Ironbark Promise by Leonie Kelsall

When a series of threats force fiercely independent lawyer Jemma Di Angelis to step away from her high-flying career, the last place she wants to be is Settlers Bridge. But her retreat will be brief; she’s only staying long enough to plan her next move.

Laid-back local farmer Hamish MacKenzie has a roguish charm, a bad-boy reputation and an artistic soul he keeps carefully hidden. From the moment he meets Jemma, sparks fly-he sees an uptight city slicker and she sees a shallow womaniser.

But when Jemma finds herself in real danger, Hamish reveals a different side – unexpectedly gentle, infuriatingly protective and nothing like she imagined. As loyalties are tested, Jemma must decide if she’s willing to risk her heart with a man who has made a habit of keeping his hidden.

A page-turning new rural romance from the bestselling author of The Path Through the Coojong Trees.

About the Author: Raised initially in a tiny, no-horse town on South Australia’s Fleurieu coast, then in the slightly more populated wheat and sheep farming land at Pallamana, Leonie is a country girl through and through. Growing up without a television, she developed a love of reading before she reached primary school, swiftly followed by a desire to write. Pity the poor teachers who received chapters of creative writing instead of a single page!

Leonie entertained a brief fantasy of moving to the big city (well, Adelaide), but within months the lure of the open spaces and big sky country summoned her home. An animal rescuer and carer, she now divides her time between the lush Adelaide Hills, the location of her professional counselling practice, and the stark, arid beauty of the family farm at Pallamana, which provides both the setting for many of her stories and a refuge for the rescues that can’t be released. Follow her social media for an overload of the fluffy, fleecy, furred and feathered inhabitants of her home and heart.

Leonie is the bestselling author of The Farm at Peppertree Crossing, The Wattle Seed Inn, The River Gum Cottage, The Willow Tree Wharf, The Blue Gum Camp, The Homestead in the Eucalypts, Wings Above the Mallee and The Path Through the Coojong Trees.

06 Jan 2026
 

The Ironbark Promise by Leonie Kelsall ISBN 9781761472411