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Escape to Koolonga
mass market paperback book
- GenresHarlequin Romance
192 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1972
27 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 12, 2022
“Escape to Koolanga� is the story of Emmie and Ridd.
Our heroine is the plain Jane of her family, who is treated like a servant since her parents died by all four of her snobby siblings. When their old housekeeper dies, leaving her in charge of her three foster kids and old shop, Emmie decides to take a chance.
Migrating to the remote village of Koolanga, she meets the grumpy neighbor Ridd, the three sweet children, a school teacher and a helpful friend. There’s a double jealousy situation going on, however the bond with the children is super heartwarming and the apricot scene made me tear up.
Enjoyable read, I rooted for the heroine.
Safe
4.25/5
Our heroine is the plain Jane of her family, who is treated like a servant since her parents died by all four of her snobby siblings. When their old housekeeper dies, leaving her in charge of her three foster kids and old shop, Emmie decides to take a chance.
Migrating to the remote village of Koolanga, she meets the grumpy neighbor Ridd, the three sweet children, a school teacher and a helpful friend. There’s a double jealousy situation going on, however the bond with the children is super heartwarming and the apricot scene made me tear up.
Enjoyable read, I rooted for the heroine.
Safe
4.25/5
February 2, 2017
3.5 stars rounded up. This was really sweet. The opening reminded me a bit of L.M. Montgomery's with the "plain Jane" doormatty heroine finally kicking over the traces and asserting herself. The heroine is one of five in a family of attractive achievers. She was the one who stayed home with the aging parents and then helped with her sibling's children. Now, their former governess has left her a general store and a foster family of three children in her will. The heroine is determined to change her life and take care of those children.
So - she escapes to Koolonga - in the heart of the Outback. The store is rundown. The local station owner (H) tries to talk her out of her plans. But our heroine buys a bell for the front door and an apricot tree for the garden and sets to work. She and the children get along marvelously and the narrative covers six months or so of this happy time.
There's an Vietnam vet OM (No name was mentioned but that would fit the timeline) who is pining for the OW, a schoolteacher who married someone else while he was deployed. She's now a widow and hanging around the H. The heroine spends a lot of time trying to get them back together, but the H doesn't know that. He thinks the h is escaping a love interest from Sydney and is just using the OM as a rebound thing.
The H tries to come off as a tough alpha, but he quietly makes the h's life a lot easier. But then he snaps after seeing the OM kiss the h(out of gratitude for helping him get back together with his OW). The H brutally kisses the h and halfway through realizes she has had no experience and is terrified. He apologizes immediately and feels really bad about it.
It's only after the h is deathly ill with pneumonia does the H declare himself in a really sweet scene around the dead-from-sheep-eating-it apricot tree.
Give this one a try if you're looking for a sweet heroine with a strong will and a hero who is smitten almost from the beginning.
Outback checklist:
One community dance.
One truck breaking down incident
No one is lost in the bush, but the heroine is soaked in a rainstorm looking for one of the children.
Only a few lines of poetry about the Outback quoted by the OM
So - she escapes to Koolonga - in the heart of the Outback. The store is rundown. The local station owner (H) tries to talk her out of her plans. But our heroine buys a bell for the front door and an apricot tree for the garden and sets to work. She and the children get along marvelously and the narrative covers six months or so of this happy time.
There's an Vietnam vet OM (No name was mentioned but that would fit the timeline) who is pining for the OW, a schoolteacher who married someone else while he was deployed. She's now a widow and hanging around the H. The heroine spends a lot of time trying to get them back together, but the H doesn't know that. He thinks the h is escaping a love interest from Sydney and is just using the OM as a rebound thing.
The H tries to come off as a tough alpha, but he quietly makes the h's life a lot easier. But then he snaps after seeing the OM kiss the h(out of gratitude for helping him get back together with his OW). The H brutally kisses the h and halfway through realizes she has had no experience and is terrified. He apologizes immediately and feels really bad about it.
