'The Maxwell Sisters' by Loretta Hill

Received via NetGalley

From the BLURB:

All families have their problems. No more so than the Maxwells of Tawny Brooks Winery. Situated in the heart of the Margaret River wine region, this world-renowned winery was the childhood home to three sisters, Natasha, Eve and Phoebe.

Today all three women are enmeshed in their city lives and eager to forget their past - and their fractured sibling relationships. Until Phoebe decides to get married at home . . .

Now the sisters must all return to face a host of family obligations, vintage in full swing and interfering in-laws who just can't take a hint. As one romance blossoms and others fall apart, it seems they are all in need of some sisterly advice. But old wounds cut deep. Somehow, The Maxwell Sisters must find a way back to one another – or risk losing each other forever.

‘The Maxwell Sisters’ is the new contemporary fiction novel from Australia author Loretta Hill, who so impressed me with her Pilbara-set romance books: 'The Girl in the Hard Hat' and 'The Girl in Steel-Capped Boots' among them. ‘Maxwell Sisters’ is the first book, and I’m told (by the author herself, via Twitter) that at least two more books are planned in the same Margaret River wine region. 

I had a bit of a sinking feeling as I started reading this, only because it had elements of a Monica McInerney novel I read in 2013, a novel I happened to hate. ‘The Alphabet Sisters’ was about three sisters reuniting at their family home after years of silence following an explosive feud – namely around the youngest sister stealing the middle sister’s fiancée. When they reunited the middle and youngest sister had to have it out (but never really did) over the betrayal, and oldest sister (long thought to be perfect) had to slowly reveal how her marriage was collapsing.

Loretta Hill's had similar elements to McInerney’s novel … or what I thought were similar elements at first. ‘The Maxwell Sisters’ sees youngest sister Phoebe getting married, and calling her feuding middle and older sisters home a month early under the guise of wedding arrangements, but really to mend fences.

Phoebe is marrying Spider, celebrity TV chef and her sister Eve’s former restaurant partner, and best friend … but unbeknownst to her, he’s also the man Eve has unrequitedly loved for years now, and she’s still struggling to come to terms with what could have been.

Meanwhile, eldest “perfect” sister Natasha is returning home with some bad news … her marriage is over, and she and her husband Heath have been living in separate states for the last month. But when she arrives at her parents infamous winery, she is surprised to discover Heath there too – adamant that they still have a marriage worth saving, and banking on Tash not wanting to lose face with her family by pre-emptively telling them about her marriage breakdown.

The stage being set, and the sister’s initially being at odds with one another, Hill’s and McInerney’s books become vastly different in their plots and execution – where ‘The Alphabet Sisters’ fell flat in pretty much every single way for me, I read Hill’s ‘The Maxwell Sisters’ as being a phenomenal contemporary romance cross between King Lear and ‘Pride and Prejudice’ … as the sister’s enjoy spending a month together under the stealthy influence of their beloved patriarch, a famous wine man who has often been called “mad” for his belief in celestial tides affecting the grapes. The Maxwell sisters must grapple with their misconceptions and assumptions about one another’s lives and feelings – having so lost touch with one other over the last few years, the novel becomes about how these three reconnect and fit back into each other’s lives.

Along the way there is romance to be had – for Eve it’s the new manager her father has employed, the delicious Adam “Adonis” (as she calls him) who is running from his own problems. Natasha must decide if she’s really ready to turn her back on her husband and their previously blissful marriage, and Phoebe becomes increasingly suspicious of Spider in the lead-up to their wedding … Hill’s romances for the three are excellent, especially for being so nuanced and proportionate to the bigger issues going on in the sister’s lives and familial relationships. Just as her Pilbara books were more about the female characters surviving in tough, male-dominated work places (that, for their remote locations, became living quarters too), ‘The Maxwell Sisters’ is likewise more about the sister’s realigning with each other than it is solely a vehicle for their love lives to get back in order. I think that’s where Hill really excels in her contemporary fiction – she never forgets the real heart of the story, the meatier characterisation and bonds are not playing second-fiddle to the lovey-dovey stuff.

