Reviews for Diamond Valley

The average rating for Diamond Valley based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-05-10 00:00:00 Sean Toy Margaret Way can write Australian land barons like no other. I'm not talking about ranch owners or corporate CEOs. I am talking about Kings, ruling autocratically in their mini-kingdoms, tyrants of a bygone era ensconced in their colonial mansions lost in the wilderness and savagery of the Australian outback. Though Diamond Valley is set in the twentieth century, the world inhabited by the characters remind me of Victorian era settlers, so primitive, patriarchal and traditional a world the writer has painted. The story has the typical MW ingredients, with dynamics she apparently finds fascinating as she has explored similar themes in many of her books, like A Faulkner Possession, Black Ingo, etc. There is the ultra-macho hero who is the scion of not only fantastic wealth but an impeccable family pedigree going back centuries. The downtrodden but beautiful and capable heroine whose deep insecurities stem from her humble, somewhat shady background, an insecurity that various villainous characters seize upon to put a wrench in their HE A. And of course the background of Australia, and in particular the majestic estate that pretty much all characters are fighting over, is always like a third principal and quite alive character in the whole drama. I really like Way's world building and her dreamy, evocative settings. I wish I could warm up to her protagonists. I am intrigued by them. I admire them from time to time. But they are usually so cool and aloof that I don't get that emotional connection which could make me transition from merely liking them into loving them. Quel dommage!

Review # 2 was written on 2020-12-19 00:00:00 Charles Guy Is it a marriage of convenience or does the hero love the heroine? This is the central question after the "unearthly beautiful" heroine inherits part of the hero's vast family holdings. The hero has always protected the heroine (the housekeeper's daughter) but does he love her as much as she loves him? And is passion love? What about obsession? There's an OW who is obsessed with the hero and goes out of her way to sabotage the heroine. Heroine is also "unearthly" in how she feels compassion for the OW. There's an OM who falls in love at first sight with the heroine, bringing on the hero's wrath. There is absolutely no doubt that the H/h will marry - but it would have been a much more interesting story if all of this worry about the hero's motivations and faithfulness took place after their marriage. MW likes to perpetuate the myth that once married the H/h are just fine. LOL