(A copy was provided to read and review.)

One evening when Rosie's husband finally comes home from work, he dumps a bombshell on her. He has been having an affair since two month now with a collegue from work.
Icecold he informs his wife, he is leaving her and their baby son, to start a new life with Karen in Hong Kong. In his opinion everything has been taken care of and he isn't prepared to discuss matters any further and packs his stuff there and then and moves out.
What a sleazebag.

Understandably, Rosie is in shock, but she is also quite dependent on her hubby, because she has stopped working and can't afford the house they live in without Mr. I-coudn't-care-less-about-my-little-boy.
As a result Rosie is prepared to totally humiliate herself and she visits her husband the next day at work to try and sort things out. An attempt which ends how you would expect, considering how careless and egoistical her "better" half has treated her so far, she is marched out of the building by security.

Her friends and family aren't the most helpful characters in poor Rosie's life either.
They seem to mostly prefer someone who does function and not cause their own lives any interruption of their daily routine. At least Rosie's sister is helpful and suggests she moves to Lucknow, a place they know very well, since they were young.

A small town in the middle of nowhere is sure to be quite different from her luxury life in Sydney, but in Lucknow Rosie has the chance for a fresh start. She works in the local charity shop and makes new friends. There's also a new man in her life, or better there are two and that's a new problem. Now, Rosie has to decide for herself, if Irish artist Seamus or wealthy Hugo offer her a better future.

I really loved the setting, particularly Lucknow, and how the author describes the various Australian landscapes. Rosie tried her best to cope with what life did throw at her, but I would have like her a bit more independent. I can't help it, but Irish artist Seamus, who is into booze and lives in a place he built himself, is for me quite typecast.
The conversations I found sometimes a bit stilted, but I always wanted to keep reading. The story held my interest throughout and I enjoyed reading Lucknow. The ending offers the chance for a sequel, some things were for me left unexplained.

I'm sorry to say I could not continue after about a dozen pages, as I found the writing quite poor. The direct speech in particular was very stilted, without contractions, and completely unnatural. It needs professional editing.

This Lucknow is very different from the Indian town of Lucknow. A small countrystyle town where everyone knows everyone else's business. Maybe not the best place for a townie like Rosie to go settle down with her sister, after her husband walked out on her.

Rosie finds herself almost abandoned when her husband without any inkling walks out on her and their infant son. Very quickly she finds herself homeless, with no money and Rosie is the helpless kind. Landing on her sister's doorstep at her invitation Rosie finds that adapting to this country life is not going to be that easy. Juliette seems hell bent on setting her up with the local laird, whose ideas regarding a future partner is genealogy and how adaptable and capable a woman is. Feelings are not taken into account at all. Rosie for whatever reason (ours not to reason why) is swept into this relationship despite the lukewarm feelings on her side, merely for convenience and financial security. On the sidelines is another attractive man who is just the opposite of our laird but for whom Rosie feels a kindred spirit.

What would Rosie do and how she does it is this story. It seems a little contrived throughout but it was a pleasant read for a weekend.

Goodreads and Amazon review posted on 2/4/2018. Review on my blog mid May 2018.

Annie Hall brings us a simple love story. Rosie finds herself lost and running scared when husband Nick takes a job transfer and a co-worker to Hong Kong, leaving his wife Rosie and their infant son Hamish behind in Australia with divorce pending and a much smaller maintenance arrangement, forcing them to leave their home in Sydney's North Shore. On autopilot, she finds herself on the train to Lucknow, where her sister Juliette has purchased her a car and rented a small house in for this small distraught family from funds Rosie has sent ahead. The girls grandparents had had a farm in Lucknow when Rosie was very young and she remembers it fondly. But arriving in the extreme heat at the end of summer during an enduring drought makes Rosie have second thoughts about living in Lucknow, but she needs family. Lucknow has little water but abundant single men.
So there is Hugo, and then there is Seamus. But does she need another man? And is she looking for security or love?

