The Jasmine Wife, A sweeping epic historical romance novel for women, by Jane Coverdale

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: Romance

Well, this one doesn't feature my usual bete noir, the “womens fiction” category, but that runner just after the title? “Novel for women” - it means much the same and just makes me think, Why? Why alienate a potential swath of readers? Men write romance, men read romance, its time we stopped categorising stories as men/women reads.

Anyway, the story. I love books set in other countries, especially India/China/Japan, and especially set in a period of history where life was so very different not only between sexes but between races.
I loved this book, really made me feel there with Sara, feeling the heat, enjoying the rich aromatics, the colourful landscape, the busy markets and shops.

Its a good story too, what happens to Sara was what sadly happened so often then. Orphaned, brought up by relatives, and encouraged to marry rather than stay with the family. Didn't really matter whether the match suited her, the fact that someone with a position in India chose her was enough. For those without connections there was the notorious “ fishing fleet” where desperate girls came on spec, hoping someone needed a wife.
Its hardly a romance a marriage like this, more a match of suitability. Perhaps, they don't really know each other well after all. Sara thinks she loves Charles but barely knows him, and the man she meets in India, after a years absence is very different.
By her background, her childhood in India with very open minded, liberal parents though she sees the locals as people, while the British enclave here now are determined to treat them as lesser, as unfeeling, as beneath any decent treatment. What this books shows is just how it was in reality, and the sheer, breathtaking arrogance of people just because the are British is incredible. Its always amazed me how one tiny, little country became such a world power.
Of course Sara is lovely, way to good for Charles and the British Enclave in Madras. Charles is ambitious, and not above using Sara's beauty to further his position, and insidiously bullies her into behaving with those who can influence his future. He sees her as a tool more than a wife, but then sadly he's not alone. Women were regarded that way, possessions to be used, to be paraded out with, to show off, while they kept an Indian woman for what they saw as their baser needs. Wives weren't allowed or expected to enjoy sex, but remain above such things, while men had “needs”...... Incredible how men who denigrate Indians in public still wanted them kept quietly somewhere for those needs. Sadly that was the norm, accepted even, and the poor ladies, Indian or British, had no say.

Sara gets a rapid eye opening about her husband, and of course the wonderful, attractive Ravi is a temptation she can't resist. I loved the idea of their meeting being fated, that the signs, the gurus, Sara's history, all meant it was inevitable according to Ravi. This idea of fate v personal choice always fascinates me, and there are times when things seem impossible but somehow work out, as if fate lent a helping hand.

Stars: Five. A gorgeous read, transporting me to India, desperate for things to work out for Sara, for her to be happy.

Arc via Netgalley and publishers

The setting is in British India, the palace of the maharaja, and the intoxicating jasmine scent. Love this romantic historical fiction so much as Sara the main character is a strong willed and rebellious woman - from throwing her corset overboard to her deviant disposition, she is a character I immediately fell in love with. oh my!

This passage from the book is from a correspondence, which describes not only Sara’s willfulness but also what women were thought of during that time. “Her most serious misdemeanor is of riding a horse bareback...what irreparable damage that may do to a young girl ... perhaps even blight her chance of a respectable marriage”.

Sara’s story about her disappointing marriage, her attraction with another man and secrets about her family makes this book a page turner for me. What an awesome read and enjoyed this book very much!

Thank you to the author, Harper Impulse, and Killer Reads for the ARC copy and allowing me to enjoy this story.

Well, first off I would just like to say that the comparison to Lucinda Riley couldn’t be any closer to the truth if it tried!! I was as swept away with The Jasmine Wife as I was when I first read The Seven Sisters and I read this book in one sitting reading right through the night forgoing sleep barely noticing the hours ticking by.

I will admit at the beginning I did find the writing style a little disconcerting in places due to the inner dialogues of the characters switching mid paragraph but it soon became natural and it just flowed effortlessly across the pages. Other than that I cannot fault this book at all. Even the fact that I had guessed what was revealed didn’t detract anything away because it was told in such a beautiful way the writing just kept on flowing with glorious detail so you could almost feel the heat of the Indian sun beating down on you, even at 4am tucked up in bed in chilly Devon.

