Her Time to Shine by Fiona McCallum is a contemporary fiction story about life in your late 40s, starting over and solving the mysteries of the past. The story follows Erica, a late 40s widow and mother of two, as she embarks on a new life in the country. Her Time to Shine showed how hard it is to settle into a new place and start a new job. The side characters were great; I especially liked Walter and Erica’s working relationship. Also, Bruce is the most adorable dog, and I loved how much her character brought to the story. I felt like the writing captured the setting of a small country town in South Australia and the comings and goings of country life. I liked the discussions of mental health in this book. However, I felt the story was slow-paced and dialogue-heavy, which sometimes made the book hard to get through.

Overall, if you are looking for a story about moving to a small town and finding yourself, I recommend picking up a copy of Her Time to Shine.

Thank you to Harlequin Australia and Netgalley for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Erica has moved to the small town of Melrose for a fresh start after a loss and some trauma. Unsure of herself, she quickly setlles into her job working with Walter who runs the local funeral home and is working through her own issues. As she starts to find her feet, Erica becomes a part of the community by making new friends and falling in love with the delightful Bruce. But will flashbacks from her past bring her undone? This was an amazing story with some beautiful characters. A fantastic read.

Any book written by Fiona McCallum will take you on an emotional journey and leave you feeling better for the experience!
The main character Erica is a complex individual, life has been a struggle, but she evolves throughout the story and finds where she belongs. This is a fabulous story to immerse yourself in and uncover some of the layers of life!
Definitely a must read!

Congratulations and thanks to Harlequin Australia, NetGalley and the wonderful Fiona McCallum for the opportunity to read this book and give an honest review.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The small South Australian country town of Melrose, 300 kilometres from Adelaide, welcomed Erica with opened arms. Living in the flat above the funeral home where she was due to start her new job, and overlooking the bakery, Erica felt content. But her stress and worries were always close by, her nerves continually waking her in the early hours. The last few months had been shattering, with her husband Stuart dying from cancer, and leaving their finances in a pickle. Not to mention the stalker who was now behind bars, thankfully.

Erica’s new boss, Walter, was a delight. Kind, caring and gentle, he made a perfect funeral director. And when Walter and Erica acquired a new dog, five-year-old Bruce, when her owner had died (yes, Bruce was a girl), Erica began to feel calmer. She was loving her job, worked well with her boss, and was making new friends, plus Bruce was perfect. Erica’s daughters Issy and Mackenzie lived in their family home in Adelaide and visited occasionally, thrilled at how happy their mother seemed. But when her new friends put a new venture into play, Erica wondered, would be able to participate? Could she overcome the fears of her long ago past?

Her Time to Shine is the latest contemporary novel by Aussie author Fiona McCallum and this is absolutely one of her best! I thoroughly enjoyed it, flying through the pages, loving Bruce’s empathy and instinctive ‘knowing’. Erica, Walter, Jimmy, Jennifer, Erica’s daughters – there were more, but they are great characters, well written and deeply involved. Her Time to Shine is a heartwarming look at finding your way again, at whatever age works for you. Highly recommended.

With thanks to HarperCollins AU via NetGalley for my ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

This is a lovely cozy read. Smooth reading and nothing sinister, just a nice girl story about a women, recent widow, who has had a traumatic event happen, and needs a life reset in a new place. Melrose SA is just st the place for her. I reaIly enjoyed reading this one.

A great story of how grief effects different people, one woman's journey to overcome grief anxiety and crate a new life for herself
A lesson for a lot of us