Thank you NetGalley for this eARC ! We found it so mesmerizing and beautiful! The characters were so well distinguish and I loved following this historical fiction journey. Can’t wait to share this to many more readers.

Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC of Under the Golden Sun by Jenny Ashcroft. I really enjoyed this historical fiction book. It was set in the WW2 era but as a backdrop to the story as the majority of the story took place in Australia. I liked the premise of Rosie pursuing an ad in the newspaper she read on a train to London to accompany an orphaned child from London to Australia. She was struggling with her life, her choices, her family and being able to help the child, Walter, gave her a purpose. On the very long ocean voyage, she met a mother and her daughter whom Rosie and Walter kept in touch with in Brisbane. The daughter, Verity, was Walter's first friend. Once Rosie got to the cattle station, things didn't go as planned. It took some time for Walter's family to come to accept the situation. I was surprised by the characters on the station: Lauren, Walter's grandmother, Esme, aunt and Max, uncle. They grew and changed as they got to know and love Walter and Rosie. Rosie learned how to make decisions for herself and enjoy being who she became during her time in Australia and because of the people she met during the long ocean journey and on the cattle station. If you like interesting characters and 1940s historical fiction, then pick up Under the Golden Sun for an gratifying read.

This book ticks so many boxes for me. Historical fiction (WWII), international locations (London, Queensland, Australia and a ship journey in between, well-developed characters, a slow-burn romance and a story that just flows effortlessly. I enjoyed this book so much, especially the challenges faced by many of the the characters, but especially Rose, Max and Walter. The book interweaves several issues - indigenous peoples rights, colonialism, abortion and women’s rights, but it presents an opportunity for awareness and doesn’t become mired in the politics. Highly recommend.

A woman grieving a late miscarriage impulsively takes a job escorting a motherless 4-year-old boy from England to Australia in this romantic wartime drama. The boy, Walter, is biracial, with an Aboriginal father. Rose is hired by Walter’s dying great aunt to reunite him with his late mother’s family, but when they arrive at the ranch after a long journey, she realizes they may not be welcomed by all.

To be honest, I expected a bit more drama about Walter’s homecoming, but after an uncomfortable start, matters are resolved fairly quickly and easily. Even the issue of racial tensions is confined to a few sneering bystanders. On the other hand, romantic tensions - between Rose, her absent fiance, and a battle-scarred pilot on the ranch - are more drawn out due to a frustrating failure to communicate.

Still, this is a nice, clean romance between two damaged people with some touching moments. The events of the war are brought in through interactions (and very long telegrams!) with Rose’s brother in the RAF, her uncle on Winston Churchill’s staff, and her Army chaplain father who is posted to Malaysia with her mother. I appreciated the attention to historic detail and the settings, from England during the Blitz to a convoy of ships to the ranchland outside Brisbane.

Recommended for those who enjoy lighter World War II stories.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.

Since I had enjoyed the author's book, Meet Me in Bombay, I was happy to have the opportunity to read an advance copy of her latest book. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I would categorize it as historical fiction more than romance. I appreciated learning about the personal issues the main character dealt with in England during WWII, as well as her voyage by sea to Australia and life on an Australian ranch. I liked that it was different from most novels of this era by being mostly focused on events in Australia and Asia, and although there was concern about family members in danger, there were no concentration camp scenes or atrocities by the Japanese. Bad treatment of the Aborigines was addressed. The author did a wonderful job bringing the characters to life, and their interactions made the story a compelling read. The locale and original premise made this a book I would highly recommend. I also think it would make a great choice for book discussion groups.

I requested Under the Golden Sun because I am a huge fan of WWII historical fiction. However, this one fell short of my expectations for a historical fiction. I enjoy the historical fictions that embed the reader into the war with a focused story of the war, this one had the war in the periphery, with the focus of the story on the romance. Unfortunately, I am not a huge fan of romances, I will read them, but they are not my favorite.

The story was about a woman who was ostracized, for behavior unbecoming of a woman in that era, who accepts a job accompanying a 5-year-old from England to Australia during the war. The back story of the boy and why he needed to go back to Australia is entertaining and the author did a good job connecting the reader to the characters. However, in the end it was your typical romance novel, where he does not say anything to her, she does not say anything to him and months go by, they leave one another etc. etc. Therefore, if you are a fan of romances, you will enjoy this book more than I did.

