A Town Like Clarence by Stella Quinn will grab you by the heart, then have you laughing at some of the antics. While you are reading it makes you feel like you are part of the town.
Kirsty Fox has always had her emotional walls up and finds that life is much easier if you keep people at arm’s length. That’s how she has always lived her life thanks to her mother, who battles with a gambling problem.
Things go wrong with Kirsty’s work as a pilot, and there is an incident after a bad landing that brings childhood trauma back to haunt her.
As she battles with her demons, her mother makes a surprise appearance and informs Kirsty that there is a letter regarding an inheritance.
As Kirsty is forced to take some time off work, she decides to follow up on this letter in person. That leads her to the town of Clarence, where as much as she fights it, she finds that the town and its people begin to win her over.
Especially Joey Miles who has the cutest niece named Amy who will have you giggling.
Kirsty works hard to save an old WWII fighter plane, get it moved to an air museum, and all the while she also fights hard not to fall for Joey and his charms.
I really loved this book and found myself having a good chuckle many times. I was thrilled to see that the opening to another book set in the town of Clarence is presented and that will be one that I will have to indulge in as I have fallen for the town and its people.
ISBN: 9781867225614
Copy courtesy of Harper Collins
A selection of our members are reading A Town Like Clarence by Stella Quinn. You can read their thoughts in the comments below, or you can add your own review.
Im a Mum of 3 beautiful girls.
An avid reader that loves to travel but lacks the funds to venture far and wide constantly. A perfumeaholic with an addiction to beauty and skincare.
If not found with my head in a book or on a plane I can be found spending hours upon hour in Doctors and Hospital waiting rooms as part of my job as a Carer
Warm, funny and thoroughly engaging, A Town like Clarence by Stella Quinn ( published by Harlequin) is just the kind of cosy story I love to tuck into at the end of day. It’s a feel good rural story with some very likable, sometimes quirky, always meddlesome and very relatable characters.
Yet while it’s style is light and up beat, it still manages to cover some quite sensitive issues including the fallout effects of addiction, grief and trauma, and the significance of family ties and upbringing to a person’s outlook.
The story itself is the perfect recipe for a classic romance – After some career, personal and financial missteps in the city, former high flyer Joey Miles has returned to his country roots to try his hand at farming. It’s a far cry from stockbroking, requiring some very different, practical skills… Into this fray comes the very attractive, independent and very capable, Mediflight pilot Kirsty Fox, who like Joey is also trying to find herself. In fact in running away to Clarence, to chase her own history, Kirsty may have just found where she belongs.
A Town like Clarence is a wonderfully engaging, at times hilarious (the bush poetry readings are an absolute delight) and very colourful book – I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Thank you to Harlequin Fiction and Beauty and Lace Club for my copy.
This is my first Stella Quinn book and what a great read! It’s got all the great feels – romance without being over the top or mushy, an adventure, great community spirit with plenty of lovable and quirky characters and animals.
The main two characters are Kirsty, who is a pilot and used to running from trouble or when things get too complicated and Joe, who returns to his home town of Clarence after a failed stockbroking career to try his hand at macadamia farming amongst other things.
Right from the moment the two main characters meet there is a definite attraction with chemistry between them that I would describe as electric. The author describes these scenes perfectly without the scenes becoming over the top and getting the amount of sparks and chemistry right. Romance is not the only part of this story. I loved the goofy dog Gus, Joe’s cute, wise beyond her year’s niece Amy and Carol, the local historian and match maker.
There’s plenty going on without too much to make the story complicated. The yearly Bush Poet Muster, Joe trying to get his farm up and running with the bank breathing down his neck and Kirsty coming to town to try and find out about her great grandfather and inheritance.
I found that I read the book quite fast as it was really enjoyable and I’m looking forward to reading Stella Quinn’s The Vet From Snowy River.
4 stars
This book completely brightened me up. The storyline with Kirsty digging into her WWII family background was so interesting, it compelled the story forward. And despite the charming humour in the book, there was also a good look at addiction and how gambling can negatively impact family life. This was dealt with very sympathetically. The town of Clarence’s meddling quest to marry off ‘poor Joey’ was fun, although I don’t think Joey agreed with that, ha! His clueless dog Gus was so lovable and goofy, obviously a beloved pet. I also really enjoyed the secondary character Pete, a good mate for Joey as he returns to the town to farm. Can Pete have his own book please? The minutes of the Clarence River Bush Poetry Muster Committee meetings were fabulously, extravagantly hilarious – we should all have minutes like that, what a complete hoot, I laughed out loud and couldn’t wait to read the next report. The bush poetry was also fabulous. A terrific, feel-good read, and it looks like more might be coming from Clarence. If so, I’m lining up to read it!
And many thanks to Beauty & Lace Bookclub and Harper Collins Fiction for the chance to read this fab book!
Thank you Beauty and Lace for the chance to read this wonderful book. The storyline was very interesting, especially the digging into the past of Kirsty’s war family history. I loved the romance side of it and I also adored Joey’s niece. She was such a free spirit.
Thank you for the copy of A Town Like Clarence by Stella Quinn.
Joey Miles is a high flyer in Sydney, but when that all comes crashing down he returns home to the country town of Clarence. He is trying his hand at farming and a farm stay project. That is if the bank will keep allowing him to move ahead. What is going ahead is the local Poetry Muster’s committee trying to find him a partner.
We meet Kirsty Fox who is a pilot in South Australia until her life has a few challenges. One of these is her Mum Terri who has been on the run most of her life. When things get difficult she starts over sometimes still dragging Kirsty into it. When Kirsty receives an inheritance of a suitcase it leads her to Clarence.
Sparks fly between Joey and Kirsty from the start but a lot of factors come into play. Both of them haven’t tackled their past very well, addiction is involved, loss of trust and trauma. These are all covered in an empathetic way and I love how the town gets involved – just enough.
I thoroughly enjoyed this rural romance which has elements of history and great townsfolk who enhanced the story. I would highly recommend this book.
I really enjoyed A Town Like Clarence by Stella Quinn.
The story was really engaging, and while it had its sad reflective moments, these were definitely outweighed by the feel good fun.
I really liked the central characters, and in particular Amy, as she added a fun youthful element.
I found the history within the story really interesting, especially the museum links. It’s amazing what old farm buildings can hide.
This was a lovely feel good story, with a fantastic ending.
A Town like Clarence by Stella Quinn is a heart warming story about finding yourself and a little bit of romance along the way (with a little help from the well meaning meddling locals of Clarence).
When Joey and Kirsty meet and sparks fly straight away but if they are to build a future together they need to overcome obstacles from their past.
I enjoyed book, it was a nice easy read, thank you Harper Collins and Beauty and Lace for the chance to read and review.