Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
By Mandy Magro, Mira, $29.99.
Everyone has at least one … a secret, that is. Sophie Copinni is no exception.
When Copinni’s love life turns sour, a trip to her hometown in far north Queensland is the perfect time for her to take stock of her future. There, two weeks before she turns 30, she finds a bucket list from her teenage years. Most of the challenges are fun, although one thing on the list scares her: she is to reveal a long–held family secret – the very reason she ran away eight years ago.
As well, a road trip home is Dylan Stone’s chance to escape the shady operations he has uncovered at the Sydney tattoo parlour he runs. Surrounded by the landscape and loved ones he’s missed so fiercely, Dylan starts to think that maybe it’s time to make his homecoming permanent.
A sense of panic and urgency is apparent as we get absorbed in the plot. Families, relationships, decisions, inconsistencies and heartache are all a part of everyday life. Breaking up is hard to do, but Sophie knows secrets can’t be buried forever. Luckily, Happiness is just around the corner.
This is a heartfelt new rural romance about homecoming and forgiveness.
Magro justly hopes the novel transports you to another world: “My wish is that A Country Mile has given you an escape from the responsibilities of everyday life, made you laugh, cry, swoon, and, fall in love with the hero or heroine (or both!) … and with any luck kept you up reading until the early hours of the morning. A bleary-eyed reader is the biggest of compliments!”
