'listened' to this as an audio book which is a first for me but i cant read, amp crochet at the same time more review when i get decent internet! This is the followup to the Fiona McCallum's book Wattle Creek, It is the continuing story of Jacqueline Havelock and Damien McAllister, She is a psychologist who fell Damien a farmer starting up an Animal welfare farm, Jacqueline remembers of the patient client rule by the board that have waitmonths before you can have a relationship with a client after treating them.
Damien breaks up with her so she could keep her job, Jacqueline is been investigated by board after a complaint been made, Doctor Squire, Ethel, the community of Wattle Creek all write letters of support including Jacqueline writing a letter in regards to the allegations,
They spend weeks apart going on with their everyday routine missing each other, Lucy returns home she Damien's sister, They learn who it was that reported her was Damien mother,
I liked the strength of the characters to stand for each others love for each other and a small town community supporting the people in their town.
A great read. Wattle Creek Book
Standing Strong
Fiona McCallum
Read by Jennifer Vuletic
The sequel to the muchloved Wattle Creek,
Former city girl Jacqueline Havelock, Wattle Creeks newly arrived psychologist, has settled in to country life and is slowly coming to terms with the towns quirky ways.
Farmer Damien McAllisters plans with his animal welfare venture are falling into place nicely and it finally feels like he has a future to look forward to.
But everything can change as quickly as the fickle weather and it does, A fire challenges the community and soon Damien and Jacqueline find themselves in a situation neither had anticipated, But is their growing relationship also under threat
Although the town comes out in support of their newest resident, is the Wattle Creek community strong enough to stand together and win this David and Goliath battle And could happilyeverafter still be possible for Damien and Jacqueline Adored it amp couldn't read fast enough! Realised at end there were NO sex scenes in it and it was such a great read as a result!!!! Very very awesome amp super top read amprecommendation! Job well done McCallum What a brilliant sequel.
Loved it Fiona x Much better than the earlier title, Wattle Creek, in this pair, Good character and plot development, if a little repetitive, Jacqueline Havelock was enjoying her new life in Wattle Creek her position of psychologist was slowly becoming recognised and used by the various country folk who needed a little help, and though the recent terrible bushfires had destroyed her car and Damien McAllisters farmhouse, things were gradually settling down and being rebuilt.
Damien had decided to devote his time to an animal rescue venture which was widely encouraged and supported his borrowed caravan that was his current home was comfortable though tight fitting with the menagerie of animals he was acquiring.
His beloved dog Squish was always by his side and he felt happier than he had in a long time,
But the happiness wasnt to last for either Jacqueline or Damien, A situation had arisen which had the slow and tentative relationship between the two having to be put to one side, They wouldnt be able to see one another for the foreseeable future, Would the support of the community help Or was that impossible with bureaucracy the way it was And what was up with Tina, Damiens mother
Standing Strong by Aussie author Fiona McCallum is the sequel to sitelinkWattle Creek which I enjoyed.
It was nice to catch up with Jacqueline, Damien, Aunt Ethel whos a real character! and Jacquelines parents as well, This novel shows the depth of small country communities the loyalty of the country folk when people are in trouble, and the spirit of said communities especially the SES and firies when theyre needed.
