This book was so beautiful!
The Orphan's Gift is a novel about Alice and Janaki, two young children who grow up in different times, but both experience so much loss and heartache.
Alice is an English girl who was born and raised in India, her father is always working and spends most of his time focused on trying to keep peace and control the people in their city; while her mom, who has never adjusted to the heat in India, sleeps all day. Alice is raised by her nanny, she calls Ayah. She is raised side-by-side and becomes best friends with Raju, Ayahs son. She struggles with a sense of belonging and wanting to be loved by her parents.
Janaki is a young Indian girl who was dropped off at an orphanage as a baby. She dreams of the day she will finally be adopted and chosen to be loved by a family. When the time finally comes, it is short lived and ends with her feeling lost and knowing the love she is missing out on.
This story is told within two different generations through alternating chapters. The stories are beautifully intertwined and as I was reading I was crying for them.
The book was well written and the characters were really brought to life with great detail. Thank you Netgalley, Bookouture, and Author Renita D'Silva for the chance to read this book!

India 1909. Alice's father is a British Commissioner in India when it was under the control of the British Raj. Alice's mother spent most of her days in bed. So malice was taken are of my her nanny, Ayah. Alice forms a great friendship with Ayah's son Raju.

1944. Janaki grows up in an orphanage in India that's run by Nuns. Janaki has a best friend, Arthy. We learn of Jankai's adoption, her hopes, dreams and the tragedies she's lived through.

Thenstory spans two generations and it's told in alternating chapters by Alice and Janaki. We follow the girls through to adulthood. The story is beautifully written. It's heart breaking in parts and heartwarming in others. A story 9f tragedy, love and friendship. People who like reading Historical fiction will love this book.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Bookouture and the author Renita O'Silva for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture and Renita D’Silva for a chance to read and review this wonderful book.

Sweeping…. Majestic…and Poignant…

This book, The Orphan’s Gift tugs at all the right emotions. It reminds the reader of women who lose so much in their life but still remain strong and resilient which was necessary during these hard times. The author has a way with words that brings each and every scene to color so much that I can see Jamjadpur in front of my eyes even though she has mentioned it is a fictional town. It is so extraordinary that I had a craving for samosas after reading the beautiful description given by Ms. Renita.

The story progresses thru Alice and Janaki. We meet Alice when she is four and the story ends when she is around 70 years old. Alice and her faithful friend Raju grow up together and the Indian summers have never felt more beautiful, mangoes, mosquitoes, scent of jasmine flowers, tamarind, owls, crickets, everything just comes alive in the most beautiful way. Yearning for the unconditional love of her parents who always ignores her, Alice looks toward her Ayah and her son to fill the hole in her heart. As Missy Baba she’s loved by all the servants in the house but the love from her parents never seems forthcoming.
Janaki is brought up in an orphanage but she too desires a parent’s love, someone to call her own. The hope in each child’s mind when an adoptive parent visits the orphanage is written so beautifully that it brought tears to my eyes. Janaki then goes thru a very traumatic time after losing the people she loved unconditionally so much that she closes herself off from all emotional attachments and goes on to achieve the greatest success as a doctor.

There are some remarkable women described in the story that remain in our heart even when the past page is done. The Orphan’s Gift is a tale of love, its joy, the grief of losing it, heartbreaks, the repercussions occurring during India’s struggle for independence and communal riots that cuts a friend and enemy alike, the story offers so much to a reader that one can’t help but feel all the emotional upheaval that occurs in Alice’s and Janaki’s life. And of course, having idols like Mother Teresa and Gandhiji mentioned adds a spark to light up the story.

Outstanding!

i received this book from publisher and netgalley for an honest review and opinion
this was a good book, fast and easy to read. it is set in two different time periods told by two different women.
the first story is about Alice who ends up spending a lot of time with her nanny's son because her parents are really involved in her life.
the other story is about Janaki who lives in an orphanage and raised by nuns.
if you are looking for a good story about developoing characters, look no further this one tells about the characters from a young age into adult hood. deals with difficult topics that you would see/hear about in india

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. This was a good story, good characters and basically a middle of the road read.

