The Boundary Fence

Alissa Callen

Woodlea
7
Contemporary Romance
Healing doesn’t just take time, it takes courage… The scars country vet Ella Quinlivan hides are not solely on the outside. Men are off limits. She fills her world with her friends, work and the colourful community of small town Woodlea. She also becomes custodian of a sandstone cottage of an elderly friend whose teenage daughter went missing two decades ago. With a broken marriage behind him, Saul Armstrong is determined to recapture his dreams by bringing American bison to the Australian bush. He intends to stick to his side of the high wire fence that divides his farm from his distracting new neighbour, Ella. When Saul calls out Ella for a bison emergency she isn’t just thrown out of her comfort zone by dealing with an unfamiliar animal. Slow-smiling and guarded Saul stirs emotions she’d long ago discarded. As the summer heat parches the landscape and dust obscures the sun, hidden secrets come to light. Not only will Ella and Saul be tested, the connection forged between them will be threatened. Will love be enough to guarantee their freedom or will fear continue to dictate the direction of their lives?

Welcome back everyone, have you ever picked up a book thinking it’s a stand-alone only to find out after you’ve started that it’s a book in a series, and that it’s not the first one?

This is exactly what happened with this book.

I got it off NetGalley thinking it was a stand-alone, only to realise when I set up all my tracking that I’d started the seventh book in the Woodlea series. Normally I hate coming into a series mid-way through, yet the way Alissa wrote this one I didn’t feel like I had come in part way.

Knowing that it was the seventh book only made one difference to my reading, it made me wonder who all the other seven couples were. I could only pick three, so it’d be interesting to go back and find out who they are and their journeys.

The self-doubt, the emotions, the second guessing that both Ella and Saul experienced throughout this book felt so natural. I think the time this was spread over helped make it believable. I’m not sure exactly how long it’s set over, but its longer than a few days or weeks.

The feel of a small country town was so palpable throughout the story. Everyone knowing each other, the community spirit etc. It all felt so authentic to small, rural towns of Australia. I’m sure these aren’t unique to Australia, but when they make references to the hay truck convoys it reminded me how hard our farmers have it at the moment.

If I remember rightly, we’ve been in draught for close to 10 years. Our farming communities are struggling to provide feed and water to their animals, let alone themselves. And then our supermarkets buy their meat and dairy at cost and price it at profit for them. Sorry for the rant, but it really frustrates me to have these communities romanticised in books like this without showing what they’re going through financially.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this review; on Wednesday I’ll be reviewing the second Venators book, Promises Forged by Devri Walls.

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4 Replies to “The Boundary Fence – Alissa Callen”

  1. I am glad that this one not being the first in the series wasn’t a hindrance to you at all but just makes you want to go back and read the other ones! And it sounds like such a lovely romance. I have been to Australia and would love to read more Australian authors actually!

    Olivia-S @ Olivia’s Catastrophe

    1. It can be really good to come in partway and not find yourself lost coz you’ve missed things.

      If you’re interested in more Aussie authors I’ll have a few more reviews for them coming out in the next 6 months. I’m doing a challenge (I do them each yr) where I read Aussie authors works. It’s been a goal of mine for a while to read more Aussie authors and these challenges are a great way to do it.

      If you’re interested, they’re open internationally and not all challenges need to have all authors Aussie.

  2. Yes, I have! It was actually a little disconcerting at first to be honest, but then you fall into the rhythm of the story mostly—unless it’s an actual sequel to a book. But I’ve always found I prefer reading any series in order to get the feel of the characters.

    I know what you mean! About the feeling you get while reading about a small country town; and how everyone knows one another and they’re aren’t any real secrets. Don’t apologise for having spoken about the real struggles. Sometimes it’s important for readers to keep that in mind and spread that awareness. ♥️

    Lovely review!

    1. I do this all the time! O rarely plan or know that I’m coming in partway through a series!

      Thank you. I know Australia isn’t the only one struggling but it frustrates me so much coz professionally I’ve been in contact with these farmers needing to collect on a debt they can’t afford. Hearing the pain and humiliation in their voice that they can’t afford their debts coz they aren’t getting paid fairly is ridiculous to me. If we price them out of the market it’ll be a dead industry and we’ll be at the mercy of international markets.

      Which for an island continent and country. That’s not a good thing!

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