It's only after the h is deathly ill with pneumonia does the H declare himself in a really sweet scene around the dead-from-sheep-eating-it apricot tree.
Give this one a try if you're looking for a sweet heroine with a strong will and a hero who is smitten almost from the beginning.
Outback checklist:
One community dance.
One truck breaking down incident
No one is lost in the bush, but the heroine is soaked in a rainstorm looking for one of the children.
Only a few lines of poetry about the Outback quoted by the OM
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 6, 2018
I think that to appreciate the h in this book you really need to read between the lines. She's been the victim of her charismatic family, who really treat her like a drudge and have done everything possible to exploit her natural shyness and sweet nature. The author makes this part clear, but what I think is that the h is actually psychologically damaged from the experience, and it's going to take some time for her to get better. It almost helps to think of her as someone who has been kept in captivity for years and released into the world with very few skills and only limited expectations. When you think of it that way, her very simple, almost pathetic goals are quite touching.
She meets the H, who is bossy and domineering, and she fights that, even as she actually does need help because she's in a difficult situation and because she is so incredibly naive. She sets about creating a life for herself, and it's strangely poignant to me when she observes that her new friend, the local schoolteacher is much more of a sister than either of hers. The H misreads her, but is ultimately enchanted by her vulnerability and petite helplessness. He's a pretty decent, if arrogant guy, and he adores her and she loves him, so HEA. He also promises to protect her from her predatory family, which it sounds like she desperately needs. Presumably she'll continue to evolve after the HEA.
She meets the H, who is bossy and domineering, and she fights that, even as she actually does need help because she's in a difficult situation and because she is so incredibly naive. She sets about creating a life for herself, and it's strangely poignant to me when she observes that her new friend, the local schoolteacher is much more of a sister than either of hers. The H misreads her, but is ultimately enchanted by her vulnerability and petite helplessness. He's a pretty decent, if arrogant guy, and he adores her and she loves him, so HEA. He also promises to protect her from her predatory family, which it sounds like she desperately needs. Presumably she'll continue to evolve after the HEA.
August 11, 2023
Still 3.5 stars
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This was the first book from this author that I have read. I had trouble in the beginning. Things moved very slowly with a lot of internal musings that is just not my style. However, once things got rolling, they really rolled and I found myself enjoying it a lot!
More like 3.5 stars only because of the slow start
_______________________________
This was the first book from this author that I have read. I had trouble in the beginning. Things moved very slowly with a lot of internal musings that is just not my style. However, once things got rolling, they really rolled and I found myself enjoying it a lot!
More like 3.5 stars only because of the slow start
July 31, 2022
cw: abusive family members, exoticism
A vintage Harlequin that hit the spot! And this one took place in the Australian Outback! The heroine is the black sheep of her family but finds out an elderly distant family member left her a house after they passed away. There, she enjoys more freedom and develops friendships. One of the man she meets, is our hero. Whom she is put off slightly by, but nonetheless drawn too. They had some great banter and moments. Which is why I definitely rooted for them.
A vintage Harlequin that hit the spot! And this one took place in the Australian Outback! The heroine is the black sheep of her family but finds out an elderly distant family member left her a house after they passed away. There, she enjoys more freedom and develops friendships. One of the man she meets, is our hero. Whom she is put off slightly by, but nonetheless drawn too. They had some great banter and moments. Which is why I definitely rooted for them.
July 11, 2017
This was a sweet read. I just wish there had been more facetime between the main couple. It felt like the h had more interactions with the secondary characters.
August 3, 2022
very slow start, extremely slow, but sweet vintage romance
October 3, 2014
It is an angst free book. If you are a fan of Betty Neel's typical female lead character, this book is for you.
May 14, 2024
Nice romance with 26 year old plain jane in a family of beauties, who finds freedom in the outback and a handsome sheep farmer. She's a lovely heroine and he's big and protective. Starts slow, but worth progressing.
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