A good historical fiction read. You will root for Moira, who funds herself in a position she never expected. Thanks for the ARC>.

To be featured on my book and history blogs around Australia Day (January), alongside other Australian-set fiction.

I had a hard time getting into this book. It just didn't catch me. Since I did not finish the book, I do not intend to publish a review.

Thank you netgalley for sending me an ARC in exchange of an honest review.
I really, really enjoyed story. It covers a wide range of emotions and I found myself really hoping things will work out for these likeable characters. Very immersive and would highly recommend.

There's something about going on a real journey in a book which continues to fascinate me. I love going back in time too and experiencing something I would never have done in real life ( I hope!) So to spend several weeks on a boat on the rough seas across to Australia, to a penal colony is something very fascinating to me.
What an immersive experience! The smell on board the ship, to the pain of settling into the camps, the forced labour, the heat, the farming, the will to run from your own husband but feeling so alone in a hostile environment...it's all there and with a cracking storyline to take you along and immerse yourself into it.
It's a clever way of mixing fact and fiction by an author and looking at a time in history which is so iconic and yet unknown. It felt as if the author had really done her homework and recreated the period yet enhanced it with the little details and the character of Moira and the convicts. I chuckled to see that in the author note, she states that yes, the droppings of the wombat are cube shaped. ...I had looked that up! those little interesting details - That's when I know a book has really spoke to me.
This is a good story which has some very strong character in it and it's a nice steady read to allow you to really sink in to what's going on. I also feel I understand the personal angle of these colony camps now and will definately read more of this author

I quite enjoyed this book

In the 19th century, Australia and New South Wales were used as penal colonies for the British Crown, and almost any offense could get you deported. Moira is a young Irish girl sent to New South Wales with her much older husband, who will serve as a physician at a penal colony. Moira is terribly homesick and harbors no tender feeling toward the man she married, but her life changes when she meets Duncan, a prisoner whose life she saves during a riot. The two young people establish a rapport and it’s not long before their feelings of friendship blossom into something more. But their future seems impossible, she, a married woman, he, a prisoner. This is a lush historical novel filled with both the beauty and brutality of New South Wales