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5 stars Diane Scott Lewis “Exciting Australian Adventure”
Set in 1840s Australia, a land fraught with hardship, Ms. McGill writes a well-researched story of adventure and romance.
Jo and Tim forge a life in this wild land, overcome many dangers as the author weaves in the settling of New South Wales. I enjoyed learning about the history of Australia. This is book three of the Settlers series but can be read as a stand-alone.
5 stars “A Journey through History” Rosemary Morris
Some of the characters in Mystic Mountains and Distant Mountains feature or are mentioned in Challenging Mountains the third novel in the Settlers series set in 1840 in the colony of New South Wales. The colony is expanding now that convicts are no longer transported to the East Coast, and free squatters settle on lands between Sydney and Port Philip in the south.
Tim is bored by his position in a government office. Jo, whose parents were killed at the gold mines by bush rangers, is equally bored with her life.
“There were times when he thought Jo was wise beyond her years. In comparison he was like a green youth. Then again she would offer him challenges he would relish.”
The author introduced me to the history of New South Wales, which I knew little about. She also took me on an interesting journey from place to place, during which the characters encountered ‘the good, the bad and the ugly’. After naive Jo, dressed as a young man, is assaulted, they are deserted by their wagon master and his team. From then on, they encounter almost naked natives, are attacked by bushrangers, make dangerous river crossings and are horrified by a murder. Halfway to Port Philip, they no longer think of their expedition across challenging mountains as an adventure.
When I reached the end of Challenging Mountains, I was completely satisfied and, with regret, parted with Tim and Jo.
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