Under the Burning Sky - Olivia Bersell

In 1969 Ex-Marine Ethan Coles, arrives at Stoney Creek, a cattle station in the remote Australian outback to take up his new position as the resident school teacher, and is instantly drawn to the beautiful eighteen-year-old half cast girl, Amarin.

The year is 1969.  Ethan Coles, an Ex-Marine, goes down under, to Stoney Creek, a town in a remote area in the Australian outback to teach.  He is instantly enamored by Amarin, an beautiful half-Aboriginal girl.  They quickly find themselves falling for each other, despite Amarin's mother's disapproval.  As they begin their summer romance, Ethan deals with getting accustomed to life in the Outback and trying to avoid a rival, while Amarin struggles to uncover the secrets to her birth, all while a mysterious murder shakes up the small town.

My rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Crying in Colour - Sally Sorrell

George definitely got off at the wrong bus-stop. Either that, or he's having a really bizarre dream. Probably both, as he wakes up in a tree with two strangely-dressed men staring up at him.

Crying in Colour is a story about modern Brit George, who lands in this medieval land one might hear about in old tales. This story combines medieval fantasy with modern wit. George plays the straight man to Lord Farley and his hodge podge crew: Oberon, the voluntary servant to Farley; Chancy, the long-haired, beautiful gentleman with an aversion to violence and bloodshed; Mackerel, a jack of all trades and his younger brother Koi; and Benjee, an Australian woman. This unlikely group bands together on a quest to find the magical Tear-Stone.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars.