A little Kiwi romance

HIGH COUNTRY HERO by Holly Ford, Allen & Unwin

If you’re a fan of rural romance, then Banks Peninsula writer Tanya Moir, who writes in this genre as Holly Ford, has just the escapist ticket. South Island-raised, Sydney-based veterinary specialist Magdalena “Lennie” O’Donnell heads back to her hometown when Jim, her grandfather, asks her for help. But her return isn’t without incident when her car breaks down about 100km from home. Roadside assistance eventually arrives in the form of tall, dark, handsome former Afghan War pilot Mitch Stuart, a man haunted by ghosts from his past. He’s not in the market to have his head turned, but this damsel in distress stirs his dormant heart. For Lennie’s part, life is complicated. Her grandparents’ marriage is in flux and her grandmother has moved out of home. At the same time, it seems her granddad’s old-school rural veterinary practice is being bought out by a conglomerate, unless someone takes over his clinic (no pressure, granddaughter). What’s more, the corporate shark responsible for gobbling up Jim’s business happens to be her unrequited high-school crush, Benji Cooper, who is making all the right noises about wanting to take a few amorous nibbles out of his former schoolmate. What’s a career girl who wasn’t looking for love going to do? Who and why she chooses the man she does is all part of the fun in this light, entertaining read.