Wildflower Hill by Kimberley Freeman

This is a story that will grab you, suck you with force straight into the pages, and leave you feeling bereft when you turn the last page.


You have a woman who after stealing another woman's husband, pays for it for the rest of her life. Another woman steals another's child and she pays for that the rest of her life... People love who they want to love and shun society's stupid rules...and pay with their lives. You have a heroine...who...though she irritated the crap out of me at times, is incredibly tough. I mean, she risks everything for those she loves, even if it means losing them.

And that's just the historical bits. The contemporary woman is a dancer whose career has come to a sudden halt and she must realize just what is important in life...that perhaps it's time to think of others and she realizes how much she's been missing out whilst she's been wrapped up in herself and her dancing career.

I preferred the historical story even though it was full of heartache and frustration. Beattie...in the 1930s...the way she packs up her stuff and walks in the rain to escape a loser "husband"...the way she stood up to the religious lady she sought refuge with...the way she made an incredibly daring bet with a landowner. "If I win, I get the land and the house. If you win, you get my body.." (not a direct quote)

I mean, just wow. What guts. And how she came to rule a wool fashion empire...

Her love affair...so passionate and so sad, yet, I wasn't surprised by the outcome. So much bigotry and hate back then.

Even when you don't like what's happening or the choices the characters make, the story keeps you hooked. It's well written with the right amount of detail, telling, showing, history, emotion... This is a superb writer. All her books are on my wishlist now.

The story takes place in the UK and Australia both in the 1930s through 50s. The modern day story is London and Australia. A riveting book with a punch. It will stay with me a long time. I also learned a bit about the early sheep industry.

I got this via paperback swap.