That being said – and although Hill did a remarkable job of making me root for all the sisters (even the Mary Sue-esque character of Phoebe), I especially loved Eve’s story with Adam/Adonis, which starts off snarky and then progresses to sparky. I especially loved Eve’s story because she is the more underdog sister –unmarried, lusting after her sister’s fiancée (and has been for years) a failed business owner and the shorter/curvier one, compared to her willowy sisters.

By the time she got back to the couch, Phoebe and Natasha were already seated there on either side of her father. They had both seized the opportunity to get his attention while she had rushed off to get stuff organised. How familiar the scene was. As a young girl, she had often thought of herself as the Cinderella of the family. Only the analogy was definitely flawed – neither of her sisters were ugly and her life was still a pumpkin.
‘Here, Dad, drink this.’ She held out the glass of water to her father and sat down on the edge of the coffee table.He took it rather absentmindedly as he gazed at each of his daughters in turn. ‘Look at you all.’ He sipped his water. ‘All of you in the same room. My beautiful girls. My life is literally flashing before my eyes.’

As I was reading this (and I did so in one sitting – staying up until 1AM) I found myself hoping, finger-crossing that Loretta Hill would be turning this into a series … and as I discovered on Twitter, she is! I’m especially keen because there are two other wineries mentioned, and the breadcrumbs laid for the stories around those family-run wineries are intriguing … there’s mention of a Jack Franklin, “the region’s most notorious womaniser,” and member of a rival family; “the Franklins and the Maxwells had been mortal enemies from day one, especially when it came to wine.” Seriously, I cannot wait!

I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of this e-book via NetGalley, and I did find it funny that after reading it on December 18, it became the first book to make my ‘Favourite Books of 2015’ list, and so soon after mentioning ‘The Maxwell Sisters’ in my ‘Most Anticipated Books of 2015’ list too! It really was a wonderful read, and I can’t wait to return to the region and meet the Franklin family next. Loretta Hill is such a wonderful voice in Australian contemporary fiction; beautifully balancing romance and family tales that tug at the heart.

5/5

'The Girl in the Hard Hat' by Loretta Hill

 Received from the Publisher 

From the BLURB:

Wendy Hopkins arrives in the Pilbara to search for the father who abandoned her at birth.

Getting mixed up in construction site politics at the Iron Ore wharf just out of town was not high on her ‘to do' list. 

But when she takes a job as their new Safety Manager she becomes the most hated person in the area. Nicknamed ‘The Sergeant', she is the butt of every joke and the prime target of notorious womanizer, Gavin Jones.

Giving up is not an option, though.

For, as it turns out, only Wendy can save these workers from the impending cyclone, find a man who wants to stay buried and ... put a bad boy firmly in his place.

This review is part of 'The Girl in The Hard Hat' blog tour.

Check out the review that came before, from Book Muster Down Under

... and the one that's coming after, via Funkenwagel!

Wendy Hopkins hasn’t worked in two years. Her first year of leave she was backpacking around Europe, trying to forget an accident that cost a man his life and would have ended her career. The second year she discovered that her life was a lie, her father was not her father and her entire family had kept the secret from her all this time. 

Wendy has been searching for the mystery man that is her father, but her family have closed ranks and insist they don’t want her stirring up old history. For one year she has obsessed over finding this man, but now she has to admit to herself that she may have reached the final dead-end and now she needs to start making money again, get her life back on track.

How many more shocks were around the corner? 

She couldn’t relax. All she wanted now was the truth, so that her world could never again be ripped out from under her like it had that day on the phone.So she put her whole life on hold. 

For six months she’d searched for the drifter who was her father – driving from town to town in northern Australia. She was no more at home on the road than she was anywhere else. But dark-haired Hector, the welder, with two toes missing on his right foot, a taste for red dust on his boots, and a bag on his back, seemed more like an Aussie myth than a miner with a daughter he’d never met. 

When she bumps into her uncle, Mike, in Karratha and he (reluctantly) says he can get her a job working on the Pilbara – one of the longest jetty open-sea wharves in the world – she happily takes him up on the offer. Before getting waylaid by a guilty conscience and then the hunt for her father, Wendy was a qualified Safety Manager, and she looks forward to working again on this colossal project.

Except uncle Mike failed to mention he was using blackmail to get Wendy her job, and the man he was blackmailing, Dan ‘Bulldog’ Hullog doesn’t have a job for her . . . but he does have an assistant position opened up at Barnes Inc, where there are 350 men and five women currently stationed in the Donga town.  

The Pilbara job is unlike anything Wendy has ever seen. Set on a majestic landscape where the red-dust outback meets the sea, there are massive pile-drivers constantly at work, and cranes dot the horizon. But this is also a project that is woefully behind on health and safety – partly because the current Safety Manager is a bumbling alcoholic. Within 48 hours of being on site, Wendy gets the old manager fired and slots into the position herself – something which does not endear her to the rest of the crew.

But one man who doesn’t mind this feisty blonde who has come to shake things up is Gavin Jones. Resident Pilbara Lothario, Gavin’s last attempted flirtation ended disastrously, but once he lays eyes on Wendy he immediately wants her – so much so that he steals a kiss and receives a punch for his efforts.

Wendy can see right through Gavin’s love em’ and leave em’ mentality, but that doesn’t stop her from lusting after the heartbreaker. But Gavin runs hot and cold – wanting her one minute and then convincing her to stay away from him. Because Gavin is bad news with a history that’s plaguing him, and he doesn’t want Wendy getting caught up in his nightmare.

A storm is brewing in the Pilbara – it’s cyclone season and the weather is as unpredictable as love. 

‘The Girl in the Hard Hat’ is the second contemporary Australian romance from Loretta Hill, a follow-up to her 2012 book ‘The Girl in Steel-Capped Boots’ (which made my favourites list!).

The second I heard that Loretta Hill had a second book in store; I couldn’t wait to return to the Pilbara. I loved Hill’s first book, which threw ‘Madame Engineer’, Lena Todd, into the male-dominated construction site and had her falling for the client, Dan Hullog. I loved that Hill was writing a romance in which the women stuck out like sore thumbs – where they were outnumbered 350:5 and had to show their mettle against misogyny and sexism. Certainly, a sea wharf construction site is not your typical romance setting – and Hill excels as much in throwing readers into the deep-end of this setting as she does her female characters.

But I was particularly eager to get back to Pilbara because of the characters Hill introduced in ‘Steel-Capped Boots’. She wrote a cast of infectiously delightful characters who I really came to know and love while reading, so I couldn’t wait to catch up with them again; workers Fish and Radar, profanity-happy manager Carl who had a crush on bus-driver Sharon. Dan ‘Bulldog’ Hullog, the despised client with a heart of gold. Even grumpy man Mike, out to make everyone miserable. And, of course, flirtatious pretty-boy Gavin Jones, who pursued Lena Todd so hard in her book. I’m thrilled that Gavin is the hero of Wendy’s story – because even through his heavy-handed flirting with Lena, you could tell there was more to this guy than a quick smile and easy promise, and Hill picks him apart beautifully in ‘The Girl in the Hard Hat’. If I had any complaints about this second book, it’s probably that I thought Gavin’s back-story was a wee bit over-the-top and nearly strayed into soap-opera territory, but I loved him regardless.

The secondary characters really are given starring roles in this sequel – something I thoroughly appreciated. They’re not merely side-lined; they’re actually given fairly meaty minor stories that continue their development. For new couple Lena and Dan, there’s a wrench thrown into their relationship when Dan’s ex-fiancée, Annabelle, comes flouncing into town hoping to reconcile with her ex, much to Lena’s worry and chagrin. Carl and Sharon, likewise rocking along in a comfortable new romance, are more in love than ever and taking baby-steps in their relationship. There’s also a new character introduced, HR man ‘Chub’ – who calls Wendy ‘little mate’ and she replies in kind with ‘cobber’. I loved Chub; he’s a funny, food-loving sweetheart and one of Wendy’s first allies on the male-dominated site.

Wendy is another great heroine, who perseveres and proves her tenacity in the face of on-site pranks and her own crumbling world. She certainly has a lot on her plate – between preparing the Pilbara site for cyclone season, searching for her missing father and keeping her lust for Gavin Jones under control. There is a lot happening in Wendy’s world, and while she does have (totally justified!) mini-breakdowns trying to cope with everything, I loved how hard-headed she was and determined to get on with the job and her life.

The romance in this second novel is scrumptious; and another great aspect to Hill’s series, that on this construction site covered in red dust, where everyone wears reflector vests and have only their container-like Dongas for privacy, that some characters can get so hot n' heavy and turn this decidedly un-romantic setting into a sensuous delight. Gavin and Wendy are a great odd-couple, and I loved their push-and-pull. 

Loretta Hill’s follow-up is as fantastic as her first contemporary Aussie romance. I once again revelled in the unusual, male-dominated outback setting and the fascinating, insular life of the Pilbara construction site. The romance is another winner, when both Wendy and Gavin have complicated pasts and haunting secrets. I really, really, really hope this isn’t the last time we visit the Pilbara. I loved catching up with the likes of Carl, Sharon, Lena and Dan – and now I'd like to return again and read how Wendy and Gavin are getting on, and maybe meet some new Pilbara crew. In the meantime, I’m also keen to read Hill’s upcoming novella ‘One Little White Lie’, coming this February.

5/5  

'The Girl in Steel-Capped Boots' by Loretta Hill

Received from the Publisher

From the BLURB:

Lena Todd is a city girl who thrives on cocktails and cappuccinos. So when her boss announces he’s sending her to the outback to join a construction team, her world is turned upside down.

Lena’s new accommodation will be an aluminium box called a dongar.

Her new social network: three hundred and fifty men.

Her daily foot attire: steel-capped boots.

Unfortunately, Lena can’t refuse. Mistakes of the past are choking her confidence. She needs to do something to right those wrongs and prove herself. Going into a remote community might just be the place to do that, if only tall, dark and obnoxious Dan didn’t seem so determined to stand in her way ...

Lena Todd has landed her dream job, as a graduate engineer for a major firm. After years of struggling through her Uni degree, she has come out the other side with a strong work ethic and a thirst for knowledge. But Lena has a lot to prove, to herself, a certain awful ex-boyfriend and her new company. So when she’s given the option of continuing desk work in the big city, or tackling a hard, on-location job in the outback of Pilbara, Lena decides to take the road less travelled …

Pilbara is unlike anything Lena has ever experienced. Red dust coats everything, kangaroos are hopping kamikaze and the residential accommodations are converted shipping-containers called ‘dongars’ (which barely house Lena’s three suitcases of clothing!).

But worse of all is the female-t0-male ratio. For the 350 male workers, there are only five females on site. And Lena is the only engineer (at first mistakenly thought to be the new cleaning lady by some of the men).

Sexual harassment if rife and varied – from gentle ribbing about being ‘Madame Engineer’, to wolf-whistles and leery old men.

But Lena will take it all on the chin for a chance to contribute to the Pilbara project – a massive wharf that cuts into the ocean and is a construction marvel.

But if the sexual harassment and on-site gossip isn’t bad enough, there’s also a bitter rivalry between the construction crew and the project’s commissioner – Daniel ‘Bulldog’ Hullog. Lena understands the crew’s wariness of Bulldog … sure, he’s handsome and rugged, with an interesting secret under his hard-hat … but he’s also a perfectionist, rude and keeping Lena up at night.

‘The Girl in Steel-Capped Boots’ is the new contemporary fiction novel from Australian author, Loretta Hill.

I loved this book! ‘The Girl in Steep-Capped Boots’ introduces us to Lena Todd – a woman full of contradictions. She’s young, in her early-twenties, but already with a chip on her shoulder and a point to prove. Admittedly she was a party girl at University, and nearly whittled away her degree until she decided to curb her wild ways. Lena owes a good deal of her final year success to her ex-boyfriend, also a professor at her university. But his parting words upon break-up have shaken Lena’s career confidence, and when she arrives in Pilbara she has a point to prove to herself, and her ex. I loved that Hill has written Lena as a bit of an enigma, to the point that even readers will be making assumptions about her that they find themselves backtracking on as the story progresses. Lena is a beautiful woman; which works against her at Pilbara where the men see her as a pretty face and not much else. Everyone is skeptical of her engineering abilities (even Lena herself!). But as the story progresses we read Lena’s guts and determination, her fight-fire-with-fire attitude and determination. It was as much fun to have my initial opinion of Lena turned around, as it was to read the men change their ways and treatment of her.

‘You’ve been a disaster zone since you got here.’
It was true on all fronts, including her engineering.
She tapped a pencil on her notepad. What she needed was some firm goals – a road map she could use to avoid the personal traps laid for her by Mike and Gavin … and Dan. Something that would prove her worth, not by getting Dan’s approval or even Carl’s but something tangible that she could hold up and say, ‘That’s what I did and that’s why I’m good.’

Hill’s novel is peppered with some wonderful secondary characters. There’s Sharon, the shy female bus-driver who becomes Lena’s friend and ally on the male-dominated site. Sharon is crushing on a ridge worker, while blinded to unrequited love from an unlikely source. Carl is Lena’s boss, a burly man who drops the f-bomb as much as he blinks, but has a heart of gold underneath his caveman exterior. Gavin is the young gun eager to impress, and there are any number of lovable nicknamed wharf workers like Leg, Fish and Radar who come to form a tight friendship unit for Lena.

And then there’s Dan ‘Bulldog’ Hullog – the site’s commissioner in charge of bossing everyone about and demanding that work be sped up. Dan is handsome and prickly. He insists on living on-site with the men (despite how much they all hate him) and refuses to take his R&R week-off for unknown reasons. I loved Dan! He’s a typical man’s man, but hiding a heartbreaking secret that explains some of his boorishness. He and Lena butt heads, repeatedly and hilariously, throughout the book. But when their opposites-attract heat turns into something more, they become gossip fodder for the site.

The real star of Loretta Hill’s novel is Pilbara. Hill is writing about a very unusual setting that fosters camaraderie and temporary family in a harsh environment and claustrophobic working conditions. The Pilbara site will be home to the 350 men for the better part of a year (if not longer) and they form tight bonds of friendship with one another. They’re away from home and far from family – living and working in the outback with its harsh terrain and red landscape. At first readers will be like Lena, mortified and horrified at the schoolboy antics of the workers and unimpressed by the remote location that is the antithesis to urban city life. But as the novel progresses something strange and wonderful happens, for Lena and readers alike … Pilbara becomes home.

Sharon grinned. ‘You’ve got the Pilbara under your skin.’

As the story progresses Pilbara becomes an interesting microcosm of home, friendship and family. Lena forms bonds with her teammates and work crew, and you read how this remote work location changes the people who live there. What’s really amazing though, is to think that after living and working there for six months everyone will eventually just leave. Disband and never see each other again – after living in one another’s pockets they’ll just walk away, probably onto another site where they’ll start all over again. Loretta Hill is definitely tapping into an interesting location that has fascinating ramifications on our protagonist’s state of mind and interactions.

‘The Girl in Steel-Capped Boots’ is a fabulous Aussie read. Loretta Hill has set her love story in an unconventional and barren location that is wholly original for its hilarious social effects. Lena is a surprising protagonist with a lot to prove, and her romance with Dan ‘Bulldog’ is fiery and forbidden. The secondary characters make this novel unforgettable (including aforementioned kamikaze kanga’s). This is summer reading du-jour and a guaranteed home-grown pleaser.

5/5