Whitsunday Dawn in Aussie Readers

Jul 12, 2018 Brenda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018-release, arc, own-read, historical-fiction, aussie-authors, net-galley, romantic-suspense, 5000-books, read-on-kindle

Olivia Sheridan was part of Sheridan Corp, a mining company her father owned and ran. He was ruthless, but she’d always known that. Her efforts to impress had gone on for the past eight years. This was her big chance – the big presentation for the Whitsunday Islands. But Liv had no idea the passion of the locals would be so heartfelt – after all, she’d spent her life behind her desk, going over figures. She had never been to this pristine wonderland before.

When an elderly lady named Aunty Tat gr ...more

28 likes · Like · see review

Sep 06, 2018 Helen rated it it was amazing

Where do I start? This is an amazing story there were tears of joy and happiness as we journey with two couples one back in 1942 during World War 11 and one in the present, the setting for both is the beautiful Whitsunday’s and the need to save the reef, this brings together Olivia Sheridan and the gorgeous Fynn James on a rollercoaster ride of danger and love, clear the decks because you will not want to put this one down once you pick it up.

Olivia Sheridan works for her father’s company and ha Where do I start? This is an amazing story there were tears of joy and happiness as we journey with two couples one back in 1942 during World War 11 and one in the present, the setting for both is the beautiful Whitsunday’s and the need to save the reef, this brings together Olivia Sheridan and the gorgeous Fynn James on a rollercoaster ride of danger and love, clear the decks because you will not want to put this one down once you pick it up.

Olivia Sheridan works for her father’s company and has arrived in the beautiful Whitsundays to present the proposal for the company’s plans for coal mining in the area, but this brings her to a chance meeting with local, Aunty Tat who is convinced that Olivia is someone else, and here she meets fisherman Fynn James who turns out to be her saviour the man that she will fall in love with, but not before there is danger thrown their way as they uncover corruption at its highest levels, Oliva does know that her father is very ruthless in business, but what she finds out after the wrong file is sent to her, knocks the wind out of her sails, and Fynn is there to help.

There are so many fabulous characters in this story, as we discover the story behind Aunty Tat’s missing sister who vanished during the Second World War, it is heart-felt and so very moving as we get a glimpse of how people lived in The Whitsundays years earlier and the struggles for people in love during the war.

This one had me tuning the pages, I savoured every word, going from the past to the future was an amazing journey that I felt so much a part of, as I said there were tears for Lili and Jack, as they found love during tough times and Fyn and Olivia, edge of your seat danger and joy and happiness and then Aunty Tat what a lady I am sure you will love her as I did. I can’t recommend this book enough it is a must read, so very well written and shows also how much we should be protecting that reef for the future. Thank you MS Seaton for another marvellous story, this is one that will not be forgotten.
...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Jan 24, 2020 Lucinda rated it really liked it

I really enjoyed this book, though I thought the protagonist was quite naive and why did they wait so long before reading what was in the files?! The two stories in one idea was cool and I actually preferred the one set in 1940s. I sussed out the ending early on but it was still enjoyable.

3 likes · Like · see review

Sep 11, 2018 Nikki Sims-Chilton rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Wow - I want to go to the Whitsundays! Seaton's descriptions of the area are amazing and I could easily picture myself there. I mean who wouldn’t want to be on a beautiful tropical beach right now?! As an ecologist myself I also really enjoyed the topic around saving the Reef. This was my first Annie Seaton novel and I would be keen to read another.

Thanks to the Beauty and Lace bookclub for the opportunity to review this book.

Check out the rest of my review here:

http://bookgirl.beautyandlace.ne ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jul 27, 2018 Tanya rated it really liked it

Shelves: arcs

Whitsunday Dawn was my first Annie Seaton book, and I enjoyed it so much it won't be the last!

