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Detective Dave Burrows
Blue Skies
From the bestselling author of Red Dust comes the inspirational story of a young woman battling to save the family farm no matter what it takes In the tradition of Rachael Treasure and from the bestselling author of Red Dust , Blue Skies tells the inspirational story of a young woman battling to save the family farm no matter what it takes. Armed with a degree in Agribusiness, Amanda Greenfield dreams of employing all the skills she's learned in college to help her father turn the family farm from a debt-ridden, run-down basket case into a thriving enterprise. Then tragedy strikes with the death of Amanda's mother in a car accident. Wracked by grief and guilt, and wearied by the long struggle to keep Kyleena a going concern, Amanda's father argues that they should sell up and get on with their lives away from the vagaries of drought and fluctuating stock and crop yields. Having inherited half the farm from her beloved mother, whom she also grieves for, Amanda determines to summon all her strength, grit, and know how to save Kyleena. Along the way she faces mixed fortunes in both love and life.
328 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
43 people are currently reading
331 people want to read
About the author
Fleur McDonald
39Ìýbooks489ÌýfollowersAfter growing up on a farm near Orroroo in South Australia, Fleur McDonald’s first job was jillarooing in the outback. She has been involved in agriculture all her life, including helping manage a 8000-acre station for twenty years. Today Fleur and her energetic kelpie, Jack, live in Esperance, Western Australia,
Fleur is the author of 23 bestselling novels and two children's books.
Fleur chats about her daily writing life on her blog ,
Facebook - Fleur McDonald Author
Instagram @fleurmcdonald
Tiktok @fleurmcdonaldauthor
Fleur is the author of 23 bestselling novels and two children's books.
Fleur chats about her daily writing life on her blog ,
Facebook - Fleur McDonald Author
Instagram @fleurmcdonald
Tiktok @fleurmcdonaldauthor
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
February 6, 2017
After the tragic death of her mother, Amanda Greenfield returns to the family farm, The farm is starting to become run down and financially things are not looking too good either. Amanda is determined to bring the farm back to where it once was, but it seems her father has other ideas.
As far as Amanda's father is concerned the farm needs to be sold and that way everyone can move along with their lives. Amanda is a strong willed woman, but will she talk her father around or will the farm be sold?
Blue Skies was an enjoyable and easy read. Recommended.
As far as Amanda's father is concerned the farm needs to be sold and that way everyone can move along with their lives. Amanda is a strong willed woman, but will she talk her father around or will the farm be sold?
Blue Skies was an enjoyable and easy read. Recommended.
July 13, 2017
Blue Skies is about Amanda Greenfield whose dream was to make her family property Kyleena a great success. However, it was not easy for Amanda Greenfield to achieve her goals. The readers will follow the ups and downs of Amanda's quests to complete her five-year plan for Kyleena. Also, the readers will be surprised and happy with the conclusion of this book.
I loved reading this book. I enjoy the way Fleur McDonald portrays her characters and her writing style. Also, I like the way Fleur McDonald, intertwines her two plots that at Collided at the conclusion of Blue Skies. Reading Blue Skies, I learnt what means people go through to get what they want regardless of others people feelings or expectation. Blue Skies does provide another great strong heroine. Reading Blue Skies I learn about the importance of choosing the right shock when developing a breeding program.
Readers of Blue Skies will learn how guilt can be part of a grieving process. By reading Blue Skies, you learn about running a large rural property. Blue Skies does highlight in same cases of harassment law enforcement have no powers to intervene or investigate. Readers of Blue Skies will be surprised with the conclusion of Blue Skies. Also, readers will learn about the life of single unmarried women during the 1930's.
I recommend this book.
I loved reading this book. I enjoy the way Fleur McDonald portrays her characters and her writing style. Also, I like the way Fleur McDonald, intertwines her two plots that at Collided at the conclusion of Blue Skies. Reading Blue Skies, I learnt what means people go through to get what they want regardless of others people feelings or expectation. Blue Skies does provide another great strong heroine. Reading Blue Skies I learn about the importance of choosing the right shock when developing a breeding program.
