This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review. My thanks go to Jennifer Moore, Covenant Communications and Netgalley for the opportunity.

I've always had an interest in the population of Australia by the exiling of criminals during the 1800's - its application of trying to give criminals of less severe crimes a second chance via honest labour (or being used essentially as slave labour, depending on how you look at it) is something which feels both modern and archaic at the same time.

Jennifer Moore does a great job of setting the scene here; the rolling expanse of Sarah Fields seems to jump off the page. I also enjoyed the fullness of the supporting characters; Captain Thackery and the Hawkins family felt more like just plot devices. Their own stories were equally important.

Whilst I thought it was nice for Moore to include the native aboriginal people via Charrah and his family, however I did feel they were more clearly involved as a plot device at the service of the main characters than the others. In order for Sarah and Daniel to experience personal growth, they needed to be involved in the aboriginal's lives. Other than that, Charrah's inclusion brought nothing additional to the story.

This is, in all, a sweet tale of redemption and romance. If you like your reads with a historical twist then this is a definitely recommendation for you.

Miss Whitaker Opens Her Heart was such a great book. That really highlights second chances and that people are so much more than what they appear.

Sarah Whitaker and her aunt are on their way to Australia from England to visit her Papa. As the ship pulls into port, she is informed her Papa has been killed and she has inherited her father's property. Sarah and her Aunt begin to live and operate her Papa's sheep farm, Sarah Hills. Years later, Sarah has turned Sarah Hills into a thriving sheep farm. Her aunt has died and she throws herself into maintaining her property.

Daniel Burton is a man who has made mistakes. Those mistakes got him thrown into jail. As part of his sentence he has to move to Australia for a period of time. Daniel is considered a free prisoner who is working to rebuild his life. He purchases property and begins to build a sheep farm. He meets Sarah and after some misunderstandings are cleared up, they become friends. Sarah has no family left. She has maintained a father like relationship with the Captain of the ship that brought her over to Australia when she was a young girl. As Daniel and Sarah begin to open up to one another Sarah discloses her negative feelings towards the native people because she blames them for her father's death. She also has negative feelings towards the free prisoners because she has been hurt by them when she has put her trust in them. As Daniel and Sarah spend more time together they fall in love. The only problem is Daniel has not told her he is a free prisoner for fear he will lose the one thing he loves the most.

Miss Whitaker Opens Her Heart is so well written that you become engaged in the story and you fall in love with the characters. This is a book very worthy of five stars.

This is not your typical Regency romance! It has the requisite cast of characters. However, with Australia as the setting everything changes. Change is a theme of the story. Can people change and can others accept the change within them?
Sarah became an eleven year old orphan heiress upon her arrival in Australia and has had to learn to manage her father's farm while experiencing the violent betrayal of some of her convict employees. Her's is not the standard Regency upbringing.
Ten years later, Daniel, a felony convict who has been transported rather than be hanged becomes Sarah's neighbor. Thanks to the support of a wealthy English friend he's able to buy the land adjacent to Sarah's--that she had been wanting to purchase. No, it's not a good beginning for them. But, friction does make sparks. : )
I love that Jennifer Moore allows us to explore the greater reaches of the Regency world with the exotic locations of her books. The beginning of the Australian penal colony burgeons with story possibilities. I'm glad I got to read this one.

This is a really sweet and enjoyable book!
Sarah Whitaker is young, strong and independent. She is a successful farmer but being a woman means she has had to fight to gain respect and there have been times in which she was not taken seriously. Sarah doesn't let these bring her down, though. She wants to keep her father's legacy and will fight for it with everything in her. The only problem is, she's basically on her own.
Life hasn't been easy for her and has somewhat harden her heart.
The author was very sensible when writing Sarah's story. It was impossible not to want to hug her and affirm her and let her know everything will be all right.
Good thing the author put Daniel Burton in Sarah's life. There relationship grew in the perfect pace and had to overcome a few challenges. At times I wondered how would they ever grow romantic feelings towards one another, but their journey of letting go of their own pride and helping each other to see the truth and hold on to hope was heartwarming and absolutely believable.