I received a free electronic copy of the novel from Netgalley, Annie Hall and ThreeKookaburras in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

I think this may be very first book I've read that is based in Australia. I've always wanted to visit Australia but it's so far from the US. This book started out great and I really enjoyed the story line. Rosie's jerk of a husband left her and their new baby and she had no clue he had been having an affair. Rosie had to move on and start a new life - and that's what this was about. I commend Rosie for being brave enough to start over in a new place. That's hard for anyone to do! Thank you to Threekookaburras and NetGalley for my complimentary book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Sorry, this book was not for me. Rosie's husband comes home late one night and tells her he is moving to Hong Kong with another woman. Rosie is miserable and no one wants to be around her and hear her story. Rosie finally leaves Sydney and moves near her sister in Lucknow. It's a small town in the middle of nowhere with sweltering heat. There she finds it hard to fit in. When Rosie doesn’t know what to do, she does nothing. Sorry, it was not the right book for me so I quit. I was given a copy of the book from the publisher through Net Gallery. This is my honest and voluntarily given review

I loved this book about poor Rosie, dumped by her charming husband for another woman and left to pull herself and her baby son, Hammish, up from the ground where she has landed. Rosie is shaken to her core, unaware of her husband’s discretions and desire to leave them. She has no idea what she and Hammish will do but wanting to divorce herself from anything to do with Nick, she sells her valuable jewelry and home and moves to Lucknow where her overbearing older sister and husband live. Her sister is all about being accepted into the small community and a couple of unfortunate occurrences show Rosie in a dim light. Juliette, the sister, sets about to find a suitable suitor for Rosie in the local stud farmer, Hugo. Rosie is really taken by a man she met, Seamus, but he is not exactly the best way to go according to Juliette. Rosie is left trying to assuage her sister, make a go of it with Hugo all the while wishing Seamus was better than he is. There are some undercurrents between Hugo and Rosie’s boss/friend Eloise that puzzle Rosie and she doubts Hugo is the one for her.

Rosie has a young child, a wonderful husband and a nice home. At least she did until he came home late one night and told her he was leaving her and the child and moving to another country with another woman. She can't believe it. But when she gets escorted out of his workplace by security guards he called, she knows it's true...

Threekookaburras and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It has been published and you can buy a copy now.

When she calls her parents they tell her there's no room in the house for her, she'd have to live in the caravan behind it. That's not doable with a small child. Then her sister calls her and says she'll get her a rental house in the town she lives in. It's a small town where her grandparent used to live. She says yes because she has nowhere else to go and her absconding husband is selling the house.

As she settles into city life where everyone knows you and your business, she finds not everyone is kind. Her sister is trying to run her life. She has a good lady friend that she works with a couple of days a week. She has met a man that fascinates her. But her sister has other plans for her.

I spent part of this book wishing Rosie would stand up for herself. She finds herself lying to her sister and the new boyfriend her sister has conjured up just so she can work in the shop with her friend. Hugh was nobody I would have ever dated but he has a large house, lots of money and he wants to continue his bloodline. He raises cattle and it appears he thinks she has a good bloodline and will make his future children good stock. He's also very controlling. That's not for me.

What Rosie finds out is that if you love somebody you have more protection and safety than having material things brings you. She has a hard decision at the end, but she makes the right choice. This was a good read.

