Author: Fiona McCallum
ISBN: 9781743692400
RRP: $29.99
Fiona McCallum has penned six Australian bestsellers, Leap of Faith is her seventh novel and set in the picturesque Adelaide Hills.
All of the books I have read by McCallum have been set in South Australia but this is the first in my neck of the woods. I’m not sure exactly where the farm is but I’m familiar with the surrounding towns and the roads mentioned so it had a very familiar feel to me right from the start.
I am not sure where my headspace is at just of late but it is affecting my reading and my empathy with heroines. I enjoyed the premise of Leap of Faith which has McCallum’s signature writing style and well drawn characters. Her animals are characters in their own right and you can’t help but be drawn to them. My issue was I couldn’t connect to lead character Jessica, I couldn’t get past some of her attitudes and decisions.
In the early pages Jessica has a traumatic accident in the middle of a horse riding event; leaving her hospitalised but thankfully her horse Prince suffers only a few scratches. Jessica’s broken ankle means she is out of action for six weeks with little to occupy her. The extremely capable, physical and independent Jessica is unable to ride, unable to teach and perhaps the most frustrating she is unable to care for her horses or help husband Steve on the farm.
All of this time off her feet gives Jessica way too much time to think, and to question EVERYTHING. A lot of her self evaluation is to be expected and completely natural but it seemed to me that she got a little melodramatic about it all for a while there. Jessica is concerned about the loss of condition in her horses and all of the extra responsibility on her husband looking after them so she rushes into a decision that those around her think she will come to regret. And, to top it all off she tries to isolate herself at home away from the entire horse community, and her town, because she’s not ready to face anyone.
Jessica is given time to look at her career so far and analyse what she has achieved, and why. Her pit of self-pity is quite deep but I think it needed to be for her to grow and tackle things from a different angle. The time and distance from her competition offer a very different perspective and allow her to recognise things she had never noticed throughout her career, and her rash decision allowed a second chance at happiness.
Faith is the rundown and forlorn horse Steve brings home from a clearing sale, after Jessica has sold hers. There’s a lot at play here and it seems quite obvious that Steve picked up the horse to try and rekindle Jessica’s passion but she is determined to keep her distance. It turns out that Faith affected Steve in a way he wasn’t expecting and he just couldn’t bear to leave the horse behind.
Every character has a story and Faith is no different, her story is heartbreaking and she too needs a second chance. The slow unfolding of Faith’s story broke my heart. It was beautiful to watch the blossoming relationship and growth of trust between Faith and Jessica as they both had a lot to learn.
Leap of Faith is an aptly named and beautifully told story of love, loss and second chances. It tells a tale of self discovery and demonstrates the need for honesty and the importance of in sickness and in health, and sharing with your partner because trying to hide it and struggle through alone hurts both of you.
A beautiful weekend read for a journey to the lush greenery of the picturesque Adelaide Hills.
Leap of Faith is book #14 for Australian Women Writers Challenge 2015.
For more about Fiona and to get a look at all of her titles you can find her on Facebook, her website and the Harlequin website.
We have copies of Leap of Faith to giveaway to 5 of our lucky readers. If you want to be one of them tell us in the comments below about an injury that had you out of action and appreciating all the things you take for granted.
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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!
I have been on Corticosteroid medication twice a day since 2004 and whenever I get run down or vomit I end up in hospital being pumped full of Cortisone drips. Anyway the constant use of the steroids has weakened my muscles, teeth, bones. This caused my left Achilles Tendon to rupture spontaneously in 2006. They did a complete reconstruction of my Achilles which lasted 12 months before snapping again….this time they had to fuse my ankle for stability. I spent 7 months in a wheelchair because my right Achilles has tendonitis and I wasn’t allowed to put weight on that one ad the steroid meds make me heal very slowly plus somehow a bone broke during healing, which added another 2 months to me being wheelchair bound. I realised how much I took the simple act of getting up and going to the loo anytime I needed for granted.
I dislocated my knee and back then it was common practice to strap the knee rigid which meant I couldn’t use crutches, drive or walk far. I had no way to get my groceries, go to work or do anything for 6 weeks and have never felt so alone and stuck in my life.
After my fourth child was born, I had a stroke, which has left me with permanent injuries. But it could so easily have been so much worse – even more debilitating or even deadly – and I remain grateful for the opportunity to watch my children grow up and to spend time with my husband. Even in the face of the things my injuries now limit or prevent, those are two huge privileges to be grateful for.
I tore a muscle in my leg whilst working out at the gym. I was out of action for months and put on 3 kilograms that I had previously lost. 🙁
I had a prolapsed disc in my back to walk long distances I needed a wheelchair, to walk even a few steps I needed a crutch and suffered agony as my body weight went all down my leg on the sciatic nerve it was agony for months. I ended up having to stop work and have it operated on never again will I take mobility for granted. You don’t realize how much you rely on being able to move around until you are grounded
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My spine in my neck was moved into opposite position after a car accident so now I have permanent pain. But I always do stuff to forget it. And I get massages all the time
when i was 26 i had my first baby. when bub was 7 weeks old, hubby ,bub and i went to an island for a celebration. it was raining and i slipped on steps while carrying my child. Over the next few days my pain got so bad that i was crying (which i didn’t do in labour) and the doc gave me an mri which revealed that i had 2 herniated discs. The doc wanted to give me an epidural to mask the pain but it was super risky and i would have to be so careful not to injure myself more,( while not feeling the pain) so in my situation, i opted out. I spent 5 months laying down. i couldn’t stand up straight so hubby had to help me shower, dress etc. i couldn’t take care of my baby or even hold her so i had to just lay next to her and rest her on my chest. So tough when you are supposed to be bonding with your child. I don’t have family here so i would have to call hubby to come home every time the baby needed changing. I got really fed up of not being able to move as even just trying to roll over in bed had me shaking and crying. I had to use a chair to help me stand and i forced myself to hold onto it in the shower and just rehabillitated myself. Those were some really dark days but i got through it.
Severe osteo-arthritis saw me have surgery to remove a bone from the base of my thumb. 6 weeks of wearing a plaster cast and not driving, and learning to do things one-handed had me chomping at the bit to have two working hands. The day after I had the plaster cast removed, I slammed my other thumb in the car door, so had two virtually unusable hands. Everyday activities that I took for granted. that I now have hideous trouble managing include doing up bras, pulling my knickers up, holding a cup of coffee, and anything that requires any sort grip strength in my thumbs. The only bonus is that I’m totally unable to do any housework, and I ain’t missing that one little bit.
Playing volleyball at our local competiton and I hit the ball incorrectly hurting my left thumb at the base. My husband who was running the comp says youll be right, no biggy after I asked for ice. Next day my hand was black and as we are self employed, no work for me for a week. Serves him right, at least he found out the hard way how much I do!