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

Well not bad. I just didn't realize when I got this via NetGalley this was a Christian romance. I tend to stay away from that genre because I just don't enjoy it at all. It didn't help that I realized half way through that this was a sequel to another novel with some of the same characters. This was cute though and I just gave it four stars though it didn't wow me that much. A very solid romance that I can see readers who enjoy Christian fiction enjoying.

"A Girl's Guide to the Outback" follows Samuel (Sam) Payton a youth minister living in VA. Plot reasons cause Sam to quit his job at the church and return to his family's farm in Australia to help out his sister Jules. Sam's coworker Kimberly chases after Sam in order to get him to come back to the ministry with an agreement that if she manages to help the farm become profitable he will return. Sparks fly.

Honestly I didn't find Sam or Kimberly that gripping, they had some hilarious banter and they are obviously attracted to each other. Everything is very PG-13.

There's also a side romance story going on with Sam's sister and their neighbor Mitch. When did we start doing that in romance books? Can we get back to just focusing on the leads and that's it?

The writing was okay and the flow was too.

The setting was fun though since I have only read a handful of romance books that have taken place in Australia.

A Girl’s Guide to the Outback is a very well written inspirational romance. Loved the plot, characters and setting. I highly recommend this book. My thanks to the publisher for my advance ebook. This is my unbiased review.

This book was so completely hilarious and absolutely swoon-worthy at the same time, it is one of the tales that genuinely deserves the title of rom-com. Of course, how can it be anything but with the four most stubborn young, single people in any kind of proximity together?

When I received this book, I didn't realize it was a Christian publisher so I was worried that it would be religion heavy, but it's not. The religious themes/ideas were relatable despite me not being a very religious person. I thought the book started off well. It was easy to read and the story flowed well, but then I felt like the characters went around in circles with their feelings. One of my pet peeves is conflicts that could have been resolved if they sat down and talked to each other. I think it made the book unnecessarily longer than it needed to be. Overall, an okay read.

It was a pleasure to read Jessica Kate's "A Girl's Guide to the Outback." This romantic comedy focuses on a youth pastor named Sam who is struggling with past failures and an aversion to risk regarding his ministry, and Kimberly the leading lady who fearless, yet hopelessly in love with Sam. When push comes to shove, Sam retreats to his home farm in the Australian Outback only to find that the family farm is in financial trouble. Kimberly must decide to go the distance if she is to bring Sam back to his ministry and hopefully help save the family farm. The story is so well written, it makes one feel the experience.


Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley and was not required to post a favorable review. All opinions are my own.

This book was completely entertaining from start to finish! I love it when humor is prominent in a novel, but doesn’t keep the story from having depth and it was perfectly balanced in this book! The plot was unique and kept me invested until the last page! The characters were likable and genuine and I found it easy to completely lose myself in this story any time I picked it up to read. I loved getting a look at the Australian food, slang, and setting through the pages of this story! Also, the romance and chemistry was just sparking off the pages with these characters! Loved this one!

I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this one but I ended up really enjoying it!

It was so funny! The push and pull between our protagonists, Sam and Kimberly was just so fun to read. The holidays can be a stressful time and I started reading this before the holiday craziness and it hit the spot.

I wasn’t aware that this was a Christian romance at first so just a warning that it’s low heat level. (Yes I read the description before requesting and no not all romance novels with ministers as main characters are “chaste” please see authors like Tiffany Reisz and Amber Belldene).

Anyway I was pleasantly surprised and do recommend if you’re looking for something different.

If you like country side, pick this book right now. If you like a rich girl going to a rural farm in Australia to woo a guy for her benefit but later ends up falling in love with him while working in the farms. You pick this book up. If you want to read a slow but not a cringy romance book.. just falling in love part, not after love part, then pick this book up.

Enough said, just pick this book up already 😂 but to be really honest, I am not that big fan of villages, farms and country side so I didn't love it.. but if you do, maybe you should give it a try 🤷‍♀️

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

I enjoyed this story of an American girl, Kimberly, finding herself traveling to the Australian Outback to attempt to lure Sam back to his position as a youth pastor. This was a fun romantic comedy that had me laughing out loud. I don't know if I could handle life in the Australian Outback, but it was fun seeing Kimberly doing her best. This would make a great movie. I look forward to reading future books by this talented author.

Thanks to netgalley for an ebook preview copy of 'A girl's guide to the Outback'.
Rating above 3 stars.

I liked this story about a woman in her late 20s from USA who spends time in rural Oz to fix someone else's life while at the same time hers is not travelling smoothly, especially in the relationships department.

A romance of Vegemite toast thickly spread with God's love, this novel may not be to everyones taste- but it clearly says on the jar that its of the Christian Romance variety.

It made me stop to think, what am I most afraid of doing? and what does God want me to hand over to him, to say yes to Him that I have held back on in my life?

You'd find two love stories in this book. Love stories between two different set of people but above all between the individuals and God.

There is a lesson in this book for everyone. This book is filled with sweet humor, breathtaking chemistry, grit, fearlessness, loyalty, trust in God...

First of, we meet the fiery, fearless Kim and the sweet, scared Sam. Their's was a roller coaster of insecurities, unrequited admiration and respect and a lot of self discoveries. I've never seen a book deal with deeply buried insecurities like this book.
Sam carried his insecurities like a signpost on his forehead, Kimberly had been wounded by those who should have loved her and that made her somewhat fearless and archenemies with Sam for a long time. I loved reading about their individual and collective journeys to letting go and moving on with God's purpose for their lives. It was so sweet how they complemented each other. A lot of hurt and words flew around but the important lesson here was when God is involved nothing stops Him.
Their story will inspire you to make changes you've been afraid and reluctant to.

Then we meet Mick and Jules. Jules is Sam's sister and in charge of their family farm in Australia that has been in the family for four generations. She allowed her place in the farm to define and cage her. Mick was frustrated with Jules because of their past. Jules had life changing decisions to make if only she could trust God and learn that she wasn't defined by what she did but by Whose she is.

There is something for everyone in this book. No review would do it justice. You just have to read the book yourself.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and this is my honest opinion.