Barbara Hannay

Meet Me in Venice is a lovely, heartfelt story from multi-award-winning author, Barbara Hannay.

A year after the sudden death of her beloved husband, Daisy Benetto can think of no better place for a family reunion than Venice, the place of Leo’s birth. While Daisy and her youngest daughter, nineteen year old Ellie, will fly in from their home in Queensland, Australia, oldest son Marc, and his wife, will be traveling from California’s Silicon Valley, and Anna from London, where she has show more been trying to launch her career as an actress.

Hannay has created a loving, ordinary family in Meet Me in Venice with whom most readers will relate. Daisy is a warm, caring mother who is proud of her children, and her children clearly adore her in return. I thought the dynamics of the sibling relationships rang true, with the rivalries and role playing that often carry into adulthood.

Daisy’s children all want her to have a wonderful time in Venice and so are determined not to worry her with their own problems, but that’s not easy in such close quarters when tensions sit so close to the surface. The strain only increases when the family learns that Leo kept a secret from them all which threatens to undermine what they thought they knew of the husband and father they admired. I really liked the way in which Hannay dealt with all of these varied issues and the way in which they were resolved.

Hannay‘s novels are usually set in rural Australia but this is set almost wholly in Venice. It’s such an appealing city and the descriptions of its historic architecture, delicious cuisine and rich culture enhance the enjoyment of the story.

A captivating story about family, love and life’s journey, Meet Me in Venice is an engaging and enjoyable read. show less

Barbara Hannay’s books always guarantee a story that the reader can absorb themselves in. (They also guarantee a time in which little other work will be attended to, but that’s okay!) The Sister’s Gift is a lovely story that is heart-warming and calming with glimpses of a tropical paradise that 2020 citizens can only dream of.

This story has two main characters, Freya and Billie, who are aunt and niece. Neither of them have had the easiest of times lately. Freya is divorced and out of show more work. When her house burns down, it’s the last straw – and the last link to her old life. Billie will be looking after the family restaurant on Magnetic Island while her parents travel and needs Freya’s help. It’s the opportunity for Freya to start again and Billie to recover after a failed overseas relationship sent her back home. Billie’s mum is surprisingly negative about the whole situation, but reluctantly grants her permission to let Freya help. The island offers new opportunities for both Freya and Billie. Both find unwelcome parts of their past coming to the fore, and their relationships with each other and new and old friends grow. But the people on the island have long memories, and rumours start to surface about Freya and Billie. Will the rumours destroy all of their relationships? Or it is an opportunity to let old wounds heal?

I enjoyed The Sister’s Gift for the complexity of the relationships between the women. They aren’t your usual secrets and their effects on the family are carefully and sensitively examined. There is a lot more at play here than a first glance at the blurb reveals. There are themes of infertility, sexual assault, serious illness and relationships in older women. I felt the sexual assault plot thread was handled well, demonstrating the realities of what women can face from their employer. The illness thread I felt was a little rushed, with a very neat ending. This may be my own bias working in the field – I’d love to see a life changing problem solved so quickly and perfectly! But overall, the story was gripping and just right for a rainy weekend. The Sister’s Gift is a book that entices you to pick it up every time you tear yourself away from it. This is because the characters feel realistic. They are whole, with memorable quirks, worries and endearing traits. The interactions of the female characters are strong and accurate, from the everyday conversations to the big reveal. And finally, I couldn’t help but enjoy the setting. Warmth, sunshine and sea is just what I needed in the middle of a rainy winter. The Sister’s Gift not only added sunshine to my heart, but a great story.

Thank you to Penguin for the copy. My review is honest.

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The Secret Years is Barbara Hannay's 49th book, in which she blends a contemporary and historical narrative to present an engaging novel about family, heroism, heartbreak and love.

