringybark Creek is, at its heart, a rural romance novel so it’s the relationship between Hadley and neighbour, Ollie Dawson, that takes centre stage. Ollie has been in love with Hadley since they were teenagers, while Hadley, whose focus has always been on her career, has never considered Ollie in a romantic light. I enjoyed their developing romance, with the friends to lovers trope being my favourite.

As always, the author’s personal experience of rural life lends an authenticity to her characters and setting. She touches on circumstances that challenge farmers such as injury, farm management, and the increasing need for diversification.

Arguably however, the most significant facet of the novel is the attention Lane brings to the issues of rural mental health, particularly among farmers. When a contemporary of Ollie’s suicides, he grows determined to raise awareness of the issue and create change within a culture that has difficulty admitting to struggles with mental health. The entire fictional community becomes involved in the effort, with Lane drawing inspiration from the real-life Naked Farmer campaign.

It’s not necessary to have read The Wrong Callahan (featuring Lincoln Callahan and Cash Sullivan) , or Mr. Right Now (featuring Griffin Callahan and Olivia Dawson) to enjoy this novel as the story stands well on its own. Told with humour and heart, Return to Stringybark Creek is an engaging read.

++++++

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Also by Karly Lane reviewed at Book’d Out