Candice Proctor’s WHISPERS OF HEAVEN – Tasmania and Love in the 19th Century—a Great Story with a Wonderful Heroine!

Proctor has delivered an enthralling romance set “down under,” on that mysterious island country, Tasmania, lying south of Australia.

 

Set in 1840, it tells the story of Jesmond (“Jessie”) Corbett, an independent thinking, science-loving heroine who, while raised in Tasmania, spent two years in London studying geology. Returning home to the country she loves, she notices a new convict laborer, a handsome, green-eyed Irishman who, when he is not putting on the brogue, speaks as a gentleman.

 

Lucas Gallagher, son of an Irish shipbuilder, was studying to become a barrister when the English brutally attacked his sister and him, scaring them forever. Spared a hanging, Lucas was transported to Tasmania to serve a life sentence as a convict slave. After brutal treatment by the English there, he determines to escape or die trying—that is, until he meets Jessie.

 

Proctor sheds light on the life of those transported to the Australian colonies as convicts destined to suffer cruel treatment and spend years, even their whole lives in some cases, as servants to the landowners. It’s a bit of history we should all know about and it causes me to respect those who made mistakes and more than paid for them. Night In Eden, her first book, is another great one that does this, only set in New South Wales.

 

As with her other romances, Proctor gives us a worthy heroine and a noble hero. Jessie struggles between doing what her family expects of her (an arranged marriage), and following her heart. Lucas struggles with whether freedom and/or death are preferable to being with Jessie as her convict servant. Neither can resist the other and both live desperate lives since they know they can never be together. Thank God this is romance and you know a happy ending is coming. But there is much angst and suspense along the way. This is a great novel and a great love story. I highly recommend it.

 

Candice Proctor’s SEPTEMBER MOON – A Masterful Tale set in Australia

Set in 1864 in Australia, this is a story of love in a foreign land, of discovering the world that opens to your heart when you embrace the things you fear the most. When her employer to whom she served as a companion dies, Englishwoman Amanda Davenport is suddenly stranded in Port Adelaide, Australia with no funds. Desperate and running out of money, she accepts a position as governess to Patrick O’Reilly’s three children in the isolated wilderness of the Flinders Ranges in the Outback (see picture below). Her only thought was to work for a year to secure passage home to England.

 

What happens when you love the man but hate the land he loves? And when he’s not even free to call you his own? That is the dilemma faced by Amanda. And the land she hates is harsh: “It was the endless, aching vistas of a land empty of all pretense, where everything was raw and vast and awe-inspiringly magnificent. A land as wild and wide open and untamable as a man’s soul.”

 

Proctor has once again served up a sweeping saga, a compelling tale of conflicting emotions, as the hero and heroine are forced to deal with the ghosts of their past and the failings of others.

 

Her descriptions of wild Outback Australia are so vivid you will feel like you’re there. She includes exciting scenes of a horse race that will have you on the edge of your seat and a massive dust storm that will make you taste the sand. The secondary characters are wonderful, especially the O’Reilly’s children.

 

As lovers of historical romance, we are used to reading about a man leaving a woman, but in this story it’s the O’Reilly men who fall in love with Englishwomen only to have them leave because they hate Australia. And when a woman comes along who might be different, whose love might compel her to stay, well…

 

Let me just say, you will not be disappointed with this one.

 

Joanna Lloyd’s BEYOND INNOCENCE – Australia in the early 19th Century…a handsome sheep rancher and his prisoner bride!

A well-researched, well written historical romance, and a fabulous debut novel for Lloyd—a story set in the time when England shipped off its prisoners to New South Wales in Australia.

 

The story begins in London in 1819 as Electra Shipley, daughter of Vicomte Gascombe, is arrested for felony theft, set up by her evil uncle, who took her father’s title after his death. Convicted by the testimony of false witnesses, Electra is transported to Australia to serve a 7-year sentence as an indentured servant.

 

William Radcliffe, a wealthy sheep rancher, spots the beautiful Electra when the ship docks in Sydney, and saves her from a crewmember’s rape. Electra is taken with the others to the women’s factory where the prisoners work on the wool. Since the colonists are free to take a prisoner as their bride, many come to claim the women. Electra refuses all until William offers her marriage. With few options, and a budding attraction, Electra agrees.

 

Both Electra and William harbor secrets from their past, secrets that affect their new marriage. But despite all, they begin to care for each other.