It's the story of Liv, who whilst working for her father's company is sent to sway community opinion in favour of a coal loader being developed in the area. It's the story of Fynn, who will do everything in his power to prevent the development taking place. It's the story of Aunty Tat, who mistakes Liv for her long-lost sister, which also leads us to the story of Lily, and exactly what happened to her. ...more

Like · see review

Jun 13, 2020 Bree T rated it really liked it

Shelves: australian, rural-lit, romance, hist-contemp-blend, aww2020

I’ve had this on my iPad for quite a while – I picked it up after enjoying a trilogy by the same author, focusing around three sisters. I loved the settings and it’s not by coincidence that I picked this up when I did, given it’s winter here and a bit depressing and I recently read another book set in the Whitsundays and it’s made me really long for more. It’s a place I want to visit so much and this book only increased that.

Olivia has arrived in the Whitsundays to give a presentation for her wo I’ve had this on my iPad for quite a while – I picked it up after enjoying a trilogy by the same author, focusing around three sisters. I loved the settings and it’s not by coincidence that I picked this up when I did, given it’s winter here and a bit depressing and I recently read another book set in the Whitsundays and it’s made me really long for more. It’s a place I want to visit so much and this book only increased that.

Olivia has arrived in the Whitsundays to give a presentation for her work. It’s her father’s company and she’s devoted her life post-university to trying to please him, working all the hours and taking no holidays. It’s all mostly been in vain though, as her father quite often makes no secret of the fact that he values her little and that she’s not cut out for the corporate life. Olivia is determined to use this presentation as a way to finally impress him. Her father brusquely updates her with a new presentation after Olivia had memorised the old one and stresses she must use that. However, something happens at the presentation that makes Olivia finally question what sort of man her father is….and what he might be up to with this new venture.

Olivia finds herself relying on a man known as Captain Jay, who she has had several run-ins with during her short time in the area. He wears many hats, seems to have many jobs and turns up at the most random of times. However he helps her when no one else does, and she finds herself confiding in him with her suspicions and when they appear to be coming true, also helps provide protection as the danger increases.

This was a very entertaining read which made the most of its beautiful setting. It’s also dual timeline – an elderly woman known to everyone as Aunt Tat mistakes Olivia for her long list sister on the street, and the story then takes the reader back to the time of World War II and Tatiana as a young girl and her sister Liliana, the woman that Aunt Tat thinks Olivia to be. I found the portrayal of WWII life on the island quite interesting, as well as Liliana’s desire to go further afield, hampered by her mother’s fears after a previous war and the desire to keep all of her children safe. She meets Jack, a handsome Air Force man and a sweet friendship with the promise of romance blooms. Due to the present day, the reader knows that Liliana vanished at some stage, never to be seen again, much to her sister’s distress so, I was quite invested in the historical timeline to find out exactly what happened to Liliana – and Jack.

The present day story escalates nicely as Olivia has the wool pulled from her eyes regarding her father at last. Her mother has long tried to make Olivia understand what sort of man her father is, their marriage having ended in divorce. Olivia however, has always tried to impress him, twisting herself into knots to rise within the company only to overhear some harsh opinions about the role she had been shoehorned into. I’ve never really understood when a person’s desire is to impress a clearly disinterested parent to the detriment of pretty much everything else in their lives. In Olivia’s case, it’s incredibly obvious that her father is shady and sees zero value in her – probably in anyone. His value is in money and he’ll do whatever it takes to get his projects through, some of which will clearly be detrimental to the environment around them. However when the penny does finally drop for Olivia, she’s done with an incredible finality and wants to make sure that the information she possesses falls into the right hands…..no matter the personal danger.

I wasn’t enamoured with ‘Captain Jay’ at first – and Olivia mirrored my feelings! But the more he popped up, the more I liked him, especially after he was willing to help keep Olivia and the documents she possessed safe. The two of them spend some time on his…boat?….yacht?…..that he lives on, keeping away from land and what an idyllic way to hide, if one must! The only thing I did feel was that a lot of the aftermath wasn’t really explored in a way that I would’ve liked to see.

A fun read. ...more

Like · see review