Boomerang Bride by Fiona Lowe

Today I am pleased to be posting a joint discussion style review of Boomerang Bride by Fiona Lowe. My partner this time is Jayne from Australian Bookshelf.

Jayne's thoughts are in purple and mine are in black.

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Marg: We should start with a brief note of congratulations as Fiona Lowe has just won a Rita award (which is the romance writer’s equivalent to an Oscar) which is a pretty big deal!

Did you enjoy the book as much as others obviously have done?

Jayne: I did! I think Boomerang Bride was a fun read and I particularly enjoyed the author’s portrayal of the differences between the American and Australian culture. There were many times I laughed out loud when Matilda and Marc had confusing conversations- very entertaining!

Marg: I think that the differences in languages was one of the things that I enjoyed the most about this book. I have read countless romances written by Australian authors which have been Americanised so it was a lot of fun to play up those differences in language rather than have them replaced by something that we wouldn’t normally say in Australia.

Jayne: What is your favourite quote/ conversation that represents Matilda and Marc’s language differences?

Mine: 

“Let me try and get this straight. If a cuppa isn’t supper and tea isn’t a cuppa...I have no idea what we are talking about.” (page 99).

I was laughing out loud at this point!

Marg: I loved that quote too and actually used it as a Weekend Cooking post recently. Another one that had me smiling was from page 128. It also had the added bonus of being a new to me expression!:

“Kyle’s been educating me about words. We worked out that Australians pash, English snog and Americans mack.”
“He’s fourteen. What does he know about macking?”
She looked at him over the rim of her mug. “The point is he’s fourteen and even if he hasn’t pashed, macked or snogged I can guarantee you he’s thought about it.”

Jayne: So, what did you think of Matilda’s character?

Matilda is one of those fun, crazy characters that manages to get into sticky situations. At first I wasn’t sure if I could relate to her because the reason for her being in the U.S seemed a bit flimsy and how she got into that mess really had me questioning her intellect! But as her story was revealed she started to make more sense to me.

Marg: It was very easy to judge Matilda based on the way that she came to be in the small town of Hobin, USA. She seemed very gullible to have been scammed the way that she was, and to come all that way having left everything behind. However, you only have to watch the news to see seemingly intelligent women who look for the signs to make sure that they aren’t being scammed and still are.

She definitely bounced back pretty quickly showing a resilient character.

Apart from the fact that I couldn’t imagine doing anything wedding related as a job, did you find it strange that Matilda would start the business she did so soon after her own wedding?

Jayne: Yes! I got the feeling the author knew the reader would be questioning that decision and so she used Marc as the devil’s advocate. Many times throughout the book he questioned her reasoning for taking that position and also for not being too affected by her own wedding disaster. I suppose Matilda loved the ‘idea’ of weddings and marriage and the happily ever after so it’s not too abstract for her to enjoy helping others- just bad timing perhaps.

To find out more of our thoughts about Boomerang Bride by Fiona Lowe head over to Jayne's blog for the second part of our discussion.

Synopsis:

No money, no groom, no hope?

Matilda Geoffrey risked it all for love. She left Australia to be with Barry—the man who had swept her off her virtual feet. Now, wearing a wedding dress, she's alone on Main Street in small-town Wisconsin, and things aren't working out exactly as planned...

In town for his annual family visit, Marc Olsen had never seen a bride quite like Matilda—staring into a storefront window, holding a tottering wedding cake, and looking desperately in need of a groom. He may not have any warm feelings for his hometown, but meeting Matilda just as she discovers she's been scammed by her online "fiancé" stirs something in him.

Matilda is not the kind of woman Marc imagined himself with, and Marc is anything but the romantic hero that Matilda has always dreamed of. But as unlikely circumstances throw them together, can they let go of their misconceptions and risk their hearts for love?