Rosie is married to Nick who is her ideal partner. They live in Sydney with their baby Hamish. Nick is a great husband and provider and Rosie thinks her life is perfect. She adores her husband and everyone thinks they are the golden couple. Little does she know that Nick is fed up with family life and has been cheating on her for months with a work colleague. He breaks it to her one evening when he returns from work. Everything is arranged; a completely new life for him but without her or his son. He is transferring with his present company to a new country, a new job and he’s going with his new lover. He tells Rosie she has been paying no attention to him and is always occupied with Hamish. He wants out. She will have to move out of their home and they will be divorced in a years’ time. Rosie is distraught, but callously Nick packs there and then telling her ‘That’s it. Finito’.
Rosie has to get over the catastrophe that she is left with. Her sister encourages her to start a new life in a familiar town near to where she lives with her husband. She arranges a new home and car for Rosie who will be living in the interior of Australia, in Central Victoria. It used to be a ‘Gold’ town once upon a time, but now is a quiet rural town. So Rosie duly moves and establishes herself in Lucknow. She makes friends with willowy singer Eloise and volunteers to work a few shifts in the local Charity shop. Meanwhile Juliette introduces her to Hugo who is one of her husband’s wealthy customers in his job as the local veterinary surgeon and they both consider Hugo the perfect match for Rosie. He comes from a well respected family and is a very eligible bachelor. His home is a palatial ranch, he is well respected and kind.
Rosie also meets another local, an Irish artist called Seamus. He is a bit of a character, a bit too fond of the booze and he lives in a remote property which he built himself. He is also kind but he is hardly a good bet as a partner, as Juliette keeps telling her. But Rosie feels more relaxed with Seamus than she does with pragmatic and career driven Hugo. He is too like Nick and look where that ended. Rosie has decisions to make. Both men have their faults and she is confused by her emotions.
This is the story of Rosie’s new life, which couldn’t be more different from her married life with Nick. It’s a heart-warming story built around everyday folk with a host of characters carefully crafted by the author. The storytelling is vivid and painted a beautiful picture of small town life, the importance of family and friends and of a new mother deserted by her errant husband. I would like to thank NetGalley and publisher Threekookaburras Pty Ltd for my copy of this novel, sent to me in return for an honest review. I enjoyed reading the story but thought that the ending was very abrupt. It’s a 3.5* review from me.

I have sat with a few friends as they have gone through a divorce. No matter how one decides to deal with it, there is always pain and suffering and in our "quick fix" world, no one actually wants to know about the long haul that a person has to go through in dismantling their lives and starting over. I am grateful for my marriage of 46 years, but when my son died I experienced the glazed eyes and people turning away from me, when all I wanted was someone to allow me to talk about him and to give me a hug. They didn't even have to understand. I could therefore identify with Rosie as she was left holding the baby, both literally and figuratively. Being of a different temperament to the rest of her family members didn't help her either as it would seem she had been protected and provided for all her life. Suddenly finding herself out in the world again, was a jolt to her emotionally and physically. Ending up in the small abandoned mining town of Lucknow brings its own set of complications and Rosie has to learn to wade through her feelings and come to a place where she makes choices based on her own needs rather than what everyone else decides would be best for her. This book is sad but one applauds Rosie as she finally makes her choice, even though she knew she was going to disappoint people. I got the feeling that this story isn't over but this book is nevertheless a stand alone. It is clean and fully exhibits the trauma many woman go through when dealing with the end of a marriage. I received a copy of this book from Book Brag and this is my honest and voluntary review.

Lucknow by Annie Hall

Nick, Rosie’s husband, was a selfish good-for-nothing waste of a man. He came home one night, told Rosie he was moving on, packed his bags and walked out leaving her with their son and no anchor to keep her grounded. What did she do? She went to live in Lucknow at the suggestion of her sister and then…once again she let others take over her life…until she wised up and decided to do what was best for her.

Rosie was pursued by two men that were complete opposites. One was much like her ex-husband – a good earner, down-to-earth, sure of what he wanted for himself and his life…even if it wasn’t exactly what Rosie envisioned. The other man was a transplant to Australia from Ireland, enjoyed his drink, had an artist’s soul, was passionate and able to feel…his vision for them couldn’t have been more different than her other admirer.

Which man will she choose? Will she follow her heart? Will she opt for love or stability or can she have both?

Reading this made me think about what it would be like to live in a small town. It made me think about how family may want what is best for you but what they want may not really be in your best interest. It made me feel and care and wonder…and I enjoyed the story. It was a book of choices and change and finding love in unexpected places.

Did I like this book? Yes
Would I read other books by this author? Yes
Do I recommend this book? Definitely

I do wonder about Rosie’s friend, Eloise, and wonder if she will star in a future book and I also wonder if this is a one-off story or if Lucknow might star in future books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Three Kookaburras for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4.5 Stars