Is there ever such a thing as too many books? I don’t think there are too many books to read, but there can definitely be too many to review. Often I’m sent books and, with an already sagging review shelf, these unsolicited books often often don’t fit in to my schedule. Other times, I am unable to finish a book I intended to review (for various reasons), or I don’t have time for a full review. Sunday Shout-Out aims to acknowledge these books and the publishers who have sent them to me.
Sunday Shout Out is a bookish meme hosted by Monique of Write Note Reviews. If you’re a book blogger and you want to join in, just:
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Rocking Horse Hill by Cathryn Hein, Michael Joseph RRP $29.99. Available from Penguin Books Australia.
When a publicist from Penguin Books Australia asked me if I wanted to review Rocking Horse Hill I wanted to say a big ‘Yes!’ because I loved Cathryn’s last book. However, at the time my review schedule was so full that I knew it would be months before I could get to the book, so we opted for a giveaway and Shout Out instead. (I’m still planning to read the book, Cathryn!) Before I get to the giveaway part, here’s the blurb:
Ever since she was a little girl, Emily Wallace-Jones has loved Rocking Horse Hill. The beautiful family property is steeped in history. Everything important in Em’s life has happened there. And even though Em’s brother Digby has inherited the property, he has promised Em it will be her home for as long as she wishes. When Digby falls in love with sweet Felicity Townsend, a girl from the wrong side of the tracks, Em worries about the future. But she is determined not to treat Felicity with the same teenage snobbery that tore apart her relationship with her first love, Josh Sinclair. A man who has now sauntered sexily back into Em’s life and given her a chance for redemption. But as Felicity settles in, the once tightly knitted Wallace-Jones family begins to fray. Suspicions are raised, Josh voices his distrust, and even Em’s closest friends question where Felicity’s motives lie. Conflicted but determined to make up for the damage caused by her past prejudices, Em sides with her brother and his fiancée until a near tragedy sets in motion a chain of events that will change the family forever. Rocking Horse Hill is a moving family drama and passionate love story from the author of Heartland.
It’s definitely a book on my “want to read” list. So, who wants a copy? Thanks to Penguin Books Australia I have two copies to give away to AU readers (sorry, international readers, the postage is too high). To be in the running, just leave a comment answering the following questions: Where would your dream property be and what would you call it?
I’ll draw two winners on May 25 and notify them by email. Good luck!
***COMPETITION CLOSED. Winners are Amanda Nawer and Michelle Vamvas. ***
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22 Responses
My dream property would be Hepburn Springs, in the Wombat State Forest.
I would name it Spring-A-Ding-Ding!
By the ocean with an office overlooking the sea. 🙂
The Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania, USA.
It would be a little cabin in the woods and I would call it “Passing Wind Cabin”….hehe
If you passing wind in a cabin in the woods and no one is there to hear it…did you really pass wind??
I’d have to say my dream property would be somewhere on the south coast of NSW – overlooking the ocean would be nice. As for the name, it’s a toss-up between Book Worm Farm (for obvious reasons) or Avonia Downs (after my nana, a real country girl).
A property down along the Great Ocean Road near Warrnambool. I’d call it Willowbrook, and plant lots of weeping willows!
I would like to live on a country property somewhere close to where I live now (nsw). I love land and would love a couple of acres with a nice house and a few animals, including horses. My husband on the other hand would love an apartment on the beach. I’m set on making mine happen 😉
Thanks for the giveaway, Rocking Horse Hill sounds like a read I would love.
Overlooking the ocean. “Rolling Dreams”
Great giveaway, sounds fantastic!
Ooh, another giveaway. Thanks, Monique, and good luck, everyone!
My dream property is a horse farm, similar to Kingston Downs in ‘Heart of the Valley’, but near Toowoomba equipped with stables, white fence paddocks and a jumping arena. I’d call it ‘Pioneer Dream’
My dream property would be in the Clare Valley (SA) I could combine a love of a rural property and drinking wine at some nearby wineries 🙂
Maybe a wine name for the property – Cabernet Park!
My dream property is where we are going to start building later in the year … Moonta Bay on the Yorke Peninsula, SA. Sun, sea and at the moment rain!!! Ahhhhh …. relaxing!!!
A farm large enough for all the kids and animals in need, somewhere between Bunbury and Augusta in Western Australia. I would call it EverAfter.
Lovely name! That would have to be a big farm, though …
Robertson NSW, id name it Haven as it is a beautiful area covered with trees and always a beautiful breeze.
Robertson is such a lovely area. That would be high on my list if I lived in NSW! I like the name Haven.
Just wanted to say what a fab giveaway Mon. I’m currently reading it for review and I know that those who win the copies are going to thoroughly enjoy it!
Thanks!
I HAD my dream property, a cute old miners shack in the rain forest, nestled between the mountain and ocean. Oh, how I miss it. Have a sign already made, that I take with me, and hang where ever I go, so I always have a little piece of it with me. So, if anyone sees a sign saying WOMBARRA (koori for little brother)….pop in and say hi.
The winners are …Amanda Nawer and Michelle Vamvas! Congrats 🙂 I will email you both 🙂
I love this idea! There are so many great stories I read and sometimes the ones I love are just the hardest to write!!
Thank you! It started when I kept getting sent books I hadn’t requested and wondered how to give some of them a mention. Since I fit in reviewing around life – it’s a hobby, not a paid job – I simply can’t read every book I’m sent. Kind of the flip side of publishing … the publishers can’t read all the manuscripts they are sent and reviewers have to be selective as well.