mrose21's review against another edition
3.0
Quick Info
Standalone/Cliffhanger?: Standalone
Part of a Series?: Yes
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Meeting the Characters
Mary Kathleen Coltrane
Elizabeth(Lizzie) Portland
Michael Drury
Ian Coltrane
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What happens?
Kathleen and Michael have a love affair in Ireland resulting in a baby being conceived. However due to the potato blight in Ireland at the time Michael is struggling to make ends meet for his family and now for his pregnant girlfriend. When he is arrested and charged with distilling whisky he is shipped over to Australia coming into contact with Lizzie, a whore who was made an example of for stealing a loaf of bread to feed her flat mate's children.
Michael is still in love with Kathleen but shes had to marry by force in order to give her child her husband's name. Ian Coltrane is a mean man, he abuses Kathleen and her baby and is a very jealous man, not believing she isn't looking at other men.
Final thoughts
I'm on the fence with this rating. On one hand this book kept me entertained, kept me guessing and was very well written on the other hand I hate Lizzie. Straight up she makes me clench my jaw. Awful character, don't get how she ends up in such a good light to everyone else. I see her as pretty pathetic, going after a man that clearly not in love with you for most of this story, and thats another thing. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? I'm sorry he doesn't act in love with her at all. Just don't see it. Also this has nothing to do with the fact Lizzie was/is a sex worker, I see all that as her being abused really but I just don't like the way her character is portrayed.
Kathleen has a crap life, abused rape etc etc, her friends weird and although they save one another shes not great either. She deserved the happy ending.
Would I read again?: Maybe
Would I read this author again?:Yes
Would I continue on with the series?: Think so.
Standalone/Cliffhanger?: Standalone
Part of a Series?: Yes
----------------------------------
Meeting the Characters
Mary Kathleen Coltrane
Elizabeth(Lizzie) Portland
Michael Drury
Ian Coltrane
----------------------------------
What happens?
Kathleen and Michael have a love affair in Ireland resulting in a baby being conceived. However due to the potato blight in Ireland at the time Michael is struggling to make ends meet for his family and now for his pregnant girlfriend. When he is arrested and charged with distilling whisky he is shipped over to Australia coming into contact with Lizzie, a whore who was made an example of for stealing a loaf of bread to feed her flat mate's children.
Michael is still in love with Kathleen but shes had to marry by force in order to give her child her husband's name. Ian Coltrane is a mean man, he abuses Kathleen and her baby and is a very jealous man, not believing she isn't looking at other men.
Final thoughts
I'm on the fence with this rating. On one hand this book kept me entertained, kept me guessing and was very well written on the other hand I hate Lizzie. Straight up she makes me clench my jaw. Awful character, don't get how she ends up in such a good light to everyone else. I see her as pretty pathetic, going after a man that clearly not in love with you for most of this story, and thats another thing. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? I'm sorry he doesn't act in love with her at all. Just don't see it. Also this has nothing to do with the fact Lizzie was/is a sex worker, I see all that as her being abused really but I just don't like the way her character is portrayed.
Kathleen has a crap life, abused rape etc etc, her friends weird and although they save one another shes not great either. She deserved the happy ending.
Would I read again?: Maybe
Would I read this author again?:Yes
Would I continue on with the series?: Think so.
_tabae's review against another edition
4.0
Wie immer bei Sarah Lark ein spannender historischer Roman voller Ereignisse,Widrigkeiten, Drama und Liebe. Liebe zum Land der Maori und Liebe unter den Protagonisten.
amynbell's review
5.0
It was a fortunate accident to run across this series while looking up the trees of New Zealand. While the series is named after the kauri tree, it’s actually a work of historical fiction by a German author. It's about a couple who are separated during the Irish potato famine—the man ending up imprisoned on Van Dieman’s Land in Australia and the woman ending up in the middle of the New Zealand gold rush. Throughout the book, they move both closer and farther apart from each other, and the reader keeps hoping for their reunion as much as they do.
I like how the author doesn’t sugar coat the reality of the poor at the time of the Irish potato famine. There’s an interesting interplay in this book which constantly blurs the lines between what is good and what is bad. It’s all contextual. There are many things that you might not want to do that you have to do when you and your family are hungry:
“Your mother takes sin money?” Kathleen marveled.
Michael arched his eyebrows. “Rather than burying her children.”
And when you’re comparing reasons for why you're both on a prison ship:
“I stole some bread,” she admitted. “I was hungry. And you?”
“Three sacks of grain,” said Michael. “Our whole village was hungry.”
I enjoyed the history, storyline, and characters of the novel. The author hooks the reader from the first chapter and never really lets go. There are some really harsh themes in the book, but life can sometimes be harsh. I like that the females in the novel are capable and self-sufficient despite the negative situations thrust upon them. I also love that the ending of the book is the ending that the reader needs even if it might not be the ending that the reader wants.
Whenever I’m in the mood again for historical fiction set in New Zealand, I’ll definitely pick up the next book in the series.