 

Lloyd brings to life the Australia of the past when the population consisted of colonists, prisoners, former prisoners and the natives. Many came to New South Wales fleeing a past they would rather forget; others came for opportunity. All the prejudices come out as Electra and William attempt to build a new life in a harsh land. There are storms, fire, outlaws and the dangers of the bush country.

 

The romance between Electra and William is satisfying and there is adventure aplenty, though the pace at times is a bit leisurely. Some wonderful secondary characters, though, including a Scots couple I loved. I recommend it.

Margaret Tanner’s FALSELY ACCUSED – Love Among the Transported Prisoners in Australia

Set in the 1820s in Australia when England transported prisoners to Sydney Town for crimes as meager as poaching, this is a realistic telling of the perils of one female prisoner. What she experienced in this page turner will be enough to make you shudder.

 

Maryanne Watson was the daughter of a twisted parson who raped and killed her sister. (That’s how the book opens.) When Maryanne attacked her father, her stepmother came to his rescue with a large knife. In the struggle, Maryanne was the one falsely accused of trying to kill her stepmother. For that, she was transported to Australia to serve 7 years.

 

On board the ship, Maryanne makes a friend of Libby, a warmhearted prostitute, who helps her to survive. Soon, the men on the ship choose which women will share their beds (the women have no choice); the officers are the first to choose. Libby tells Maryanne to be nice to a certain officer because he only likes boys. Maryanne takes the hint and ends up with the officer who doesn’t touch her. But there is a prisoner who does, the American Jake Smith.

 

Jake is a guy who takes what he wants. He decides to have Maryanne and because she has fallen in love with him, she gives him her innocence. But Jake is a troublemaker and ends up in solitary confinement, destined for a chain gang.

 

Once in Sydney, Maryanne endures one man after another. You couldn’t help but sympathize with her as she tries to do what is right but cannot avoid the lust of both the gentry and her fellow prisoners.

 

Halfway through the story, Jake shows up again with a new identity… his own.

 

I enjoyed this book and it kept me turning pages though I did shudder at all Maryanne experienced. And we are missing much of Jake’s perspective. Still, if you want a realistic look at the fate of those transported to Australia, this might be the one for you!

 

Note: Tanner has a sequel to this story: Dangerous Birthright, the story of Maryanne’s daughter.

Candice Proctor’s NIGHT IN EDEN – Enthralling Story of Love in New South Wales, Australia in the early 19th Century

 This is the story of Bryony Wentworth, who was transported to New South Wales in 1808 as punishment for the accidental death of her cheating husband. And in telling us her story, Proctor has told the story of so many other women prisoners, some of whom for minor crimes were torn from their homes in England and sent on prison ships to become the slaves and involuntary whores for hard men in Australia.

 

Byrony was torn from her 3-year-old daughter when she is sent there and spared rape only because she was pregnant with her second child, a boy who dies soon after his birth. While still mourning his death, she is forced to become the servant of Captain Hayden St. John, a war hero whose aristocratic wife has died leaving him a baby son who must be nursed. So, Byrony becomes his wet nurse. She also expects to be raped, and though St. John certainly wants her in his bed, even asks her to be his convict mistress, he is a better master than most and will not take her unwilling. So she sticks to her “pride and principles,” all she has left—and though she longs for him, too, she tells him no—at least initially.

 

Proctor vividly brings to the forefront life in Australia in the early 19^th century away from Sydney Town. It’s a new view of the Regency period. She shows how badly those women fared who were brought to the colony there as prisoners. How they were looked down upon by crude “free” men even after serving their time and became free themselves. Proctor has done an amazing job—simply superb writing.

 

There is great suspense as we encounter the Aborigines, great sadness as the frontier “swallows up” children who wander away, and great passion between a man and a woman who, under other circumstances, might have courted and married in the normal way.

 

Proctor says, "I like to write about strong women, women who sometimes aren't even aware of their own strength but discover it when tested by life. And I make certain my heroines end up with the kind of men they deserve-- honorable men, men who can be both gentle and strong, who never lose their sense of humor and don't feel threatened by a strong woman." Such are Bryony and Hayden.

 

I loved this story and highly recommend it.

