His Convict Wife

Convict Wives #2

by Lena Dowling

From the author of The Convict's Bounty Bride comes a new Australian historical about a free settler and the wife he chooses from a workhouse... For Irish convict Colleen Malone, being framed, transported to Australia and forced into prostitution seemed like the worst that life could throw at her. Then she fell pregnant to a client and was sent back to prison by her cruel owner. Now, her only hope of a decent life for her and her baby is to find someone to marry. Widower and former London businessman Samuel Biggs arrived in Australia hoping to put his grief behind him. When James Hunter offers him a job on his Parramatta farm, he accepts eagerly. He'll put his back into his new work, and bury any thoughts of new love and marriage in the rich earth of his new home. However, all plans are compromised when Samuel is manipulated into visiting a workhouse to choose a new housekeeper, and Colleen seizes her chance – literally grabbing Samuel and begging for her life. The only way Samuel can oblige is by marrying her, but on one thing he stands firm – there is no way he will fall in love...

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Chick Lit, Marriage Of Convenience

298 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2013

About the author

In her previous lives, Lena Dowling has been a lawyer, policy analyst, and an administration manager. While Lena was born and raised in New Zealand, it was during a stint working ‘across the ditch’ in Australia that she took up writing in earnest. Having found her inspiration in The Lucky Country, Lena writes Australasian themed romances about gutsy, intelligent heroines, and the men who dare to love them. Lena currently lives in beautiful subtropical Northland, New Zealand, with her own computer-code-writing hero.

Reviews

[namericanwordcat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a real affinity for books set in the Penal Colony Days of Australia. I like the interesting historical dynamics of this moment and what it might mean to start anew.

Here we have a female convict who does not escape the horrors of being a woman in a penal state controlled by men and does her time on her back. This book is not graphic but it isn't shy about the harshness of what it would have been like to be in this situation.

Our hero is a widower who has undergone a physical transformation into a much more muscular and active man due to the labor required of him on his journey from England. He is a free settler looking to start over.

We have a lovely marriage of connivence plot which is complicated by some very real and compelling factors. The conflicts are spot on and well done and the love story that develops is a touching one. The historical details are finely wrought.

Overall, I enjoyed this book but I didn't love it.

Here is why...

I didn't need the heroine to be falsely accused. She could be there wrongly but I didn't like how much the hero cared that she hadn't done it.

If I had read the first book in the series (which I haven't), I think I would really dislike this book.

The hero and heroine from that book are very featured in this one but we get no alone time with them or anything for their point of view. I don't like much of what the hero says about his wife nor how his wife is in many moments. Also, the hero from the last book has some past actions that come to light that aren't good, let's say. And we don't really process those and in fact the couple ends up separated over it. What the hero did, in the past, was wrong. It made him really unlikeable to me as there is never an acknowledgment of how and why it was wrong.

The plot was too fast. The love story need more time to develop.

However, it was still a good read and I will try this writer again.

I was given this book for my honest review. So, there you have it.

[Erin Arkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

His Convict Wife tells the story of Colleen Malone and Samuel Biggs. Both are characters that have been placed into circumstances somewhat out of their control. It covers the hardships of life for a convict and the relationship that develops between the two.

Colleen was convicted of a crime she did not commit and as punishment, was sent to Australia with her cousin to serve her sentence. Almost immediately they are taken to O’Shanes which although the owner markets the place to newcomers as a “respectable boarding house” it really is a bawdy house and the girls are put to work. After 7 years, Colleen finds herself pregnant and because he feels like he can’t use her, Danny O’Shane decides to send her back to The Factory (the gaol for convict women). Despite her initial thoughts and concerns around being separated from her cousin, this happens to be a good thing for Colleen.

Samuel Biggs has recently lost his wife and made the decision to go to Australia. James Hunter, someone he used to work for, currently lives there and when he lands, he immediately finds him to reconnect. By doing so, he is offered a job as overseer on the Hunter farm. By accepting the position, he also agrees to go with Lady Hunter to The Factory to find more help for her in the house as she has been overwhelmed.

While breaking stones at The Factory, Colleen sees Lady Hunter and Samuel and after Samuel shows Colleen how to properly break the stones, she takes a chance and begs him to ask for her on a Ticket of Leave which would allow her to work at the Hunter farm. To avoid anything that could lead to more than an arrangement (as he sees what Thea Hunter is trying to do), Samuel does ask for her. He is told that based on her background, the only way Colleen would be able to leave with him is if he marries her. To avoid any future entanglements being pushed on him, Samuel agrees to this and a few days later finds himself wed to Colleen.

