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salatanita's review
5.0
What could be more romantic than being an heiress to a family tea plantation in India, at the age of 18, and getting ready to your arranged marriage to the most handsome man in the neighbourhood?
A great book with the right amount of romance, a bit of intrigue and a chance to peep into the secrets of tea growing. The exotic location and the engaging writing style make this an unputdownable read even if it's not full of action. The first book of the Colonials series has absolutely convinced me to watch out for Liz Harris' other books.
My thanks to NetGalley and Haywood Press for this Advance Reading Copy.
A great book with the right amount of romance, a bit of intrigue and a chance to peep into the secrets of tea growing. The exotic location and the engaging writing style make this an unputdownable read even if it's not full of action. The first book of the Colonials series has absolutely convinced me to watch out for Liz Harris' other books.
My thanks to NetGalley and Haywood Press for this Advance Reading Copy.
natii4u's review
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
Read south asian authors instead
jennyfer's review
Darjeeling Inheritance
The year is 1930. Charlotte Lawrence returns to her family's tea plantation in Darjeeling, India, after 11 years at boarding school, accompanied by her friend and chaperone, Ada Eastman. Charlotte longs to see her family again, but when she returns home, her world is turned upside down by the death of her father. As she is the sole heir, Charlotte now owns the plantation, but in an era when women simply didn't run businesses, Charlotte must either marry - so her husband can take over - sell, or buck trends and do it herself.
Meanwhile, her friend Ada is destined to marry a neighbouring plantation owner, despite a questionable past, and nothing will stop her from being a good wife. Or will it?
---
I really wanted to like this book. The settings and descriptions are beautifully written, utterly immersive, and I loved the idea of Charlotte forging her own path and running the plantation herself. However, I found there was too much "forbidden romance" foreshadowed throughout the story, culminating in a predictable ending for my taste.
3 stars, though, because the bits I did like were really, really good.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Heywood Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The year is 1930. Charlotte Lawrence returns to her family's tea plantation in Darjeeling, India, after 11 years at boarding school, accompanied by her friend and chaperone, Ada Eastman. Charlotte longs to see her family again, but when she returns home, her world is turned upside down by the death of her father. As she is the sole heir, Charlotte now owns the plantation, but in an era when women simply didn't run businesses, Charlotte must either marry - so her husband can take over - sell, or buck trends and do it herself.
Meanwhile, her friend Ada is destined to marry a neighbouring plantation owner, despite a questionable past, and nothing will stop her from being a good wife. Or will it?
---
I really wanted to like this book. The settings and descriptions are beautifully written, utterly immersive, and I loved the idea of Charlotte forging her own path and running the plantation herself. However, I found there was too much "forbidden romance" foreshadowed throughout the story, culminating in a predictable ending for my taste.
3 stars, though, because the bits I did like were really, really good.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Heywood Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
blackrose1998's review
2.0
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I really wanted to love this book but in the end it wasn't for me. The character development was nice and the scenes in the book came to life. It was easy for me to imagine myself with the characters. But, the main character spends the entire book thinking about when she should marry the guy her father arranged her to marry. And not quite understanding why she hasn't set a date (She has the exact same conversation about this for three chapters in a row with different people). This caused me to get a bit annoyed at her because I was expecting a strong female character who was breaking conventions. And instead her learning to run the tea plantations was only mentioned every now and again and had no real impact on the story. Others might really enjoy this book but in the end it wasn't for me.
mmrohbock's review
DNF @ 25%
After reading Tapestry of Light by Kimberly Duffy, I was looking for more books on the colonization of India and how it impacted the country. This book held so much promise as a historic romance set in Darjeeling on a tea plantation. The British fought over the land surrounding Darjeeling to have a foothold in the Himalayas between Bhutan and Nepal. Later, they found the climate suitable for tea so they converted it to tea gardens aka tea plantation where locals worked for low wages to support the East India Co. Unfortunately I had to go learn this on my own as I read this book rather than from this book itself.
There was so much promise in the premise of this novel and I enjoyed the descriptions of walking the lands of the tea garden. Liz Harris's descriptions were gorgeous but the book fell short for me. I ultimately had high expectations for the historic fiction aspects when this book is more a romance with historic elements (a woman must be married rather than run a tea plantation!). In the first 25% of this book, it failed to touch on deeper topics on how British colonialism impacted Darjeeling and its inhabitants. As a read I was left feeling like Darjeeling and the tea plantation was a convenient setting for a novel that chose not to recognize the trauma created by tea plantations that still exist today. I think this was not the book for me and will look for some type of history book on this region instead.
After reading Tapestry of Light by Kimberly Duffy, I was looking for more books on the colonization of India and how it impacted the country. This book held so much promise as a historic romance set in Darjeeling on a tea plantation. The British fought over the land surrounding Darjeeling to have a foothold in the Himalayas between Bhutan and Nepal. Later, they found the climate suitable for tea so they converted it to tea gardens aka tea plantation where locals worked for low wages to support the East India Co. Unfortunately I had to go learn this on my own as I read this book rather than from this book itself.
There was so much promise in the premise of this novel and I enjoyed the descriptions of walking the lands of the tea garden. Liz Harris's descriptions were gorgeous but the book fell short for me. I ultimately had high expectations for the historic fiction aspects when this book is more a romance with historic elements (a woman must be married rather than run a tea plantation!). In the first 25% of this book, it failed to touch on deeper topics on how British colonialism impacted Darjeeling and its inhabitants. As a read I was left feeling like Darjeeling and the tea plantation was a convenient setting for a novel that chose not to recognize the trauma created by tea plantations that still exist today. I think this was not the book for me and will look for some type of history book on this region instead.
holly_hayes's review
4.0
This is a vivid and beautiful story of falling in love with a person that is tied to falling in love with a place. Set in India, the book is full of life and color. It contrasts lightness and darkness, both in the world and in the human soul.
Our main character, Charlotte, returns to India after spending years at boarding school in England. She is met with tragedy upon her return. She must learn how to run her father's plantation while learning what love is. She is bullied by the times and betrayed by her friends. She learns what hard work is and what failure and heartbreak look like. But she surprises those around her and does not quit. She finds that happiness is found in the most unexpected places and with the people you didn't fully see.
I was gifted this to read by NetGalley as a Romance, and it is. But it isn't. It is a historical novel first with a touch of romance in the story. It is not so much about two people finding each other as it is a story of a young girl finding herself. The further I am from it, the more I remember, and the more I appreciate it.
Our main character, Charlotte, returns to India after spending years at boarding school in England. She is met with tragedy upon her return. She must learn how to run her father's plantation while learning what love is. She is bullied by the times and betrayed by her friends. She learns what hard work is and what failure and heartbreak look like. But she surprises those around her and does not quit. She finds that happiness is found in the most unexpected places and with the people you didn't fully see.
I was gifted this to read by NetGalley as a Romance, and it is. But it isn't. It is a historical novel first with a touch of romance in the story. It is not so much about two people finding each other as it is a story of a young girl finding herself. The further I am from it, the more I remember, and the more I appreciate it.
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