"The idea of my never having met an Aborigine before suddenly seems the most crushing, dreadful fact - in this, that was once their uninterrupted country."

Pheww this book!
I've loved it from the first sentence. And it only got better and better (until the end). First off: Kim's writing style is absolutely lovely. It's fresh, quick, fiery and always with a hint of humor. The alternating between Annie's and Jem's perspective was energetic and enrichened the plot very much. Everything was so anti-cliché...one unexpected event followed the other. I laughed and I cried my heart out. (I also stayed up until 4 in the morning to finish this marvel.) The characters were alive and interesting and breathtaking. - Their chemistry beyond description. Kelly interweaves the tragic story of the Aborigines, their lost land and pain with a beautiful romance and tale of personal redemption.
It is a profound statement about racism in the past, but also a lesson to be learned for the present.

I could go on and on about this book. About how I fell in love with the way Jeremy fell in love with Annie ("This is my new most favorite sound, this meeting of our souls inside a laugh; fleeting, but some drug in itself."), about how I would love to see Australia even more now after reading this love letter to it, about how my heart aches for the Aborigines, who were murdered, so others could have a bit of Land on this earth, that can really belong to no one but God.

There was a lot of coarseness of speech though in the way Jeremy Fox thought in the beginning (especially about women - so that's something some of you might not like, because there is a lot of it and a lot of blasphemy). He is a drunkard and a adulterer and it is a constant topic throughout the book, but since this is obviously also a story about his reformation, I wasn't bothered too much by it.

Unfortunately I didn't like the ending at all. It came too quick and lacked the spirit of the first two thirds of the story and therefore dimmed my enjoyment of it all a little. I was a little surprised at how easily Annie would do things that were so obviously against her faith and I think Kelly could have handled the question of religion more tactfully. Because of the ending, I'm giving the book 4 stars, even though overall I really, really loved it!

I thank Jazz Monkey Publications and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review.

What a wonderful story!

Set in 1878 in the western reaches of country New South Wales (Australia) during the gold rush days when bushrangers were a real threat to dwellers and travellers alike.
Times were very tough as laborers and businessmen downed tools to take off for the gold fields in search of their fortunes, leaving loved ones behind to cope without proper means...open to exploitation from all quarters.

Annie Bird lives with her father and younger sister on a small farm on the outskirts of Sydney.
Life is hard but good and they live comfortably well.
Her farther runs the farm and grows prized vegetable crops for a landlord who takes most of the profits in exchange for rent.
When Annie's father dies suddenly at home, Annie is bereft and wonders how she will manage to run the farm with her young (lazy) sister. Though she is determined to make a go of it as her father was a proud man and would expect nothing less, she wants to do him proud.
Even before her father was laid to rest in the ground, the landlady told Annie she was no longer welcome to stay and must leave immediately as new tenants had been signed.
The landlady withheld her father's wages for funeral expenses, leaving Annie and her sister with nothing but what they could carry.

So it was that Annie found herself on foot, travelling alone on the road west in search of her legendary grandfather. Her young sister having abandoned her and her hastily conceived plans, in favour of joining her boyfriend for an alternate lifestyle in a nearby location.

Annie is forced to travel alone with very few items, just what she can carry and wear. It is very dangerous out on the road alone and she must take precautions not to draw attention to herself.
However fate has decided to play some more cruel tricks upon Annie, and it is now that the pace picks up and grabs the reader into a wholly immersible tale involving all of the senses!
Be prepared to experience every kind of emotion as Kim Kelly skillfully and sensitively steers us through a landscape of heartache, longing, thuggery, adventure, history, beauty, awakening, poetic turns, romance and even moments of laugh out loud comedy! ...All in a language which artfully reflects its era.

This is Australian story telling at its best!
With inspiring turns of phrase that often had me pausing for long moments, this story held me captivated. I loved every bit of it so much that even when it was finished I wasn't ready to let it go.
The writing is refreshingly skillful and intelligent, and an absolute pleasure to enjoy.
This story is so much more than the sum of its parts and would be a credible addition to any historical Aussie story of legend...because it is "facticious" (history with some artistic license).

I read the kindle version and loved it so much that I plan to get myself a hard copy to add to my top shelf of favorites, it's a keeper!

Quotes I liked:

"The thing is, you're supposed to be a good person now, today, on earth, because it's the right and reasonable thing to do -"

"This is my new most favourite sound, this meeting of our souls inside a laugh; fleeting, but some drug in itself."

" he really is my friend. And friends don't need to make sense: they just are."

"-and there was the rest of my day gone. Lost to this odd, unreasonable bereavement that sits like a magnet in my chest."

And if there is one quote which sums up this wonderful story, it's this one...

"There's one thing we all know, and that's right from wrong - it doesn't have a colour."


Many thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for my kindle copy to read and review.