Initially the arrangement is just that. Colleen takes care of the household and he takes care of the farm. They get to know each other and find they enjoy each other’s company but Samuel has convinced himself that he doesn't want or need anything more. Unfortunately for Colleen she needs to act fast and get him into bed so that he will think her baby is his.

Eventually their relationship becomes more than just an arrangement but there are a lot of secrets that as a reader, you know will come back to haunt them. In this case, it not only impacts the relationship between these two characters but also with the Hunters. Things might have been a bit different had everyone been up front from the beginning but it is understandable why Colleen didn't reveal everything. Keep in mind – I’m not saying it is ok….I am saying it is understandable. She had serious fears that if she gave away her secrets, she would be sent back to gaol and potentially lose her baby when it was born.

Samuel has to come to terms with what he has committed to and what is important to him. The question is whether he can get past what he now knows about his wife or whether this will keep them living separate lives.

Overall I thought this story was well done. We get just enough backstory to understand where both of these characters are coming from and ultimately, how important this future is to them. This is a fairly quick read and after digging I realized it is a companion novel to the Hunter’s story. If you enjoy a book with solid characters, an interesting story and a developing romance that definitely has a bumpy ride, you will might also enjoy this one. Additionally, I loved the cover and that is really what prompted me to request this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Escape Publishing for the review copy.

[Keri · Rating 2 out of 5]

This could have been such an awesome book with better editing and a more closed up and drawn out ending. It ended in a strange place to me, with the previous couple fighting about an issue that happened prior to their marriage. I mean they were no longer sleeping together because of the fight, leaving it up in the air was weird to me. Saying your sorry is one thing, but actions speak louder than words and James could have done actions to show how sorry he really was. As far as editing, I wasn't sure who was speaking at any given time, I would have to get into the sentence to figure out who was talking. I want to see what happens to Nell, so we will see. **Beware this isn't a pretty series, this is about Australia as a penal colony and the prisoners were shipped there. Especially what happened to the women at the prison. I hope Danny dances at the end of a rope.

[Jen]

Interesting premise, but the story was rushed, making it hard to connect with any of the characters. It needed a good editing too.

[Jacqueline J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay but the writing didn’t draw me in very deeply.

[Debbie DiFiore · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am glad I didn't read the first book

This book tied into the first book (novella) in a very awful way. I am not sure how I feel about what I just read except to say very conflicted. I am not sure I liked the H or h and I was loving James and Thea from the first book but then that tie in part totally squicked me out. And it never really has a resolution for their problems or the main characters either. It just ended. So I just have to say I gave it three stars but I might go back and lower it. I am going to read the other one about the sister and maybe I will find closure. I just don't know. Odd storyline and not wonderful characters.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Deal: After seven years spent as a virtual slave in an Australian brothel, Irish convict Colleen Malone was sent back to jail when the brothel's owner realized she had gotten pregnant. Colleen is desperate to find a way to save herself, and her child, and she knows the only viable way is to find someone who would marry her. Women as scarce, after all, and marriage can very well get her out of the prison.

Sam Briggs left London and moved to Australian - taking a job as an overseer in a large farm - and he does not want a wife, but he does need a housekeeper, and he lets himself be convinced to take one of the female inmates as such. He doesn't expect to have a woman, Colleen, beg him to help her or that the fact that she's such a low inmate make it necessary for them to marry, rather than her just getting a work permit.

My Thoughts: Well, I hoped this story would be emotional and interesting and intriguing, but it never quite worked out. His Convict Wife is a very short story and things quite never develop, and everything feels a bit rushed from start to finish. Colleen and her cousin are in Australia, presumably, because Colleen's cousin got tangled with someone above her station; but we are never really told why. Sam is grieving and everything but I never felt like I got to know him or believed that he would fall in love with Colleen.

