Book Recommendation - Snowy Summer by Patricia Weerakoon

Book Description:

Annie Samarasinghe has it all together.

Beautiful and brilliant, she has a medical career in Sydney and a fiancé in Sri Lanka.

But on the week of her wedding to childhood-sweetheart Sunil, Annie uncovers the shattering truth behind the façade of his business.

Forced to hide out in the Snowy Mountains, Annie changes her name and her story. When she meets the brusque and arrogant Roy Broughton-Knight, she discovers she’s not the only one hiding secrets. But the more she gets to know Roy, the closer Sunil comes to finding her.

Against the stunning backdrops of Sri Lanka and the Snowy Mountains, Annie and Roy learn to face the betrayals in their pasts and fight their fears. But how will they embrace the possibilities of a future?

Narelle's Thoughts:

I enjoyed reading Snowy Summer, and I loved the cross-cultural aspects of the story. The story opens in the sleepy Snowy Mountains town of Jindabyne, Australia, where Annie meets Roy at a masquerade party.

Annie is attracted to Roy, despite being betrothed in an arranged marriage to Sunil. Sunil is her childhood best friend in Sri Lanka who she hasn't seen for many years. We journey with Annie back to her home country, and experience her angst when her dream of a life married to Sunil in Sri Lanka is shattered.

Annie's world is turned upside down and her life is in danger. She escapes Sri Lanka and returns to Australia to start over as Dr. Sheva, the new doctor at a small Jindabyne medical centre.

Roy is a carefree playboy from Sydney, Australia, who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He's now hiding from the world on his family's alpaca farm near Jindabyne, and he has a few secrets of his own. The women in his life have let him down. He's slow to trust and wary of love.

Roy meets Sheva at the medical centre, and she reminds him of Annie. He can't forget Annie and their chance encounter at the masquerade party. He's attracted to Sheva, but he's respectful of her cultural background and her faith that underpins her desire to wait for marriage. Sheva's close friendship with the park ranger, Dan, ignites Roy's jealousy and curiosity about Sheva's past.

Snowy Summer is an action-packed contemporary Christian romantic adventure story with medical themes. It's a more edgy read than the typical Christian romance, and possibly too edgy for more conservative readers.

Annie has trained as a surgeon, and she thinks about the human body in a more clinical way than the average person. Anatomical terminology that's not usually mentioned in Christian romances is included the story.

The author is a retired Sexologist. She portrays the attraction between Sheva and Roy, and their thoughts about each other, in a realistic rather than euphemistic manner. There are situations in the story that definitely push the Christian romance genre boundaries.

I recommend Snowy Summer to romance readers who appreciate cultural diversity and are looking for a contemporary Christian romance that deals with real life issues. The blend of Aussie and Sri Lankan culture, and the stunning settings, was a highlight for me. I enjoyed visiting familiar places in Australia and learning more about Sri Lanka.

In April I attended Patricia's book launch for Snowy Summer at the visitor centre in Jindabyne. It was fun to visit the real life setting and hear more about the evolution of the story. Snowy Summer was the contemporary Christian romance manuscript that won our ACW opening chapter contest a few years ago. It was great to see the story published and read the final version.