Readers of Blue Skies will learn how guilt can be part of a grieving process. By reading Blue Skies, you learn about running a large rural property. Blue Skies does highlight in same cases of harassment law enforcement have no powers to intervene or investigate. Readers of Blue Skies will be surprised with the conclusion of Blue Skies. Also, readers will learn about the life of single unmarried women during the 1930's.
I recommend this book.
November 5, 2022
After the untimely loss of her mother, Amanda Greenfield is more than happy to return to her family farm of Kyleena and start employing the skills she's learnt during her Agribusiness degree. However due to conflict between her father and herself and the discovery that the farm is in financial ruin, it's soon decided that Kyleena would be put up for sale.
Unwilling for this to happen, Amanda abandons her plans of an overseas apprenticeship to purchase Kyleena and take on all the hardships by herself. With a lot of hard work, determination and plenty of accepting assistance from others, before long Kyleena is a thriving and profitable estate once more.
The celebrations are cut off suddenly when Amanda starts sensing that someone is targeting her and the farm. With no substantial proof of the odd occurrences and the reassurances from others, Amanda starts to believe that it's all part of her imagination. The truth is that she really does have something to worry about, and that it's closer to home than first thought...
As soon as I met Amanda's neighbour and eventual love interest Adrian I just knew that he couldn't be trusted at all. Sadly Amanda is blindsided to the older man's charm and adoration for her. You need to keep one curious eye on this one at all times!
The Greenfield family history surrounding Kyleena was very interesting, boosted by the mysterious abandoned hut on the grounds. My heart just broke when it's revealed what happened there so many years ago. Got to love a good skeleton in the closet story!
Blue Skies is another novel that is included in Fleur's back catalogue and it's a wonderful read as always.
🌟🌟🌟🌟�/5
Unwilling for this to happen, Amanda abandons her plans of an overseas apprenticeship to purchase Kyleena and take on all the hardships by herself. With a lot of hard work, determination and plenty of accepting assistance from others, before long Kyleena is a thriving and profitable estate once more.
The celebrations are cut off suddenly when Amanda starts sensing that someone is targeting her and the farm. With no substantial proof of the odd occurrences and the reassurances from others, Amanda starts to believe that it's all part of her imagination. The truth is that she really does have something to worry about, and that it's closer to home than first thought...
As soon as I met Amanda's neighbour and eventual love interest Adrian I just knew that he couldn't be trusted at all. Sadly Amanda is blindsided to the older man's charm and adoration for her. You need to keep one curious eye on this one at all times!
The Greenfield family history surrounding Kyleena was very interesting, boosted by the mysterious abandoned hut on the grounds. My heart just broke when it's revealed what happened there so many years ago. Got to love a good skeleton in the closet story!
Blue Skies is another novel that is included in Fleur's back catalogue and it's a wonderful read as always.
🌟🌟🌟🌟�/5
July 13, 2024
Armed with an honours degree in Agribusiness, Amanda Greenfield dreamt of employing all the skills she'd learnt at college to help her father turn the family farm from a debt-ridden, run-down basket case into a thriving enterprise. Then tragedy struck with the death of Amanda's mother, and Kylena’s future was at stake as Amanda and her father disagreed with each other.
I gladly picked this up as part of the reading group to read all Dave Burrows books, only to find midway that he did not appear in this one! Having said that, I wasn’t disappointed at all as the story captivated me thoroughly.
The thriller elements in this one was stronger than I had expected! I could imagine how creepy it would be to experience what Amanda did while living alone the way she was. Amanda herself, of course, was the strong, assertive heroine I loved in books!
I ended up loving this plot more than the previous Fleur’s book! I could not guess where the story was going, even though I ended up guessing the major twist (but only because I read too many thrillers in general!). Moving on to the next book!
