Books & Literature

Book Review: Run for the Hills, by Carla Caruso

Bridie Porter leaves her billionaire fiancé at the alter and flees to a country town to hide, where she meets handsome triplets working in the wedding industry.

Queen of the Aussie rom-com, Carla Caruso, is back with a new sweet, bite-sized romance that will leave you with a great big grin on your dial.

Run for the Hills is the perfect novella length for an indulgent afternoon of, ahem, escapism. In it, you’ll meet marketing dynamo, Bridie Porter, a woman who, after fleeing her own wedding, literally runs for the hills and winds up in the (fictional) Adelaide Hills town of Balkissoch. A wanted woman by the paparazzi for so heartlessly deserting her billionaire fiancé, not to mention her baffled fiancé himself, a country backwater is the perfect place for Bridie to evade the spotlight. Or so she thought…

Also in Balkissoch are the Belshaw triplets – that’s right, triplets – each more handsome and charming than the next. The brothers grew up in country Balkissoch, but have since spread their wings into the wider world and are none too happy about the terms of their late father’s will that binds them to their childhood home running a wedding business. Especially moody about the move from La La Land where he snapped celebs for a living, is Cody Belshaw. If he could just snap that runaway bride, he could make it back to Los Angeles…

Desperate for some cash and a remote hideaway, Bridie accepts a job as a girl-Friday helping the brothers get their wedding business off the ground. And as fate would have it, sparks fly between Cody and Bridie. This is despite both having heartache and betrayal issues and a whole bunch of other problematic baggage, including their opposing goals of hiding versus a world-stage outing. But if love was a practical and smooth-sailing affair, where would the fun be?

Run for the Hills is a quirky look at the boutique wedding business, an insight into the life of a professional photographer and, most importantly, a genuinely romantic read. And while the romance is steamy enough to satisfy, it’s far too innocent to have you comparing it to Fifty Shades. Caruso does an amazing job of capturing the laid-back rural lifestyle of the Adelaide Hills and through her exceptionally visual style of writing, its beauty bursts to life on the page.

In just 150 pages you’ll meet loveable characters who’ll stay with you long after you finish the book and be treated to a fast-paced plot that will hook you from the first paragraph. My personal favourite were all the 80s movie references. Go, Goldie Hawn! Basically, this is light-hearted, fun, Aussie romance at its best. You’ll love falling in love with Bridie, Cody and beautiful Balkissoch.

Reviewed by Stacey Carvosso

Rating out of 10: 10

Released by: Escape Publishing
Release Date: 25 May 2017
RRP: $5.99 eBook

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