Good Bones

For readers of Holly Wainwright and Nina Kenwood, a life-affirming, uplifting and emotionally layered story of love, family, community, and what home really means.

In one earthquake of a day, forty-six-year-old single mother Libby becomes a reluctant empty-nester, her landlord puts her beloved Melbourne home on the market, and she finally tells her nightmare boss exactly where to stick her job. With her foundations already shaking, she then discovers her estranged father has died. Having heard nothing from him since she was two, she's shocked to have inherited his cottage in a postcard-perfect village in England's Lake District. It's a well-timed life raft for sure, but there are a couple of major snags: it needs a hefty renovation, and Libby's not the only person he's left it to.

Enter Tom Whelan, an English tradesman who's been living abroad since the death of his young son. He's good with his hands and knows his way around a house, but his inclusion in the will is a mystery to everyone.

With the locals fast becoming their friends and the village beginning to feel like home, Libby and Tom work together to renovate the cottage. As its potential is revealed, so too are long-hidden truths and unexpected possibilities for the future—including a seismic mid-life romance with the power to transform them both.

Praise for Better than the Real Thing

'So romantic, so sexy, so fun. I devoured it.' - Toni Jordan, author of Tenderfoot

'A bittersweet, tender, funny story of loss and love and all the messiness in between. I was hooked from the start.' - Tricia Stringer, author of The Road Trip

'Heartfelt, authentic and irresistibly sexy, Brooke Crawford's debut novel has all the ingredients of a surefire hit. With captivating characters, a page-turning plot, and an ending that lingers long after the final sentence, this is a story readers will fall in love with.' - Kate Horan, author of The Inheritance