“A Girl’s Guide to the Outback” centers around Sam Payton who is a youth pastor for Wildfire Ministries and Kimberly Foster who is the Business Manager for Wildfire Ministries and is known for her strategic/financial planning. Sam abruptly quits his job at the ministry and moves back home to Australia to help his sister Jules with the family farm that has come under financial strain. Upon Sam’s abrupt leaving of Wildfire Ministries, the Board has left Kimberly in charge and struggling to find a replacement for Sam.
Jules, Sam’s sister calls Kimberly one day and asks her to fly to Australia for a month to look over the financials of the farm and make suggestions on improvements. In return, Sam will fly back to Virginia for 6 weeks to help Kimberly interview and hire his replacement.
From there, the novel ensues.
While this novel was a slow burn romance between Kimberly and Sam you also explored Jules relationship with her ex Mick.
I thought this novel did a great job at showing honesty in relationships and really explored what it means to face your own fears.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

When I saw this was based in Australia and on a farm I knew I had to read it. When I turned to the page stating it was a dairy farm, my heart was immediately so happy. So many romance books are based on horse farms or ranches it is truly amazing finding one set on a dairy. Not only was it set on a dairy, life on the farm was so accurately portrayed. This is a christian romance which will deter some people, I absolutely loved it. Kimberly has a love hate relationship with her business partner Sam and when he abandons their youth ministry to go home to help his struggling family farm she follows him. The cast of characters is rounded out by Sam's sister Jules, her ex boyfriend Mick and Butch the farm employee.

While Jules was not the main character arc she is the one I connected to the most. Being a female farmer in an industry that is normally dominated by men is hard. Add on the constant struggle of day to day farm life and the state of the dairy industry (felt both in Australia and USA) life is just hard. Her struggles are ones I deal with daily.

I am truly so glad I picked up this book and will be recommending it to everyone I know! Thank you Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for providing me with an eARC in exchange for a honest review.

I have a book hangover. A Girl's Guide to the Outback by @jessicakatewrites was just the book I needed after having abandoned the last two books I tried to read. I laughed, I cried and I couldn't put it down. The main characters Sam and Kimberly run a youth ministry. Kimberly has to travel to Australia to go to try to woo her co-leader back. The problem is they don't even like each other. I loved the characters and the story. I cheered for them and yelled at them. I kinda of guessed how it would end but couldn't figure out how they would get there. I received a complimentary copy of this book from @netgalley and @thomasnelson. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Jessica Kate’s second novel delivers the love/hate romance, snappy banter, and deeply-crafted characters readers expect from her, plus a bonus. This one’s largely set in Australia. Since it’s new territory for the American heroine, Kimberley, readers enjoy a virtual tour with her.

This is a novel where the setting is key to the story. Kimberley’s time on the remote ranch belonging to her nemesis, Samuel Payton, and other settings like the Gold Coast, aren’t just backdrops.

A Girl’s Guide to the Outback follows after Love and Other Mistakes, so readers who remember the first book will recognize some familiar people. Readers starting with this book will have no trouble, because the love interests in this book were secondary characters in the first one.

As well as romance, A Girl’s Guide to the Outback is a story of misunderstood motives and the way past pain can keep even Christians back from their full potential.

Favourite lines:

She’d just blasted the good-looking HR manager of a company looking to recruit her. While wearing a potato costume. [Kindle location 53]

Jules’s brow cinched together like an invisible hand had pulled a loose thread. [Kindle location 2333]

“Sweetheart, when God closes a door, He closes it. Best not to hold on too long and get your fingers jammed in the process.” [Kindle location 3104]

For more about Jessica Kate and her books (and her StoryNerds podcast) visit jessicakatewriting.com.

[I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.]

Kimberly Foster longs to belong—in a family, at church, even at work. That’s why she passionately advocates for Wildfire, a drop-in youth ministry run by her nemesis, Samuel Payton. Sam seems to belong wherever he goes. Teens love him, donors make decisions based on his advice, and he dispenses hugs and a listening ear to anyone who needs them—except Kim.

When Sam decides to return to Australia to help out his sister on their family farm, Kim breathes a sigh of relief. Until the Wildfire board starts to question her business plan and projections. Without just the right leader, Wildfire will die out. And Kimberly can’t seem to find the right replacement. No one has what Sam had.