Candice Proctor’s SEPTEMBER MOON – A Masterful Tale from the Queen of Australian Romance

Set in 1864 in Australia, this is a story of love in a foreign land, of discovering the world that opens to your heart when you embrace the things you fear the most. When her employer to whom she served as a companion dies, Englishwoman Amanda Davenport is suddenly stranded in Port Adelaide, Australia with no funds. Desperate and running out of money, she accepts a position as governess to Patrick O’Reilly’s three children in the isolated wilderness of the Flinders Ranges in the Outback (see picture below). Her only thought was to work for a year to secure passage home to England.

What happens when you love the man but hate the land he loves? And when he’s not even free to call you his own? That is the dilemma faced by Amanda. And the land she hates is harsh: “It was the endless, aching vistas of a land empty of all pretense, where everything was raw and vast and awe-inspiringly magnificent. A land as wild and wide open and untamable as a man’s soul.”

Proctor has once again served up a sweeping saga, a compelling tale of conflicting emotions, as the hero and heroine are forced to deal with the ghosts of their past and the failings of others.

Her descriptions of wild Outback Australia are so vivid you will feel like you’re there. She includes exciting scenes of a horse race that will have you on the edge of your seat and a massive dust storm that will make you taste the sand. The secondary characters are wonderful, especially the O’Reilly’s children.

As lovers of historical romance, we are used to reading about a man leaving a woman, but in this story, it’s the O’Reilly men who fall in love with Englishwomen only to have them leave because they hate Australia. And when a woman comes along who might be different, whose love might compel her to stay, well…

Let me just say, you will not be disappointed with this one.

Margaret Tanner’s FALSELY ACCUSED – Love Among the Transported Prisoners in Australia

Set in the 1820s in Australia when England transported prisoners to Sydney Town for crimes as meager as poaching, this is a realistic telling of the perils of one female prisoner. What she experienced will be enough to make you shudder in this page turner.

Maryanne Watson was the daughter of a twisted parson who raped and killed her sister. (That’s how the book opens.) When Maryanne attacked her father, her stepmother came to his rescue with a large knife. In the struggle, Maryanne was the one falsely accused of trying to kill her stepmother and transported to Australia to serve 7 years.

On board the ship, Maryanne makes a friend of Libby, a warmhearted prostitute, who helps her to survive. Soon, the men on the ship choose which women will share their beds (the women have no choice); the officers are the first to choose. Libby tells Maryanne to be nice to a certain officer because he only likes boys. Maryanne takes the hint and ends up with the officer who doesn’t touch her. But there is a prisoner who does, the American Jake Smith.

Jake is a guy who takes what he wants. He decides to have Maryanne and because she has fallen in love with him, she gives him her innocence. But Jake is a troublemaker and ends up in solitary confinement, destined for a chain gang.

Once in Sydney, Maryanne endures one man after another. You couldn’t help but sympathize with her as she tries to do what is right but cannot avoid the lust of both the gentry and her fellow prisoners.

Halfway through the story, Jake shows up again with a new identity… his own.

I enjoyed this book and it kept me turning pages though I did shudder at all Maryanne experienced. And we are missing much of Jake’s perspective. Still, if you want a realistic look at the fate of those transported to Australia, this might be the one for you!

Note: Tanner has a sequel to this story: Dangerous Birthright, the story of Maryanne’s daughter.

Candice Proctor’s NIGHT IN EDEN – Enthralling Story of Love in New South Wales, Australia in the early 19th Century

This was Candice Proctor’s debut novel and it’s incredibly good.

It tells the story of Bryony Wentworth, who was transported to New South Wales in 1808 as punishment for the accidental death of her cheating husband. And in telling us her story, Proctor has told the story of so many other women prisoners, some of whom for minor crimes were torn from their homes in England and sent on prison ships to become the slaves and involuntary whores for hard men in Australia.

Byrony was torn from her 3-year-old daughter when she is sent there and spared rape only because she was pregnant with her second child, a boy who dies soon after his birth. While still mourning his death, she is forced to become the servant of Captain Hayden St. John, a war hero whose aristocratic wife has died leaving him a baby son who must be nursed. So, Byrony becomes his wet nurse. She also expects to be raped, and though St. John certainly wants her in his bed, even asks her to be his convict mistress, he is a better master than most and will not take her unwilling. So she sticks to her “pride and principles,” all she has left—and though she longs for him, too, she tells him no—at least initially.

