Nicole Hurley-Moore

After suddenly quitting her job and then finding her photographer boyfriend entangled with one of his models Lily decides the only thing she can do is head home to Violet Falls and spend some quality time with her sister and niece. But Lily’s nightmare isn’t over yet as on her way home she crashes her car on an outback road. Fortunately local heartbreaker Flynn Hartley finds her and deposits her safely at her sister’s.
Lily’s life is a mess and love is the last thing on her mind but show more Flynn Hartley seems to keep running into her everywhere she goes.

Flynn and Lily are two emotionally broken people but the parallels in their lives help them understand each others fears. When Flynn finally opens up to Lily even I got a little teary.

Hurley-Moore conveys natural banter with ease. Conversations between men, sisters and friends all had a natural authentic feel.

I think Hartley’s Grange would have to be the most natural, easy-going book I’ve read in a long time. Here I am in Violet Falls with all my friends. Real people with real hopes and real fears, not over dramatised, just the same hopes and fears that we all have.

Hurley-Moore writes both love scenes and nightmare scenes with depth and feeling. There was a perfect balance of romance and mystery without one overpowering the story.

The whole story has a wonderful country feel with the community banding together to support each other.

Hartley’s Grange is the second novel featuring the residents of Violet Falls and I can’t believe I haven’t read a Nicole Hurley-Moore novel before! I’m off to find McKellan’s Run and immerse myself in Violet Falls again.

A perfect rural romance with a touch of spice. I am certain the residents of Violet Falls are going to be a favourite with all rural romance readers.

With my thanks to Allen and Unwin for my copy to read and review. show less

The McCalister Legacy is an engaging novel of rural romantic suspense from Nicole Hurley-Moore.

Eleven years after the tragic loss of her parents and grandparents on the evening of her tenth birthday, Berry McCalister returns to their family farm in the small town of Harlington to decide the property’s fate. Her instinct is to remodel the house and then get rid of Stone Gully Farm, and reminders of the tragedy along with it, but as the renovations progress she’s surprised by how at home show more she is beginning to feel. The community of Harlington is warm and welcoming, particularly Nate Tarant from the neighbouring horse stud, but when she decides not to sell she is subjected to anonymous threats. Berry is puzzled given the land has no particular value, until she discovers some old paperwork of her father’s tied to an area legend, and a deadly secret is finally brought to light.

Set in rural Victoria, the story unfolds over three timelines. The earliest reveals a story that has become a legend in the town of Harlington of a young boy who got lost and stumbled upon a seam of gold, but was too young to reveal its exact location in 1902. The second timeline takes place in 2007 and explores the circumstances surrounding the murder-suicide that deprived Berry and her siblings of their parents and grandparents, while the third timeline is set in the present day.

The plot offers a good mix of drama, mystery and romance, and though it’s fairly predictable, it’s satisfying in that everything is quite cleanly resolved. While The McCalister Legacy is centered on a disturbing event, the villain is eventually exposed and punished, and there is a happy, albeit not perfect, ending for the remaining characters.

A quick, easy and pleasant novel, I enjoyed The McCalister Legacy and I’m sure fans of the genre, and Hurley-Moore will too. show less

The premise of this book sounded interesting, what with the ballerina and the lord having to figure out how in the hell they could ever be together. I typical answer generally involves a business deal and a promise of protection, so I wanted to see how their social situations were dealt with in this instance.

Unfortunately it was hard for me to get past the ridiculously wooden dialog, and long, superfluous descriptions of almost everything the characters come into contact with. I never liked show more Evander because of how over-the-top he was with Lisette in the beginning. He came off as a man just trying to get her to bed without any interest in anything else. He continued to act like that for most of the book. When we were in his perspective he seemed reasonable, and then he opened his mouth around Lisette and it was like he was a different character. Now, as for Lisette... She was like a piece of tofu, just becoming an extension of whatever was around her without having any definition herself. And the side-characters were all caricatures that felt wooden and stale.

Copy courtesy of Harlequin Enterprises Australia, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. show less

For full review including excerpt and dialogue highlight, please visit Reader's Edyn at:
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Review:

I originally entered to win this book because I enjoyed the blurb I read about it. Never one to pass up a historical romance read, I took a chance … and won! I knew nothing of this author and was taking a chance based solely on the blurb. I can honestly say that I am glad that I went with my instinct. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story and hope to be able to experience show more another of Ms. Moore’s books again in the future.

This story is sort of a snippet of a story surrounding an actual story. It begins with Nerissa, who is visiting Foxwoods Hall in the hopes of fulfilling her dream of painting the famed medieval gardens. As she looks around her surroundings she wonders if the people she views in the portraits were truly happy ~ and so the real story begins.

Blissot and Ivetta live under their Uncle’s rule. He is interested only in how he can further his own position and arranges Ivetta’s marriage. But Ivetta is in love with another and so the women scheme to switch places. While Ivetta’s love spirits her away for their secret marriage, Bliss is be on her way to marry her unknown intended. Bliss is firm in her resolve to carry out the plan, but second guesses herself for walking into a marriage with a man she knows nothing about. But after a few words with William, she knows without a doubt that she can trust him.

Williams was recently a landless knight but because of his brave actions, was gifted with land, a title, and a marriage bargain. He looks forward to beginning his future, but wonders what his intended will think of marrying a formerly landless knight. Ivetta’s beauty is well known, but William wonders what she will be like on the inside with so many praising her appearance. He is immediately taken with her and her gentle spirit, kind words, and firm resolve; ultimately surprised by her lack of narcissism. Before long he realizes just what a treasure he was given in Ivetta. Except that he still does not know that she is truly Bliss. And Bliss struggles each day to tell him the truth, fearful that he will see her trickery as a betrayal. The longer she puts it off, the more she tears herself up inside as she falls deeper in love with William. She fears that finding out both her identity and that he did not marry the beautiful sister will crush any feelings of affection he has for her.

This story was quick and engaging. I did not realize that it was a novella at first and was worried a bit about its integrity with such a page limitation. I was thrilled to discover that this story was well put together with engaging characters and a very enjoyable premise. While the story was fast paced, I did not feel that any crucial moments were left out. Ms. Moore kept it flowing throughout. William is perhaps a bit more understanding than I would have expected him to be given his status as a knight, but he is also portrayed as a hard worker and fair. Ultimately his love for Bliss is what he values above all else. Bliss is a bit more self-conscious than I would have liked her to be, but I found her a generally likeable character. Her willingness to sacrifice all for her sister is commendable and her longing for the same kind of love Ivetta possesses with her husband is endearing.

Following Bliss and William’s story, the reader returns to Nerissa getting lost within the Hall and encountering one of the Reynard relatives. A couple of insinuations are hinted at, allowing the reader to infer what would likely transpire next. Overall, this story was very entertaining. As a lover of historical romance, I found it to be a great read to pass an hour or two. If you are looking for something quick and enjoy HR, then definitely read this one. And if you haven’t read much or any HR, this would be a terrific story to read as a glimpse into the genre. Highly recommended!

(eBook copy won from LibraryThing early reviewers; provided by author/publisher company in exchange for an honest review.) show less