The Kalista Diamond (Steele Ops)

by Erin Moira O'Hara

[stacey_is_sassy]

A true Australian bloke meets a gem…

I have a confession to make…I’m an Aussie and up until a few weeks ago I avoided reading books by Australian authors. It’s a sad fact that previous books I have read felt like they were written for overseas customers. We know people think we have a weird way of talking, but why emphasise it. Crikey, we don’t all jabber on while skulling stubbies, with the blokes checking out the sheila’s at the barbie on Sat’dy arvo. We are more inclined to have the ladies drinking a glass of Sauvignon Blanc on the back deck and the guys chatting with their mates while having a crownie, cooking a lamb roast in the weber. See the slight difference. I recently had the pleasure of meeting some lovely Australian ladies who write romance. At first I was hesitant to take on the daunting task of reading their work and being objective, but I decided to test my resolves and give them a go. Bloody glad I did too.

Now, back to the story… We are introduced to our tough bloke Sam when he is on a mission to catch a bad guy. He with his team of guns for hire, who are all ex-SAS (Special Air Services) military men, track down one of the baddies to a little Aussie town in the middle of whoop whoop. In this little Aussie town called Willaroi Downs we find Kallie. This young lady has had to battle hard to protect her cattle station and a very expensive diamond gifted to her by her Grandfather. Kallie has had men offer to marry her and take away the stress of running her property, but she wants to marry for love. When Sam and Kallie meet there is an instant attraction between them. This is a mission for Sam, as Kallie is hesitant to put any trust in a man because her previous experience leads her to believe that interest in her is really interest in her property.

This story is full of intrigue and mystery. I spent the whole story trying to work out the goodies from the baddies. There were some obvious suspects, but were they too obvious and maybe the goodies seem too good. This kept my interest through the whole story. There is definitely some heat and connection between Sam and Kallie, but at times I felt that Kallie’s character was a bit too naïve and the narrative a bit too flowery. Too many darlings and sweethearts sprouted between a couple who had only known each other a couple of weeks.

There will definitely be language needing translations for people outside of Australia, but this story is written in an accurate way. Our blokes do talk about skulling (knocking back, drinking fast) a stubbie (beer), but I never felt that it was there for comedic value. It really is how some of us talk.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and loved this author’s voice. This was the first book in the series and I will definitely be interested in hearing about more blokes in the Steele Ops group.

Thank you Ms O’Hara for supplying me a copy of your wonderful story to read and review.