Close to Home
Janet Gover
Reviewed by Helen
I really enjoy small town stories and Janet Gover does them so well, in this one we meet two matriarchs, both very different but both strong woman, Alice Dwyer known as Aunt Alice to everyone who lives in Nyringa and Lucienne Chevalier owner of a circus who has travelled the world but now is making her home in Nyringa, both these woman are stubborn but family is everything to them, I do hope you will pick this one up and see the battle of wills and see how all turns out.
Aunt Alice has lived in Nyringa all of her life, she is content and the whole town is related to her in some way and she rules, but underneath that tough exterior sits a girl who lost her heart many years ago when a circus came to town and when a circus family buy a property in her town those old feelings from years past come to the surface.
Madame Chevalier was a fabulous performer in the circus all of her life she travelled Europe as a young girl, and when the family came to Australia from France many years ago Lucienne carried on the tradition with her family, you don’t have to be blood related to be family, but when tragedy strikes Lucienne decides it is time to change her life and with her grandson Simon they move to Nyringa and run the circus from their home base and have a place for the people of the circus to have a break between seasons.
Adding to this story are the other characters we get to know Simon, who has been injured in an accident is still healing physically and mentally and performing is something that he will not be able to do anymore, and Meg the new school teacher in town who is trying to cope after being hurt badly, her and Simon meet while running and soon their friendship grows, then we have young Jenny Harden, Aunt Alice’s great niece, she is strong willed and can be a little rebellious especially when she meets young Finn an acrobat in the circus, Finn wants so much to please his father and look for new acts but things don’t always go the way you want them to.
When a problem arises it is time for the two matriarchs to come together and get things sorted as only they can. This is a fabulous story about family, community and love and how people can and should help each other there was lots of cake and pastries in this story that made me want to visit Nyringa and have tea with Aunt Alice and Lucienne and meet all of the wonderful people who live there. This is a story that I do highly recommend.
My thanks to Harlequin Mira for my copy to read and review
4 stars
Published February 1st 2021 by Mira Books