I received an e-arc through Netgalley.
Rose is trying to untangle herself from her fiance' and purely by happenstance comes across a newspaper ad asking for someone to accompany a child from England to Australia. It seems like a chance to get away from her life for a while after she suffered a miscarriage so she jumps at the chance to interview. Needless to say, this changes the course of her life in drastic ways. Things don't go as planned, but eventually things come together. I really got pulled into the characters and was on pins and needles until the end.

Jenny Ashcroft has woven a wonderful tale of love and loss during WWII in a very intimate tale as she takes us from London to noted ports en route to Australia. The story centers around Rosie, a British woman who has recently suffered a terrible loss with her American fiance. Even though war is starting to hinder daily life in London, Rosie can't seem to focus herself. despite having an uncle in the war office who tells of what lies ahead. En route to lunch with her uncle and brother, she sees an ad for a companion to take a little boy named Walter to Australia.

After she stops in to apply for the job, the story builds steam and takes us on a dangerous ship headed to the other side of the world during a war. Rosie and Walter need to reach a family home in the outback, and there she is to help him adjust to their world and leave him with this family he has never met.

Australia is where a big part of the book takes place. The story unfolds on many levels. There is much to be told; some of it drags, but for the most part, it gives us an intimate sense of life as Australia tumbles into war, and where life in the big outback farm is anything but easy.

An epic love story set against the golden Australia landscape during WWII!

After the loss of her baby, unwed and lonely, Rose Hamilton (Rosie) needs to outrun her memories and a trip to Australia as a young Aborigine boy’s nanny seems like the perfect answer.

Walter is the beautiful, five-year-old orphan that captures Rosie’s heart the minute she meets him after impulsively answering a want ad in the newspaper. His great-aunt Vivian is gravely ill and can no longer properly care for the lad. She wants him to find his roots in his father’s homeland of Australia.

But a war rages and the passage will be dangerous.

Rosie’s fiancé, who has grown distant with the loss of their child is reluctant to let her go but hurt feelings and built-up resentment tear the two lovers apart and Rosie agrees to a trip across the world from London.

Months of travel on a derelict cruise ship (the best ships are absconded for the war effort) bring Walter and Rosie to their destination, a large cattle station hours from Brisbane. But the welcome she expects, is not immediately forthcoming. It seems Walter was born from an extra-marital affair with an Aborigine man, creating a scandal in the community and bitter anger within this complex family.

How can she leave the child of her heart with these people?

We all have a past, it exists within us, and while forgetting may be impossible, learning to live with what is gone is so often essential to enjoying whatever is yet to come…
UNDER THE GOLDEN SUN- JENNY ASHCROFT

After a tumultuous start, Rosie and Walter are accepted into the household. Walter is impossible to resist, and they begin to bond with members of the family. Max, a wounded war veteran, Esme, the flighty, beautiful sister, and Lauren, the harsh mother who wants them gone.

This is a sweeping, epic, journey highlighting the bigotry shown to the Aborigine people during this period in history, along with enough horrible details about the war taking place in the world that it felt all-to-real and frightening.

This is my first book by Jenny Ashcroft, and it was so good, I immediately scooped up two more!

The settings are brilliantly explored, the tension from the war an underlying fear throughout the story, and the growing love between two well-deserving people a balm to the soul.

I love this one!

“I voluntarily read an ARC of this book which was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.”

This was such a compelling love story. It is set during WW!! in Australia. A young woman(Rose) answers an ad for a travel companion who is needed to accompany an orphaned 4 year old boy(Walter) from England to his family. Here starts a strange journey that has unexpected twists and turns and takes Rose on a totally different path in her life that she ever dreamed of. It was one of those books that you can't put down but at the same time, you don't want to end. I loved the characters and the descriptive prose was so realistic. Another 5* for me.
Thanks to Net Galley, the author and publisher for the ARC.

In Under the Golden Sun, Jenny Ashcroft builds a story of courage, love, and healing in the Australia of World War II. While the shelves of libraries and bookstores are filled with WWII-era tales set in Europe, Asia, or the US, far fewer are set in Australia. Ashcroft sets her plot amid the lush beauty of a land that holds such a draw for so many. In her story, Rose, 25, is refinding herself after an unplanned pregnancy and later miscarriage saw her dismissed from her military position and uncertain of her fiancé who failed to stand by her in the ordeal. When she sees an ad for a companion to accompany a child to Australia, she tentatively inquires, and is swept up into the life of four-year-old Walter, whose mother recently died and who needs to be delivered to relatives in Australia. Against the wishes of her family and fiancé, Rose accepts the position, loses her heart to the little boy, and sets out on an adventure in the war-torn waters between England and Australia. Once in Australia, Rose learns how little she was told and how much she was misled when she accepted the position, and she resolves to stay with little Walter until she can be sure of his safety and happiness. As the days pass, however, both Rose and Walter’s relatives must face buried secrets and long-held grudges if they want a better world for Walter.

