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tigerlilliereads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
3.0
I received this book from Netgalley for an honest review.
Not going to lie the cover got me for this one and made me pick it up. It wasn’t something I would normally read but was excited for the ride.
The story tells of Eliza and her family who have moved from England to Australia in the late 19th Century. Her father is a well known pearler. One day, however her father doesn’t return and Eliza sets out to solve the mystery of what has happened to him and to save the day.
This book really shows the dark underbelly of business and the patriarchy, the way that migrants treated other cultures and natives. It also vividly shows the geographical and nature of the area. The description, although sometimes too much, was great at allowing me to imagine the sweltering heat, the outback and the different landscapes of the area.
I found this book was quiet slow paced at the beginning, the first half of the book felt really dragged out and I struggled to want to keep reading on despite the very good description. After the 50% mark I started to enjoy the story, the adventure side came in and it all started to feel a bit more fast paced. I liked the character of Axel but didn’t like way they end his story. I did like Eliza’s independence and willing to draw her own path… I was forever angry at the men in this book (although Axel and Knife I did enjoy) but I think that was more the point. It’s a very stark and honest look at what life would have been back then. The author has obviously done thorough research into something I never knew anything about. It’s was a unique take on the historical fiction books and definitely made me learn about something completely new and read outside my comfort zone.
Not going to lie the cover got me for this one and made me pick it up. It wasn’t something I would normally read but was excited for the ride.
The story tells of Eliza and her family who have moved from England to Australia in the late 19th Century. Her father is a well known pearler. One day, however her father doesn’t return and Eliza sets out to solve the mystery of what has happened to him and to save the day.
This book really shows the dark underbelly of business and the patriarchy, the way that migrants treated other cultures and natives. It also vividly shows the geographical and nature of the area. The description, although sometimes too much, was great at allowing me to imagine the sweltering heat, the outback and the different landscapes of the area.
I found this book was quiet slow paced at the beginning, the first half of the book felt really dragged out and I struggled to want to keep reading on despite the very good description. After the 50% mark I started to enjoy the story, the adventure side came in and it all started to feel a bit more fast paced. I liked the character of Axel but didn’t like way they end his story. I did like Eliza’s independence and willing to draw her own path… I was forever angry at the men in this book (although Axel and Knife I did enjoy) but I think that was more the point. It’s a very stark and honest look at what life would have been back then. The author has obviously done thorough research into something I never knew anything about. It’s was a unique take on the historical fiction books and definitely made me learn about something completely new and read outside my comfort zone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Sexual assault, Animal death, Hate crime, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Rape, Blood, Child death, Colonisation, Gore, Grief, and Racism
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