Goddess Fish Promotions Presents

A Troubled Heart
by Tricia McGill

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Unsure of his real past or name, Finn O’Connor thinks he was born in Ireland and taken from his mother as a baby by a gypsy woman. As a toddler, an English woman then took him to London. About ten he fled to join a gang of boys who survived by their wits on the streets. Five years later, he was arrested for a minor crime and transported to The Colony of New South Wales for a 10-year term. In 1846 as transporting of criminals neared an end in NSW, he was moved to the infamous penitentiary at Port Arthur in Van Diemen’s Land.

On the day Finn received his papers of freedom an accidental meeting brought him into contact with 20-year-old Esther Blythe. Born in Surrey, England, genteel Esther is kind and caring. As a 4-year-old her parents brought her to Van Diemen’s Land where her Papa, a doctor, took on the task of providing medical aid to the prisoners at the Port Arthur Penitentiary and its surrounding area. Sadly, both parents were killed in an accident, leaving Esther with no option but to work as a governess/nursemaid.

For reasons that even she did not comprehend, Esther took the ex-convict under her wing when they met outside the penitentiary hospital. Could be she saw a fellow lonely soul who simply wanted someone to have faith in him. Life seems to take a turn for perhaps the better from then on, but will these two lonely people overcome many obstacles to find the happiness they seek together as they face an uncertain future.

5 out of 5

This book transports you back in time, to watch as a connection blooms between an unlikely pair. The opening grabs your attention immediately, and from there we get to see everything unfold from both Finn and Esther’s POVs. McGill did a great job of bringing the historical setting to life, and the characters feel real. I have to admit, I actually kind of liked that this wasn’t an immediate, love-at-first-sight, passionate, whirlwind romance. It felt more real this way. Esther has a kind heart, and her reaction to Finn when they first met was sweet, and a little unexpected, as evidenced by how Finn reacted to her. Finn is an interesting character in his own right, a bit rough around the edges, with a tough past, much different from Esther’s own upbringing. They’re not quite opposites, but they do seem to be each other’s other half. If you enjoy sweet historical romances then you’ll want to grab this!

Through a haze he could hear a voice somewhere above him, and although vaguely aware that someone had called his name all else was lost in pain. The sweat on his face began to sizzle with the heat—or so it seemed. As he opened his eyes a fraction of this sweat ran into their corners and began to sting as if boiling his eyeballs to add to the sawdust already there, or perhaps it was blood.

“Hang on Finn, yer silly bugger, they’ve gone to fetch ‘elp.” The speaker then disappeared and Finn tried to move, but he had to grit his teeth as a searing pain shot through his shoulder and down his arm.

Heaven knew, he’d had his share of agony and discomfort since coming to this godawful place, but this topped it for certain. To take his mind off it he tried to think of better moments in his life, but they were sparce, far back and almost all lost in time.

Universal Buy Link | Goodreads

Award winning author Tricia McGill spent her early days in London, England, and moved to Australia many years ago, settling near Melbourne. The youngest in a large, loving family she was surrounded by avid readers, who encouraged her to read from an early age. Is it any wonder she became a writer. Although her published works cross sub-genres, romance is always at their heart. 

Tricia’s love of animals has always shown up in her books. Tricia devotes as much time and money as she can spare to supporting worldwide conservation groups and is passionate about supporting those who do all they can to preserve our wildlife for future generations. She also volunteers for a local community group that helps disabled adults and children to connect to the internet with provided computer equipment.

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