TO LOVE ANEW (BONNIE LEON)

Story Description: 

Baker Publishing Group | August 1, 2007 | Trade Paperback | ISBN: 978-0-8007-3176-2

Historical Fiction | Sydney Cove Series #1 | 

Hannah Talbot has no one. Forced to leave the only home she's ever known, she works for a cruel employer who brutally takes the one thing she has left--her dignity.  When she is banished from London, she is certain God has turned his back on her.  John Bradshaw was a successful businessman whose untamed spirit sometimes wanted more.  When he is betrayed by those closest to him, he loses everything--his wife, his business, even his freedom.  John's and Hannah's paths are about to cross.  Aboard a ghastly, nineteenth-century prison ship from London to Australia, John and Hannah must keep hope alive and trust God's unconditional love. 

My Review: 

From the very first page I was sucked right into this fast moving story.  The writing was flawless with no run-on sentences or unnecessary verbiage.  I felt very sympathetic toward all the characters and especially loved Hannah and Lottie. 

Hannah Talbot had been evicted from her sewing shop after her mother died and with nowhere to go she wandered the streets.  She was finally able to garner herself a job as a housemaid for Judge Walker and his family but after a terrible and despicable act she was forced to flee in the night.  With nowhere to go she slept in doorways and one day when her hunger got the best of her, she stole a loaf of bread from a local market and was caught by police.  Standing before Judge “Walker”, he sentenced her to 14 months in prison. 

John Bradshaw was a successful business man sitting at a bar enjoying a couple of drinks with friends when a man challenged him to a fight and came at him with a knife!  After much struggling, John managed to stab the man in the abdomen but the man later died.  John was sentenced to life in prison. 

When Hannah is banished to an Australian prison, she is certain that God has turned His back on her. 

John who now finds himself aboard a horrible prison ship, the same one that Hannah is on, their paths are about to cross.  What will happen when their paths cross and two hearts filled with pain discover how to love anew? 

I can’t wait to begin reading Book #2 in this series titled: “Longings of the Heart”.  Bonnie Leon has a beautiful style of writing that makes the reader want to keep turning the pages.  Well done!