Forgotten Places

Publisher's Summary

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

Amazing story

The story grabbed my attention and never let go. I really felt like I was part of the story and felt the same emotions the characters were experiencing.

I’ve never heard of the events Forgotten Placed was based on so the educational information included at the end was much appreciated.

Thank you to the author for providing me with a copy to review. I’ll definitely be looking for more of Johanna Craven’s work.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

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.

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!

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.

Good story

I really enjoyed this book. It was about a young woman who meets an escaped convict while trying to get back to her home country and all the struggles she faced while on the run. The book goes back and forth between past memories and present time, which really helps keeps it interesting. It was written so well that it took me straight into 1800s Australia and I found myself imagining what life must have been like back then in such a hostile environment. The narrator did fine but sometimes the main character was kinda whiney, hence my four star performance rating. This didn't take away from the story though - I definitely recommend it still. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Forgotten Places

Wow,
What a well put together story.
Keeps you wondering.
I would recommend it for sure.

Forgotten Places

Narrated nicely by Rebecca McKernan,this is a story of possible redemption.A convict commits murder and worse in Van Deimans land and has been hiding alone in the woods for a decade.A woman bothers his quietude and leads him on a new quest.Twists takes us on a ever changing journey for peace,if not happiness.“I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.”

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!

Very good!

Johanna Craven took me to a place I had never been before, and I have read a lot of books. The story of Grace, the twins Violet and Nora, Harrison and Alexander is so well written, so intriguing, that I could hardly put the book down. I say book, but I listened to the audio book and Rebecca Mckernan did a FANTASTIC job of narrating the story. I believed I was right there. Her attention to detail with the story made my heart race at times and completely break at others. I enjoyed this and will look for others by both talents.

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.

A great study on human nature...

What a great study on human nature. How will you act and who can you trust - or have to trust - when you are out in the wild either on your own or with somebody? And can you blame people for decisions they take under those circumstances.

During the first chapters, I found the voice of the narrator a bit monotonous. It is, however, perfectly suitable for this kind of story.

Initially I thought ,forgotten places' was a S
story about spirits/ghosts. It is - however - more real than one can be comfortable with and - in part - even based on historical fact.

A very entertaining book that left me unsure about how I would act under the circumstances described. Highly recommended.

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

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Enjoyed!

**MILD SPOILER ALERT**
Well, I must say, I really enjoyed listening to this book! I came in blind, not knowing what to expect and found I got pulled in to the story!
I have to admit, I saw the twist coming from quite early on, but that didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the story and was only mildly disappointed to find the story was completely fictional as it was definitely believable; a very nice spin-off from an actual event!
I really enjoyed the narrator! Ok, so some of her voices aren’t brilliant (especially the male characters) but she more than makes up for it with her portrayal of Grace: she completely draws you in!
It’s probably more 4 stars in reality, but I can only justify 4 or 5 if I think I’d listen to it again and is it’s not my preferred genre, it’s unlikely.

Mystery and Thriller

I listened to the audiobook version of this novel. The story revolves around Grace, an English woman who moves to the new colonies in Australia with her lover and his two young daughters. However, things don't go to plan and Grace finds herself incarcerated in an insane asylum. She escapes, and retrieves one of the man's daughters, thinking she is saving the child from abuse. Grace is devasted that she couldn't rescue both girls and sets out for the next nearest settlement. Unfortunately, she gets lost in the forest and ends up meeting a convict that has been hiding out there for years. Starving and cold, she has no choice but to seek shelter with him. But then the child, Violet, goes missing. Did the man do something to her?

This story is about love, trust, loss and hope. The author does a good job of keeping up the mystery element of the story and the characters are well rounded. I didn't warm to the character of Grace very much until the end. The other main character, Alexander Dalton, was interesting as the reader/listener is never sure if he is a good or bad man.
The only small issue with this novel for me was that sometimes the POV would change without warning, which brought me out of the story. Otherwise, I really enjoyed listening.

The narrator did a good job of bringing the story and characters to life.

great historical fiction

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

An enjoyable historical fiction book about a very dark moment of life in Australia’s history, the descriptions of the harsh life and day to day life of some of the people who lived there. This is quite a powerful story with great descriptions of the wild landscapes. very well researched.

The book cover is great, it gives away nothing but adds to the mystery and the danger of the book. The one problem I had was with the narration, I didn’t enjoy the narration very much, but that is something so very personal don’t let it put you off the book because of it.

Great read!

I loved this book! It was my first audio book, and well worth the punt into this new medium.

Craven vividly captures the beautiful landscape - and the harsh realities - of the Tasmanian bush, while drawing the reader into a thrilling and macabre story of a 18th century convict escapee on the run from the authorities and his gruesome past. It is quite a disturbing - yet fascinating listen, and not for the light hearted! It's even more disturbing when you find out it is based on a true story!

Enjoyed the narration which brought the characters to life. It felt like they were in my house!