Book Club: The House on Jindalee Lane

Click to rate this book!
[Total: 0 Average: 0]

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.

SaveSave

20 thoughts on “Book Club: The House on Jindalee Lane

  1. This was an enjoyable read with an easy to follow storyline. The characters were distinct and likeable. I was able to start reading and keep on reading without getting tired, bored or lost in the story, so it’s a perfect book to take away on a trip or to carry in your bag for getting lost in a country town setting.

    There are also sweet and funny moments in this book, which was a treat while reading.

    I would recommend this book for anyone who wants to read an easy to read book which has interesting characters and a straightforward style of writing. Overall, a very pleasant reading experience.

  2. So the tale follows actress Edie Granger as she “falls from grace” due to her unfortunate actions with a producer, Marcus. Though she really has done no wrong she is sent fleeing from the city and production world and back to her home town in country NSW. While trying to find her way, decide her future and make peace with her actions she sets up to produce her own play (written by her) in her home town of Swallow Falls. This is no mean feat due to the people she needs to involve, the actors and actresses made up of fellow town folks that have no previous experience.
    What Edie didnt expect was the actions that Marcus will take to preserve what he thinks is his empire, nor did she expect the support she found in her own, usually judgemental town, and the love of a friend Ryan.
    Take a walk on the romantic side and enjoy the read.

    While not my kind of ending to a story (a true romance), I did enjoy the book and would recommend to others. Thanks for the opportunity!

  3. My favourite way to read a heavy content book is to read a lighter book – one that is easy to pick up and put down and when you pick it back up it is easy to get back into it.
    This book met that criteria. It was a good holiday read and the story line was interesting enough to take my mind away from work!
    I enjoy romance stories where the main character is at a crossroads or is needing to reevaluate life. For Edie Granger, going back to a small town was the perfect setting for her to do this.

    Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

  4. The House on Jindalee Lane byJennie Jones

    Edie Granger returns to her small home town, supposedly to be with her sister, who has had a nasty accident, but we soon learn that Edie is really fleeing an uncomfortable break up with her last flame.

    She reconnects with her local long time ago romantic interest, Ryan, who is still single. The story weaves in and out around the locals, who Edie recruits to star in a play she has written and plans to preform for the community.

    The local folk are a fun bunch, with some of them well described. As this is the 5th or 6th Swallow’s Fall story, I found some of the characters weren’t fully filled out, and felt that we were expected to know who they were from reading the earlier books. This made it difficult to get into the story for me, as I found the rapid introduction at the start of the book of xxx is the daughter of xxx to be to abrupt. I like more depth to the fictional people in a story.

    All in all, a light story with a great insight into the world of theatre and the acting community, but it just lacked oomph for me.

    Thank you Beauty & Lace, and Harlequin books for the chance to read this.

  5. I received The house on Jindalee Lane by Jennie Jones to read and review
    from Beauty and Lace Book Club and Harlequin Australia.
    Edie Granger is an Actress.
    A well known Producer is threatening to ruin her career and her life.
    She disappears and runs to her hometown, a small country town in the remote NSW Snowy Mountains.
    Ryan Munroe is Edie’s chilhood friend and when he hears Edi has returned home,
    he decides to return to see if there is a future for them.
    Ryan was a Commando in the Army.
    They had only shared one kiss many years ago.
    It was disasterous.
    Edie decides to produce a play she has written using the local towns people as her Cast Members.
    It is a Comedy/Mystery called Who Shot The Producer.
    The play spills over onto everyday life and when happenings are eeirily similar to her Play,
    Edie confides in Ryan who uses his contacts to keep Edie and her Cast Members safe.
    Beautifully written and will keep you guessing until the last page.

  6. Thanks to Beauty and Lace for selecting me to read this book.

    The House on Jindalee lane is a light hearted easy read with lots of romance.

    How can you not fall in love with the two main characters Edie and Ryan. Thanks Jennie for making Ryan sound like a “Hottie”.

    At times it got frustrating with the story line because you just wanted to say to both of them “Just wake up”.

    Looking forward to reading another of Jennie Jones’s books.

  7. This is the first book that I have read by Jennie Jones but it”s the type of light reading small town romance story that I enjoy reading when I want something relaxing but not to taxing.
    This story is about Edie Granger who returns to her small Snowy Mountains town of Swallow’s Fall to escape a bit of her life from Sydney and rediscover the direction she wants to take in life. At the same time her old highschool sweetheart Ryan (who also happens to be a special forces agent) returns to live in the town too. This adds a romantic storyline to the mix but at times the interactions (or lack of interaction) between Edie and Ryan just have me gritting my teeth because they just don’t know how to get it together.
    The characters are interesting to read about and with the added story line of mr big shot American producer trying to ruin her career it adds an extra element of tension and excitement to the story.

    Overall I enjoyed the story and it’s perfect for a beach or holiday read. Thanks Beauty and Lace and Harlequin.

  8. I really enjoyed The House on Jindalee Lane. It was my first book by Jennie Jones.I found it a really easy read and enjoyed the storyline although I felt I would like to bang Edie and Ryans’ heads together as they took so long to tell each other how they feel..Wouldn’t it be wonderful to find a country town so friendly and community minded. Thankyou for the opportunity.

  9. Thank you so much for letting me have the chance to read this fantastic novel!

    I have all of Jennies book and this one would be my favourite.

    Such an easy and light read that everyone would enjoy.

    I would definitely be recommending this book to my friends!

    Well done Jennie Jones.

  10. Firstly thank you to Beauty and Lace and Harlequin Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

    I had not read any of Jenny Jones’ books before so was not entirely sure what to expext and was not aware of the backstory.

    That being said I did enjoy The House on Jindalee Lane. At times some of the theatre references etc. were a little above my head but show the author’s indepth knowledge of the industry.

    I am now thinking of going back and reading the original series which I think will help to flesh out some of the characters. I will be interested to see if they are a little historical novels since this one is about the next generation and is present day…

Leave a Reply to Denise Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *