REVIEW: Outback Ghost by Rachael Johns

In Outback Ghost (Bunyip Bay #3) by Rachael Johns, Harvest time on Annadale Farm in Bunyip Bay, Australia, is extremely hectic for Adam Burton. And this year is crazier than most. His father has retired, leaving Adam to shoulder all the responsibilities. It appears he will also have to take care of his mother since his father announced he’s leaving her. On the twentieth anniversary of Adam’s younger sister’s disappearance. So that’s probably why he forgot that they had guests arriving that same day to rent the cottage out for the summer. Adam was worried about starting off on the wrong foot, but once he meets Stella and her daughter Heidi, he’s more worried about not falling for Stella. She’s everything Adam could want in a girlfriend. But guilt about not being able to save his sister from vanishing holds him back from wanting to get close to children or ever have any of his own. And being with Stella means he’d have an instant family. But sweet, loving Heidi begins to change Adam’s mind and starts him wondering if he could possibly deserve such a wonderful future.

‘It would be all too easy to get lost in a fantasy of Stella becoming more to him than a guest on their farm.’

Stella Reynolds’ daughter Heidi is more precious than anything else in her life. She may not have the support of her family after they learned Heidi had Down Syndrome, but she’s fine with facing the world head on with her daughter by her side. Their first ever summer vacation has Heidi and Stella on cloud nine. They fall in love with Annadale Farm and the cute cottage, but it’s Adam that catches Stella’s eye. She’s afraid she’s going to make a fool of herself this summer, ogling him from afar. But it turns out the attraction is mutual. And she’s afraid to give in to it. Especially as things that go bump in the night begin to awaken her, and other events make Stella wonder if ghosts could actually be real. When the truth starts to reveal itself, she and Heidi are tangled up in a situation that could either hurt or help Adam and his family. But which result will happen, she’s not sure.

‘In the course of a few hours, she’d gone from not believing in ghosts to fearing them and then wanting to help them.’ What was the world coming to?

Outback Ghost was an incredible finish to the Bunyip Bay trilogy. Author Rachael Johns has given us one of the most perfectly romantic tales I have read in a long, long time.

“Heidi is more than perfect, Stella.”
His words choked her up and she lost the battle not to touch him. She reached out and took his hand as tears came into her eyes. “Thank you. I think so. I fell in love with her the moment I saw her.”

It’s difficult to put into words all the reasons why I fell in love with this story, but I’ll give it a whirl. It mostly centers around the main characters Stella, Adam, and Heidi, of course. The way Ms. Johns was able to communicate the absolute devotion between Stella and her daughter Heidi was simply astounding. It actually brought tears to my eyes with how awed Stella was to get to spend so much time, one on one, with her beautiful daughter relaxing in Bunyip Bay. For a hardworking single mom, I can imagine that would mean everything to her. And I loved that Adam’s friends in town didn’t treat Heidi differently and understood just how wonderful a little girl she was. The fact that it brought Adam’s mom Esther out of her shell to have Heidi in her daily life was a wonder unto itself. Their bond was a joy to read about as they grew so close to each other.

Adam was a sweetheart of a character, as I already knew from previous books. Speaking of which, I should mention that you can read these stories as standalone titles, but I would encourage you to check them all out. They are all worthy of some serious reading time, in my humble opinion. Anyway, back to Adam. He had the weight of the entire farm and his parent’s well-being on his shoulders. Plus the guilt over his sister’s disappearance twenty years ago. He thought he should have been watching her more closely the day she vanished, but as the mystery gets solved he finally realizes he was not to blame. It’s a bittersweet ending in regard to his sister, but at last there is closure and Stella and Heidi were there to help him and his parents.

I loved the instant attraction between Stella and Adam. It came across very vividly on the pages and it felt like it was meant to be that they would both find that someone special in such a way. It was easy to understand Stella’s mom-guilt over wanting a physical relationship with the seriously sexy guy but not knowing how to balance that and not detract from her time with Heidi. I also thought the confusion Adam felt about kids, not thinking he was good enough to take care of children was understandable, given what happened two decades ago. Wrong…but understandable. And Heidi was the perfect little cutie pie to make Adam see how wonderful he really was with kids. (Which everyone else knew anyway.) Their relationship was absolutely swoon worthy and honestly turned my heart to mush to see him making up bedtime stories for her and being such a big old softie. *sigh*

Okay, so I think I’ve gushed enough over Outback Ghost. 😉 I hope when you get the chance to read this heartwarming story you are as knocked out by it as I was. I think you’ll not only fall in love with Adam, Stella, and Heidi, but also the caring people of Bunyip Bay.

Book Info:

Published October 1st 2014 by Harlequin MIRA | (Bunyip Bay #3)

Stella only wanted a holiday… the last thing she expected was a love interest and a possible ghost.

Third-generation farmer Adam Burton has always tried to keep his family together, but twenty years after his little sister went missing from the family farm he’s losing hope. His dad has walked out, his mum is as reclusive as ever and he still blames himself for his sister’s disappearance.

When Stella Reynolds and her young daughter arrive from the big smoke to stay at the holiday cottage on their farm for the summer, Adam is immediately attracted to the beautiful single mum. Although he’s always steered clear of children and doesn’t believe he deserves love or a family of his own, he finds himself spending time with Stella and her young daughter, Heidi, and enjoying it.

As the twenty-year old mystery begins to unravel, Stella wonders if she should take her daughter and run. But doing so is easier said than done, because Stella just might be falling in love with Bunyip Bay and a gorgeous, but hurting, farmer.

From one of Australia’s best loved rural romance authors comes a story of mystery, heartache and hope.