Good story, interesting characters, well written. ( )

Typical easy reading historical romance type, no sexual descriptions, about living in early 1900 Singapore then Australia. Enjoyed the nice beginning of an English woman needing to live with a Chinese trader and his family, choosing to marry quickly without knowing the man. Isabella learned how to survive other cultures with the help of Mr Lee as the perfect replacement father. Bram learned how to use his wits to survive and figured a way to make a living without family also. Alice, Isabella's cousin, a horrible self-centered type, lives with them then gets married yet keeps her daughter with Isabella is a character that should continue in the series. Flora receives a ruined reputation from her demanding mother for watching another man's child in his house. Other characters most likely will be in series, I hope since they became subplot stories. ( )

Just couldn't get into this one. ( )

The Trader’s Wife by Anna Jacobs starts out in 1865 Singapore where a young woman, Isabella is looking unsuccessfully for work as a governess or companion. Turned down by her own people, she is hired by a Chinese businessman who wants to improve his English and soon finds herself accepted and treated as an addition to the family. When she eventually decides that she must leave in order to search for her cousin, her employer decides she must marry in order to be safe. He introduces her to a young man who has ambition to become a trader and when the two young people agree, they are married.

Isabella and her husband, Bram now relocated themselves to Freemantle, Australia with the desire to set up a shop and a trading business. As these two fall in love and work toward their goal, they meet other characters who are also establishing new lives for themselves in Freemantle. I understand that this is the first in a trilogy and I certainly enjoyed this book enough to track down the remaining two books.

The author has delivered an interesting story and peopled her book with strong, and on the most part, likeable characters. I am enjoying the setting as I haven’t read very much about the west coast of Australia. ( )

Anna Jacobs is a new Australian author for me I read this book because it starts out being set in Singapore in 1865 and I am reading books set in Singapore prior to my upcoming visit there in a few weeks.

The first of a new historical romance series we are introduced to the orphaned English girl, Isabella, who has been living with a Chinese trader’s family teaching them all English. Mr Lee took her in when the European community turned its back on her welfare after the death of her parents. Trouble is the European community considers her to be a 'fallen' woman and believe she is the trader's mistress - which is not true. Mr Lee and his mother are anxious about her reputation and look for ways to reinstate Isabella with her own kind.

Mr Lee meets a nice young man called Bram who has left Ireland and newly arrived in Singapore to seek his fortune by setting up as a trader between Singapore and Western Australia. Bram rescues Isabella from being mugged so Mr Lee has now said he will help Bram set up his business in exchange for Bram marrying Isabella - Bram thinks Isabella is a bit of OK and Isabella isn't displeased with Bram, so the two agree to the wedding and sail to Australia where further adventures await. I have to confess I got a little confused at the start of the book – obviously some of these characters have appeared in previous books and I was expected to know them. Once I got over this I settled in and enjoyed the different interconnecting storylines.
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