Annie's Choices (Settlers Book 4)

Where to buy Annie's Choices

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"Frontier life in Australia was made up of backbreaking hard work. The author says in her dedication; “gallant women and brave men”, and it's true. This is the story of Annie, a girl who has come to spend Christmas season with her brother Tim and his wife Jo. The year is 1843, and after Christmas, Annie decides to stay in Port Philip, where life is far more exciting than in the mountains where she grew up. Young and frivolous Annie sets her sights on Jacob, who works for her family. Jacob is serious and hardworking. Annie manages to get him to take her for a drive, but a violent storm hits and they find an injured girl in a ditch at the side of the road. The girl suffers from amnesia and can only remember her name – Sally. Annie's brother and sister-in-law agree to take her in until she can recover, and Sally and Annie, being the same age, soon become friends.

Then Zachary enters the picture, and Annie finds herself attracted to the dashing, mercurial man who takes her to parties and compliments her extravagantly. Soon Annie is driving out with him on Sundays, and going to his house where his family hold large gambling parties. Knowing her brother would not like that, Annie keeps that a secret. While at Zachary's house, she also meets a servant girl who looks disturbingly like her friend Sally, who still claims she remembers nothing of her past life, and who has now started working in the Annie's brother's house.

This story is like a winding brook, carrying you with it as it goes, bubbling with life and laughter, joy and tears. It's not only a coming of age story and romance; there is adventure, a murder, a journey, and a cast of well-rounded, believable characters. It's also beautifully written and once I started reading, I couldn't stop until I found out what happened to Annie, Jacob, Zachary, and Sally. 

Ms McGill's writing is like a tapestry with the woven threads of the story leading you further into the design – a design that shows Australia in the eighteen hundreds in all its complexity. The author also includes the massacres inflicted on the Aborigines and their consequences. I love historical romance, and this one is a wonderful addition to my collection.

“Annie's Choice” is book 4 in the Settlers' Series, but it can easily be read as a standalone. Warning – reading this one will make you want to read the entire series! Highly recommended.