Army logistics officer Lucy Hunter is relieved to be home in Townsville after her six month deployment in Afghanistan but she isn't prepared for the changes in store for her. Her mother has exchanged her childhood home for a sterile condo apartment she is sharing with a new man, her grandfather's health is failing, show more and her fiance, Sam, has cold feet. With several weeks of leave ahead of her, Lucy is at a loose end until she discovers a box of wartime memorabilia that contains clues to her family's history that neither her mother or grandfather are willing to talk about. Hoping to understand the secrets of the past, Lucy travels to Cornwall, a place where she just might find her future.

Moving between the past and present, the narrative shifts between Lucy's journey to unravel her family's secrets, and the story of the relationship between Lucy's cattleman grandfather, Harry, and his aristocratic bride, Georgina. Emotions run high in both timelines through scenes of wartime drama, desperate passion and captivating romance.

I liked Lucy and I sympathised with her desire to understand the past. The mystery stems from the discord between Lucy's mother, Ro and Lucy's grandfather, Harry, which Lucy learns is related to her mother's brief time in England. I also enjoyed Lucy's romance with the dashing Nick.

But it was the story of Harry and George's courtship and marriage that I found particularly entrancing. Their love is touching, and their wartime experiences are exciting, if also sobering.

The story takes us from Australia's coastline and outback, to London during the Blitz, from the wild bluffs of Cornwall to the jungles of Papua New Guinea as the Japanese invade. Both the contemporary and wartime settings are vividly described, as are the characters experiences of them.

The Secret Years is well written with appealing characters and a moving story. Another winning romance. show less

It’s kind of painful to be shivering under a mountain of blankets while you read about a lovely warm town where the sun is nearly always shining. But the trade-off of a lovely read takes the edge off somewhat. Barbara Hannay’s latest novel, The Summer of Secrets, is draped in all kinds of warmth from friendship to romance and good old Queensland weather. It’s a great story of second chances with some fascinating historical insights to top things off.

The story begins as Chloe, a show more journalist at Girl Talk magazine, broaches children with her partner. Previous discussions have been fobbed off with excuses but this time Chloe gets to the heart of the matter and realises her future is not with him. She’s decided to be a single mother and to get far away from Sydney. That’s how she ends up as the second journalist on small town Queensland paper, the Burralea Bugle. Things don’t get off to a good start after her editor, Finn, forgets to pick her up from the airport. Then Chloe discovers him in the middle of a bottle of whiskey. It’s not what she signed up for, but the rest of Burralea is a delight and she begins to make friends. But Finn isn’t who she assumed he was and the pair fall into a friendship. But all of Chloe’s new friends have secrets – Jess at the café, Emily the newspaper owner, Tammy the hairdresser and Finn himself. Over the course of the summer, the secrets will be revealed, along with the case of the missing baker.

There is a lot going on in The Summer of Secrets but Barbara Hannay takes it all in her stride, never once losing the pace or the plot threads. It’s a pleasure to read and watch as the story unfolds with critical information coming to light at just the right moments. I also enjoyed the flashbacks into town stalwart Izzie’s childhood and time as an ATA pilot in World War II. I think Izzie’s story could make an excellent book of its own (yes, that’s a hint). I thought a plot twist using something every day and seemingly innocuous in the modern world was very clever.

Barbara Hannay’s books are always so welcoming, as a reader I feel enveloped in the small town of Burralea. I think it’s because the characters are realistic and relatable, but also have the touch of the exotic about them (such as Finn’s previous life overseas). Glimpses of characters from previous books were also delightful to catch up on too. Chloe is an everyday heroine – there’s nothing overly remarkable about her appearance (which was quite refreshing – not all women have auburn or raven shiny locks unless they’ve just been to the hairdresser). She’s intelligent, but not a genius. She’s simply a good person which is what Finn sees in her. Likewise, he isn’t a buff ex-model but a clever man bogged down by the past. The approachability of all the characters (with perhaps the exception of Izzie because she just shines awesome) was a major highlight for me. The Summer of Secrets is enticing, well written and a lovely respite from a cold winter.

Thank you to Penguin for the copy of this book. My review is honest.

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