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Red Dust Running

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Red Dust Running

By: Anita Heiss
Narrated by: Shari Sebbens
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About this listen

After a disastrous relationship effectively torches her personal and professional life in Sydney, Annabelle is back in Brisbane. She’s about to start her dream job launching and curating a First Nations gallery in the city, and this time, nothing is getting in the way of her important work. Certainly not romance. Matters of the heart have always turned out to be a surefire way to make Annabelle run for the hills – literally.

Everything is going to plan until a birthday trip to the rodeo with her tiddas brings Annabelle up close and very personal with Dusty Davies, bona fide cowboy. It’s just a country fling, obviously. Annabelle’s not built for the rodeo life, and she’s certainly not spending any more time than necessary in the red dust and cowboy boots. Dusty doesn’t take art and activism seriously like Annabelle does; and he’s born and bred on country, and looks set to stay that way.

Opposites may attract, but how much change and compromise can you make before you’re running from yourself?

Cover artwork by Rachael Sarra.

©2023 Anita Heiss (P)2023 Audible Australia Pty Ltd. Contemporary Contemporary Romance Romance Cowboy Heartfelt Sports
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The storyline of sisterhood was lovely to hear. The fun times they share with love and family is awesome. A great listen.

The story line of sisterhood was a great listen

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It's a great story and love that it's so Australian. Also a great narration.

love an Australian story.

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Great story, great narrator! Very enjoyable! Always enjoy books written by Anita Heiss, wonderful author.

Easy listening!

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Loved the story with a First Nations perspective, read awesomely by Shari Sebbens. I would listen to another audible book by this author/reader combination.

Australian love story

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Anita Heiss is an auto-buy author me, and I usually find her work to be either 4☆ or 5☆ reads for me, but this one felt like it was lacking a little compared to her previous works.

Red Dust Running is a charming, engaging story that blends romance, cultural pride, and friendship.
It follows Annabelle, an Australian First Nations art curator who returns to Brisbane after a complicated relationship in Sydney leaves her reputation—and priorities—in need of a reset. Back in Brisbane, she lands her dream job launching a First Nations art gallery and is surrounded by her close-knit circle of tiddas, a loyal group of friends and family who bring humour, grounding, and warmth to the story.

There’s a gentle romantic tug-of-war woven through, as Annabelle navigates her feelings between Michael, her kind and steady new neighbour, and Dusty, a rugged cowboy she meets on a girls’ weekend to the rodeo.

While the story is full of heart and cultural resonance, the ending didn’t quite deliver. It felt rushed and a little incomplete, as though the emotional threads were tied off too quickly but left hanging.

Still, Red Dust Running is a feel-good read with a proudly First Nations voice and a strong sense of place, even if it leaves you with a few lingering questions.

Warm and full of heart, but the ending felt rushed

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I loved the development of the relationships in this story. As well as the subtle way different issues were discussed including environment and racial issues so smoothly intertwined into the story.

Enlightening and charming

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Couldn't stop listening. I am reminded of the years growing up in rural Australia and now in a big city. The people and the language swept me away.

So very Australian and it's wonderful

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I kept coming back to this book for the feeling I got when listening. The combination of the voice and story always lifted my mood, from the relationships to the subtle political and ethical elements. I found the story so refreshing and was a fantasy that felt good to indulge. Notably the connections across difference.
There were times I wish I could have seen the words and names, especially the Wuradjeri language.
I don’t read a lot of fiction but Anita Heiss is an author whose writing style and topics work for my need for substance. More please! Can we get a volume two?

Refreshing read!

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Romance, set in and around Brisbane. Another intriguing book by Anita Heiss. (I always find myself wishing for a subsequent reading list)

Hot weekend fun

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A great Aussie story All the characters are first nation (aboriginal) people. Annabelle is now a city girl who meets a country boy at a rodeo and they have an instant connection. Can it work?
Well written and narrated

City Versus Country

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.