It just wasn't a very romantic story and it definitely wasn't a romance novel, even though it's being marketed as one. Is not a bad read per se, but it would have benefited a lot from having more page time to develop.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read a romance set in Australia about the convicts for many years and I really enjoyed this one the harshness of being framed and sent to Australia and then ending up in a bawdy house against your wishes is a hard life but when Samuel Biggs comes along and needs a housewife Colleen is very thankful but already pregnant she needs to get Mr Biggs to change their arragement. But as Samuel is recently widowed he does not think falling in love with his convict wife is a good idea or that it will happen but Colleen is full of life and strong. Their journey to a HEA is filled with ups and downs and conflicts a very good story I really enjoyed.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I reviewed His Convict Life for Heroes and Heartbreakers, link here: http://www.heroesandheartbreakers.com...

A meaty angsty marriage of convenience historical is right up my alley but never have I written a First Look that cuts so close to the bone, because of my family of origin. Nor do I usually read historical romances that have so many strikes against an ultimate HEA from the git-go. My great-grandmother, Rebecca Alexander, was born in what is now Northern Ireland. She immigrated to the United States and became a nursery maid for the Von Stade household in New York City, the Von Stades being a “socially prominent New Jersey family which included generations of yachtsmen, bankers, polo players and other Establishmentarians” and in our generation, opera singer Frederica Von Stade (New York Observer, 2010). My mother said that try as she might to get her grandmother to speak of her past, she was never successful. People came to the New World to get a new life, better than the one they left behind.

In Lena Dowling's His Convict Wife, you can imagine that you are a young Irishwoman, an upstairs maid in an aristocratic Irish household, falsely convicted and sentenced to a long sentence in Australia. It gets worse—our heroine, Colleen and her cousin Nellie arrive in Australia after an endless sea voyage. A fellow Irishman says he’ll bring them to a boarding house but unfortunately, it’s a bawdy house, O’Shanes. The pain of her loss of freedom is stark.

That night they were auctioned off to the highest bidder. They clung to each other, half out of their wits … But it was the easiest night of their lives compared to what came after. They only had one customer each … Every night since, Colleen had seen five or six men …

In many historicals I have read working in a brothel is glossed over—prostitutes have lives more like than of courtesans, with a modicum of control over the men they choose to lay with and how they spend their days. Not so in His Convict Bride—Colleen is a sex slave, plain and simple, and it is only because she becomes pregnant that she is sent back to the prison known as The Factory. A horrific beginning to a story indeed.

Is there a hero to the rescue? Yes, there is, but more than a hero, Samuel Biggs, newly arrived in Australia, is a man with a complicated back story and issues. He’s a recent widower, and during the long sea voyage from England to Australia, he physically transforms himself from a pudgy businessman, a man of numbers, to a strong, capable man of many parts—as able to be a competent sailor as to add up a column of figures. Samuel, a man looking for a new way of life, accepts a job offer from James Hunter, an old friend and employer, to become his overseer. James’s wife, Lady Thea, the daughter of an English earl, is determined that Samuel will marry one of her convict women protégées and Samuel is equally resolved that he will only hire a housekeeper. Samuel’s loyalty to his dead wife Amelia makes him ambivalent about looking for romance again, but he had noticed and was “quite enjoying the attention” that he was receiving from women. Lady Hunter takes Samuel to The Factory where Colleen and Samuel have the very opposite of a “meet cute”—Colleen is inexpertly hitting stones and Samuel shows her the best way to hold her hammer. Colleen, realizing that Samuel is probably in the market for a convict bride, grasps his hand and begs him to choose her. This is an earthy book, the reader smells the sweat and fear pouring off the convict women laborers and hears the crack and crunch of the stones. Samuel’s mother, after she became a widow, ended up in an English workhouse and Samuel sees his mother’s fear and anguish for her children mirrored in Colleen’s soft brown eyes.

He saw it all again—his mother’s wild eyes, her mouth split in a gash of blood after taking a backhander to the face, fighting to keep him.

A little more exposition is necessary to illustrate just how difficult a marriage this is from its inception. The first lie Colleen does not tell Samuel that she is pregnant. The second is that, Samuel’s employer, James Hunter, is a former client of Colleen’s. True, he was unmarried at the time, but Colleen and James recognize each other at the wedding ceremony but say nothing, adding another layer of lies to the fledgling union. Samuel Biggs’s morals have made him someone who would never frequent a brothel, under any circumstances, whereas the less judgmental James paid money to sleep with women that he knew, on some level, were sexual slaves, permitted absolutely no freedom at all. Colleen ponders,

James hadn’t just paid for her. He had paid to have a woman who he knew very well was as good as a slave. He might have been a convict himself but it didn’t make it right. Without money from men like James, Danny O’Shane wouldn’t have had a business.

