Forgotten Places

By: Johanna Craven

Narrated by: Rebecca McKernan

Van Diemen's Land, Australia, 1833

English settler Grace Ashwell flees an abusive lover in Hobart Town, with six-year-old Violet in tow. In her head, escape is easy: find work in the northern settlements and earn enough for passage home to London. But the terrain beyond the settled districts is wilder than Grace could ever have imagined. She and Violet find themselves lost in a beautiful but deadly land where rain thunders down mountains, the earth drops away without warning and night brings impenetrable darkness.

Deep in the wilderness, they find a crude hut inhabited by Alexander Dalton, an escaped convict long presumed dead. Hiding from civilization in an attempt to forget his horrifying past, Alexander struggles to let Grace into his world.

When Violet disappears, Grace's fragile trust in Alexander is put to the test. And while she searches for answers, he will do anything to keep his secrets inside.

Based around the true story of the Macquarie Harbor bolters; one of the most horrifying events from Colonial Australia's bloody history.

©2017 Johanna Craven (P)2017 Johanna Craven

Unforgettable Characters in an Unforgiving Land

I was excited to get this in exchange for a review from audiobookboom.

I had listened to the sample and thought the narrator was a good fit. I read the description and was more intrigued. I browsed reviews on goodreads and couldn’t wait to start listening!

Lately, when I start off with eagerness or high hopes, I end up devastated and/or disappointed. But I keep my fingers crossed.

I’ll be the first to admit. The beginning of the book - was it during the entire Part 1?- I struggled. Time moved back and forth as we learn about the ‘back story’. I don’t think it really flowed for me. Then again, I prefer a beginning, middle, end.

Although told in third person, when the POV changed between Grace and Dalton, it also took me a while to readjust. Then, Grace calls him Alexander (his first name) and the narrator calls him Dalton (last name). Or so I thought. Maybe she was referring to Alexander Pearce. Or maybe I’m confused. Still.

Despite that, it’s a solid 4.75 and maybe I’ll listen again and pay closer attention. Because, damn it’s hit.

So I did like Grace. A lot. Oh, how I’ve missed the strong, opinionated, speak what’s on your mind female leads. I’m so sick of snarky sarcastic teen mentality in an adult body.

But she was strong, less so when dealing with her internal struggles when she wakes up and finds out Violet is missing, which made her more real.

A lot of my friends live, have moved, or traveled abroad to both the UK and Down Under. The dialogue in this book is genuine. I love it. I can’t vouch for historical accuracy, but it sounds like when I’m on the phone with Corey or Gwen. I’m referring to vocabulary, slang. The narrator does have a natural accent, and it also added to the authenticity.

I did have an eye roll moment as our two tortured, lost souls find a common ground to cohabit. But WOW, I LOVED how this was handled.

This book about love, hope, brief violence, uncovered past abuse, betrayal, grief, waiting, desperation, living off grid in the dangerous desolate outback is a new depth of heartbreak, mending, and learning how to cope. It traverses through such raw emotions and bewilderment to a very unexpected, satisfying, heartwarming natural conclusion.

I sincerely hope Rebecca McKernan and Johanna Craven continue to team up for more dynamic audiobooks!

Excellent

Had me from page one. Couldn't put it down once I started it. The performance was exceptional. Great story.

Great Historical Book

This a great story based in Australia when it was a penal colony. I really enjoyed this and the way it was written. I was so entertained but the combined stories is Grace and Alexander.

I was given a copy of this audiobook in return for my unbiased opinion

captivating

I loved this story. it's very intriguing and keeps the listener in suspense, eagerly wanting more of the story.

An Area of History Not Widely Known

Forgotten Places is a historical based novel set in colonial Tasmania. Although I'm Australian, the amount of Australian fiction I've read voluntarily, for enjoyment (excluding those forced at school) is probably only in a couple of dozen, and as their entry in to my reading list is pretty rare I do tend to remember them. One historical novel I did read when I was a youth was Marcus Clarke's "For the Term of His Natural Life", which I thoroughly enjoyed, and wish was on Audible as well. A lot of the setting, circumstances and feel of Forgotten Places reminded me of For the Term of His Natural Life. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
The novel follows a straightforward plot initially, but then makes some unexpected changes, leading you to then need to go back and reconsider everything you believed to have occurred and understood earlier. The end result is a satisfying conclusion, and leading you to want to listen to it again with your new level of understanding.
The narration was with English accents, fitting the period and characters, and was easy to listen to and understand.
Overall, this was a very enjoyable, thought provoking, historic novel based on an area of history not widely known.

Fantastic historical fiction

This has got to be one of the best historical fiction books I have read in a long time. Excaped convict meets almost society girl and her daughter, while on the run. Grace's husband has her commited she escapes and returned to get her daughter Violet, and the two go on the run for fear she will be put back in the nut house. She meets an escaped convict and during the night Violet goes missing. The two of them search for her in the deep woods where no man has ever been. Their lives entangle as they search the woods. They flee to a different area she wants to return for her other daughter who wouldn't leave with her at the beginning. Grace blames the convict for her dissaperance. Only the truth is much sadder.
I received this free for an honest review.
The narrator did a wonderful job and I can't wait to hear more from this author and narrator.

Dreary & dismal

This is a brutal story, with nothing much good happening. I finished it because I wanted to learn the outcome, I kept hoping for a good one. There is a twist that explains a lot & makes things more interesting, and the ending was more satisfying than the rest of the book. I will say that it is very well written; it’s just a tough, hard story about life in the penal colony of Australia. If you are looking for uplifting, this isn’t it, although you will learn a lot .

Different Kind of Awesome

This story is based on true events that happened in Australia in the 1800’s. Focused around two very broken people, this story has a lot of time jumps and flashbacks so the beginning is a bit confusing, however, the story really picks up around after about an hour. When we are introduced to Grace, who has fled into the wilderness with her child in the hopes of escaping an abusive husband, the story takes a new angle. Finding shelter with a man who has secluded himself from society for 11 years, the two begin to depend on one another in order to find faith in humanity once again. Their lives are more entangled than either is willing to believe. When Grace’s daughter disappears, they must face the truth.

With beautiful worldbuilding, deep characters, and suspense, this is a very engaging audiobook that’ll hold you until the end. A story of love, loss, and tragedy, this is one that will stick with you long after you’ve finished reading.

The narration is spot on.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Great historical fiction!

At the end of the story, the author gives the historical facts that this book is based around. Johanna Craven creates a whole cast of fictional character and builds a story around an actual event in history. Amazing! The story takes place in the early 1800s in Australia. The main character, Grace Ashwell, moves to Australia with her lover and his two children to start a new life together. Soon after arriving, her lover has her committed to an insane asylum. Grace escapes and kidnaps one of his daughters, Violet, to rescue her from his abuse. She wanted to rescue both but wasn't able to. She would try to return later for Nora. They flee to one of the other colonies only to get lost in the bush. Instead of finding another colony, she finds an escaped convict who has been hiding in the woods for years. Alexander Dalton had been presumed dead. Once Violet goes missing in the night, Grace blames him for her disappearance. The truth is much darker and sadder.

Great job by narrator Rebecca McKerran. She does an excellent job telling the story and bringing the characters to life. I love all the accents as well!

Excellent book

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Forgotten Places. It grabbed my attention and kept it. I would recommend everyone to read or listen to this book.