The Man from Shadow Creek by Rachel Armstrong is a suspenseful rural romance set in Australia .
This is the second book in The Shadow Creek series. However, you don’t need to have read the first to enjoy the characters and story – the book stands alone well.
Adam Maguire, good looking bachelor, and town bad boy, parties hard on his birthday. He wakes up alone in Elizadale Memorial Park with no memory of who he had partied with or even exactly what he had done. With the worst hangover ever, and worried about his lack of memory, he wonders if his drink had been spiked. He seriously hopes his actions will not come back to haunt him.
Shocked by his actions, Adam decides, now he is 28 it is time to rethink and take life more seriously. Some months prior he had made a clean break with his ex. Now he will focus on his woodworking skill and develop his business.
Dr. Natalia Hamilton has left Sydney to take a 2-year position in the small rural community of Elizadale. Natalia desperately needs a new start. She has lost her confidence after suffering sexual harassment at her previous workplace. Elizadale is where her sister Ana has settled after meeting her soul mate Liam, and it should be the perfect place for Natalia to recharge and find her old self.
Dating is the last thing on her mind.
Ana is showing Natalia around the town when Adam pulls up on his motorbike. The obvious chemistry between Adam and Natalia has Ana worried.
As their romance develops, for the first time in his life Adam thinks about settling down. Natalia is the love of his life.
But, what happened on Adam’s birthday and will the consequences of that night destroy the developing love between Adam and Natalia?
This is an excellent read. It is Adam and Natalia’s emotional journey and their love story.
The book is well-written and the characters are very relatable. The book is hard to put down with plenty of suspense and twists which keep you turning the pages.
In a sensitive way, the book handles sexual abuse, harassment, and entrapment in the workplace and social settings.
An added bonus is Rachel Armstrong is an exercise physiologist in cardiac rehabilitation. She has used Natalia’s character to promote healthy eating.
Thank you to Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to read this excellent book.
A selection of our members are reading The Man From Shadow Creek by Rachel Armstrong. You can read their feedback below, or add your own review.
I love to read, any book on any topic. I now love ebooks as they are easier to store, I was running out of bookshelves! My other interests are family, gardening and our beautiful King Charles spaniel dog who is my reading companion.
Oh how I love Rachel Armstrongs writing style. Her books are absolute page turners. I had read ‘Home among the Palm Trees’, and absoultely loved it. Dare I say that this next book in the seies, The Man from Shadow Creek, is even more enthralling. From the firstpage, to the last, it draws you in, and before you know it, hours have passed, and you haven’t book the book down!
This one is a love story of 2 opposite types of people, a Qld country bad boy wood crafter/banana farmer, and a city Doctor, Natalia, spending some time in the country to enhance her resume’, but they have so many challenges to overcome. The story touches on sexual and character harrassment, as well as drug spiking an ususpecting man, Adam, whilst celebrating his birthday. This one night turns Adam and Natalias budding love story, and careers, into complete turmoil. Will their growing love carry them through, and will the villian in this page turning story be found out and get what is coming to her?
Thank you Rachel Armstrong for another brilliant read, and to Beauty & Lace for the opportunity. I can’t wait to read the next story in the series.
‘The Man from Shadow Creek’ is book two of the Shadow Creek series written by the fabulous Rachel Armstrong. I have also read ‘Home among the Palm Trees’ which was our introduction to the Elizadale community.
Each book centres on two key characters, in this story Adam Maguire (the resident bad boy) and Doctor Natalia Hamilton who has moved to town to escape the city and be closer to her sister Ana (who the first book was based on). These books can be read as standalone stories, but I did find reading the first one helped, plus to be honest it is so good getting an update on the characters from book one, Ana and Liam. I have always enjoyed reading series based around a town/characters as each time you read a new book it is like coming home.
I would class these books as rural suspense with romance and a hint of humour, once again I found when I start one of Rachel’s books, I keep going until I finish.
Adam wakes from a big night and he has no recollection of events which is enough to make him want to change his ways but will the people around him and the town allow him to do that.
Natalia needs to escape from the city and a colleague’s harassment so moving to be near her sister is perfect timing. She is not interested in dating anyone, but Adam catches her eye and their friendship blossoms. There are so many twists and turns in the story that it will keep you turning the pages into the night. Enjoy!
I love getting to read books in a series where you don’t have to have read book 1 to be able to follow book 2. Although I will be reading book 1 because I loved the story line of The Man From Shadow Creek. Adam & Natalia are great characters and bring their own jazz to the story, Rachel Armstrong has amazing talent and can’t wait for what comes next
Second book in the season and romance and controversy is on the horizon.
Natalia decides to join her sister Ana in a small country town where Ana fell head over heels for her soon to be husband, Liam. She needs a change from city life medicine, where she is treated like an object, not a person, where she is not able to expand her learning. Joining the practice in this small regional area should help her develop patient relationships, to increase her skills, to grow as a doctor.
Adam had a major eye opener after his birthday gathering left him not knowing how the night ended, short of roughly. Perhaps now is the time to turn his life around, start making something of himself, other than the “bad boy” reputation he has from his past. But its a small town, he’s got a challenge to change the minds of people who know his history, too well. He’s lucky he’s got good family ties, and his cousin Liam to help guide him to better himself.
Chance meeting of Natalia and Adam had them both thinking “wow”. But will their past cause them to miss a chance at a life?
Loved the story, even better as it was the second of these tales that swept me away from my real life. Thanks to Rachel Armstrong, keep them coming, and Beauty and Lace for an awesome read.