The board sends Kim to Australia to win back Sam, which seems like a poor plan on their part. Don’t they realize that opposites attack? If she can’t convince Sam to return, she may lose her dream job—and the tenuous sense of family that comes along with it.

Jessica Kate’s quirky characters find themselves in situations that make the reader both squirm and cheer. How can a city girl survive in the Outback, and will she ever discover the key to saving Wildfire?

Readers who have known the pain of rejection will relate to Kim and the ways she copes. Those who struggled in school and feel less-than will relate to Sam. Only God can help them see the strengths in the other. And only God can bring about the changes needed to help Wildfire succeed.

Girl's guide to the outback was a blast to read!
Full of witty banter and heartwarming discovery, grab this book if you want a trip to the outback without the plane fare (or spiders)!
I enjoyed the dual story lines and thought that the author incorporated multiple messages of life in a fun down to earth way. I really liked how Kim and Sam, even though they didn't get along in the beginning! I loved seeing them grow and learn how to work as a team.
So fun!

This was such a fun rom com to read. It was witty and well written. The characters were adorable, and the ending was great.
Many thanks to Thomas Nelson Fiction and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

LOVED!
What a fun book! Once again, Jessica Kate has shown to be an unforgettable author entering the rom-com world.
Full of her usual "sass", "A Girl's Guide to the Outback" also brings back the thoughtfulness of this author to write characters with such depth and growth.

Kimberly Foster and Samuel Payton have each given each other some really hard time over the past three years.
But, my favorite thing about this book were the characters seeing each other through new eyes by doing what they should always have done -- communicating. It was refreshing to see how deceptiveness was unnecessary to create tension; just human ability to hurt each other was enough. Most beautifully was how they'd also create space for vulnerability, for a chance at something new, despite never have been given much reason before. But it is this small silver lining that especially Kim holds on to.

I am so excited to see what Jessica Kate has in stores next!

I thoroughly expected this book (from just looking at the cover) to be a light rom-com but boy was I wrong!
This was definitely a story with depth and a good deal of humor too. Both main characters did a great deal of self-examination and learned a lot about themselves and each other in the process. They went through near tragedies, messy working conditions and family upheaval but that is what made the story richer. And there was also another romance as a bonus. I very much enjoyed this book and highly recommend it!
I was given a copy to read by NetGalley (thank you) but the opinions are entirely my own.

A Girl’s Guide to the Outback
by Jessica Kate
Release date: January 28, 2020
Rating: 5/5

Another winner from Jessica Kate! Having recently finished her previous novel, Love and Other Mistakes, I was eager to read more from this talented author! Her storytelling is so good and her characters are authentic and rootable. The reader can’t help but keep reading to find out what will happen next. (I also might be a bit biased since the main character is named after me!)

Kimberly is a financial genius and has felt so good about using her talents for good by working at Wildfire Ministries for the past three years. She truly believes in all they are doing to help the youth with their outreaches and youth drop-in center. She is convinced that expansion is the next step to help more teenagers. Unfortunately, youth paster, Sam, is not so easily convinced that expansion is the right idea. When a family emergency sends him home to Australia, his departure creates a headache for Kim. Not able to keep or rely on Sam’s replacements, the board may dissolve Wildfire if they can’t get Sam back or at least someone like him. Meanwhile, Sam reluctantly calls Kim to see if she’ll help look at his family dairy farm’s finances to figure out what they can do to be more productive. Kim flies to Australia to spend her holiday in Australia determined to get Sam to help her out if she helps his family out. Will these two learn to see each other in a new light?

Jessica Kate has a way of weaving a beautiful, heartwarming story of two broken people and finding God’s best for them. She finds a way to make this story hilarious and heartbreaking. I can’t say enough about how much I enjoyed this story. I felt like I was in Australia on a dairy farm. Her use of Aussie slang is fun but can be a bit confusing. I sort of wish she had a glossary at the end but for the most part, she explains the meanings of the slang. I would love the audiobook of this story just to hear that Australian accent! She made me laugh and cry and I am forever a fan!

I highly recommend this book for those that love clean, inspirational rom-coms.

My thanks to the publisher, NetGalley, and CelebrateLit for an ARC of the book. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. No positive review was expected and no compensation received.

I enjoyed this book. It was a lot milder than what I normally read. It kept my attention. Though some parts dragged ion I felt. You get two stories in one. With the other being the side characters.