Proctor vividly brings to the forefront life in Australia in the early 19^th century away from Sydney Town. It’s a new view of the Regency period. She shows how badly those women fared who were brought to the colony there as prisoners. How they were looked down upon by crude “free” men even after serving their time and became free themselves. Proctor has done an amazing job—simply superb writing.

There is great suspense as we encounter the Aborigines, great sadness as the frontier “swallows up” children who wander away, and great passion between a man and a woman who, under other circumstances, might have courted and married in the normal way.

Proctor says, "I like to write about strong women, women who sometimes aren't even aware of their own strength but discover it when tested by life. And I make certain my heroines end up with the kind of men they deserve-- honorable men, men who can be both gentle and strong, who never lose their sense of humor and don't feel threatened by a strong woman." Such are Bryony and Hayden.

I loved this story and highly recommend it. Buy it used if you have to (I did) but do get it. Several of her novels are available as eBooks but not this one.

Review: Kresley Cole’s THE CAPTAIN OF ALL PLEASURES – High Seas Romance at its Best—a Keeper!

This is one of my favorite romances set on the high seas with a daring sea captain and a worthy heroine. It’s a keeper.

The story is centered around two competing shipping companies in 19th century England, and two competing captains (the English Earl, Captain Derek Sutherland, and the American Captain, Jason Lassiter), each of whom must win the Great Race from London to Sydney to survive.

When Lassiter is imprisoned, his daughter, Nicole, who has been raised at sea and can navigate as well as her father, must win the race for him. Nicole cannot resist the handsome Sutherland, who when he first encounters her in a dockside bar, thinks she's a whore. He wants her and then he's lost for her, but circumstances make them enemies. When sabotage of her ship forces her to join Sutherland on his ship for the rest of the race, her spirit and his wall of stone collide; the result is a fast-paced romance that grabs you.

There are many things I can praise Kresley Cole for in her writing, all of which are present in this novel: she gives the reader a real historic setting--London and a major sea race in1856; she weaves wonderfully colorful characters into her story so seamlessly the story becomes a tapestry of lives; the story pulls you in from page one--you feel like you're living it and you cannot put it down; the love scenes seem real, each tailored to the character and the story; she lays a good foundation for the emotion displayed; and the plot is interesting with just enough history to ground you in the time.

Cole is simply one of the best romance writers, and even though this was one of her early novels, it is well worth 5 stars. The sequel is The Price of Pleasure, the story of Derek's brother, Grant, also a sea captain.

For nautical historic romance at it's best, I highly recommend this one!

Review: Victoria Holt’s THE PRIDE OF THE PEACOCK – Mystery, Opals and Love with a Peacock in Victorian Australia

Set in the Victorian era (about 1880), beginning in England, this is the story of Opal Jessica Clavering, the youngest daughter in a family that treats her as if she doesn’t belong. At one time the family was wealthy, but now they live in the Dower House next to the estate, Oakland Hall, they once called their own.

When she is 16, Jessica makes friends with the owner of Oakland Hall, Ben Henniker, an opal miner who made his money in the mines of New South Wales. Ben offers her the chance for a new life and Jessica takes it even though it includes a marriage of convenience to his illegitimate son, Josslyn Madden (“Joss”), called “the Peacock” for his pride and his home, Peacocks, in Australia.

Once married, Joss returns to Australia with Jessica, who begins to wonder if her husband isn’t planning to kill her. The famous jewel called the Green Flash at Sunset goes missing and there are no clues as to who took it. And then someone is murdered.

Holt is a great storyteller and immediately had me deeply involved in Jessica’s life. Jessica is a woman who has a curious mind, an adventurous spirit and is courageous to the core. I liked her very much. Joss is arrogant, like a peacock, but he also has depth. Since we are never in his mind, his thoughts remain a mystery except for what he tells Jessica. The fact he wants to see how Jessica changes as she “grows up” suggests he might like her after all.

The characters are richly drawn, the story absorbing and the excitement subtle as Jessica takes on the mystery of the missing jewel, the murder and her husband.

Buy on Amazon

New Review: Karen Robards’ DARK TORMENT – Irish Hero Survives an Australian Sheep Station

Set in Australia in the mid 19^th century, this is the story of Sarah Markham whose father is a sheep rancher, and Dominic Gallagher, a Irish convict who was transported to Australia for a crime he didn’t commit and was then “purchased” by Sarah’s father to serve out his 15-year sentence. Because he is a man who speaks up when events call for it, he is whipped and abused. Sarah intervenes to save his life.