Ashcroft excels in characterization and setting. Her people and places are rich and vibrant, bringing her story credibility and realism. Her characters are genuine and authentic, so readers buy into their conflicts and pain. Similarly, the settings of Illfracombe, London, and Narrawee breathe with detail and sensory description, and Ashcroft allows readers to feel themselves a part of her world.

Under a Golden Sun is a quiet story, gentle with feeling and internal conflict, and some readers may find its pace slow, especially lovers of high stakes and fast-paced suspense, Other readers, however, will revel in the gentle, authentic plot development, growing to love the characters and see them as fully complex, real people as the story grows. And I believe all readers will love Ashcroft’s technique of hinting at future events so gently and naturally. When she allows a bit of the future to slip into the present, it’s as if she is telling us a story as a friend would, jumping ahead at times and then returning to her chronology. It’s a charming technique that adds tension, tone, and mood in such a real, comfortable way.

Under a Golden Sun is a fascinating, emotionally rich story set in a complex and tense time and place. Ashcroft creates a lovely story that draws readers in and holds them happily captive, sorry to see the story end, but so happy with how it ends.

Under the Golden Sun by Jenny Ashcroft tells the story of Rose, a woman in the UK during WWII time period who is engaged to be married but she isn't sure that he is the man for her as she feels she cannot trust or count on him. When reading the newspaper, she sees an ad for a nanny/companion to escort a young child to Australia, and interviews for the position and meets four-year-old Walter, whose mother has died and his great-aunt is dying. Rose agrees to accompany Walter to his remaining relatives in Australia and in the process, finds herself - and love. It is a beautiful story of new beginnings and joyous possiblities in life after heartbreak. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Under the Golden Sun by Jenny Ashcroft
I thoroughly enjoyed this historical fiction novel that began in London and then across dangerous ocean waters, in war time, to a remote Australian cattle station. Rose Hamilton is at a crossroads in her life and is captivated by a 5-year-old boy, Walter. An aging, ill and dying relative puts an advertisement in the paper that Rose answers. She asks Rose to take Walter to his uncle and other relatives on a 4-month journey. The two grow a sweet, rewarding love for each other. However, there are many challenges along the way and Rose must decide her feelings for the boy’s best interests, crusty relatives, and Walter’s uncle who is newly returned from the war.

Author Jenny Ashcroft’s descriptions of the difficult journey, the Australian outback and Rose’s battling feelings are beautifully described with tenderness and warmth.

Reviewer – Shirley Weidner 9-12-21

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

3.5/5 stars. The book centers around the story of Rose Hamilton, a 25 year old in 1941, who answers an ad to accompany Walter a newly orphaned four year old boy, to his distant family in Australia. The parts of this book that appealed to me most involved the fictional depiction of life during wartime in WWII both in England and in Australia. It very much felt of the time period. I enjoyed seeing more about the cattle farm in Australian and what it was like driving the utes and living in a remote area. The ranking for me was 1) plot and depictions about life during this time, 2) relationship with Walter and his family, becoming a unit and helping him feel beloved and belonging, and 3) the romance, it was fine but no big feelings there.

I loved the message of living mindfully and enjoying your life, being immersed in it and making the choices that are right for you. The descriptions of the idyllic landscape and all their activities in Australia as they bonded was great. I enjoyed the characters---Esme, Lauren, Hannah, etc. and was emotional when Walter goes to see Dumbo.

It was mostly Australia and WWII that kept me wanting to read but it wasn't too gushy or overly sentimental, imo. Good historical fiction choice, a lot of realism here. I like that the Indigenous cultural groups of Australia are mentioned several times and we see how unfairly they are being treated---although unsurprisingly no acknowledgement that this was land that was colonized away from them.

Jenny Ashcroft's Under the Golden Sun is an exceptional read. A mix between historical fiction and historical romance, it deal with a British woman, Rose, who accepts a job escorting an orphaned young boy to Australia during World War II. The novel deals with trauma, fear, and (of course) love. I really enjoyed Ashcroft's approach to the plot and the amount of research it took for her to transport the reader from wartime England across the ocean to the rural outskirts of Brisbane. While some might think it a light read, I thought Under the Golden Sun was the perfect read--for relaxing, commuting, or even just before bed. Highly recommend.

