Set in the western region of the NSW Hunter Valley, The Lawson Sisters by Janet Gover could be considered both a family drama and a rural romance.

Fifteen years after the tragic death of her parents, Liz is struggling to keep the family horse stud, Willowbrook, from foreclosure, and with nowhere left to turn, swallows her pride and turns to her estranged younger sister Kayla for advice.
Kayla, who has made a life for herself in the city as a wedding planner for wealthy clients, isn’t sure she cares if they lose Willowbrook, and is certain her sister won’t like the only suggestion she has to offer - to use the homestead and grounds as a wedding destination.
Liz’s reluctance to concede stems not only from her shame in failing to make the property profitable, but also because Kayla’s return to Willowbrook will force her to face some shocking secrets about her parents deaths, her relationship with her sister, and her feelings for the boy next door.

Exploring the themes of love, guilt, estrangement, and reconciliation, The Lawson Sisters unfolds primarily from the perspectives of Liz and Kayla as both come to terms with the secrets that have kept them apart.

Not only is Liz under enormous financial pressure to keep the stud viable, she has the sole physical and emotional responsibility for the maintenance and operation of the farm, all intensified by the crushing burden of guilt she carries. As a result, Liz is single-minded, closed-off, and bitter, and Gover’s characterisation is so convincing that unfortunately I had more pity than empathy for her. I want to at least in part identify with the heroine in this type of story, and I found that difficult here as Liz wasn’t particularly likeable.

However, I was rooting for the sisters reconciliation, for Willowbrook’s fortunes to be reversed, and for Liz to be able to let go of her guilt and move on with the ever patient Mitch. ( )