Karly Lane has long been one of my favourite authors with her romance novels set in rural Australia.
With Take Me Home, inspired by her own ancestry, Karly Lane has written her first contemporary novel which moves from Australia to the Scottish Highlands.
Elle’s much-loved grandmother Ioana dies with the bucket list they had compiled together, unfulfilled. Homebody Elle was comfortable in the small rural town she had grown up in and her job in the local supermarket, even if her lack of ambition was a bone of contention with her mother.
However, after the reading of her grandmother’s will that requests Elle takes a trip to Scotland, Elle gets to live the dream she and her gran had never quite got around to doing.
Take Me Home was such a fun read. Elle was very easy to connect with and I adored Elle and her gran’s relationship. Even though we read about it after Iona’s death we can clearly see how close they were. I just loved Iona’s determination and spark, she had a great sense of humour.
I enjoyed the armchair travel through Scotland to all the tourist spots and the little snippets of history. I also loved the Outlander tie in.
Karly Lane has added a cheeky paranormal element in the story and a tiny touch of magical realism – or maybe that was just Elle’s imagination. You decide.
Take Me Home is a story of self-discovery as Elle meets her Scottish family, including her arty cousin, she feels right at home. She can now see where not only her looks come from but also her artistic talent.
A Scottish castle, a legend, a prophecy, family secrets and a fledgling romance made Take Me Home a story I did not want to end.
Karly Lane has proven herself time and time again in the rural romance genre and now she has smashed the contemporary fiction genre with Take Me Home.
ISBN: 9781760878498
A selection of our Beauty and Lace Club Members are reading Take Me Home by Karly Lane. You can read their comments below, or add your own review.
Such a wonderful, easy read! I really enjoyed this book and absolutely loved the relationship between Elle and her grandmother. I also loved the little snippets and mentions of Outlander as they travelled through Scotland. As someone who has only just watched the series, I found it fun and loved it!
This was a slight departure from Karly Lane’s usual rural romance, and I loved it! I particularly loved red-headed heroine Elle, and her bravery to stand firm and find her own fit in the world – and not disappear down the you-must-study-and-get-a-real-job path her parents and her equally high-achieving siblings have taken. Which she does, just after her grandmother dies. Her grandmother wants her ashes taken back to Scotland, her native land, and Elle is the one to do so. The relationship between Elle and her grandmother is lovely, as we discover. Also challenging, as her grandmother urges her to follow her heart, not the wishes of other people. They were both always going to travel to Scotland, but life and such got in the way. Taking her ashes back and connecting with her grandmother’s Scottish family is wonderful for Elle. Always a bit different in her own family, she suddenly finds she’s not so different in this extended family, and they welcome her with open arms; she finally ‘belongs’. There is also the poignant story of why her grandmother never really wanted to return herself. As to Elle’s grandmother – there’s a little bit of poetic licence taken with their relationship…which is fun *and* touching. As a final bonus, Karly Lane has thrown in a charming romance, so wonderful. Everything to enjoy here.
Many thanks to Beauty & Lace Bookclub and Allen & Unwin Australia for the reading copy.
Thank you for my copy of Take Me Home by Karly Lane. I am a fan of Karly’s books and this one was no exception.
This is the story of Elle – she has just lost her job, her current living situation is not good and she has no clear direction. When her beloved grandmother dies she has a wish that Elle take her ashes back to her home in Scotland. This seems like a way to escape her current life for a while and try to uncover some secrets such as why her grandmother never went back to Scotland after leaving. This also means she can esape the scrutiny of her parents who believe higher education is the only path, and that taken by her three siblings.
Elle followed the bucket list of Scotland must visit places she had been making with her grandmother. Her parents also set her up to meet some family which was a bit daunting but ended up hanging her life in many ways. Elle loves to sketch and used the many scenic places she visited as her inspiration. Gran’s ashes were to be taken to the ruins of Stormeil Castle which had special meaning. The journey has many twists and turns with the opportunity to make many connections and hopefully decide how to move her life forward.
I loved Elle and the way she came to decisions and conclusions, her considered interactions with family including her newly found ones which she became closer to.
This book was a wonderful way to travel when many of us can’t and hopefully learn something about relationships too. I highly recommend.
Thank you to Beauty & Lace and Allen & Unwin for the opportunity to read and review Take Me Home by Karly Lane.
I absolutely loved this book. I am not a fast reader normally but I was with this one. I could not put it down!
I could relate to Elle having just lot my own grandmother and wanting to travel to see her homeland.
Thank you Karly for an amazing read!
What a heart-warming book, once I got into it, I couldn’t put it down and I just loved the ending. A beautiful story, wishful thinking makes me want to hear voices too!
What a beautiful and heartfelt story, felt so real, the characters were likeable and the story felt so familiar …I did not want it to end. Set initially in Sydney and then a trip to Scotland, the description of the scenery was so real you could almost see it. The storyline was simple and easy to follow and read it actually took you into the lives of Elle and her gran as well as various other family members.
It was refreshing to ready such a different storyline and for it to be so uplifting. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has loved their gran and also felt a little left of center in their own lives….
Thank you Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to review and read “Take me home” and congratulations Karly Lane on such a beautiful story.
A wonderful storyline that I couldn’t put down. The relationship between Elle and Gran was lovely and heartfelt and the struggle of belonging Elle felt was well written. I enjoyed the description of Elle’s visit to her Scottish roots and family. Thank you Beauty and Lace Bookclub , Allen & Unwin Publishers and Karly Lane for the opportunity to read Take me Home.
I really loved Karly Lane’s Take Me Home. It is like a giant warm hug. The relationship between Elle and her gran is drawn beautifully, and I loved gran’s cheeky commentary and surprise appearances, she reminded me a lot of my late grandma who always had a mischievious twinkle in her eye! Part armchair travel and part beautiful story, the book is a tale about love, family, belonging and taking a chance. I would really love to hear how things work out for Elle with her new home, new career and new man!
So many thanks to Beauty and Lace for introducing me to this little gem. I will definitely be searching for some of Karly Lane’s other books now!
Oh I loved this book. What a comfortable, easy read 🙂 Main character Elle was so believable and it was easy to feel her grieving the loss of her gran, who she was obviously so close to. I enjoyed following her journey of self discovery as she travelled through Scotland, and the “appearances” along the way from her gran. Author Karly Lane did a great job of weaving lots of parts into this story. Not what I was expecting but in a good way.
Thank you Beauty and Lace and Allen & Unwin for the opportunity to read and review Take Me Home. Highly recommended and I will be looking for Karly Lanes’ other novels to read.