mollyfiddler's review against another edition
4.0
The basic story of the book is that English Nick has to escort half-English, half-Indian Anusha to her father, who lives in Calcutta. The part before Calcutta is great and I really enjoyed it, the part after Calcutta is not bad, but it's not as great. Maybe it was a writer's trick to show us how Anusha's life changed. But, even the last chapter which is solely between Anusha and Nick doesn't feel as strong as the scenes between them in the before Caclutta part. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, so it's an easy 4-stars for me.
robinwalter's review against another edition
Trust your instincts: This one sounded dodgy, and proved to be as bad as I'd feared. Trite and clichéd and offensive too
lucyhargrave's review
2.0
This isn’t a bad book, and I think Louise Allen did a decent amount of research, particularly into the culture of India at the time. But it just didn’t grab me.
I found the start really engaging, being introduced to Anusha and her life in the court of her Uncle the Raja. Anusha is determined and fiercely independent, she is also incredibly conscious of belonging to two different cultures. She is trapped between her Indian heritage on her mum’s side and her English heritage on her dad’s. She feels more comfortable among her indian culture, but is still a bit of an outsider.
Nick on the other hand, well I found him a bit boring and one dimensional. He was just there. I don’t know he was brave, and a soldier but I didn’t really feel anything. He was clearly in love with Anusha though and by the end is definitely the person who understands her best.
I think for me this novel was just a little too long as I found the middle section quite boring. Nothing really happened, just a series of mini-obstacles as they travelled through India. I don’t know for me the middle section went on too long and I didn’t see much character development. So for that reason I’ve given it 2*.
I found the start really engaging, being introduced to Anusha and her life in the court of her Uncle the Raja. Anusha is determined and fiercely independent, she is also incredibly conscious of belonging to two different cultures. She is trapped between her Indian heritage on her mum’s side and her English heritage on her dad’s. She feels more comfortable among her indian culture, but is still a bit of an outsider.
Nick on the other hand, well I found him a bit boring and one dimensional. He was just there. I don’t know he was brave, and a soldier but I didn’t really feel anything. He was clearly in love with Anusha though and by the end is definitely the person who understands her best.
I think for me this novel was just a little too long as I found the middle section quite boring. Nothing really happened, just a series of mini-obstacles as they travelled through India. I don’t know for me the middle section went on too long and I didn’t see much character development. So for that reason I’ve given it 2*.
abookishaffair's review
4.0
3.5 stars. "Forbidden Jewel of India" is historical romance that takes place in the early years of the East India Company. I didn't know this until reading this book and the historical note in the back of the book but back in the beginning of the East India Company, the men working for the company were encouraged to sort of integrate themselves in with the people that they were working with in India and to really learn about the culture of the country. Sometimes the employees of the East India Company even married Indians in order to understand the country more. It wasn't until later that the English and the Indians kept to themselves more. It was really fascinating to hear about this earlier history of the company.
The back story made the setting especially interesting. You get a great sense of what it must have been like to live in India during the late 1700s. You can feel the heat. You can see the cities and the people that filled them. I love exotic locations and time periods and this book most definitely fits the bill in both instances.
Besides the history behind the story being super fascinating, the characters were also very Anusha is the product of one of the English and Indian relationships. I really liked her character. She always felt like she had been abandoned by her English father and really does not want to be told otherwise. So when Nick, an agent of her father comes to bring her to this man that she never really knew. I both liked and was frustrated with Anusha. She seemed to alternate between strong and weak without any rhyme or reason. I wanted to know more about why.
Bottom line: This book is a good pick for romance lovers and armchair travelers!
The back story made the setting especially interesting. You get a great sense of what it must have been like to live in India during the late 1700s. You can feel the heat. You can see the cities and the people that filled them. I love exotic locations and time periods and this book most definitely fits the bill in both instances.
Besides the history behind the story being super fascinating, the characters were also very Anusha is the product of one of the English and Indian relationships. I really liked her character. She always felt like she had been abandoned by her English father and really does not want to be told otherwise. So when Nick, an agent of her father comes to bring her to this man that she never really knew. I both liked and was frustrated with Anusha. She seemed to alternate between strong and weak without any rhyme or reason. I wanted to know more about why.
Bottom line: This book is a good pick for romance lovers and armchair travelers!
readerbug2's review
2.0
When I saw there was a romance that took place in INDIA, I was so excited. I love reading stories in different countries and time periods, and I know very little about British Imperial rule in India. The saving grace to this book was the way Allen described the countryside and way of life in India. That was interesting. I felt like she crammed a lot in, and it worked.
However, I was super disappointed with the heroine, Anusha. As a mixed race individual, she doesn't feel like she belongs anywhere. Fair. She's adamant that she is both English and Indian, and that's a constant struggle, which is interesting and relatable. That was all thrown away at the end because Anusha was just sooooo happy to be with Nick that she didn't care if people cut her hair, changed her clothes, or made her walk a certain way. By the end of the novel, we lost Anusha, and her most defining feature was that she loved Nick. Bor-ing. I don't have a problem with a woman who really loves her man, but it is problematic when she sacrifices everything to be with him and he's just along for the ride. The ending was such a letdown, that it ruined the book for me, and it didn't deliver overall.
However, I was super disappointed with the heroine, Anusha. As a mixed race individual, she doesn't feel like she belongs anywhere. Fair. She's adamant that she is both English and Indian, and that's a constant struggle, which is interesting and relatable. That was all thrown away at the end because Anusha was just sooooo happy to be with Nick that she didn't care if people cut her hair, changed her clothes, or made her walk a certain way. By the end of the novel, we lost Anusha, and her most defining feature was that she loved Nick. Bor-ing. I don't have a problem with a woman who really loves her man, but it is problematic when she sacrifices everything to be with him and he's just along for the ride. The ending was such a letdown, that it ruined the book for me, and it didn't deliver overall.
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