This nuanced story has very few villains, but lines are definitely drawn between those who would judge others by their actions and circumstances and here the landed gentry come off rather badly. The tension between the owners, the overseer and his housekeeper wife, the servants and the convict laborers mounts as the story unfolds and is by no means resolved by the end. Colleen is determined to try to pass off her unborn child as Samuel’s (by that I mean she wants him to believe he’s the father) so instead of being gratified that Samuel appears to have no sexual interest in her, she’s frantic to have him consummate their union.

Colleen had seen plenty of men in her time in all shapes and sizes: blubbery whales who were so revoltingly fat they barely fitted through the narrow corridor to the upstairs rooms, and just as bad, the skinflints that slithered around on top of you like a wet herring, but Mr. Biggs was just right—broad and handsome…

It’s so awkward, she even asks him if he’s a Molly. I was impressed that Dowling doesn’t shy away from Colleen’s extensive knowledge of men as clients in a whorehouse but this graphic knowledge does not invade her soul. She is actually quite hurt that Samuel thinks of her, partially, as what she has been rather than take the time to even ask about her background. The book is full of blunt talk and sexually charged, almost salacious, situations. Lady Hunter takes Colleen swimming after the two couples have dinner together and the somewhat prudish Samuel is horrified at the sight of two practically nude women, frolicking in the moonlit water of the pond. As he says, hurtfully, to Colleen afterward,

What Lady Hunter does is up to her husband, but in my opinion it’s a vulgar recreation for a woman, only fitting a whore.

Colleen cannot understand why he doesn’t want to sleep with her, annoyed that he thinks of it as her having “to service you, given I’ve spent the last seven years with me legs in the air…” Is it because, she wonders, that Samuel is “ashamed to have wed a lowly convict prostitute?” Over time, however, Samuel’s respect and kindness—and the space he gives her—allow Colleen to see him very differently from other men.

At O’Shanes she had looked through the customers. She had taught herself to do it to preserve her soul … but with Samuel it had been different. She has seen him from the very beginning—from the instant she had stared into those wonderful blue eyes that shimmered and sparkled like a mountain fed lake as the sun came up.

Colleen and Samuel forge a union based on lust and admiration and a deep set yearning for family and love. Fate had been cruel to both of them and for a time it seemed like they would not be able to put resentment and prejudice aside but eventually they did. There are no lies between them at the end, with Samuel saying to Colleen, after she confesses that he is not the father of her unborn child,

“Just hear me out. My mother remarried and her new husband, a widower, brought me up as if were his own, never making any distinction between me and his other children … I’m going to love this baby every bit as much as I love you.”

These warm loving loyal souls were kindred spirits and the reader believes in their bright future. One is left, however, pondering the meaning of loyalty and self-respect because at its core His Convict Wife chronicles the story of Australia’s convict class, the men and women whose blood, sweat, and indentured servitude provided the underpinnings of Australia’s growth. Their loyalty to each other, even and almost especially after they had served out the terms of their sentence, was a living thing. As James puts it to Samuel,

There’s a brotherhood that exists among the convicts that I promise is bigger than all of this. Mark my words, it’s an esprit de corps on which this country that they’re calling Australia is going to be built.

Men like James Hunter regretted some actions they took when they were convicts themselves and that guilt fuels their cause. Dowling examines the gap between wanting to help the convict class, as seen in the actions of Lady Hunter, and true acknowledgement of the humanity of former prisoners. Convicts lived for the day when Emancipists would rise up and be the equals in Australian eyes to the Exclusives. Colleen’s horrific journey to respect and ultimately love from her husband was aided by the admiration of the convict class who knew full well what she had endured for the opportunity to be a beloved wife and mother.

[Lynne M · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, how beautiful is this cover? I think that's really what first drew me to this story.

Aside from the beautiful cover, the story itself is well done. I love stories that gives us a little taste of history, while still feeling somewhat modern. Plus, a relative of mine (according to family legend, so it's hard to say if this is true) was shipped to Australia because she had been involved in some criminal activity in England, so this story felt almost familiar in that sense.

I felt for both of the main characters, as they had been through some very sad and (for Colleen) pretty horrifying experiences as well. You got just enough of a backstory to relate to them both, and to become invested in their story. I didn't realize that this was a part of a series though, so now I may read the rest.

