About the book Beyond Coincidence 
Publisher: Escape Publishing – Harlequin Enterprises, Australia Pty Ltd (Sept 1, 2014)
ebook, 220 pages
Beyond Coincidence: Mixing romance, history, and a touch of the unexplained comes a new novel from Jacquie Underdown about love that needs to cross oceans and time before finding a place to come true.
In 2008, 250 Australian and British soldiers are uncovered in a mass grave in Fromelles, France, lost since the Great War. One soldier, bearing the wounds of war so deep it has scarred his soul, cannot be laid to rest just yet.
When Lucy bumps into the achingly sad soldier during a trip to France, she doesn’t, at first glance, realise what he is – a ghost who desperately needs her help. Lucy can’t turn away from someone who needs her, even someone non-corporeal, and they travel back together to Australia in search of answers and, hopefully, some peace.
This chance meeting and unexplainable relationship sets into motion a chain-reaction of delicate coincidences that affect the intertwined lives of family, friends, and lovers in unexpected, beautiful ways.
Buy, read, and discuss Beyond Coincidence
About the author, Jacquie Underdown 
Jacquie resides in hot and steamy Central Queensland, Australia, with her husband and two sons. On permanent hiatus from a profession she doesn’t love, she now spends her time wrapped up in her imagination creating characters and exploring alternative realities.
Jacquie is an author of a number of novels, novellas and short stories that are emotionally driven and possess unique themes beyond the constraints of the physical universe. She strives to offer romance, but with complexity; spirituality, without the religion; and love, with a tantalizing splash of spice.
Her novels express a purpose and offer subtle messages about life, the spirit and, of course, love.
Connect with Jacquie
My Thoughts:
I love a good ghost story, and I love a rood romance, so it should come as no surprise that I loved Beyond Coincidence as it combines both. Even better, coffee – my own obsession – is a major theme in the book.
At first Lucy seems like a fairly cookie-cutter romance character, but she quickly becomes much more dimensional, and not only because she can see Freddy, the ghost of a long-dead Australian soldier. I love that she has a dream of opening her own business, and that the author used Lucy’s entrepreneurial spirit in everything she went through in this novel.
Freddy, the ghost, is equally compelling, at once sweet and sorrowful, rugged and wry, with his period slang and big heart. You want to either hug him or slap him on the back and take him out for a friendly drink – or both, but as he lacks corporeal form, one cannot do either. Still, as much as Lucy becomes his champion, he also becomes her protector, as much as he’s able.
And then there’s Nate, the third point in the novel’s triumvirate. He’s Freddy’s descendant, and it becomes obvious very quickly that he and Lucy are going to click, even though our first introduction to him is less than savory. He quickly wins Lucy’s – and our- favor, however, and when he and Freddy join forces, Lucy becomes one of the luckiest women in the world.
Either Freddy’s story or Lucy’s story would make excellent reading fodder, but by combining them author Jacquie Underdown has created something truly special that transcends conventional romance novel tropes. Her plot is solid. Her characters are fantastic. Her use of dialogue is so good that I can hear the Australian accents each character has, and even the nuanced differences in the way each of them speaks.
I would be happy to read more of Lucy and Nate in the future, but I’d be equally happy to discover what comes next.
If you want an entertaining read – perfect for a rainy day, or a long soak in the bath – Beyond Coincidence is an excellent choice.
Goes well with A double latte and lemon pound cake.
This review is part of a blog tour sponsored by TLC Book Tours, who are also hosting a giveaway raffle. See below to enter. For more information, and to see the complete list of tour stops, click HERE.
Coffee is my obsession too! I simply had to write about it. Thank you so much, Melissa, for your lovely review. And yes, a double latte and big slice of lemon pound cake would be a perfect accompaniment.
Pingback: Jacquie Underdown, author of Beyond Coincidence, on tour September/October 2014 | TLC Book Tours
I’m fascinated with the time surrounding WWI, and with everything else this book has going for it I’m sure to love it as much as you did!
Thanks for being a part of the tour.