I loved the setting of Queensland Australia in 1936. This story is full of drama and politics and the nuns try to start a catholic school. Very interesting and enjoyable.

This book was good! I liked the characters and the setting. The author writes good too!!
I hope to read more by this author in the future! Looking forward to it!

Bringing harmony to a town is a unique task. I love the positivity of the human spirit. These nuns are amazing and genuinely inspiring.

This book was an ok read for me. I enjoyed the setting, but nothing felt fully developed. There is a lot of telling rather than showing when it comes to the characters. I was hoping for a cozy mystery feel, which I don't expect to be super deep. But this felt heavier without the depth that I would expect for a novel addressing some pretty serious issues. This is a beloved author, and many people have loved this book. Overall it just didn't work well for me.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #DreamscapeMedia for a free copy of #SistersoftheSouthernCross by Jean Grainger. All opinions are my own.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the audio version. I enjoyed the narrator. The novel itself was a fun read. It was an interesting concept and it took me a while to get through due to it was kind of long and drawn out in areas.

I loved listening to the accent of the narrator of this book. I was carried away to Australia while listening to the book. This was a good historical fiction book and the way the author described the area where the book took place was vivid and I could easily envision it. A tale of murder, you were also exposed to prejudices, less than admirable men in power, but at the end of the day … hope. Sister Claire was a strong and courageous woman whose compassion made a difference in the lives of many children in the town of Jumaaroo in Queensland, Australia. An interesting read and I learned a lot which is always a plus for me when reading a book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

Many thanks to Net Galley and Dreamscape Media for an audio copy of Sisters of theSouthern Cross.

Sister Claire was called to serve a new area in Australia. The mayor and her clash and murder happens.

A solid read. I thought the description definitely painted a picture of the time and place. I really liked the character of Sister Claire and the other Sisters in the school. I thought the story was well put together. I took a few stars off because I found there to be too much reiterating of what happened or certain characteristics/feelings. There were points were I was ready to quit listening because I felt like "I just heard this."
For sure the story itself made for a good read.

I have wanted to read a book by Jean Grainger for some time. When I saw this audiobook and read the blurb about it, I was intrigued. Sisters of the Southern Cross took place in Queensland, Australia during the mid 1930’s in a town called Jumaaroo. It was told from the POV of Sister Claire McAuliffe who had been given the opportunity of starting and running a school for Catholic children in Jumaaroo by her uncle, Bishop William McAuliffe. The school had been built and funded by the mayor of Jumaaroo, Mr. Joseph McGrath and his wife Assumpta. Right from the start, Sister Claire, recognized the very obvious evidence of discrimination, racism and prejudice that existed throughout Queensland. Sister Claire was determined to create a school that all children could attend without any discrimination. The only criteria she insisted on was that the children had to come from Christian families. The mayor of Jumaaroo, Joseph McGrath, was a sinister and arrogant man. He was feared yet respected. Sister Claire was initially met by great opposition from Joseph McGrath but her persistence prevailed. Children from Aboriginal families, Chinese families and other families were all granted admission to the school. That one triumph did not lessen Sister Claire’s wrath. Sister Claire soon discovered that an Aboriginal elder had been murdered. Who committed the murder? Sister Claire had also been told that Joseph McGrath was trying to take away the land the Aboriginal people had lived on for centuries. Would she be able to figure out who had committed the murder? Could Sister Claire help the Aboriginal people retain their land? All of Sister Claire’s efforts would place her in immense danger.

Sisters of the Southern Cross by Jean Grainger was a well written historical fiction novel. Her vivid descriptions made it easy to visualize the beauty of Australia’s landscape and unique animal culture. Jean Grainger wrote honestly and accurately about the sentiments and openly voiced discriminatory practices of the white community against the indigenous peoples of Australia during the 1930’s. Sisters of the Southern Cross was a story of hope and the attempt to change the way people viewed others. It was one woman’s act of courage and compassion to give opportunities to those that were usually denied them. I listened to the audiobook of Sisters of the Southern Cross that was well narrated by one of my favorite narrators, Siobhan Waring. I enjoyed listening to this audiobook and recommend it highly.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media LLC for allowing me to listen to this audiobook through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

So there's a sense in which I realize that Grainger's characters are way too binary, with no character development. But there's another sense in which I really love her books.

Review copy provided by publisher.