[Cindy Woods · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rough

This book is more like a rough draft of a decent book. The beginning is confusing the way it's written. The need for editing is something else. Usually lack of editing can be overlooked somewhat in decent story, but there is much in the way of sentence structure and missing words that needs addressing.
The plot is good, which makes it all the harder to review. I would recommend to readers but for those errors and the abrupt ending.....the end if the story just falls off. This could have been a good book.

[Kristen Drake · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice story, but poor editing

Pleasant story, and I enjoyed the characters, but poor editing made it very hard to maintain the narrative. In several places, I had to reread the sentence a few times to make sense of it.

[Samantha A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needs to be proofread

I liked the story, but there were a lot typos. It really took away from the book. I will not buy another one from this author.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Convict

A good read and also an explanation of the early settlers in Australia. So many were innocent of the crime they were convicted .

[Dpic · Rating 2 out of 5]

nice shortish story

[Sindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick and easy read with some lovely characters. The downside is how abruptly it came to an end.

[Cyndi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story

Very enjoyable and well written story. Interesting to hear about the treatment of convicts.

Looking forward to reading the next book by this author.

[Rebecca Howson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Truly awful, littered with mistakes on every page. I had to check that it wasn't written by a computer or a child.

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A historical romance with its backdrop Australia when it was still a convict colony enticed me into reading this one. I am so glad that I did because I was engaged in the story from cover to cover. The author did a superb job of both telling a story and telling of a historical time that was rough, raw and gritty.

Samuel Biggs, who was once a soft-bodied man of business for his employer, lost his wife and decided to sail for the frontier of Australia to put his grief behind him and start anew. His former employer, James Hunter, an ex-convict, welcomes him and agrees to hire him as an overseer on his farm. James' wife, Thea, gets that look in her eye like she is planning something like matchmaking, but he has no intentions of ever taking a wife again.

Colleen Malone has had it rough. She is wrongfully accused alongside her cousin, shipped out as a convict to Australia, taken in charge by a man who runs a brothel, and forced to whore herself out. Now that she is expecting a child, Danny, her procurer, has no use for her and sends her back to The Factory where she will do hard labor and likely lose her child and maybe die there.

Samuel is finagled by Thea to choose a housekeeper from the first rate women at the prison, but before they even get inside he is petitioned by a woman breaking up stone outside. He sees the blistered hands and that she is unaccustomed to her task. He does the unprecedented thing and bypasses the first raters for this third rate woman. Unfortunately, the matron informs him that those who have been sent back to prison can only leave when their time is up or they are taken as wives. He reasons that if he has a wife that Thea will leave him be and it can just be an arrangement and not a true marriage.

Colleen can't believe her good fortune. She has a husband now and her freedom, but then she realizes that its not that simple. Samuel has no intentions of a true marriage and she needs that so he'll believe her child is his own. And then there's that issue that Samuel's employer was once one of her customers and the sneaky housegirl convict knows this. Colleen just has to get Samuel past his grief for his wife so that he'll accept her as a wife in all ways and she has to figure out how to keep that other secret too. So much and why does her tummy flip-flop whenever her big handsome husband is around? It has to be the baby, right?

This story achieved a wonderful balance of character development, romance, plot and pacing along with weaving in the details and descriptions of the time. It's like a fairytale the way Colleen was wrongfully convicted and had a drudgery life until Samuel came along. Though, Samuel and Colleen are no insipid fairytale characters. Both have seen a lot of life and have a realistic and pragmatic view of things. There's no freakish behavior when things are at their worst. They display true emotions for what is going on and I loved the slow to build romance between them. They are both so strong and enduring considering all that happened. I just loved spending time in their story and was sad to see it end.

Now, I should say that even though it isn't noted anywhere that I could see, this is really a sequel story that works best when The Convict's Bounty Bride is read first. That is James and Thea's story that carries on a little into this book running as a minor plot thread behind Samuel and Colleen's story until near the end when it all comes together. I wasn't into James and Thea's story like I was this one, but I enjoyed seeing what happened to them after they returned to Australia.

My only real niggle with this book is that it ended abruptly leaving a few things hanging that I would have enjoyed seeing resolved. I felt that way at the end of the first one not realizing there would be another book so with that in mind, I'll give the benefit of the doubt that there is more to come to finish off the other plot threads.

