Books › The Hills Of Home
The Hills Of Home
First published 1977 · 192 pages
A vintage, angst-filled marriage of convenience set against the lush, sweltering backdrop of a Queensland plantation.
What it feels like
Reading this vintage romance feels like stepping into a time capsule of 1970s melodrama, where the tropical heat of a Queensland plantation perfectly mirrors the simmering, unspoken tension between the leads. The narrative moves at a brisk, engaging clip, driven entirely by the delicious agony of unrequited love and the classic marriage-of-convenience trope. It is an earnest, emotionally heightened experience, steeped in the bittersweet ache of family duty and hidden desires. The prose is straightforward but heavily focused on internal longing, making every stolen glance and misunderstood gesture feel monumental. It will absolutely delight readers who crave the nostalgic, high-angst, low-communication dynamics of classic Harlequin romances, offering a comforting, guaranteed happily-ever-after wrapped in retro charm.
- Mood
- bittersweet
- tropical
- emotionally tense
- nostalgic
- Tone
- earnest
- melodramatic
- romantic
- angsty
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- marriage of convenience · unrequited love · family duty · hidden desires · return to roots
- The writing
- Emotionally heightened and straightforward, focusing heavily on the protagonist's internal longing and the sensory details of the Australian setting.
- The arc
- Begins in sorrow and insecurity, builds through agonizing romantic tension, and resolves in the comforting warmth of mutual confession.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love the delicious angst of vintage category romance and the classic marriage-of-convenience trope.
Content notes
- grief
- terminal illness of a parent
- dated gender dynamics
About the book
Her homecoming was bittersweet Shelley was grieved to return to her plantation home to find her beloved stepfather desperately ill, but delighted to see Mitch, his son, again. She had always adored Mitch, but so did a hundred other girls. Therefore, when he suddenly proposed marriage, no one was more surprised than Shelley. But soon it became apparent that Mitch was only fulfilling the dearest wish of his dying father. However, Shelley longed for him to have another motive!
Description from Open Library.
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