ARCBA Review: Faith in the Great Southland by Mary Hawkins

4 - 8 November

Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance

Introducing

Faith in the Great Southland

(Barbour Books October 1, 2012)

By

Mary Hawkins

 

About the Book

Elizabeth Waverly never dreamed that taking a convict transport back to her home in Australia would change her life. But from the moment she lays eyes on John Martin, she cannot resist her growing attraction to him. She knows the man faces a life sentence for murder, but her heart refuses to believe he is guilty of the charges against him. How could someone who so valiantly protects others and accepts another prisoner's punishment be a brutal felon? Yet once the transport ship lands in Australia, their paths are bound to head in very different directions. Is their love destined to become a bittersweet memory of what might have been, or will faith show them another way?

 

About the Author

Mary is a multi-published Australian romance author with 19 titles. After being published by Harlequin Mills and Boon medicals, Heartsong Presents and Barbour, her most recent single title Bargagula series was published by Ark House Press in Sydney. She is a member of the Society Women Writers Tasmania, Romance Writers of Australia, Omega Writers, Australian Christian Writers Fellowship, American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers America and their Faith Hope Love chapter. Her Heartsong Presents back list titles are being released by Truly Yours Digital Editions. Faith in the Great Southland is now available with the other three in this series to be released June and July. She is available to speak and share what she has learnt about writing novels, her writing journey and faith in our incredible God. For more about Mary, go to her website.

 

My Review

Faith In The Great Southland is the first of four novels in the Australian Outback collection. I actually purchased this collection years ago, and have read and enjoyed all four of the stories, but I think Faith In The Great Southland, the story of John and Elizabeth, remains my favourite.

Mary Hawkins knows how to create compelling characters and a page-turning plot. She gives readers a clear understanding of the horrors of the criminal transportation system without being overly graphic (and after one character makes an early comment to another that conditions are much better than they used to be). While this story is fiction, transportation was fact and Faith in the Great Southland gives the reader an appreciation for what early Australian settlers—criminal and free—went through in the early years of colonisation. Well worth reading.

You can find out more about Mary Hawkins at her website.

If you’d like to buy the Kindle edition, you can follow the links above to purchase at Amazon. Those Down Under can buy from Koorong (Australia) or Soul Inspirationz (New Zealand). Koorong also sells epub editions.