I really enjoyed this book. It was a beautiful and touching story about family and friendship, love and heartbreak, forgiveness and patience. The characters were compelling, imperfect and complex. They felt like friends that I wanted to spend time with and get to know better. I absolutely wanted to drink gin with Rosie and Esme! The plot had enough twists to easily hold my interest and the historical events and multiple continents were the perfect background for this breathtaking love story. It's a must read for fans of love stories and historical fiction.

This was a little tough at the beginning for me because I wasn't connected. I felt like the reader is dropped in and expected to care about this dramatic situation before even getting to know the characters. That's just my personal preference though; I like to be introduced to the characters first.

Overall, this is a sweeping and dramatic story. It's interesting that "dramatic" continues to pop into my mind because there's not much "war action" at all, so it kind of depends on what the reader is looking for. This is more like a romance or re-building a life after war type of story. It has a lush, cinematic feel that many readers will be drawn toward.

Will Rose discover that she can’t run from her painful past or will she find love and acceptance in a new place to call home?

This epic saga and WW2 historical romance is set against the wild beauty of a cattle station in rural Queensland, Australia. The main character, Rose Hamilton, has nothing to lose and everything to gain by applying to accompany Walter Lucknow, a 5-year-old aboriginal orphan, from London to his father's family in Australia. A precocious child, he soon warms her heart and makes the dangerous wartime passage on a derelict ship worth the journey. As they travel across to the other side of the world, Walter and Rose heal each other.

Upon arrival, Rose discovers that all is not as it seems and the two are unwelcome on the ranch. As only Rose can do, she works her way into their hearts and finds a place of acceptance for all involved. There’s a fighter pilot who’s returned home injured, American troops who’ve arrived in Brisbane, and a powder keg of family secrets waiting to explode and the author writes to include her readers in the action. Ashcroft explores loss, love, and friendship alongside tension in dealings with Aboriginals and the growing bigotry that fuels it. You’ll have to read to discover if Rose has any reason to keep her here once Walter is settled or if returning to her former life and fiance is inevitable.

A stunning cover will attract readers to this book but it’s the fantastic characters, especially Walter, that will keep readers glued to the pages!

I’m already anticipating Ashcroft’s next read set in Crete during the occupation and influenced by her Greek grandmother. It’ll be sure to be another riveting historical fiction as we’ve come to expect from this established author.

I was gifted this advance copy by Jenny Ashcroft, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

I was gutted. The author's ability to bring the struggles, the loses, the challenges of war and prejudices is mind blowing. With the tap on a keyboard she transported me back in time to experience Rose's life as she picks up the pieces and finds home.

Rose is hired to return Max to his home in Australia. His mother is dead, Vivian is dying. He needs to go back to where he belongs, even if he doesn't really belong, even if he isn't really wanted.

Rose and Walter sail on a ship that is being held together by a lick and a prayer, pulled out of mothballs when ships had been taken by the Navy. Reading of the dangers at sea in a textbook was nothing compared to experiencing it through Rose and Walter, even if they were supposed to be traveling in luxury. During the war, traveling just had different levels of horrid.

Under the Golden Sun takes the reader into the lives of those living on a cattle station outside of Brisbane. We witness the prejudices toward Walter, a little boy of mixed race. We see the struggles of those left behind by too many losses.

Jenny Ashcroft opened my eyes to the challenges Max experience after returning home from Egypt with burns that would cause problems for the rest of his life. He didn't have the memories of his plane crashing but visual reminders as he hides on the station, avoiding people, avoiding love.

The story touches on to the war in many ways. The reader is not only dealing with war in Europe but also war in the Pacific. When Japan bombs Pearl harbor, Rose's fears increase. She not only worries about her brother, Joe, flying for the British but now fears for her parents living in Singapore.

I must confess that at 95% in the story I was completely gutted. I wasn't sure if I could go on. I was being selfish. My fears for the characters had become real. I had cried with them. I had celebrated with them. I wanted them to have a happily ever after. I had to remember that so many did not get a happily ever after in World War 2.

I can't thank the author enough for bring the past to life in such away that I wanted to learn more. The ending brought me empathy. Like so many after the war, I was left wondering what happened to some of those in the book.

