Kathryn is looking for the first romance she ever read – and, great bloomin’ onions, it’s an Outback romance!
I’m looking for one of the first romance novels I ever read. I bravely checked it out from my local public library and smuggled it home in a pile of Nancy Drew mysteries.
It must have been published before 1997, since I think I was in grade 7.
The heroine was a female convict/indentured servant on a ship heading to Australia, and is thinking of throwing herself overboard when one of the sailors points out the sharks circling the ship in the harbour.
At some point I’m pretty sure she spends some time in a remote ranch in the Outback. I can’t remember much else other than one particularly stand out scene: when the hero and heroine are finally in bed, he pours champagne over her which sounds terribly messy and has stood out to me to this day!
Any help finding this book would be greatly appreciated.
He’s pouring champagne over her? Won’t someone think of the laundry? *clutches fabric softener*
Do you recognize this book?
Pretty sure that is Night in Eden by Candice Procter.
The only historicals I read about Australian convicts were the Connie Mason books – could it be one of them? There is “Bold Land, Bold Love”; “Wild Land, Wild Love” and “Brave Land, Brave Love”. I don’t remember a champagne scene though. I do remember there are a lot of rapey bushtuckers.
HAHA oh, I’m so glad I’m not the only one who thought of the Connie Mason series. Is it terrible that I own all three? They’re soooo terribad! 🙂 Probably not the answer to this HaBO, though.
When I read Australia, indentured servant and the comment about sharks I was reminded of Moonfire by Linda Lael Miller. It is the first of two books. The hero is uber rich and owned a theatre. He had a ranch in the country. The heroine planned to be an actress the head actress in the theatre was the hero’s misstress, before he met the heroine of course. She started as a governess when she got off the boat. The hero also had a whaling ship and there was a theme with lots of sharks and some chomp chomp that happened. Err, long babble short it was published in 91. Gonna go read them again because reasons.
I can’t remember 100%, but the champagne scene sounds familiar too.
Erm, do you mean bushrangers? Because I’m pretty sure that bush tucker is food.
@Jaime yep, totally meant bushrangers. Definitely no rapey food in Connie Mason books. Well, I mean, there could be, she had a lot of rapeyness.
I, too, thought it was NIght in Eden, but I just skimmed the love scenes in my copy (one of three because I don’t loan out keepers) and couldn’t find champagne. This was the first book I read of Candice Proctor’s. I read them all. She switched to Regency-era mystery and writes as CS Harris. Hero is Sebastian St. Cyr. Great series and has a touch of romance.
“Touch the Wild Wind” by Cassie Edwards? She has a couple of Australian books
You’re right, Kay. Doesn’t seem to be Night in Eden after all. But I remember most of these elements from somewhere.
Cassie Edwards wrote a couple of books set in Australia? *shudders*