In 1941, Rose Hamilton, a young Englishwoman, takes a job accompanying Walter, an orphaned child, from his home in England to Australia, his mother’s homeland. They travel through war-threatened waters to reach their destination, a cattle station. There, Rose discovers that things are not what she was led to expect. The station, run by Max Lucknow, Walter’s uncle, is a place full of unknowns and new adventures. The Lucknow family is the complicated key to Walter’s long-term wellbeing, and perhaps Rose’s happiness also.
The WWII era is common enough in historical fiction, but the Pacific theatre setting makes the story stand out. The author’s style is an unusual meandering stream of consciousness, which just needs time to adjust to. The story takes a while to build, laying background for Rose, and picking up once the trip to Australia begins. What follows is a lush, captivating saga with fascinating characters whose lives are far from ideal but are only a minute and a step away from perfect. Rose’s relationships with Walter and her family tug at one’s heartstrings while her relationships with everyone else provide intrigue, frustration, hope and joy. Under the Golden Sun will appeal to readers of historical romance.
Through Library Journal, the publisher provided a copy of this book. My review is my honest opinion. Under the Golden Sun was originally published in 2020, but is being re-released this month.
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About Under the Golden Sun by Jenny Ashcroft
Rose Hamilton is in desperate need of a life change when she reads the want ad in the newspaper for a companion needed to escort a young, orphaned child to Australia. There are so many reasons she should ignore the advertisement―the war, those treacherous winter seas, her family, her fiance… but she can’t help herself. Within weeks she is boarding an enormous convoy, already too attached to five-year-old Walter.
Unfortunately, the cattle station home of Walter’s family isn’t anything like either of them were told to expect. Rose can’t leave this little boy who she’s grown to love until he is happy and settled, and she knows the key to this is Walter’s wounded fighter pilot uncle. But how will she ever part with Walter? And what if he isn’t the only reason she wants to stay?
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Today is the sixth anniversary of Whiskey With My Book. Over its short lifespan, the types of posts have changed but the basic premise remains the same. I started blogging because I love to read great books and I want to share them with like-minded people like you.
Today, 98% of my posts are book reviews. While I do take requests for book reviews, mostly I review books that I choose. Lately, I have become even more picky about what I choose to read and review. Taking the time to read a book and then write a meaningful review takes valuable time. I want don’t want to squander it on something that I cannot recommend. That is why 4 and 5 stars are the norm for this blog.
Last year I had a total of 68 posts. It was kind of a slow year for posting reviews. But it was a big year for reading. 172 books all together. 35 of those were children’s picture books that I must read as a librarian. I listened to 38 audiobooks. The rest fall into various and overlapping categories that include mystery, romance, scifi, historical and paranormal. If you would like to know the titles, I read, here is my Goodreads Year in Books 2021.
Today, I will share some highlight of what I read in 2021. If anything interests you, click on the book covers to take you to Amazon.
Highlights of 2021
The Vanished Days by Susanna Kearsley – I absolutely loved The Winter Sea and The Firebird by this author. The Vanished Days is a prequel to this Scottish/Slains series. The author employs her typical epic storytelling combined with her keen ability to drop clues and reveal truths in a way Kearsley historical fiction fans have come to appreciate.
A Song of Flight by Juliet Marillier – This book was a beautiful wrap -up for Marillier’s Warrior Bards fantasy series. I was crying at the beginning (sadness) and at the end (happiness). I am such a fan of her beautiful storytelling.
Plan for the Worst by Jodi Taylor – Every book in this series both breaks my heart and gives me hope. But this one was so, so, so! If you read the series you understand. If you don’t read the series – you should! Definitely one of the best of the time-travel series out there.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir – A lot of science gobbledygook wrapped up in a drama of world-ending crisis, friendship, heartbreak and triumph. My first Andy Weir book – I’d read him again.
New books in series I love to follow…
These are the series I keep reading. Mind you, not all series keep me interested past 3 books. A fact, I think, that some authors have figured out because they end series with book 3. But these are stories that I have not grown tired of, in fact I look forward to more of them. I will continue to read them as long as the authors continue to write them:
King of Pain (Interstellar Rescue) by Donna S. Frelick – Scifi Romance
Cosmic Boom (Project Enterprise) by Pauline Baird Jones – Scifi Romance
Books 1-6 in Celine Jeanjean’s Razor’s Edge series – Urban Fantasy
Books 3 and 4 in The Fae Files by Cecilia Dominic – Paranormal Romance
A Wicked Conceit (Lady Darby) by Anna Lee Huber – Historical Mystery
Queer fiction…
I normally gravitate to books about strong-willed heterosexual women and the men they love. Occasionally I read outside my box and this year I found two I really liked.
The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite is a historical romance about two women who really prefer to have control over their own lives. Winter’s Orbit by new author Everina Maxwell is scifi romance and one of my favorite books of the year. It features two men from different worlds who find out how much they want each other while solving a techno-political mystery.
Palette Cleanser
Cozy mysteries are like the sherbet course between other courses. They cleanse the palette. Vampire Knitting Club series by Nancy Warren is a funny, fun series that combines mystery, paranormal and fine needlework – a combination that can’t be beat!
What’s wrong with this world?
Over the last two years, much has happened that has made me consider writing blogs that reflect more personal socio-political views. But this blog is about enjoying great books, so you will not see those types of posts here. However, I am not against recommending books that either reflect a personal view or give you cause the think about what is wrong with this world.
Emergency Skin by N.K. Jemison – Brilliant Scifi short story! When the elite humans need to return to the Earth they abandoned for a better life, they might find out they are not so elite after all.
A Wolf After My Own Heart by MaryJanice Davidson – this paranormal romance has so many hilarious and sobering comments about characters and events in the story that reflect what is going on in the real world. I will definitely continue to read this author.
Axiom’s End and Truth of the Divine by Lindsay Ellis – I enjoyed both of these scifi stories about first contact. One of the major premises is that a little leads to a lot. That is a very simplified statement, but if you consider that this can apply to limiting individual rights or censorship, it says a lot.
Rediscovered Authors
I read 3 books in the Dragonfury series from Coreen Callahan. She does a fine job telling the story of heroic male dragon shifters finding their high energy females. Easy to read, fast moving plots. Fun! I’ve read all of Patricia Briggs Alpha and Omega series, but before 2021, had never read any of the related Mercy Thompson series. Books 1-5 on audiobook sped by and I hope to catch up the rest of the series in 2022. I really like coyote walker Mercy Thompson and werewolf Adam Hauptman. The ties to Alpha and Omega is just an added benefit.
Over-rated
Some books just don’t live up their hype. Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells is the 6th book in the series. It was waning with book 5, but I read one more. Murderbot is a fascinating, much-loved character, but has lost its charm by this point. End of series for me. In 2021, I read The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections by Eva Jurczyk which releases 1/25/22. As a librarian, I was eager to read the mystery. The book has gotten some hype, but just didn’t do much for me. Good enough to finish. I may go ahead and review and then you can decide.
A good one to look forward to:
Under the Golden Sun by Jenny Ashcroft – this was my first and last review for Library Journal. The unique voice had me mesmerized. I really enjoyed this one! Look for this Pacific theatre WWII historical novel to be released in March this year.
Thanks for being with me through the last 6 years. I’m sure there will be a lot of great new books to talk about in 2022. I look forward to sharing some of them with you!
Whiskey With My Book 