This book was such a surprise. I loved the writing, the plot, the setting and the characters. What else is there to say?

I recommend this book if you are interested in WWII Historical Fiction with a little romance and tension. This book has it all!

Many thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for this advanced readers copy. This book is scheduled for release on March 15, 2022.

I didn’t quite know what to make of this book. I liked the setting for Australia, but was often confused in the story line. I thought the narrative was stilted and awkward. This book was a miss for me.

This will absolutely be one of my favorite books of the year! This sweeping, poignant love story takes readers from WWII-torn England to a wild ranch in Australia.

Rose Hamilton is struggling to move on from the loss of her unborn child, and her fiancé is less than sympathetic. When she sees an advertisement to bring a young, orphaned child to Australia, she applies on a whim. She immediately falls in love with shy, sweet four-year-old Walter, who has been in the care of his dying great-aunt Vivian. When she's chosen for the task, she can't say no.

When Rose arrives in Australia, the family she has been promised will meet her are nowhere to be seen, and when she makes her way to the house, no one answers the door. But the next morning, Uncle Max, a young airforce pilot forced to retire after serious burns, returns and allows them into the house. But Rose soon learns that there's much more to biracial Walter's story than she's been told, and the secrets Vivian kept from her have the potential to upend all their lives. As Rose stays to get Walter settled in with his new family, she also finds herself drawn to the enigmatic Max, whose care for her provides a stark contrast to her fiancé's neglect.

Max is delightful as the wounded warrior who struggles to believe he's worthy of love, and you're rooting for Rose to find healing from her past in Australia. Walter was such a sweet soul, and you want him to be able to keep all the people he loves in his life, as he's lost so much already.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rose Hamilton is boarding the train to meet her Uncle and her brother for tea. Rose is at odds with her life at the moment. World War II has everyone on edge. She is still healing from being dismissed from military service and is engaged/not engaged to a truly narcissistic man. When she happens to see in the paper an advertisement for a companion to a young child. The job would be accompanying the child to Australia where his family will meet him and give him a good home.

On a whim, she stops in to apply for the job. She meets Vivian who is in very poor health and needs to be sure someone she can trust will care for a five-year-old Walter. A shy little boy whose mother has died and whose father is unknown. Walter tugs at her heartstrings hard. And she immediately knows she will take the job.

Walter and Rose board a ship during a scary time. With ships being bombed and enemy ships around, not to mention the seasickness.

Being on the ship in such close quarters Rose has become quite fond of Walter and him of her. When they finally land no one is there to meet them. When a hand shows up he deposits them in the pouring rain at a house with no one home. Or is there? What is wrong with these people? And why is his Uncle Max so distant and not in the least expecting them?

Secrets and family. Can one child and one rather headstrong woman change them all? Or will more misunderstandings cause her a broken heart?

Jenny Ashcroft writes so well you feel fully immersed in whatever world she has created. The colors of the Australian sky, the smells of the ocean liner, the heat so hot you can feel it.

A beautiful historical fiction novel that will move you to tears!

NetGalley/March 15th, 2022 St. Martin’s Press

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This beautifully written story set in Australia during WWII is of love, healing, family and forgiveness. Rose takes us on a journey with a wonderful little boy named Walter to live with the family he has never met. It is not without some trials and tribulations. But their time together and the relationship that grows between them and with the others they come to meet, is tender, loving, heartwarming and sometimes hilarious. The relationships of the characters, both romantic, familial and friend, were blended nicely. Though some chapters were long causing the story to drag at times, by contrast, the slow build of the romance between Rose and Max was exciting. I enjoyed their longing stares across the yard and their conversations on the haybale. And while there is another man in the story to cause a bit of angst, he’s never really a contender for Rose’s heart in my opinion. All in all a very enjoyable story.

"Jenny Ashcroft's Under the Golden Sun follows a soul-searching young woman who takes a leap of faith and discovers a place to call home and someone to share her heart.

England, 1941. The world is at war. London is under siege as the German blitz pounds the city without warning, without mercy. Rose Hamilton did her part as a member of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force until she was unfairly discharged following a tragic loss. Working as a secretary on a Devon farmland, Rose is out of harm’s way, but she needs to contribute to something greater than herself to truly recover.

