Author: Jennie Jones
ISBN: 9781489241030
RRP: $29.99
Publisher: Harlequin Mira
Copy: Courtesy of the Publisher
The House on Jindalee Lane is my first taste of Jennie Jones, and her fictional town of Swallow’s Falls. This book is the first of a new series, but it seems to be a spin off series so there is a lot out there already about the town and it seems a lot of the secondary characters may have had their stories written. I did a little reading on Goodreads about The Swallow’s Fall series and I think it was the previous generation (which makes sense seeing this series is called The Daughters of Swallow’s Fall).
Jennie Jones is an internationally bestselling Australian author whose career began in the theatre; she has taken that experience and created Edie Granger.
Edie Granger was born and raised in the small Snowy Mountains town of Swallow’s Fall, population 182, but she hasn’t been home much since building her career in the Sydney theatre scene. Now that there’s a big shot American producer threatening to ruin her career Edie has fled to the safety of her hometown where she plans to put some thought into what comes next. How will she deal with Buchanan? And what will she do if he succeeds in annihilating her career?
Also newly returned to Swallow’s Fall is Ryan Monroe, a close childhood friend, who has recently left the Special Forces. He is trying to decide how to spend the rest of his life after making the life changing decision to leave the forces. He has a dream and a goal, now to make it happen.
I enjoyed The House on Jindalee Lane, I like the focus on the small tight knit community. The characters were certainly colourful and quirky which adds a refreshing element of humour. The story was well developed; offering elements of romance, suspense, tension and humour. The setting was gorgeous and inspired me to go visit.
Unfortunately, for me, the romantic tension felt a little contrived. So much of the story between Edie and Ryan needed only a conversation to solve the bulk of their issues. I found it a little tedious to watch the back and forth between them, the skirting around each other and not actually talking about what was between them. It was obvious where it was all going but each got snippets of info, jumped to massive conclusions and shut off or ran. This could have been a beautiful love story, and the groundwork was laid for it to be exactly that, but they couldn’t communicate effectively with each other and it just drove wedges between them that were completely unnecessary, and irritating.
Edie was a complex and interesting character. She built a career that she loved and distanced herself from her hometown, not necessarily intentionally. The time away had changed her but didn’t seem to have the same effect on those remaining in town. Edie doesn’t want to just sit around while she is exiled to Swallow’s Fall so she decides to create a small amateur theatre in her barn and put on a play that she has written, the play that sparked the bulk of her drama – Who Shot the Producer (a comedic whodunnit)
Edie’s sister suffered a horse inflicted injury and that is why Edie has come home, no-one knows the true reason for her return. She may not know how to deal with the threat Buchanan poses but she doesn’t want people to know; whether because she is afraid of their reaction or she doesn’t want them to worry.
Ryan is sharing the property at Jindalee Lane and helping to ready the barn for it’s new purpose. He overhears a conversation that leads him to discover the impending scandal and goes into protection mode. Ryan does his best to look out for Edie as well as doing some investigations of his own to discover the whole story.
I think the suspenseful elements were quite well written. Buchanan is a big shot producer who has his nose out of joint because he’s not used to being told no. Edie is a lot of things but she is an ethical small town girl at heart and she wants to make her way in the theatre world on her merits and not what she’ll do to get the part. She is hounded by rumours and on the brink of losing her agent so a small time production in her home town is designed to help her work out what’s really important to her and what will happen if Buchanan succeeds in ruining her reputation.
Buchanan might be big time but he isn’t above lowering himself to standover tactics, blackmail and thugs to get what he wants. He tries to keep all his heavy handedness going through his lawyers but if that fails he will get thugs on the case. This means Edie’s personal safety could be in as much danger as her reputation. Ryan is determined to keep her safe and brings in men of the town as he feels is needed, and friends from his forces days.
You never quite know if Edie is in physical danger, there are enough different threads to keep you guessing and this was fun to follow. It was a great way to demonstrate the way the town pulls together when it’s needed. It also served to show that moving on and building a career doesn’t necessarily make you an outsider, it’s all about perspective.
Edie spends the time preparing for the play reconnecting with her town, changing her perspective and developing a renewed love, but will it be enough to keep her around?