The handsome Irish rogue knows Sarah is attracted to him, as most women are. But the odd thing to him is that he is attracted to her—a tall, skinny and plain woman. Robards, as usual, serves up delicious tension and some exciting action as life in New South Wales on the sheep station presents many dangers: convict uprisings, fires, rustlers and draught. Meanwhile, Sarah’s father is trying to get her to wed his ranch manager who has a cruel, evil side.

Original cover

 

I loved the picture of the brooding sexy Irish hero—an alpha male to be sure—thrust into the dusty Australian frontier where life is even harder than what he left behind in Ireland where he longs to return. Both Sarah, who is biased against convicts, and Dominic, who has suffered wrong at the hands of his mother and now Sarah’s father, have trust issues they must overcome. And Dominic has connections to an English earl…

Robards’ portrayal of Australia is vivid (had me reaching for a glass of water!) and her characters very well drawn. A worthy read combining a favorite hero origin and a fascinating time in history.

Buy it on Amazon.

New Review: Margaret Tanner’s FALSELY ACCUSED – Love Among the Transported Prisoners in Australia

Set in the 1820s in Australia when England transported prisoners to Sydney Town for crimes as meager as poaching, this is a realistic telling of the perils of one female prisoner. What she experienced will be enough to make you shudder in this page turner.

Maryanne Watson was the daughter of a twisted parson who raped and killed her sister. (That’s how the book opens.) When Maryanne attacked her father, her stepmother came to his rescue with a large knife. In the struggle, Maryanne was the one falsely accused of trying to kill her stepmother and transported to Australia to serve 7 years.

On board the ship, Maryanne makes a friend of Libby, a warmhearted prostitute, who helps her to survive. Soon, the men on the ship choose which women will share their beds (the women have no choice); the officers are the first to choose. Libby tells Maryanne to be nice to a certain officer because he only likes boys. Maryanne takes the hint and ends up with the officer who doesn’t touch her. But there is a prisoner who does, the American Jake Smith.

Jake is a guy who takes what he wants. He decides to have Maryanne and because she has fallen in love with him, she gives him her innocence. But Jake is a troublemaker and ends up in solitary confinement, destined for a chain gang.

Once in Sydney, Maryanne endures one man after another. You couldn’t help but sympathize with her as she tries to do what is right but cannot avoid the lust of both the gentry and her fellow prisoners.

Halfway through the story, Jake shows up again with a new identity… his own.

I enjoyed this book and it kept me turning pages though I did shudder at all Maryanne experienced. And we are missing much of Jake’s perspective. Still, if you want a realistic look at the fate of those transported to Australia, this might be the one for you!

Note: Tanner has a sequel to this story: Dangerous Birthright, the story of Maryanne’s daughter.

New Review: Karen Robards’ DARK TORMENT – Irish Hero Survives an Australian Sheep Station

Set in Australia in the mid 19^th century, this is the story of Sarah Markham whose father is a sheep rancher, and Dominic Gallagher, a Irish convict who was transported to Australia for a crime he didn’t commit and was then “purchased” by Sarah’s father to serve out his 15-year sentence. Because he is a man who speaks up when events call for it, he is whipped and abused. Sarah intervenes to save his life.

The handsome Irish rogue knows Sarah is attracted to him, as most women are. But the odd thing to him is that he is attracted to her—a tall, skinny and plain woman. Robards, as usual, serves up delicious tension and some exciting action as life in New South Wales on the sheep station presents many dangers: convict uprisings, fires, rustlers and draught. Meanwhile, Sarah’s father is trying to get her to wed his ranch manager who has a cruel, evil side.

Original Cover

  I loved the picture of the brooding sexy Irish hero—an alpha male to be sure—thrust into the dusty Australian frontier where life is even harder than what he left behind in Ireland where he longs to return. Both Sarah, who is biased against convicts, and Dominic, who has suffered wrong at the hands of his mother and now Sarah’s father, have trust issues they must overcome. And Dominic has connections to an English earl…

Robards’ portrayal of Australia is vivid (had me reaching for a glass of water!) and her characters very well drawn. A worthy read combining a favorite hero origin and a fascinating time in history.