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3.5 

Back to Birdsville

By Fiona McArthur
Back to Birdsville by Fiona McArthur digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

Birdsville, outback Queensland: the most remote town in the world, population 110. What the people lack in numbers they make up for in community spirit.

When midwife and emergency nurse Phoebe McFadden fled her family dramas at age sixteen, she thought she'd left Birdsville for good. But when her cousin Scarlet asks her to be bridesmaid in her wedding party, Phoebe knows it's time to make her way home … and face the past.

As Phoebe settles back into town, she keeps crossing paths with Atticus Bow, the latest Birdsville cop – no longer the skinny kid she remembers but an irresistible man she does not want to be attracted to. The last thing she needs is to become attached to this place again, but as she starts to let Birdsville – and its people – back into her heart, she discovers secrets that have remained locked away for far too long. Can she right the wrongs of the past before Scarlet's special day?

Capturing all the colour and heart of the famous Birdsville races, this uniquely Australian romance celebrates women who are always there for each other, the caring side of men, and the challenges and optimism of remote families.

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Back to Birdsville Reviews

3.5
“Back to Birdsville by Fiona McArthur is a heartwarming tale that captures the spirit of the Australian Outback. Phoebe McFadden is returning home to the outback Queensland town of Birdsville for the first time in eighteen years to attend her cousin’s wedding and to face a past she never thought she’d revisit. Told through the perspectives of three women, Phoebe (an Adelaide midwife and emergency nurse), Gloria (Birdsville’s hard-working nurse), and Charli (a young, pregnant woman searching for a sense of belonging), the book weaves together themes of second chances, complicated webs of love and family, healing and found family. Fiona McArthur creates a narrative which is a blend of rural charm and medical drama which evolves into a warm and engaging read. However, this story was a little too predictable for my liking. I had the major character storylines and relationship outcomes figured out before I was halfway through the book. That said, what the book lacks in plot twists, it makes up for in atmosphere. McArthur’s descriptions of the outback are vivid and immersive. I found myself googling the Birdsville Track, the Big Red Sand Dune, and even mapping out how one might get to Birdsville from Adelaide. The vastness, the heat, the dust, the flies, it all came alive through her writing. Despite never having been to the outback, I have always been intrigued and inspired to experience it one day. Back to Birdsville is more than just a romance, it’s a celebration of resilience, community, and the beauty of the places and people we sometimes leave behind, only to discover we never really stopped belonging. While it may not surprise you with its twists, it will win you over with its heart. A feel-good predictable rural read with a strong sense of place.”

About Fiona McArthur

Fiona McArthur has written more than forty books and shares her medical knowledge and her love of working with women, families and emergency services in her stories. In her compassionate, pacey fiction, her love of the Australian landscape meshes beautifully with warm, funny, multigenerational characters as she highlights challenges for rural and remote families, and the strength shared between women. She always champions the underdog, and the wonderful, ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Then that bit of drama thrown in because who doesn’t love a few tears, a heartfelt sigh of relief and a big happy smile at the end? Make that gorgeous man earn the right to win his beautiful and strong-willed heroine’s heart because that’s something she believes in. And, absolutely, happy endings are a must.

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