My name is Kris, and I am……….

……secretly extremely fond of a good romance novel.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t mean the kind that invariably has the bare-chested man holding the woman with the torn bodice in his arms and nearly ready to ravish her on the cover. And seriously, that statement isn’t just a woman who doth protest too much. Those books just make me uncomfortable. For many reasons. Not the least of which is how that woman will repair that perfectly good dress.

No Friends, I’m talking about the kind of story that is often multigenerational, frequently take place in Great Britain, and many times has stories that flash back and forth between the contemporary main character (always with an interesting career) and her great grandmother (always with some kind of a secret).

Wildflower Hill by Kimberley Freeman is one of the better that I have recently read.

I read almost entirely on an e-reader these days. It’s easier to read the book at the gym. But one of the things I miss most about reading electronically is the feel of the book in my hands, especially if it’s a lovely, beefy book like Wildflower Hill. There is just something wonderful about holding a good book in your hands and reading it on the patio with a glass of ice tea. Isn’t quite the same with an e-reader.

Wildflower Hill is the story of Emma, a professional ballet dancer who has pretty much devoted her life to her dancing. She has placed her dancing ahead of her boyfriend, her family, and her friends. So when her career is ended by a debilitating injury, she is grief-stricken.

About the same time she learns that she has inherited her grandmother’s long-abandoned sheep ranch in Tasmania (an island off the south coast of Australia). Her grandmother left it to her with the caveat that she could only be told about it once she was done with dancing forever.

Emma makes her way to Tasmania thinking she would just clean up the ranch, pack up her grandmother’s things, and return to live in London. That, of course, isn’t what happens.

The novel moves back and forth between the story of her grandmother, who had many secrets, and Emma, who slowly discovers the secrets at the same time as coming to grips with her whole new life. Sometimes novels with this back-and-forth for format are annoying and difficult to follow. I didn’t find that to be the case for a couple of reasons. First, each of the segments is lengthy, allowing time to really get to know and understand the characters. Second, each of the characters is interesting and I enjoyed watching them develop.

The story is somewhat predictable, but I enjoyed the writing very much. I found Beattie (the grandmother) to be much more interesting than one would expect, and very likeable. I enjoyed seeing how she became a successful businesswoman at a time when it wasn’t common for women to do so. I loved her scandalous life and juicy secret.

I also really liked Emma. Though I haven’t taken a dance lesson in my life, the author made me understand how dancing could have been so important to her and how it could have impacted her life so significantly.

The location of the story enhanced the reading experience for me. I know very little about Australia, virtually nothing about Tasmania, and am equally clueless about raising sheep. I loved learning about these things through the secrets that Emma discovered as she went through her grandma’s things.

The ending was somewhat disconcerting. Some readers have commented it is ripe for a sequel. I rather hope not. I want to imagine just what happens after the door is opened.

Kimberly Freeman is a pen name for author Kim Wilkins, who has written a number of fantasy and horror books. This is her first foray into women’s fiction, and I think she hit a home run.