See my review.
I gladly picked this up as part of the reading group to read all Dave Burrows books, only to find midway that he did not appear in this one! Having said that, I wasn’t disappointed at all as the story captivated me thoroughly.
The thriller elements in this one was stronger than I had expected! I could imagine how creepy it would be to experience what Amanda did while living alone the way she was. Amanda herself, of course, was the strong, assertive heroine I loved in books!
I ended up loving this plot more than the previous Fleur’s book! I could not guess where the story was going, even though I ended up guessing the major twist (but only because I read too many thrillers in general!). Moving on to the next book!
See my review.
August 16, 2017
Loved this book which was a real page turner in some places! You can get a real feel of all that is involved In running a farm.....I could actually imagine being alongside Amanda sometimes. My first Fleur McDonald read and I will certainly read more of her books!
January 18, 2012
3.5 stars
This review was first posted @
Amanda returns to the family farm after the death of her mother. The tension between her and her grieving father climax when he requests to sell the farm. But Amanda is strong and hardworking and wants to bring the farm back up to its potential so that they can live comfortably. When another tragedy strikes, Amanda is left to run the farm and make a profit on her own. Strange things start to happen; headlights in the driveway, missing stock and used coffee mugs in her kitchen and Amanda begins to question whether someone is out to her down.
The story spans over several years and for me, it seemed a bit disjointed at times, jumping into the past and moving years into the future. Amanda’s relationship with Aiden, her neighbour who is 20 years older than her seemed quite strange. It was supposedly a platonic relationship, even though he wanted to marry her but he just seemed more like a father figure to her. Amanda’s undying love for best friend Jonno was evident but he was largely absent from the story. So, I didn’t really feel vested in the success of either relationship in the story.
Unfortunately, I will be a bit picky about when Amanda was diagnosed with PTSD and placed on medication- which was a bit of a shock in the story. Working in mental health, I am cautious about ‘labelling� people and medicating is only as a last resort. I didn’t really agree with the diagnosis as it was obvious that she was still grieving the losses in her family and just needed someone to talk to. But that’s a minor glitch in the novel.
Blue Skies is marked by a strong protagonist who persisted to make a success of her farm despite all the setbacks, and this is what made the story stand out as a rural suspense in Australia. I love the country feel and the setting is always well presented in Fleur’s stories.
Blue Skies is an enjoyable Aussie read, but I must say I didn’t enjoy it as much as her first novel, Red Dust (see my review)- but still worth adding to your Aussie fiction shelf! Fleur McDonald’s third novel Purple Roads is due for release in April 2012.
This review was first posted @
Amanda returns to the family farm after the death of her mother. The tension between her and her grieving father climax when he requests to sell the farm. But Amanda is strong and hardworking and wants to bring the farm back up to its potential so that they can live comfortably. When another tragedy strikes, Amanda is left to run the farm and make a profit on her own. Strange things start to happen; headlights in the driveway, missing stock and used coffee mugs in her kitchen and Amanda begins to question whether someone is out to her down.
The story spans over several years and for me, it seemed a bit disjointed at times, jumping into the past and moving years into the future. Amanda’s relationship with Aiden, her neighbour who is 20 years older than her seemed quite strange. It was supposedly a platonic relationship, even though he wanted to marry her but he just seemed more like a father figure to her. Amanda’s undying love for best friend Jonno was evident but he was largely absent from the story. So, I didn’t really feel vested in the success of either relationship in the story.
Unfortunately, I will be a bit picky about when Amanda was diagnosed with PTSD and placed on medication- which was a bit of a shock in the story. Working in mental health, I am cautious about ‘labelling� people and medicating is only as a last resort. I didn’t really agree with the diagnosis as it was obvious that she was still grieving the losses in her family and just needed someone to talk to. But that’s a minor glitch in the novel.
Blue Skies is marked by a strong protagonist who persisted to make a success of her farm despite all the setbacks, and this is what made the story stand out as a rural suspense in Australia. I love the country feel and the setting is always well presented in Fleur’s stories.
Blue Skies is an enjoyable Aussie read, but I must say I didn’t enjoy it as much as her first novel, Red Dust (see my review)- but still worth adding to your Aussie fiction shelf! Fleur McDonald’s third novel Purple Roads is due for release in April 2012.
March 8, 2015
Can't believe I read this one in just one day! Not the sort of thing I usually read, but worth the time taken. Good storyline that moves along. Characters you can care about and a twist I didn't see coming. Looking forward to meeting Fleur when she visits North Lakes Library next month. Might even read another one or two of hers before then...
May 13, 2023
Actual Rating 2.5
Ok, I should start by saying the Rural Australian Chick Lit is not my favourite genre. But it is a popular genre for other members of my family and I am not one to pass up free books when they are done. So would I have read this had I not been given this book for free? No. Will I read it again? Also no. Would I recommend this book to someone who likes the genre? Um, Maybe.
This is the story of Amanda who goes back to run her family farm and save it from debt after graduating from ag college. That you can get from the blurb. What you won't get is there is a story told in flashbacks; the story of Amanda's Grandparents (?) and how they set up the farm as immigrants from England.
What I Liked About it
- It wasn't a difficult read. It's a good one for people who aren't regular readers.
-I liked the flashbacks. I felt like the historical characters had more depth, more drive and just were more well rounded than the current day ones.
What I didn't like
- The present day characters did things that just didn't make sense. Constantly. All of them.
- The weird detour to talk about mental health and PTSD.
- This is not a romance. There is no romance plot. There is a romantic interest, but he appears very very briefly and doesn't appear to know the heroine exist until like
-The ending felt rushed. I think this was one of Fleur Macdonald's earlier books and she fumbled the ending. It felt like a rookie author move.
Overall I don't regret reading it, maybe because I didn't commit too much time to it (see easy read) and also it was a free book. Had I paid the $36 my cousin had (books are expensive in Australia y'all) I may have been. Although, she wasn't so maybe it's a genre thing for me?
Ok, I should start by saying the Rural Australian Chick Lit is not my favourite genre. But it is a popular genre for other members of my family and I am not one to pass up free books when they are done. So would I have read this had I not been given this book for free? No. Will I read it again? Also no. Would I recommend this book to someone who likes the genre? Um, Maybe.
This is the story of Amanda who goes back to run her family farm and save it from debt after graduating from ag college. That you can get from the blurb. What you won't get is there is a story told in flashbacks; the story of Amanda's Grandparents (?) and how they set up the farm as immigrants from England.
What I Liked About it
- It wasn't a difficult read. It's a good one for people who aren't regular readers.
-I liked the flashbacks. I felt like the historical characters had more depth, more drive and just were more well rounded than the current day ones.
What I didn't like
- The present day characters did things that just didn't make sense. Constantly. All of them.
- The weird detour to talk about mental health and PTSD.
- This is not a romance. There is no romance plot. There is a romantic interest, but he appears very very briefly and doesn't appear to know the heroine exist until like
-The ending felt rushed. I think this was one of Fleur Macdonald's earlier books and she fumbled the ending. It felt like a rookie author move.
Overall I don't regret reading it, maybe because I didn't commit too much time to it (see easy read) and also it was a free book. Had I paid the $36 my cousin had (books are expensive in Australia y'all) I may have been. Although, she wasn't so maybe it's a genre thing for me?
June 5, 2017
loved this book. Was drawn from the very start. It was good reading for those who go through loss of loved ones, dealing with emotions on this level. The description of the landscape had you feeling in the moment as well. I enjoyed the fight to get the property working again, and trying to work out what the ending would be. A must read for anyone who likes a little romance, the outback bush, and a story line of what the heck is happening.