A keeper! 5*s

This is my first Kim Kelly book but I’m not sure about it. The premise of the book did appeal but for some reason I failed to be really enticed with it. Which did surprise me, as a number of my Goodreads friends rated it very highly.
For me I think it was the narration, I felt it was a bit simplistic and I didn’t ever really feel drawn into the characters. I also felt the alternating chapters between Jem and Annie didn’t have much of a ‘different voice’ and I often found myself skimming.
I’m obviously in the minority on my thoughts with this book and maybe it’s just not the right book for me at the time.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for a copy to read

I did enjoy this story, the relationship between Annie and Jem was unique and well written. The history of Australia, where I knew quite a bit, was still eye-opening and dreadfully sad. I would recommend this book and would red another by the author. I voluntarily have reviewed this book for Net Galley.

I loved the relationship between these 2 very relatable characters, Annie Bird and Jem Fox. Orphan Annie Bird, must make her way to the goldfields of late 1860s New South Wales in an attempt to find her grandfather. Encountering Jem Fox after being robbed, she is now in uncharted waters, although they have the common bond of wanting to get back home, but not much else (for now). Readable and well written.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book (from NetGalley). All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a great novel! I wasn't sure what to expect, but this one delivered quite a handful. A quest type venture, longing, and unexpected obstacles fill the days and nights of Annie and Jem. What a lovely tale of redemption and acceptance in the tempest of racism that was (and still is) Australia. Thank you to NetGalley and Kim Kelly for an eye opening lesson on the current state of Australia!!!

I loved the relationship between these 2 very relatable characters, Annie Bird and Jem Fox. Orphan Annie Bird, must make her way to the goldfields of late 1860s New South Wales in an attempt to find her grandfather. Encountering Jem Fox after being robbed, she is now in uncharted waters, although they have the common bond of wanting to get back home, but not much else (for now). Readable and well written.

Rating: 3.7 / 5

For the most part, this was a good read. Original, witty, charming, and overall pleasant and enjoyable. The story follows the adventure of Annie Bird and Jeremy Fox, she a half-Aborigine who's left alone in the world following the death of her father and so decides to search for her grandfather, and he a Jewish rich boy who's frivolous and flamboyant but an optimistic and likable fellow.

The personalities of both Annie and Jem are distinct, though exact opposites. She's the responsible, intuitive one, and he's the cheerful yet irresponsible goof. In a way, they remind me of Naveen and Tiana from Disney's The Princess and the Frog. The story starts them off on their separate ways, then has them coming together when Jem rescues Annie while she's being robbed, only to get lost with her in the bush, and then the pair of them mistaken as two members of an outlaw's gang. Add to this a few fun chases, distinct P.O.V.s from both characters in describing their situation, a general exploration of Australia and a bit of romance on the side, and you've got an enjoyable story!

However, I regret to say that the romance element was kind of botched in the last third or so of the book. Essentially, I think the author was trying to go for something like Eliza's response to Darcy's proposal in Pride and Prejudice, but unlike in P&P, I personally saw no reason for Annie to give the same reaction to Jem's proposal. While she does try to justify it with valid points--i.e. that Jem lied once or twice to her about small things at the beginning of their acquaintance, and the fact that he has a history of being a gambler and a rich playboy--I don't think they hold true when compared to how the man drags himself all across the Australian bush and puts his life in mortal peril just to help her fulfill her mission. Sure, he's overly cheerful and optimistic, thus making him a bit of a fool, and he also has a clouded past, but when a guy puts himself between you and the barrel of a gun, gets beat up, chases down outlaws, and then still acts like a gentleman around you and tries to be on his beset behaviour, then you have to give him some benefit of the doubt, at least, which Annie just doesn't give to Jem at first. (And this brings us into the last third of the book, which is focused solely on getting the two together, via encouragement from Annie's grandfather. As a finale to what started out as such a charming story, I didn't really appreciate it, and felt that the ending was rather rushed in comparison. That being said, Jem's falling in love with Annie is rather fast, whereas she's not really described as particularly falling in love with him at all until closer to the ending, so maybe the romance elements weren't too clear to begin with...)

Apart from that though, one other element that I'd like to highlight in my reading experience of this is the racial prejudice element--namely, that both Annie and Jem are outcasts in one way or another. Annie particularly, being "half-black", is constantly downtrodden, though most of this is explained while we're in her perception, which leads me to wonder if maybe she doesn't have a persecution complex since Mrs. Webb, a lady who's bullied her since childhood, is obviously racist. I mean, sure, I get that society as a whole was racist back in the day, but I find it a bit ridiculous to read that literally every single person they come across is perceived to be racist by Annie, either eyeing her in a certain way or saying things a certain way. From Jem's perception, he doesn't really get the full brunt of racism just for being a Jew, but for Annie, it seems to be constant, which I don't find realistic. Sure, society as a whole--but every single person?! That seems like it's stretching it a bit, just to make a point. Overall though, tactfully handled, I would say, and at least the author gave us a good variety of ethnicity for our main characters, not making them just "generically white" because they're the good guys.

All in all, I would indeed recommend this book, but at the same time advise readers not to expect too much of the romance element. Instead, just let the charm of the rest of the story carry it through.