All in all, this is a fabulous historical romance that is authentic and yet very romantic. Its a perfect blend and will appeal to those who enjoy just a few extra pinches of spice in their romance to heat things up nicely and want something a little grittier and real in the way of their historicals.

My thanks to Net Galley for the opportunity to read this story in exchange for an honest review.

[Sally906 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Colleen and her cousin have been transported to Australia for 14 years hard labour on a trumped up charge. When they arrive they discover they are to serve those 14 years in a bawdy house. Colleen’s virginity was sold to the highest bidder on her first night by her heartless and cruel owner. Colleen then falls pregnant to one of the clients so she is sent back to the female factory. Samuel is a widower who has just arrived in the colony and accepts a job with a long-time friend, James Hunter, who has a property out at Parramatta and needs a farm manager. James’s wife, Thea, decides that Samuel needs a housekeeper and takes him to the female factory to select a prisoner to do the work. On his way into inspect potential housekeepers he has to walk through a yard where he sees chained women breaking up rocks, one of which is Colleen. When she sees him she thinks he looks kind so she grabs Samuel’s arm as he walks by and begs him to save her. Once inside the prison Samuel shudders at the women on offer to be his housekeeper. As he can’t get her plea out of his mind he asks for Colleen to be his housekeeper but is told that as she is a returned prisoner the only way she can leave is if someone marries her. So he does unaware she is pregnant. On their wedding day she Colleen sees James who is standing next to Thea to witness the ceremony, Colleen recognises James as one of her old customers. As the two couples make their way back to the Hunter property you just settle into your chair as you know you are going to have an enjoyable read with all these secrets.

My Thoughts: Set in Australia HIS CONVICT WIFE follows on from ‘The Convict’s Bounty Bride’ which is the story of how James and Thea get together. As you would expect from a romance, in HIS CONVICT WIFE there are roadblocks in the way of Colleen and Samuel reaching their ultimate happy ever after ending. These roadblocks are set up in the first couple of chapters so the interest is in HOW they are going to be overcome rather than WHAT the roadblocks are going to be. I have to confess I found Samuel to be almost too good to be true at times and a complete and utter fool at other times. Which I guess should make him a well-balanced character. The two characters that did stand out for me were the women, Thea and Colleen; both were strong, feisty and spoke up when they saw injustice. They were also both at the opposite ends of the social scale yet mixing as friends – which is a shining example of how the barriers were being broken down in the new colony – and maybe a look at the birth of the Australian sense of a fair go. Samuel even says at one stage that what happened in the past was of now account, he just looked at now and the future. Nowadays it is a source of pride to have a convict in your family tree. To be truthful the whole female convict angle really appealed to me. One of our convict ancestors was a female, a housemaid convicted of stealing and transported to Australia, and she spent time at the female factory before marrying another ex-convict and setting up a grocery shop with him. Reading about the Women’s factory setting made the story more personal for me and gave me a small inkling as to what life might have been like for my ancestor. I am guessing he went along and chose her as his wife – and while it wasn’t a love match they must have at least come to tolerated each other because they had quite a few children and the shop was very successful.

Rating: C – Above average. Was very readable and I really liked it but was easily able to put it down and walk away for a while.

[Les Romantiques · Rating 3 out of 5]

Posted on Les Romantiques - Le forum du site
Reviewed by Rinou
Review Copy from the Publisher

When I read the synopsis, I first discarded this book thinking it would be too distressing and full of emotions, but it drew each time and I finally couldn’t resist anymore.
Second book in the Convict series, His convict wife can be read as a standalone, even if the heroes of The convict’s bounty bride are heavily present in this volume (but what we need to know about them is succinctly mentioned at the beginning).

Colleen Malone was wrongly sentenced, deported in Australia, and forced to work in a brothel for seven years. When she discovers she’s pregnant, she’s sent back to prison to end up her sentence. She meets Samuel Biggs, a mournful widower newly arrived in Australia, who’s come to the prison to search for a governess, and she begs him to help her. The only way to rescue her being through marriage, Samuel accepts with a condition: it will be a marriage in name only.

Colleen is a strong young woman despite everything that happened to her, and I understood that, afraid of being sent back to prison (where they would take her baby) she decides to have her new husband believe the child is his, and to hide the fact their employer was a client of the whorehouse where she was. As she has constant remorse, that make things much more believable. I was amused when she thinks the signs of desire she feels with her husband are dizzy spells due to her pregnancy, or when she asks Samuel shamelessly if he is a Molly when he refuses to consummate their union (after seven years in a brothel you must have lost lots of taboo about sexuality).