April 15, 2024
After the loss of her mum Amanda is forced back to her struggling family farm. With her mum being the normal mediator between her and her dad things are difficult between them.
Set over time with flashbacks to another generation, interwoven stories.
My eyeballs ached from this story forcing me to stay up because I was so wrapped up in it. I finally sucked it up and restarted the next morning, with dreams of this story all night.
Set over time with flashbacks to another generation, interwoven stories.
My eyeballs ached from this story forcing me to stay up because I was so wrapped up in it. I finally sucked it up and restarted the next morning, with dreams of this story all night.
October 10, 2017
An inspirational story of a young woman, Amanda who battles to save her family farm no matter what it takes.
Tragedy strikes when strikes when Amanda's Mum passes away in a car accident and her Dad goes into depression. She is left on her own to run the family farm and save it from a debt ridden one to a thriving and profit running farm. Along the way she faces a lot of challenges in both life and love.
A story of courage, determination, family grief , loss, family dreams , friendship and new beginnings.
Tragedy strikes when strikes when Amanda's Mum passes away in a car accident and her Dad goes into depression. She is left on her own to run the family farm and save it from a debt ridden one to a thriving and profit running farm. Along the way she faces a lot of challenges in both life and love.
A story of courage, determination, family grief , loss, family dreams , friendship and new beginnings.
September 20, 2018
Another good read by Fleur McDonald.
April 17, 2019
Love all her books
June 9, 2019
The storyline definitely reminded me of a couple of Rachael Treasure books at times, but still a good story with a bit of mystery and a nice twist at the end.
October 6, 2019
I love anything written by Fleur. It is very well written and has you hooked from the first page
July 8, 2020
Really loving how Fleur kept us in suspense till the very end. Another good story.
August 15, 2020
Great
I can’t get enough of these Australian story’s they are about place’s I’ve been and make me wish I am there
I can’t get enough of these Australian story’s they are about place’s I’ve been and make me wish I am there
August 20, 2021
Good book. Ending was a bit quickly & predictable.
September 22, 2022
The timeline was somewhat hard to wrap one’s head around and partially predictable twists and turn. But still another entertaining story from one of my favourite authors
March 24, 2023
It was an ok read.
September 15, 2023
I love all of Fleurs books I've read so far
February 3, 2024
it’s good to learn a bit about farm lives and struggles.
May 14, 2024
Loved this book!
August 22, 2024
Good, I enjoyed it.
December 29, 2024
Was incredible, the plot twist at the end was fantastic and the entirety of the book I was kept intrigued
May 8, 2025
3.5*
November 21, 2011
Nothing but Blue Skies, do I see.
What a wonderful old song and what a wonderful new book.
The nicest thing about Fleur McDonald’s novels is how romantic she makes life on the land sound, even though Fleur knows first hand there’s nothing glamorous about it at all. It’s hard yakka.
Amanda Greenfield, the lead character in Blue Skies, doesn’t shy away from the prospect of hard work either. She’ll do whatever it takes to keep Kyleena � the family property � going after her mother dies in a tragic car crash, leaving her father depressed and distant. The intriguing plot, and yet another collection of well-drawn and likable secondary characters, keeps Amanda busy and with more obstacles than there are sheep to crutch on Kyleena!)
Blue Skies � following on from Fleur’s best-selling debut novel, Red Dust � opens with a very moving and evocative prologue and first chapter, their impact making it impossible for me to put the book down.
What I loved
I love that Blue Skies is a story for everyone, at any age � from city teenagers swamped by their pressurized and carbonised suburban life, to grandmothers who remember a simpler time and place.
I loved the unexpected, and the weaving of two stories � one set in the 1930’s/40’s, the other modern day, spanning several years. Fleur’s authentic depiction of generations working the same Esperance property is a treat for readers who, like me, enjoy reading about Australia’s early settlement, but not necessarily full on historical novels.
Blue Skies is a realistic account of farm life in which the author has set up a classic mystery, cleverly sprinkling clues in the same way she sprinkles back-story through a compelling plot that keeps the reader wondering until the very last page.
