Five Bush Weddings by Clare Fletcher is a story of rural romance and a journey of self-discovery,
told with a touch of humour.
Stevie–Jean Harrison has fallen into her job, she is a wedding photographer. Stevie is quite good at
it and is in demand throughout rural Queensland.
At 31 years of age she feels she has been left behind. All her friends are getting married!
Her own mother has asked her for advice on how to set up a profile on eHarmony. Her ex- boyfriend and his fiancé have booked her to be their wedding photographer. Her flat mate and best friend is considering moving in with her boyfriend.
Johnno West has returned to Australia, as the only son he is expected to take over the family farm even though his sister would most likely do a better job. Johnno is Stevie’s ex-boyfriend’s best friend.
Stevie hasn’t seen Johnno for years and now here he is popping up as best man at all the weddings she is photographing. Stevie is reminded of a sort of vow they made when they were 19 years old. If they had not married at the age of 32, they would marry each other!
She is not sure if it was a real pact or a joke, after all it was so long ago!
Johnno and Stevie both date other people. Charlie Jones, handsome and secretive, is a romance Stevie would rather forget. Stevie can be quite frustrating at times as she navigates her feelings for Johnno.
Adding to the humour in the story are the two social media sites. Mabel the admin for @BushTelegraphMabel, is present at all the events, and keeps the country community informed of
all the gossip. Stevie has her own social media Instagram post by @StevieJeanLoveStories keeping
the community up to date with the weddings.
Although Stevie lives in Brisbane the weddings are in rural areas, capturing the essence of community and family.
It is an easy book to read, with Stevie’s roller coaster life keeping you engaged. Sometimes it is quite funny and at other times it is sad. This book is a great read as we follow Stevie and Johnno’s journey
of self-discovery and romance.
ISBN: 9780143779643
Copy courtesy of Penguin Random House
A selection of our Beauty and Lace Club Members are reading Five Bush Weddings by Clare Fletcher. You can read their comments 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.
I loved reading this light hearted novel. Stevie is a girl to love right from the start, bring Johnno into the scene and you know where this may head to! A little hiccup along the way in the character of Charlie Jones who uses his city slicker style to date Stevie until he show his true colours.
Not giving it away but I also loved Mabel from the Bush Telegraph. No wedding was an event without this lovely character.
A fun and quick read!
Wonderful, funny and highly entertaining read.
Stevie is a Wedding Photographer taking photos of Bush Weddings with her trusty dog travelling with her, the best friend who is getting married to a boring man, an ex getting married who’s Bride wants the best Photographer, the ex’s best friend who is also an old University friend and a new flame turning up.
Sounds complicated but it isn’t.
An easy read that is entertaining and is highly recommended.
Thank you Beauty and Lace and Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read this wonderful book.
There is lots to love about this Aussie romance between Stevie and Johnno. It has a cute context, wonderful bush settings and a myriad of fabulous supporting and minor characters that add a great deal of interest to the subplots.
I grew up and attended a Brisbane university so there were plenty of known places and relatable moments mentioned. However, there was quite a lot of references to cigarette smoking and hangovers – it got a bit off putting although probably true to life at that time!
It is light and easy to read and overall very entertaining. I enjoyed the snippets of social media interspersed throughout and references to reality TV, making it very now.
I also adored the pretty cover! I would recommend for lovers of rural romances or those who like Australian authors.
Thank you Beauty and Lace and Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read and review.
Five Bush Weddings is Clare Fletcher’s first novel, it’s an amusing, very current romance set mainly in outback Queensland.
Stevie-Jean is a wedding photographer, she’s single, living in Brisbane, loves her job but wonders if she will ever be the bride. She bumps into an old mate from university days, Johnno West, they almost had a bit of a fling back at uni and Stevie does wonder if a romance could bloom.
Stevie looks around, her Mum is back dating, her best friend and housemate is in love with someone Stevie thinks is incredibly boring, and her ex is about to get married. Feeling slightly left behind when the handsome Charlie Jones walks into her life and seems to be offering her romance and commitment she jumps in – ignoring a few red flags.
This novel captures the craziness of weddings, the absurd need so many of us have to ensure everything goes just right and of course it doesn’t always do so. The weddings featured (apart from one overseas) are based in regional Queensland and the Queensland spirit and mayhem shines through! I should be honest and say my daughter got married in regional Queensland this year, and while there were no “Eagle Rock” moments some of the wedding activities featured in the book hit a chord.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel; the characters are likeable, and I was keen to know how they all ended up. I will certainly keep an eye out for any future novels from Clare Fletcher. Thank you to Beauty and Lace Book Club and Penguin for the opportunity to read this entertaining novel.
Thank you Beauty and Lace for this book reading opportunity.
The book was easy and enjoyable to read, the book is written in a light hearted style and was funny and sweet.
It’s a good book with an Australian based storyline and it was pleasant and would be a great book to take away on holiday to read and relax with.
Five Bush Weddings was an easy read with a friends to lovers trope with a dual narration by Stevie and Johnno.
Stevie is a wedding photographer. She is great at her job and always surrounded by romance. However true-love seems to have passed her by.
I found it hard to really like Stevie, she was a bit of a mess and quite judgemental towards her best friend and room mate, Jen.
Johnno has returned from overseas to take over the family farm but his heart isn’t really into farming. Johnno is the quintessential larrikin always ready for a laugh and a good time.
I enjoyed the descriptions of the bush weddings but found the humour fell a bit flat for me.
I liked all the reality TV show mentions and the inclusion of Instagram posts which made the story one for our times.
Fletcher also touches on online dating, dating after a divorce and the changing face of farming.
With all the drinking until you pass out and casual drug taking I don’t think this book was for me.
I absolutely loved this book! I read it in 2 sittings I enjoyed it so much and didn’t want it to end. Stevie was such a relatable character and the story was so well written that it ticked all my boxes. There was so much more to this book than just a romantic comedy, it also touched on many current issues as well as describing rural living and the funny quirks that can bring which I found made it more realistic and enjoyable to read.
Thank you so much for allowing me to read this incredibly entertaining book. I will be looking out for more Clare Fletcher books with earnest!