Answering a newspaper advertisement for a companion to accompany an orphaned child to Australia, Rose becomes enchanted with four-year-old Walter Lucknow. Shy, imaginative, and kind, the boy lost his parents and has been living in near seclusion with his elder great aunt. As heir to a wealthy Australian cattle station, Walter must return to his homeland and his mother’s family.

Leaving her own family - and fiancé - Rose braves the long, dangerous voyage across Pacific waters where war is imminent to see Walter safely home. But upon arrival, Rose learns the truth about Walter’s relationship to the Lucknows and the land he’s supposed to inherit, a truth that haunts the boy’s Uncle Max, a wounded pilot scarred inside and out. And as Max opens his heart up to Walter, Rose is drawn to the man’s strength and compassion, finding herself torn between returning to England and staying with the child and man she’s grown to love."

I feel like there just aren't enough WWII stories set in Australia.

This story takes place between England and Australia during WW ll, but the main focus really being about family, and the life on a large cattle station in Australia.
There are so many great backstories in this novel, which make this book so engaging.
Rose Hamilton, needed a change in her life, when she reads an advertisement in the paper for someone to escort a young orphaned boy from England to Australia. The woman wants the young boy in her charge to go to family members overseas. Rose decides to take the job and she and the young boy, Walter, embark on their long journey by ship from England across the water to Australia during the war, to a country neither of them know anything about.
What a wonderful story of faith, family, hope and trust. I absolutely loved it.
I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have read many novels set during the war. I felt this was especially well done. I thought the characters were very believable, and cared about their lives. I was sucked into the story and their emotions. Very touching. Thanks Netgalley for the ARC book. Will look more by this author!

DNF due to trigger warnings.

Basing my star rating on what I had read so far in the book. Before I DNFed I wasn't really connecting with the writing style (it felt a bit choppy), but I was planning to continue.

TW: miscarriage. This is not a spoiler as it's introduced into the story early in pretty brutal terms. I didn't read past that, so I can't say how the subject is handled overall in the book.

A beautiful historical fiction novel about a young boy and his nanny in Australia during WWII. It was engaging, heartfelt, and emotional. I don't often read historical fiction but I may venture to check out Jenny Ashcroft's other works.

The characters were well developed and I loved how the family dynamic changed and developed though out the story. Overall it fell kind of short though. I love a good historical fiction but I like when they contain a little bit of action which this one did not. I do think others will love this story though. It just wasn't for me.

Under the Golden Sun takes place in WWII era Australia involving the hard-won, unlikely family of a young boy and his temporary nanny. Taking the trip with Walter and Rose from England across the water to Australia during the war, one can get quite tired during their long journey and struggle to be accepted by kin, but the ending of this story wraps up in pretty little bow, as it should.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I truly enjoyed this story. Rose is a gem. She is a special, kind-hearted, caring person that has had some hard knocks in her life. Her only downfall is she doubts her strength, courage and her ability to right the wrongs. The writing was entertaining and listening to life in Australia was enjoyable.
This book has it all, a bit of mystery, a lot of love, romance, heartache and a touch on how the war affected the people of the down under. I would highly recommend.
Received an ARC from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for my unbiased review – This one comes in with 5 stars.

This author is one of my favorite woman/historical fiction writers. Her stories are so well written and the characters all very engaging.
This story takes place between England and Australia during WW ll, but the main focus really being about family and newly acquired family, and the life on a large cattle station in Australia, and the people who live there.
So many great backstories in this novel, which come to be known slowly throughout the book.
Rose Hamilton, needed a change in her life, when she reads an advertisement in the paper for someone to escort a young orphaned boy from England to Australia. The woman giving her the job is older and not in good health, but wants the young boy in her charge to go to family members overseas. Rose decides to take the job and after living with the boy in England, to create trust, she and Walter, embark on their long journey by ship,to a country neither of them know..
What a great story, and I can't wait to read more of her books.
I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book which releases in March '22.

3.5 stars-This wasn’t too bad. Predictable but decent. A little slow to start out and kind of… difficult to connect with in places.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I enjoyed this book, while the plot seemed to drag on a little, the characters were well written and I found it easy to connect to them. I also loved how detailed the descriptions were.