A fun read for any romance lover.

*I was provided a free advanced copy of this book through Net Galley in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.*

A Girl’s Guide to the Outback was certainly that for me! The American heroine, Kimberly, found herself on an Australian dairy farm, and I learned loads about the countryside of Australia, right along with her. The hero, Samuel, was totally swoon-worthy. I loved his heart for God and his struggles with his learning disability.

Jessica Kate has managed to create a romance of witty banter, misunderstandings, poignant revelations, and a perfect homey feel. While Australia is a new setting to me, her descriptions immersed me in the country. I appreciated the way Kate interspersed Australian slang with little sidenotes for us American readers. She executed this in such a way that it didn’t take away from the overall story but rather added to the characters’ musings.

The insecurities of both main characters are so relatable, you can’t help but root even more for them. Not just that they’ll overcome their differences and fall in love, but also that they’ll recognize who they are in Christ. And with this comes some amazing quotes that stick with you long after you close the book.

Overall, this is an incredible read that you cannot miss! Jessica Kate is forever on my TBR list.

(Review will go live on the blog on Jan. 24 at 5:00 PM)

A Girl’s Guide to the Outback was a really nice Christian romance with the added bonus of a second romance within the story. Kimberly chases Sam across the globe to the Australian Outback to save a teen ministry he started in the US but left because he needed to help his family farm survive from possible foreclosure. This story is a delightful read. I really enjoyed the character’s growth through the story, the setting was fabulous, and the banter. .

I was provided with an electronic ARC through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book was so good! It will make you laugh, cry and feel every emotion in between. The author made this book come to life with her words. You could see all the scenery, feel all the emotions and you feel like the people are your friends. This is not a fluffy romance, it deals with real problems and how the people make it through them with God's help. This book was a joy to read. This is the first book I've read by Jessica Kate and it was a solid 5 star read! Thank you The First Editions and Thomas Nelson via NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

I really enjoyed this sweet Christian romance because it wasn’t just “fluff” but featured 3D characters who were flawed and afraid but grew and learned to trust as the story progressed. I also loved the imagery (from an Australian author) of the workings of a dairy farm in the Outback.

This is really TWO love stories, both fleshed out nicely...Kim and Sam and Jules (Sam’s sister) and Mick...and I loved both of them equally. Loved the humor as well.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #ThomasNelson for providing me with an ARC. The opinions are strictly my own.

A Girl’s Guide to the Outback is the first novel I’ve read by Jessica Kate. I’m so glad I took a chance on this story! I really enjoyed everything about it!

I love humor in any story I read and this story was full of it! The humor nicely balanced out the serious issues that Kimberly and Sam had to tackle. I really liked both kimberly and Sam and their chemistry was perfect!

I also loved the secondary characters and their romance! The setting of Australia really added to the story and I loved learning some Australian slang!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

A fun, laugh-out-loud read complete with some swoony-worthy moments and a few stubborn people throw together to complicate things. The characters, story lines, and the setting are well crafted and very realistic. This Rom-Com has everything one expects from the genre and so much more. I LOVED this book and highly recommend it.

An enjoyable Christian romance with a unique setting that manages to remain lighthearted while tackling some tough topics. As soon as I finished this I immediately started to read Jessica Kate's previous book, which appears to have some crossover characters. An author I will be watching!

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book to be thoroughly delightful. I loved the four main characters. They all have strong personalities and are full of life. They all have things they battle that make it hard for them to take certain kinds of risks yet they all learn from each other and grow. It’s beautiful to watch.

The title is a bit of a misnomer. Yes, Kimberly goes to Australia to try to talk to Sam but she’s not a fish out of water there. She takes to life and chores on the farm admirably. She’s willing to put aside her heels and get dirty with the cows and chickens. As her stay extends, Sam begins to realize he didn’t know her quite as well as he thought.

I love the author’s writing style. There was a lot of humor and witty dialogue. There were great descriptive passages. “From what he’d observed of her knots in the past few days, she might as well have made a harness from single-ply toilet paper” (location 891). “The words rushed out from the dark box labeled Insecurity that she normally locked down tighter than plutonium” (location 2683). They paint a real picture. I enjoyed it.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson for providing me with a free e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

#AGirl’sGuideToTheOutback #Netgalley