I am thankful to netgalley for this e arc. But I have to be honest and say I dnf ed this book. It was Just not a book for me. But I am sure a lot of you Will love it

I really enjoyed this book. Most of the story is set in India between 1910 and 1986 and so spans two generations. It tells of two young girls growing up under completely different circumstances.

Alice is the daughter of a British Commissioner when India was under control of the British Raj. As far as class is concerned I am under the impression that their standing was probably upper middle class. Alice’s relationship with her parents wasn’t a good one. She saw very little of her Father as he was always away on business. Her mother disliked living in India very much but she stayed out of loyalty to her husband, however because of the heat and humidity there she spent much of her days in bed and Alice was left under the care of Ayah (nanny) employed by Alice’s father. Ayah had a young son Raju who Alice spent much of her childhood with. Ayah was more of a mother to Alice than her own mother ever was.

The story runs concurrently with another thread in a different time period and tells of Janaki who grows up in an Indian orphanage run by nuns. The nuns were kind but strict and although the orphans were well cared for and loved by the nuns their home comforts were very basic. This part tells us about life for Janaki and her best friend Arthy. As many unfortunate tragic events happened to Janaki she grows up to be a very independent young woman who shies away from love as everyone she has ever loved, she has lost.

It’s quite an epic saga and sees the reader through the characters’ childhoods and far on into adulthood. The writing is compelling, drawing the reader in and creates the atmosphere of India with its aromas both good and bad, the heat, the humidity and the dust until you almost live and breathe it along with the characters.

There is so much to this book. Tragedy, racism, class, political unrest within India, family dynamics, and has references to Mother Theresa and Ghandi. It’s a beautifully told story with so much heartbreak and regret. I loved it, if you like saga’s then this is one that’s a little different and I think it would make for a brilliant TV drama.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an arc of this book! I have never read this author but was so intrigued by the description. I was not disappointed! I kept turning the pages until my eyes blurred. I just wanted to hear how all of the stories would come together. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to checking out her other books!

When given no choice, mothers sometimes make the ultimate sacrifice and give up their babies.

Sometimes, these children spend their lives wondering, wishing, and hoping for answers. This story is no exception. When the two storylines merge, a beautify story unfolds.

Well done.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this and review it.

This book is mostly set in India and the author goes to town describing the colours and smells. Sometimes it felt rather over done- people were described by their scent along with their characteristics.

In this dual timeline book we watch Alice grow from a spoiled, lonely child into an adult. At the same time Janaki is growing up in an orphanage, not knowing anything of her parents and why she came came to be there.

Both main characters suffer love and loss and struggle onwards to their next challenge. Unfortunately there was so much sadness that I became rather immune and by the time we got to Doreen I was expecting it.

We don’t find out how the characters are linked until later in the book, though we have our suspicions!

I enjoyed the story in general but I didn’t particularly like the writing style- too flowery for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to preview this ARC. I have not read other books by this author previously and did not realize she had so many until I searched after reading this novel. I loved this book! The stories of Alice and Janaki as they were separately told and making the reader guess of how they were intertwined was creatively done. I enjoyed the descriptive prose of both India and England, such that it was easy to picture everything in my mind. The historical piece was amazing showing the caste system in place and how this could change everyone's lives. I would totally recommend this book.

I’ve never read a historical type fiction book so initially felt this a bit slow going and hard to get in to. I went back to it a few days later though and restarted and then really started to enjoy it. If at first it doesn’t grab you just keep going and it will. Was a fantastic read in the end

***3.75 stars

We have all heard these two sayings, ‘‘Tis better to have loved and lost then never to have loved at all” and, “You must love yourself in order to love others.” The two main characters, Alice and Janaki learn this the hard way in Renita D’Silvas book, The Orphan’s Gift.

The story begins in India, in 1909, and spans decades. The chapters alternate between Alice’s life and Janaki’s life and go back and forth in time. The Orphan’s Gift is a story of lost love, deep longing, heartbreak, unbearable pain and joy.

Both Alice and Janaki are searching for love. All they dream of is being the center of someone’s world. Alice is raised by Ayah, her nanny and her best friend is ayah’s son Raju. Raju is a coolie and not someone her parents want her to be attached to. Janaki is raised in an orphanage and is longing to know who her parents are.