I like how the author doesn’t sugar coat the reality of the poor at the time of the Irish potato famine. There’s an interesting interplay in this book which constantly blurs the lines between what is good and what is bad. It’s all contextual. There are many things that you might not want to do that you have to do when you and your family are hungry:
“Your mother takes sin money?” Kathleen marveled.
Michael arched his eyebrows. “Rather than burying her children.”
And when you’re comparing reasons for why you're both on a prison ship:
“I stole some bread,” she admitted. “I was hungry. And you?”
“Three sacks of grain,” said Michael. “Our whole village was hungry.”
I enjoyed the history, storyline, and characters of the novel. The author hooks the reader from the first chapter and never really lets go. There are some really harsh themes in the book, but life can sometimes be harsh. I like that the females in the novel are capable and self-sufficient despite the negative situations thrust upon them. I also love that the ending of the book is the ending that the reader needs even if it might not be the ending that the reader wants.
Whenever I’m in the mood again for historical fiction set in New Zealand, I’ll definitely pick up the next book in the series.
labalkana's review against another edition
4.0
Wieder ein tolles Buch von Sarah Lark. Und wieder so wie man es von ihr kennt.
Voller Drama, Liebe, Konflikte und schicksalhafter Wendungen. Dazu zwei beeindruckende Frauen und tolles historisches Setting. Dazu lebhafte, detaillierte Beschreibungen von Landschaften, Lebensumständen und gut gezeichnete Figuren.
Alles zusammen schafft eine tolle Atmosphäre und lässt voll in die Story abtauchen. Man reist, hofft, bangt und leidet total mit. Die Geschichte ist flüssig und angenehm zu lesen und zeigt auch die harten Seiten auf ohne Schönrederei. Immer wieder gibt es Situationen, in der man Figuren richtig hasst.
Kathleen ist schwanger, heimlich mit dem mutigen aber leichtsinnigen Michael verlobt und die beiden wollen zusammen Irland verlassen. Aber dann wird Michael verhaftet und nach Australien abgeschoben, wo er die junge Prostituierte Lizzie kennenlernt. Kathleen muss den Widerling Coltrane heiraten, der sie misshandelt und mit ihm nach Neuseeland auswandern.
Michael und Kathleen sind, über all die Jahre, total auf den jeweils Anderen fixiert. Aber Lissy ist wirklich beeindruckend. Sie hat Träume ist aber vor allem kämpferisch und pfiffig. Kathleen dagegen ist zurückhaltend aber entschlossen und macht über die Zeit eine unglaubliche Entwicklung.
Obwohl das Buch einem ähnlichen Schema folgt, wie Andere der Autorin ist es eigen und doch anders. Vor allem vom Ende war ich diesmal begeistert. Anders als gedacht, viel weniger kitschig und natürlicher. Ich freue mich jetzt auf Band 2!
Voller Drama, Liebe, Konflikte und schicksalhafter Wendungen. Dazu zwei beeindruckende Frauen und tolles historisches Setting. Dazu lebhafte, detaillierte Beschreibungen von Landschaften, Lebensumständen und gut gezeichnete Figuren.
Alles zusammen schafft eine tolle Atmosphäre und lässt voll in die Story abtauchen. Man reist, hofft, bangt und leidet total mit. Die Geschichte ist flüssig und angenehm zu lesen und zeigt auch die harten Seiten auf ohne Schönrederei. Immer wieder gibt es Situationen, in der man Figuren richtig hasst.
Kathleen ist schwanger, heimlich mit dem mutigen aber leichtsinnigen Michael verlobt und die beiden wollen zusammen Irland verlassen. Aber dann wird Michael verhaftet und nach Australien abgeschoben, wo er die junge Prostituierte Lizzie kennenlernt. Kathleen muss den Widerling Coltrane heiraten, der sie misshandelt und mit ihm nach Neuseeland auswandern.
Michael und Kathleen sind, über all die Jahre, total auf den jeweils Anderen fixiert. Aber Lissy ist wirklich beeindruckend. Sie hat Träume ist aber vor allem kämpferisch und pfiffig. Kathleen dagegen ist zurückhaltend aber entschlossen und macht über die Zeit eine unglaubliche Entwicklung.
Obwohl das Buch einem ähnlichen Schema folgt, wie Andere der Autorin ist es eigen und doch anders. Vor allem vom Ende war ich diesmal begeistert. Anders als gedacht, viel weniger kitschig und natürlicher. Ich freue mich jetzt auf Band 2!
emirandres's review against another edition
5.0
Amor eterno a esta mujer y sus historias. Otro inicio de trilogía que me enganchó desde el capítulo uno. Amé volver a Nueva Zelanda, a la cultura maorí, a las granjas de ovejas y a la fiebre del oro. Pero sobretodo amé volver a encontrarme con dos personajes femeninas y seguir su crecimiento a lo largo de los años y ver cómo se transforman en mujeres fuertes, independientes y libres.
i_likedbooksbest's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
prpltrtl946's review against another edition
Too depressing, not what I need to be reading!