Name: The Jacaranda Tree
ISBN: 9780446363518

Rebecca Brandewyne

Setting out for Australia in the shadow of a gypsy's warning, Arabella Darracott is shipwrecked off the shores of Wales where she is rescued by notorious Lucien Sinclair, a rich ex-convict whose crime is linked to a dangerous secret. Original.

The Jacaranda Tree

b.andherbooks

I think this may have been the first romance novel I ever looked at. It was something my mom left lying around. Ha.

So, 2020 Beth is a bit aghast this is one of the first romance novels I ever read. Rife with racist slurs, dubious consent, on page rape, and a host of other problematic themes and issues, I've decided to quit after getting about halfway through.

I like the Australian setting and the discussion about the plight of those sent to Australia as punishment for crimes they may or may not have committed, but the same consideration is not shown to the Aboriginal natives depicted in the story. Lucian the hero is shown to be a kind, white savior to those natives he "knows" but still makes comments that made me quite uncomfortable. 

The sex scenes are quite scorching but the dub-con is what makes it difficult for me to enjoy now that I know better. Please don't make your love interest drunk to get them in to having sex for the first time. No no no.