The House on Jindalee Lane is a lovely light read, I’m sure it will appeal to lovers of small town friends to lovers stories. I enjoyed the book and would read more stories in the series because I did quite like the characters.
The House on Jindalee Lane is Book #33 for the Australian Women Writer’s Challenge 2017.
Jennie Jones can be contacted on Facebook, Twitter and JennieJones.com.
The House on Jindalee Lane is published by Harlequin and available now from Angus & Robertson Bookworld, Booktopia and where all good books are sold.
Thanks to Harlequin 20 of our Beauty and Lace Club Members will be reading The House on Jindalee Lane so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
This book was a light read that would be good for someone who doesn’t have much time to read. It had enough of a storyline to keep me interested, but I was able to put it down easily to get on with my day. When I picked it up again it was easy to recall what I’d last read. I haven’t read any of the other books in the series (although I believe this is the start of a new series with characters mentioned in the previous books), but I’m thinking that they might be good holiday reads.
As Michelle touched on above, I did find this book frustrating to read because all Eddie and Ryan needed to do was respect each other enough to have a proper conversation and all of their relationship problems would have been solved. It became a bit of a drag for me, I must admit, to read the to-ing and fro-ing between them that was about their relationship. Apart from that the storyline was good and although it was easy to predict what the outcome would be it was nice to see that happen.
Thank you Beauty and Lace for another good book >:o)
Thankyou Beauty& Lace and Harlequinbooks for the opportunity to read The House on Jindalee Lane by Jennie Jones
This story revolves around Edie Granger, a young woman returning to her home town of Swallows Fall after an unpleasant experience in the city.
Edie is a very successful actor and has decided to produce and direct a play she has written and have it preformed by the small town locals as she waits for things to settle and she can continue her acting career.
Edie does not expect her childhood sweetheart and the one person she has always considered her soulmate to return to Swallows Fall after learning of Edie’s visit.
As it turns out Eadie’s trouble in the city won’t go away but seem to multiply, so between the worry of trying to get the locals interested in her play, the growing attraction to her old flame(special agent hunky Ryan) who has taken on a stifling protector role,and the fallout from the big city Producer who by any means intends to see Eadie never work again., she is confused, scared and very insecure.
This book tells a lot about friendships,the loyalty of family, and what really matters in the big picture of life.
The House on Jindalee Lane was an entertaining read with interesting characters and a nice romantic storyline. I gave it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you to Beauty and Lace and Harlequin Books for the opportunity to read this book.
When I first started reading this book, my initial reaction was, “this girl’s (Eddie Granger) thoughts are all over the place, and I can’t work out what she is thinking”. Slightly further into the book I had a ‘Ah Ha’ moment, and realised that is often what goes on in my mind! It was kind of cool to see how Eddie would think something one minute, then think the complete opposite the next minute, often because she heard something or someone reacted in a certain way (usually she got the wrong end of the stick). It was good to see how this kind of thinking can get us into trouble.
Apart from feeling relieved that other people must have the same crazy thought processes that I do, I did enjoy this book. I found some of the more eccentric characters entertaining, and very believable especially in a small community. One part of the story line was predictable, but there were plenty of other parts that I didn’t see coming.
A very enjoyable read, and recommended to anyone who likes romance or a little mystery.
I really enjoyed reading The House On Jindalee Lane by Jennie Jones.
I would definitely recommend this as a great weekend read or just a book that you just want to sit down and be able to read without having to do too much thinking ( which I think we all like at times). After all reading is a great escape.
This is the first in a series of books so I think it is a lovely start.
It is the story of Edie Granger and her return to her home town of Swallow Falls.
A successful actor she decides that she will produce and direct a play she has written using the towns residents as her cast.
The story also revolves around Edie and her childhood friend Ryan who also returns to the small town.
Unfortunately for Edie trouble has also followed her home in the form of a big shot Producer who doesn’t like no for an answer.
As I said a great light read, occasionally slightly back and forth , but very engaging.
Thankyou to Beauty and Lace and Harlequin for allowing me to read and review this lovely novel
Edie Granger is reaching the peak of her acting career when a big time Californian producer threatens to ruin her career with untrue rumours.
Edie flees to her hometown of Swallows Fall in the Snowy Mountain to escape the rumours and sort out what she will do if her career is ruined.