Samuel is rather narrow-minded, he sees things in black or white, not many grays in his life, and he has ideas on a lot of things. I even found him cruel in some of his reactions, even if it was impulsiveness that made him talk. His difficulties to deal with his wife’s past when she begins to be important for him are quite well done. And at the same time on other points he can be kind and comprehensive, like when he learns about Colleen’s pregnancy and thinks immediately that even if the baby isn’t his it will be his child all the same.

The beginning is really fast, and the synopsis occurs in the first three chapters. In fact all the beginning of the story, of which I dreaded the distressing side (and at the same time which would have brought so much depth) was quickly finished in three chapters and some sentences here and there. There is also a timeline problem, with details making me think a lot more time had passed than in reality. For example I had the impression there was several weeks between the moment the heroine is sent back to prison and the one where she seduces her husband when in reality there was only six days.

The secondary characters are very few (in Australia at that time we wouldn’t have been bothered by the neighbors), mainly Lord James Hunter and his wife Lady Thea, their employers and the heroes of the previous book. It’s funny to see the reactions her avant-gardist ideas about man-woman or employer-employee equality cause on people. Both allow the main couple to overcome some problems and to evolve.

I was waiting for a big saga a la Barbara Wood or Colleen McCullough, and we’re far from it. His convict wife is a story that may be not deepened enough but enjoyable, with convincing characters and an unusual and interesting setting.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

If you are a fan of historical romances then you are definitely going to want to purchase Lena Dowling's His Convict's Wife as soon as possible. It is a beautiful love story that I absolutely loved and hated to see end!!

Samuel Biggs is still deeply mourning the loss of his wife when he arrives in Australia and accepts a position as overseer on James Hunter's farm. When Samuel accompanies James's wife Thea to a local workhouse to procure a housekeeper, convict Colleen Malone pleads with Samuel to choose her. Due to Colleen's prisoner status, she cannot leave the workhouse unless Samuel agrees to marry her. The two wed, but neither are prepared for the unexpected attraction they feel for one another.

Both Samuel and Colleen are in for a big surprise once they are married. Colleen is shocked to learn that Samuel plans to keep their marriage in name only and Samuel is disconcerted by Colleen's transformation from a dowdy prisoner into a beautiful woman. Colleen has entered the marriage with a couple of big secrets that she desperately wants to remain hidden and Samuel is determined to protect his heart from any more loss.

I adored both Samuel and Colleen and I found them to a perfect fit for one another. Colleen is vivacious and undaunted by her wrongful incarceration and subsequent transport to Australia. She is not afraid to speak her mind and she is willing to take matters into her own hands whenever she needs to. Colleen is very much conflicted by what she feels she has to do in order to provide a better life for her unborn child and it is easy to sympathize with the dilemma she is facing. She is a refreshing breath of fresh air and I very much enjoyed her character.

Samuel's journey from England to Australia has brought many changes to his life. When the ship's crew became ill, he was forced into physical labor for the first time in his life and quite to his surprise, he discovered it suited him. Samuel eagerly accepts the overseers position and he is quite willing to work alongside his men. His decision to marry Colleen is a practical necessity and he is quite confident they can keep their marriage free of both emotional and intimate entanglements. Samuel is charmed by Colleen and they are soon enjoying all of the pleasures of marriage, both in and out of the bedroom.

Samuel and Colleen each have individual problems to overcome and while there is conflict between them, they work through it in a realistic manner. Colleen makes a precipitous decision that unintentionally puts her in harm's way and when Samuel is blindsided by a revelation about her past, their relationship is threatened.

His Convict's Wife is a sparkling gem that is light-hearted and delightfully angst-free. It is loosely connected to Lena Dowling's novella, The Convict's Bounty Bride, but it can be read as a standalone story. All in all, an absolutely fabulous read that I highly recommend.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the romance between the two main leads and the leads themselves. I felt they balanced each other out quite nicely. Samuel’s tender, protective heart and Colleen’s fierce spirit to survive kept me engaged till the very end. I was kept well engaged reading how their relationship grew from just a simple “arrangement” to a true love match. I’m sure that didn't happen all that often for the convict girls so it was a real treat to see it here in my introduction to Australian historical fiction.