One of the things that I most enjoy about Jennifer Moore's books are the settings. They are always unique and engaging. I had an absolute wonderful time following these characters' journey through a country that is so dear to me.

Probably I should rate this five stars, however, the pace dragged and I felt like the characters needed more sizzle between them. I enjoyed the plot but felt there should of been more activity. It many ways the story dragged. Then it picked up again. I liked the plot, I even enjoyed the characters if you take them by themselves, but if you take them on a romantic basis, I needed more connection. Now if I put those items aside, I would say the plot was quite unique in many ways! That is what kept me reading even without the sizzle, I wanted to know how it would be resolved! I enjoyed the way it was brought to a close and even the love as it came to a finale! I was given this book in return for an honest review. Anna

I enjoyed this book more than I expected. I usually read romance books when I'm on holiday, what I like to call "Christmas-spirit books" and "beach books".
What I liked about this book is not necessarily the plot - quite predictable - but the setting. 19th century Australia seems a good choice as background for a young lady's emancipation in owning and managing her farm but also in choosing her own life partner. There were two social classes at the time: the "exclusives" (the free settlers) and the ex-convicts. The convicts and the aborigenes are outcasts. But Sarah's mistrust and wariness against the latter category are not the result of her origin or upbringing, they are caused by previous traumas (the deaths of her father and aunt at the hands of aborigenes and convicts). She rejects (at least in thinking if not always in action), high society's norms of propriety out of practicality: it is easier to ride a horse, tend sheep, etc. in men's clothes. You cannot but admire her free spirit.
At the same, time she longs for a family of her own. In order to achieve that, she has to learn to trust again (convicts and aborigenes), to accept the idea that people can change. In the end, she is the one who changes, and when she realizes that, she can trust and love Daniel.
Other than this battle of spirits and ideologies, the book also contains a series of dramatic scenes, very well-narrated, which make it really enjoyable and worth-reading.

Whenever I read a historical novel by Jennifer Moore, I'm guaranteed to be swept away to an earlier era and the location is always unique to any other book I've read! Miss Whitaker Opens Her Heart is no exception- I was completely immersed in early 19th century Australia, and the dynamics of the community and politics there were fascinating! I loved learning details about the lives and hardships of the people who relocated there from Europe. The characters are developed so well that I felt like I knew them and was invested in their decisions and hoping for a happy ending, especially for Sarah who suffered the loss of the people in her life who loved her. The themes of overcoming prejudice, compassion, and forgiveness are strong as Daniel and Sarah are confronted with life-changing decisions. I loved their friendship and budding relationship, which developed naturally over the course of the story. Highly recommend!

(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)

I really enjoyed this book! The characters were likable and I wanted to know what happened to them. I had no trouble getting into the book and had a hard time putting it down. It was a good story.

Slow and so imprecise story.

Almost at the halfway of the story and nothing has happened. The descriptions, which at first were interesting, have become boring and repetitive. The characters are flat and one-dimensional. They are very good people or very bad ones, there is nothing in between. The MC´s hardly have chemistry and they contradict themselves and /or change of opinion constantly.
I can see coming the heroine´s "secret" and do not think it will be realistic enough to justify her behavior. Anyway, I can´t get invested in the story so I prefer to leave it now.
I do not rate. It would not be fair.
***
Historia muy lenta y muy imprecisa.

Casi llegados al ecuador no ha pasado nada. Las descripciones, que al principio fueron interesantes, se han convertido en aburridas y repetitivas. Los personajes son planos y unidimensionales. Los hay muy buenos y muy malos, no existen las medias tintas. Los protagonistas apenas tienen química y se contradicen y/o cambian de opinión constantemente. Y el “secreto” de la protagonista se ve venir de lejos y no creo que vaya a resultar lo suficientemente realista como para justificar su comportamiento. En fin, no me está pareciendo nada atractiva así que prefiero dejarlo aquí.
No puntúo. No sería justo.