Deciding to not sit idols Edie opens a theatre to run a comedy play she has written, Who Shot the Producer.
Will this further infuriate the Californian producer on who the play is based on?
Ryan Munroe has also returned to Swallows Fall upon learning Edie is back, the ex army commando is keen to see if he and Edie have a future together after their first kiss three years ago, which happened to end in disaster.
Is Ryan’s ‘Dazzlepants’ ready to give up her career or will she be forever out of his reach.
When Ryan learns Edie may be under threat from the scorned producer he decides to stick around and be Edie’s bodyguard, thus allowing Ryan the perfect chance to slip under Edie’s guard?
Edie finds herself torn between her career, the rekindled love of her hometown and her attraction for Ryan all whilst she is producing her play, trying her hardest to make it something the people of Swallows Fall will be proud of.
Things take a turn for the worst on opening night of the play, will the plays plot happen for real? Will Ryan be able to protect the love of his life from the danger she faces?
I enjoyed this book, there was nothing startling about the plot just a typical romance with a little bit of mystery thrown in, it wasn’t an edge of your seat thriller more a nice easy read but not boring by any means.
Thanks to Beauty and Lace and Harlequin for the chance to review The House on Jindalee Lane.
The House On Jindalee Street is a story full of humour, romance and suspense. Small towns can be amazing and this one is no exception. A story of a homecoming and a love of where you came from.
I really liked Ryan from the start he is a patient hero and so very protective and caring, Edie can be a bit frustrating her feelings were a little hard to pin down for me, but there were laughs getting this play together with the townsfolk and with danger and a producer who thought he could just walk all over people this added to the story.
Do they get their HEA (happily ever after) I’ll leave that for you to find out
An enjoyable story focusing around a small town of Swallow’s Fall and the tight community but mainly about Edie who is an actress and Ryan an ex-commando. Both return to the town for varied reason and with Edie who is putting on a comedy play and Ryan assisting the story focuses around their friendship and a hint of love. There appeared to be times the story was a bit unfocused but as I read more I began to realise why and to understand the town characters and their relevance to the story.
Element of hysterics, danger, threats, drama and love. This story almost has it all.
Jennie Jones has a captured audience in this novel. I’m keen to read more.
Thankyou to Harlequin and Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to read The House on Jindalee Lane by Jennie Jones.
Edie a theatre actress returns to her home town of Swallow’s Fall after relationship trouble with a well know producer.
She decides to put on a play she has written called “Who Shot the Producer”.
She is torn between the bright lights of acting and city life or the community of Swallow’s Fall and her family.
Unexpectedly her child hood friend Ryan returns to see if there is a future for him with Edie.
I found the book easy to read, put down and come back to. The story is told with humour. Initially I found Edie frustrating, but as the book progressed she developed too. I found Ryan exceptionally patient!
Will Edie and Ryan get together? Will the town help her put on her play? Will the trouble she ran from follow her to Swallow’s Fall? Will the producer actually get shot?
Lots of reasons to read the book! This book will appeal to romance lovers.
I have added the Swallow’s Fall series to my “to read ” List.
I recently read the book The House on Jindalee Lane written by Jennie Jones. It was my first time reading something from this author, who I understand has already written a series before this one.
I liked how it was set in a little country town, which is where the main character Edie comes back to after some trouble in her career. Although she has also come back because her sister had a bad accident. To keep herself busy she decides to open a theatre in an old barn by putting on a play she has written called Who Shot the Producer.
The story overall was a good, quick and light read – perfect for travelling or a weekend of reading. I didn’t find myself too interested or invested in the characters or story however, but did enjoy the story. I felt the characters in the little town were quite a varied bunch, each with their own personalities, but I just found the Edie and Ryan thing a bit repetitive and same thing I’ve read before. That being said even though it was pretty predictable where the story would go, I didn’t expect some parts too. It seemed a bit of your typical light romance with some mystery and flair combined.
Thank you to Beauty and Lace for the chance to read The House on Jindalee Lane by Jennie Jones.
I just finished reading The House On Jindalee Lane and I loved it. What a wonderful story. Thank you so much for choosing me to read it. I will definitely be giving Jennie Jones’ other books a read.