Set in country South Australia, Standing Strong is one I have no hesitation in recommending,
It was ok but a bit lame really, Very light on storyline and an instant love affair which is a bit far fetched, Some pathetic lines and trains of thoughts gave it a very ho hum rating, A quick and easy beach read if you want that thank god someone finally put tina in her place,
still not the biggest fan of jaquline,
glad we got to meet Lucy, love her! and Ethel, I recently read Fiona McCallums Wattle Creek, in preparation for reading her latest book and the much awaited sequel to Wattle Creek, titled Standing Strong, It was a great feeling to be given the opportunity to return to a fictional town I love, through the experience of reading Standing Strong,
The action in Standing Strong immediately picks up where it concluded in Wattle Creek, City come country psychologist and Wattle Creeks newest resident, Jacqueline Havelock, finds herself in a pickle, She has fallen hard for one of her former patients, Damien McAllister, Damien also feels the same way about Jacqueline and it seems like love is blossoming, much to the delight of the townsfolk of Wattle Creek, Damien and Jacquelines happiness is short lived when Jacqueline discovers she has broken strict rules in her position, These binding rules prevent her from having a relationship with a former patient for a period ofmonths, after the termination of their last session, As much as Damien feels Jacqueline is the woman for him, he realises what an asset she is to the town of Wattle Creek, He makes the extremely hard decision to end their relationship, before it really hits the ground, Jacqueline is devastated but she acknowledges that Damien has saved her from throwing years of study away, While battling a broken heart, Jacqueline is dealt another blow, when an anonymous tip is sent to the Psychology of Board of Australia, An unknown source has informed them of Jacquelines relationship with Damien, Jacqueline must gather all the strength she can to fight her way back to credibility, In the meantime, Damien also faces his own personal battle in dealing with his new career path and balancing issues with his family,
Standing Strong is a worthy follow up to an earlier Fiona McCallum release, Wattle Creek, Though it is not entirely essential that you read Wattle Creek to enjoy Standing Strong, reading the two novels back to back enhanced my reading experience.
I liked being transported back into the town of Wattle Creek, By the time I reached Standing Strong, these characters began to feel like old friends, McCallum always does a fine job with her characters, creating main protagonists that we can easily draw comparisons from, despite not living in a rural situation.
While reading Standing Strong, I enjoyed being provided with the opportunity to get to know both Damien and Jacqueline in more detail, Standing Strong also allows McCallum to explore of her main characters background, by shining the spotlight on story threads involving their respective families, I liked the introduction of Damiens sister Lucy and I did feel like she was left with some loose threads at the close of Standing Strong.
Perhaps in the future, McCallum will give Lucy her own story and happy ending! The main conflict in Standing Strong was a realistic and emotional one.
It did tug at my heartstrings many times, McCallum also uses Standing Strong as a platform to highlight issues that are relevant to country based communities, such as Damiens venture into wildlife rescue and the lack of mental health care facilities in rural areas.
McCallum always works hard at recreating
the most realistic country settings as she can in her novels and Standing Strong is no exception, The use of periphery characters such as Aunt Ethel, serves to highlight how strong the community spirit and banding together really is in these rural locations of Australia.
Fans of Fiona McCallum are in for a treat with Standing Strong and new readers to this genre are in safe hands with McCallums writing.
Standing Strong is a loveable country story that takes the reader on an emotional journey, with characters that will be sure to stay in your heart.
sitelink wordpress. com I just couldn't care enough about the characters to read what happened to them, Did not finish which is something I very rarely do The sequel to the muchloved Wattle Creek,
Former city girl Jacqueline Havelock, Wattle Creeks newly arrived psychologist, has settled in to country life and is slowly coming to terms with the towns quirky ways.
Farmer Damien McAllisters plans with his animal welfare venture are falling into place nicely and it finally feels like he has a future to look forward to.
But everything can change as quickly as the fickle weather and it does, A fire challenges the community and soon Damien and Jacqueline find themselves in a situation neither had anticipated, But is their growing relationship also under threat
Although the town comes out in support of their newest resident, is the Wattle Creek community strong enough to stand together and win this David and Goliath battle And could happilyeverafter still be possible for Damien and Jacqueline
Loved this return to some old friends in Wattle Creek.
Fiona McCallum writes characters that become friends so well, she creates world's that are so familiar and draw you in as though you're one of them.
I don't think you need to read Wattle Creek to read Standing Strong but you'll enjoy having done so,
I really loved that Damien found his strength in this story and really found his own path, I have to wonder though, where might life lead Lucy now she's found her strength and rid herself of her oppressive mother and the weight of Geoffs misdeeds.
All in all a really wonderful, heartwarming Australian story that shows the true beauty of Australian spirit and all the colours of the Australian country and it's array of fabulous characters.
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