Friday, 26 March 2021

Book Review: The Bushranger's Wife by Cheryl Adnams

 The Bushranger's Wife
by
Cheryl Adnams
 
How do you tame a wild colonial boy? With an even wilder colonial girl.
 

Publisher: Harlequin Australia 
Imprint: Mira AU
Publication date: 6th January 2021
Genre: Historical romance
Pages: 352
RRP: $29.99AUD
Format read: Paperback
Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Beauty & Lace Book Club
 
About the book
 
Central Highlands of Victoria 1861

Jack the Devil's reputation precedes him. The most notorious bushranger on the Central Highlands, nothing throws him off his game-until he holds up Prudence Stanforth and her grandmother. Jack can't help but be captivated by the feisty Pru and her lack of fear in the face of danger.

Weeks later, Pru crosses paths with the respectable businessman Jack Fairweather, and it's not long before she recognises him as the bushranger who stole her favourite necklace. His price for the locket's return is a kiss-a kiss that ignites sparks in them both.

When Pru discovers her grandmother has been keeping a devastating secret, running away with Jack the Devil is the perfect escape for her broken heart. The dangerous nature of his less than salubrious occupation is a poetic contradiction to her sheltered upbringing, and only fuels their passion.

But as life becomes more complicated, will the return of dark elements from Jack's past ruin their chance at happiness?
 
My review
  
Cheryl Adnams goes beyond the stories of the bushrangers of colonial Australia to the women that love them. What type of woman would marry a bushranger, a criminal?

Prudence has moved from England to Australia with her grandmother Lady Deidre Stanforth. When they are held up by a bushranger, introducing himself as Jack the Devil, on their very first day in Victoria rather than be afraid Prudence is thrilled by the excitement and adventure this new land held.

Jack Fairweather businessman and closet bushranger, Jack the Devil, loves his carefree life and the thrill of the heist. He vows he will never settle down. But after holding up the carriage of Prudence and Lady Stanforth he can’t get the young woman out of his mind.

It’s 1861 and girls are brought up to be subservient and dutiful. Prudence knows this and has done her best to comply but she sees her move to Australia as a last chance to run wild and spread her wings until she must settle into the marriage of a grandmother approved suitor.

"She hoped she'd have some time as a free woman to explore her new country, before she was sold off.............as a wife and baby maker."

I loved Prudence’s character. She was wild, rebellious, full of life and could be persuasive, even quite devious when she wanted something.. She was intelligent and inquisitive and was well read. She was raised to be delicate and dainty but her true nature was to be fierce and determined. The more she tasted freedom the more she wanted. She was a young woman before her time.

Jack was the most delectable anti-hero. Handsome, charming and a true gentleman. Even though he was a bushranger and thus a criminal his cheeky, easy going manner made it easy to look past this. He was the perfect fit for Pru.

The Bushranger’s Wife is a story filled with passion, danger, adventure and the true power of love. It is fast paced and heartwarming, flirty and sensual. It has all the elements of a perfect romance read.

This was my first book by Cheryl Adnams and I am now eager to read some of Cheryl’s backlist.   

 
5/5   ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
 
This review first appeared on the Beauty & Lace website 
 
About the author
 
Photo credit Goodreads
Cheryl Adnams lives in Adelaide, South Australia. She has published four Australian rural romance novels and this is her second Australian historical novel. Cheryl has a diploma in Freelance Travel Writing and Photography, has lived and worked in the United States and Canada, and spent two years with a tour company in Switzerland and Austria. Her favourite writing retreats include Positano on the Amalfi Coast and Port Willunga Beach just south of Adelaide. When she's not writing, Cheryl is still creating in her  busy full-time job as a learning designer.


 
 
 
 
 
 Challenges entered:  Australian Women Writers Challenge #AWW2021
                                 Aussie Author Challenge #AussieAuthor21
                                 Historical Fiction Challenge #HistFic2021 

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