Jilted

August 25, 2014
Lovers get a second chance at happy-
ever-after in this appealing romance set in “back-of-beyond” Hope Junction, Western Australia. Once upon a time, Ellie Hughes left local golden boy Flynn Quartermaine at the altar. Ten years later, she puts her career as a soap-opera star on hold to return home and help out her elderly godmother, Matilda, who’s recovering from a broken ankle. Ellie and Flynn don’t want to stir up old feelings, but the attraction is still there, and they can’t avoid each other forever. With tabloid reporters in hot pursuit, a local woman scheming to replace Ellie in Flynn’s heart, and emotional revelations from Matilda, everything depends on the onetime lovers being brave enough to face their fears—and their feelings for each other. Readers will embrace Johns’s believable characters and charming smalltown setting in this warm-hearted romance. Agent: Helen Breitweiser, Cornerstone Literary Agency.

Starred review from September 15, 2014
Ten years ago, Ellie Hughes left Hope Junction in rural Australia. She also left the town's golden boy, the love of her life, Flynn Quartermaine, at the altar. Now the soap opera star has returned to care for her ailing godmother, Mat, who had taken young Ellie in when her feckless mother abandoned her. The town is all abuzz over Ellie's return, with great animosity from those who care about Flynn. Lucy, Flynn's 17-year-old sister, witnessed how devastated her brother was by the infamous jilting and is dead set against Ellie until Ellie pitches in to help with Mat's pet project, an amateur theater production in which Lucy has a role. Ellie and Flynn have never gotten over each other, and now they fall into friendship as Flynn, a dedicated farmer, dates a nurse who was Ellie's high-school rival with an eye towards marriage and children. Johns' fresh, sweet romance, with its rural Australian setting, is charming and heartfelt. The Australian English is delightful, and readers will be happy to find a handy glossary of Aussie terms. With deep and genuine feelings and relationships, Johns' debut is richly dimensional.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)