And boy what an introduction! I've never read anything before historically speaking about Australia and how its convict female population lived. I've heard a bit on how it might have been like; a ton of watching “Who Do You Think You Are?” Australia version gave me those tidbits. But seeing characters placed in that situation and having the author giving us a very intimate window into that life was jaw-dropping. The author does a fantastic job in bringing that harsh world to life and making the reader want the characters to grow and overcome those very horrible obstacles. Kudos to the author for that attention to detail, historical and otherwise.

My only gripe would be the length. There just felt like there was so much more story present than the author gave us. At times, resolutions seemed rushed and almost cobbled together rather than occurring naturally. People forgave too quickly or rescuing happened too soon and left me blinking at times. This is one of those odd instances where I wish the author might have put in more drama that was actually present, not something I say every day.

I found this to be an enjoyable piece of Aussie historical romantic fiction. The details were superb, and the romance was smile-inducing. And while the length could have been extended with more fleshing out of the story, I feel that this is a historical romance I’d recommend to anyone, especially to a reader who doesn't mind some meat to her story.

[Cary Morton · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can read my full review here: http://wp.me/p37Zro-15W

Colleen Malone may yet be one of the best heroin’s Ms. Dowling’s written to date. She’s a spitfire of a character who’s stubborn, straight-forward, and hilarious. The story was full of tension between not only the main couple, but also the minor, side, and other lead characters, and that helped to drive the story onward. I didn’t feel rushed, bored, or confused, and I never had a moment where I sat back and went “really? That’s what’s happening right now?” The characters were very convincingly written, and from a technical standpoint, the writing was clean, fast-paced, and well-written. Was it a book to break the boundaries of the genre? No—but it was certainly a good book, and one I’m happy to be setting on my “Keeper” shelf. I think anyone who enjoys a good historical romance will enjoy this book, and I highly recommend it to anyone who’s new to Ms. Dowling’s work.

[Lynde Shaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sounded good. Started out promising, but ended meh. Colleen is a wrongly convicted prisoner tricked into moving into a brothel and becoming a prostitute after being transported to Australia. Samuel is a previously "corpulent" man of affairs who, while on his ship ride to Australia, has managed to become a muscular beefcake with a shaved head that all the ladies love. His friend's wife thinks Samuel needs a wife and he coincidentally meets Colleen at the workhouse and manages to get married to her, even though he doesn't want a wife. Colleen was tepid and only occasionally showed a spine. Samuel was aloof and often cruel and unforgiving. I didn't care for either of these characters. Lacking in romance and the ending was so abrupt I was actually shocked when I hit "next page" and the book was over. Then I was kind of glad it was over.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

A story set in the convict days of Australia. Irish convict Colleen Malone lives a harsh life in a brothel, then the women's factory, until rescued by essentially an arranged marriage to estate manager Samuel Biggs. I had not read the first book in the series but found the lead characters from the previous novel to both be fairly unbelievable and not necessarily even likeable. The story was about Colleen's frantic attempt to make her arranged marriage a genuine one, faced with an unwanted pregnancy and it's probable consequences....So ensues Mills & Boons in an Australian convict setting! I like this setting, but not too much attention was paid to the historical and social background. Definitely a light read, nothing overly taxing here!

[Rinou · Rating 3 out of 5]

J’ai un sentiment ambigu envers ce livre, je m’attendais à plus anxiogène, plus profond, et de ce point de vue je suis déçue, même si ça reste une histoire intéressante que j’ai quand même bien aimé. Le contexte australien de l’époque est dépaysant (et pas forcément en bien, la vie des déportés faisant froid dans le dos).
Avis complet

[Jennette · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a shorter book, mostly predictable, but not without merit. The end was a little weak, but for the length that is also predictable. Colleen isn't the smartest, prettiest, bravest, or cleverest of main female characters; I think that is why I liked her. She isn't anything super or spectacular, just a woman in a bad situation that tries to make the best of it.

[MBR · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC Review: His Convict Wife by Lena Dowling

Rating = 3.5/5

Caliber SEAL: FAVORABLE READ!

Review goes live at 00:00 hours MVT, January 15, 2014!

[Carol Greenwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Australia its beginning...

Australia began as a prison colony for men and women. Some prisoners were guilty of their crimes, some were innocent. College and her cousin were framed by an employer. This was not to be their only mistreatment.