What a wonderful old song and what a wonderful new book.
The nicest thing about Fleur McDonald’s novels is how romantic she makes life on the land sound, even though Fleur knows first hand there’s nothing glamorous about it at all. It’s hard yakka.
Amanda Greenfield, the lead character in Blue Skies, doesn’t shy away from the prospect of hard work either. She’ll do whatever it takes to keep Kyleena � the family property � going after her mother dies in a tragic car crash, leaving her father depressed and distant. The intriguing plot, and yet another collection of well-drawn and likable secondary characters, keeps Amanda busy and with more obstacles than there are sheep to crutch on Kyleena!)
Blue Skies � following on from Fleur’s best-selling debut novel, Red Dust � opens with a very moving and evocative prologue and first chapter, their impact making it impossible for me to put the book down.
What I loved
I love that Blue Skies is a story for everyone, at any age � from city teenagers swamped by their pressurized and carbonised suburban life, to grandmothers who remember a simpler time and place.
I loved the unexpected, and the weaving of two stories � one set in the 1930’s/40’s, the other modern day, spanning several years. Fleur’s authentic depiction of generations working the same Esperance property is a treat for readers who, like me, enjoy reading about Australia’s early settlement, but not necessarily full on historical novels.
Blue Skies is a realistic account of farm life in which the author has set up a classic mystery, cleverly sprinkling clues in the same way she sprinkles back-story through a compelling plot that keeps the reader wondering until the very last page.
April 8, 2012
I really wanted to like this novel, especially with all the hype that had been surrounding it in my local community. The problem was I just couldn't.
The protagonist was an interesting mix of determination and timidity. I wanted her to realise that the man that was chasing her for years on end, mind you, was not all that he appeared to be, but she just couldn't until her father returned (which was another unrealistic plot development).
And that was the main problem with this book, there were to many unrealistic plot developments. If this novelist was one of my students, I would be asking them to reflect on why they felt the need to make up so many things that just didn't fit in with the story. It was almost like they had a word count in mind and when they didn't get there, they made up events that they thought would be interesting and were realistically just a little disjointed to the rest of the story.
I know that the author foreshadowed the love story between Mandy and Jono, but by the time she got around to it, I really couldn't have cared less if they got together. Once again, it was in the wrong place for the audience to be interested.
You should read this novel if you are looking for a strong female protagnoist. But I have a feeling that like me, you may be just a little disappointed.
The protagonist was an interesting mix of determination and timidity. I wanted her to realise that the man that was chasing her for years on end, mind you, was not all that he appeared to be, but she just couldn't until her father returned (which was another unrealistic plot development).
And that was the main problem with this book, there were to many unrealistic plot developments. If this novelist was one of my students, I would be asking them to reflect on why they felt the need to make up so many things that just didn't fit in with the story. It was almost like they had a word count in mind and when they didn't get there, they made up events that they thought would be interesting and were realistically just a little disjointed to the rest of the story.
I know that the author foreshadowed the love story between Mandy and Jono, but by the time she got around to it, I really couldn't have cared less if they got together. Once again, it was in the wrong place for the audience to be interested.
You should read this novel if you are looking for a strong female protagnoist. But I have a feeling that like me, you may be just a little disappointed.
February 6, 2015
An Australian setting in the Esperance area with reflection of the past n present time. Certainly an element of mystery throughout the story and I would have to wonder if Amanda tells Jonno that she has seen her father. Amanda certainly had circumstances come against her and Adrian certainly was influential in liking his wine to change Amanda's beer drinking preference. Hey it's fiction but the story stays awhile.
July 2, 2011
A lively and engrossing page-turner, set in the present day in Western Australia. Fleur McDonald's love of the land shines through, although she doesn't gloss over the difficulties and harshness of farming, particularly for a young woman on her own. A thoroughly enjoyable read!
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