The Fairvale Ladies Book Club by Sophie Green @sophiegreenauth @LittleBrownUK @ClaraHDiaz #BlogTour

In 1978 in Australia's Northern Territory, life is hard and people are isolated. Telephones are not yet a common fixture. But five women find a way to connect.

Sybil, the matriarch of Fairvale Station, misses her eldest son and is looking for a distraction, while Kate, Sybil's daughter-in-law, is thousands of miles away from home and finding it difficult to adjust to life at Fairvale.

Sallyanne, mother of three, dreams of a life far removed from the dusty town where she lives with her difficult husband.

Rita, Sybil's oldest friend, is living far away in Alice Springs and working for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

And Della, who left Texas for Australia looking for adventure and work on the land, needs some purpose in her life.

Sybil comes up with a way to give them all companionship: they all love to read, and she starts a book club. As these five women bond over their love of books, they form friendships that will last a lifetime.

Warm-hearted, comforting and richly told, this Australian bestseller is the perfect feel-good read for book lovers everywhere.

The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club by Sophie Green is published in trade paperback on 1st March 2018 by Little Brown. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review and for inviting me to take part in the Blog Tour.

When I heard about this book, and read the blurb, I instantly knew that this was a book that I would love. Set in the late 1970s and early 80s, and all about a book club. What more could I ask for?

I have been engrossed in the lives of the main characters for the last few days. This is a story that although is set fairly recently, reads as though it should be from the 1950s or 60s. Fairvale is a cattle station in the Northern Territory of Australia. You probably couldn't find a more remote and isolated setting; with everything dictated by the seasons.

Whilst the story does feature male characters, it is the five female leads who are at the centre of this book. Sybil; the matriarch of the piece and Kate her English daughter-in-law. Sallyanne; a young wife with small children who is unhappy but eager to please. Rita; a medic who works for The Flying Doctor service in Alice Springs and Della, from Texas, and the only cowgirl working on the stations.

This is a story of female friendship; of how women support and help each other through the toughest and most emotional of times. These women are brought together through their love of reading and for me, this was an incredibly important part of the book as they discussed some of my own favourite reads. I rediscovered The Thorn Birds and A Woman of Substance through their book chats, and there are some striking similarities to both of these books, both in the writing style and the plot lines.

The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club is a satisfying and gentle read. The characters are carefully and sympathetically created and the Northern Territories setting is stunning. There's no romanticising here, the reader is made aware of the harsh realities that these women faced when raising their families and creating a home.

Warm and atmospheric. I enjoyed it so much.

Sophie Green is an author and publisher who lives in Sydney. 

She has written several fiction and non-fiction books, some under other names. In her spare time she writes about country music on her blog, Jolene. 

She fell in love with the Northern Territory the first time she visited and subsequent visits inspired the story in The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club.

Follow her on Twitter @sophiegreenauth 

Find her Author page on Facebook