It is a tale of love, heartache, sadness and joy, set in India in a very English town, even called White Town by the upper class citizens and it follows the life of newly wed Sara Fitzroy as she leaves England to begin her new life in a country she has longed to return to. She was born and began life in India but the death of both her parents when she was very young saw her retuned to live with her auntie in a stuffy upper middle class parlour room, of which she never felt she belonged. If she had stayed in England she was well on her way to becoming a Suffragette, but such things were not deemed to be correct so once married she is expected to conform to all the unwritten rules of society that go hand in hand with what is expected of a respectable lady.

As hard as she tries to fit in and to conform, soon Sara begins to rail against her constraints, ones that are strictly adhered to by her bigoted, controlling husband and his collection of friends, Lord and Lady Palmer and their deplorable daughter Cynthia. But there is one person who moves through this collection of snobbish society that also doesn’t belong, Monsieur Ravi Sabran. She soon feels the pull of this man who doesn’t belong and who isn’t accepted by the elite polite society and her world opens up to something completely unexpected by her, and as she explores the other parts of town, Blacktown, seeking out friendship of people her husband forbids her to associate with she discovers things about herself and about her parents that she had no idea existed.

You can’t help not to become invested in Sara as she fights her way through the shark infested waters of so called polite society and she is now one of my favourite female protagonists in the historical romance genre. She is relatable even in todays society and her growing dislike of both her husband and the wonderfully deplorable Lady Palmer becomes your dislike as well, you can feel the deepening disdain seeping off the pages. As does the love towards Ravi and her old ayah, Malika.

This book is filled with stunning locations, places and characters with a story that sweeps you away to its far off shores that is both as memorable as it is beautiful.

If you are a fan of historical romances then this is one debut novel you really won’t want to miss and Jane Coverdale will be one author that will soon become a firm favourite.

Sorry if I waxed lyrical but I can’t recommend this book highly enough! 😁

The Jasmine Wife will be published on 21 June 2019 and is available to pre order now

A massive thank you to the author Jane Coverdale, publishers Harper Impulse and Killer Reads as well as NetGalley for my copy of this amazing book in exchange for an honest and independent review.
https://debbiesbookreviews.wordpress.com/2019/06/18/the-jasmine-wife-by-jane-coverdale/

Wow what a story,a real page Turner,had to finish the book in one day.Loved the various different characters in the book and how they are portrayed.
Fell in love with the character's,and the scene of India under British rule,with all its prejudices, portrayed in a new light,but don't take my word for it,go and buy it and read it yourselves.

A perfect summer read, an engrossing story and romance that will make you root for the lovers.
I loved the style of writing, the descriptions of India, and the cast of characters.
It's the first book I read by this author and it won't surely be the last.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A lovely historical romance set during the British rule of India. Sarah certainly didn't expect to fall for Ravi, especially since she's married to Charles and well, that sort of thing just isn't and wasn't done. THere's good atmospherics, a secret, and nice characters who you will both root for and boo at. While you might, like me, guess what's going to happen, that won't matter much because Coverdale has done a very good job telling the story. Thanks to Netgalley for the arc. A nice summer read!

The exotic setting is India during British rule. Sarah, proper wife of a bullying English officer, falls headlong for powerful Ravi Sabran in a very improper romance. You can smell the jasmine in the gardens of the Maharajah’s palace, hear the hearts of the lovers beat, feel the intense heat of the baking sun as you immerse fully into the story as sumptuous as that radiant cover. 5/5

Pub Date 21 Jun 2019.

Thanks to the author, Harper Impulse and Killer Reads, and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

#TheJasmineWife #NetGalley

There’s something about the British Raj that captivates me, and I know I’m not alone. In this story, young Sara Archer is fairly confident her life in India as the wife of a British official will be safe and simple.She never expects to fall in love with someone else, a person entirely unsuitable to her as both a married woman and an English one at that. With her “perfect” husband revealing himself to be anything but, Sara finds herself drawn into the embrace of Ravi Sabran, as she risks everything for love. I wanted to wallow in this book, with its descriptions of the beauty and brutality of India. Find a spot in the sun, open this book and be transported through time and space. But you may not want to come back!