Australian Outback by Mary Hawkins

     A while ago I went and got myself a bunch of books from Amazon.com. As of recently I have really started to LOVE those four in one Christian romance novels. I already owned a few, Castles, Arkansas, and Alabama. (Ya I know! Not the most original titles but hey! they work.) Well I found... four? Yes four that I thought sounded interesting. Okay in all honestly I read one of them, Australian Outback, back when I was in like 9th grade, but I loved it so much that I just had to read it again. May I also add, God must have known that I REALLY wanted to read that one first because it got here first and about a week before any of the other ones! This particular book takes place in *gasp*... the AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK! HAHA! Didn't see that coming did you? Didn't think so! :D The first book, and probably my favorite of the book, especially considering I don't really remember the other ones, is about a man, John Martin, who is tried and convicted of murder, a murder he swears he didn't commit. Feeling merciful, the judge gives John a life sentence in Australian instead of the noose. Along the way John endures multiple challenges and trials. But he is helped through it all with the help of a fellow convict, Timothy Hardy, that becomes his best friend, as well as the aid of Elizabeth Waverly, a young woman traveling home to Australia from England. Along their travels, John and Elizabeth come closer and closer, but John can't convey his love for Elizabeth until he can prove himself worthy, and innocent of murder. It is a magical story! John starts out the book with no hope of a God, because as he sees it what kind of God would let him be wrongly accused of murder and suffer a terrible punishment the rest of his days. It is only through the bond of friendship with Timothy and Elizabeth that John finally comes to understand that God does things for a reason, and often those reasons are not to our understanding.
     This is just the first book in the four part novel. The next three involve three different couples. I am almost finished with the second story, and when I do I will post!