The theme of the novel is an interesting one of a young woman during WWII who agrees to accompany an orphaned four year old to his family’s home in Australia. The story itself is rather long and drawn out. Too much focus on some of the topics became tedious to get through.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this arc.
Rose Hamilton was on the train, heading for afternoon tea with her uncle, brother and hopefully her fiancé as it was her birthday. She read a discarded newspaper to pass the time and when she saw the advertisement for a companion to travel with a young, orphaned child to Australia, she immediately made the decision to go to the address in Belgravia to enquire. That decision was to change Rosie’s life in a way she’d never imagined.

Living in the old house, getting to know five-year-old Walter Lucknow, his great aunt Vivien along with Pia and Lester who catered for Vivien and Walter, was a flurry of rushed days. It seemed no time before Rosie and Walter were aboard the ocean liner, leaving England’s shores with her escorts and heading for Australia.

Rosie and Walter’s arrival in rural Queensland didn’t go anything like Rosie had been led to believe. She was shocked, horrified, angry – for Walter’s sake as well as her own. But slowly, gradually, things improved. And Rosie knew, deeply, she wouldn’t be leaving Queensland and this little boy she’d grown to love. The beauty of the Australian outback, the kangaroos and koalas, the people – Kate and her daughter (Walter’s first ever friend) Verity whom they’d met on the ship and lived in Brisbane – Rosie found herself loving Australia. And Max, Walter’s uncle who’d been wounded in the war, his sister Esme – she felt ‘at home’, more so than ever before.

Under the Golden Sun is the latest release by Aussie author Jenny Ashcroft and it was exceptional. I loved it, chuckled, cried, felt emotional – the characters are well written, the story wonderful, Walter an absolute delight. I really didn’t want it to end. Set in the period of the second world war, in England as well as northern Queenland, two hours from Brisbane, Under the Golden Sun has put Jenny Ashcroft up there with my favourite authors, and is one of the best historical fiction novels I’ve read in a while. Highly recommended.

I love all of Jenny Ashcroft’s books. She writes what I like to call “literary romance”. There’s always a couple you are rooting for, but it’s more than just a bodice-ripping romance. Her novels are also wonderfully atmospheric. In Under The Golden Sun, she brings the Australian outback to life so vividly that you feel as though you’re there. Rose Hamilton is charged with accompanying an Aboriginal orphan, Walter, from England to Australia, where extended family awaits. As they endure the long journey, Walter becomes increasingly attached to Rose, and she to him. When they arrive in Australia, surprises and mystery abound. Also, the Australian prejudice toward Aboriginal people is a constant concern. Rose falls hard for Walter’s uncle Max, but has commitments back home. Can she make the right decision for her future?
I can’t say that the plot or characters of Ashcroft’s novels are ones that I’ll always remember, but while I’m reading, I am completely engrossed and can’t wait to see what happens next. I can’t ask for more than that.

This book tucked into my heart and stayed there. As a companion to a young boy, Rosie fell in love with the child, a child who had lost his mother and was living with an aunt in England who was dying. He came into her life at time she was conflicted, for Rosie had her own problems and emotions, yet she was more than ready to give of herself. She read the advertisement by happenchance and now found herself taking the little boy, Walter, to Australia where he had family. As I read the novel, I felt the love between Walter and Rosie take hold of my emotions. The descriptions of London in the rain, the outback of Australia were on-point. And, even though the story is set during WWII, to me that was not necessarily the focal point. Heartwarming, well delivered and a book whose story will stay with me for a while, I highly recommend it. To be reviewed on https://bookreviewsbylulu.blogspot.com/, Goodreads, Amazon and Historical Fiction Book Lovers. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you netgalley and publishers for my free e-arc of Under the Golden Sun;

4* - Historical Drama/Historical ww2 Romance set primarily in Australia.

"A story about a young women that agrees to escort a young orphaned child to Australia."

The first thing I liked about this book is I liked it right away. Often when starting a new book it takes me several chapters to be invested, but from the beginning I liked this novel. There is a lot of ww2 stories, but not many are set in Australia and in my opinion this book is less about war and more about life/love/change. I recommend this book.

Thank you Jenny Ashcrost for a lovely novel.