This is the 2nd book I have read by this author and enjoyed both. I would say this book is more of a love story and character driven rather than a book delving deep into the historical part of the time period. Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was not able to get into this book. I tried for about 80 pages and had to add it to the did not finish pile. Was just too slow moving for me

Wow! This was an incredible story, at first I thought it may be boring, but I was so wrong. The depth was fantastic and the emotions so real. The hero was pretty foolish, but men can be quite foolish when it comes to infatuation and passion. So in reality it was realistic.
I liked that the heroine, despite her insecurities, in the end stood up for herself.

This historical fiction transported me to another world. Women of two generations share their journeys of love and loss. The characters are vibrant dancing off the page. I couldn’t stop once I started. I laughed and cried. Alice is born to British colonists in India and Janaki grew up in an orphanage. Both share their stories in alternating chapters of their search for family and love.

Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 5/5
Plot: 
She allows herself to kiss her perfect child just once. She wraps the baby in her last gift: a hand-knitted cardigan, embroidered with a water lily pattern. 'You're better off without me,' she whispers and although every step breaks her heart, she walks away.
1910, India. Young and curious Alice, with her spun-gold hair, grows up in her family's sprawling compound with parents as remote as England, the cold country she has never seen. It is Raju, son of a servant, with whom she shares her secrets. Together, their love grows like roses - but leaves deep thorns. Because when they get too close, Alice's father drags them apart, sending Raju far away and banishing Alice to England... 
1944. Intelligent and kind Janaki is raised in an orphanage in India. The nuns love to tell the story: Janaki's arrival stopped the independence riots outside the gates, as the men on both sides gazed at the starry-eyed little girl left in a beautiful hand-knitted cardigan. Janaki longs for her real mother, the woman who was forced to abandon her, wrapped in a precious gift... 
Now old enough to be a grandmother and living alone in India, Alice watches children play under the tamarind trees, haunted by the terrible mistake she made fifty years ago. It's just an ordinary afternoon, until a young girl with familiar eyes appears with a photograph and Alice must make a choice. Will she spend the rest of her life consumed by dreams of the past, or can she admit her mistakes and choose love and light at last?
A stunning and heartbreaking novel about how a forbidden love can echo through the generations. Readers who love Lucinda Riley, Kathryn Hughes and The Storyteller's Secret will be captivated.
Verdict: I was privilege from the good people and net galley who let me read this before it’s released to the general public, I have to say I wasn’t disappointed. This book has everything: scandal, class divides, religious divides, post natal depression, roots, the oppression of women and the prejudices they face in the science and medical fields. It's important to remember that this book is set when the British ruled over India and the Indians wanted independence. The fact that the narrative is set in real places amongst real political events makes the book even more fragrant and vivid. The alternating narratives show the different attitudes towards women in the early 1900s and 1940s and later the 1980s. It also shows usthe blatant racist and elitist attitude that the adults of the 1920s generation had and the sense of entitlement they thought they had over a land that wasn't really theirs. I loved each and every character and felt every emotion that they did. this book showed me that your past doesn't have to define you or shape your future only you can do that and it is always important to remember your roots and where you came from. It is a Romeo and Juliet love story set in a time where their romance will you be accepted but despite this the characters pursue their own happiness although sometimes having disastrous consequences on the ones they love the most.


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A saga of a book.
The Orphan’s Gift is a saga spanning generations and set in India during the years of the Empire. It tells the story from the point of view of two main characters, Alice and Janaki. Alice is first introduced in 1909 as the 4-year-old daughter of the Deputy Commissioner of the British Government in India. The story tells us of Alice’s emotional distant British parents, her upbringing by her native Ayah and her friendship with her son Raju. We first meet Janaki as an eight-year-old in 1944, living in an orphanage in India run by the nuns. It tells us about her adoption and the hopes, dreams and tragedies that form her character. The author writes very descriptive prose inviting all the senses, in imagery which puts the reader in the scene. The book alternates from one storyline to the other, comparing and contrasting the lives of these two women with very different upbringings. In the background is the turmoil of India’s struggle for independence and Gandhi’s peaceful campaign and is well researched. It is a great story, well told, of love and life and tragedy. For those who enjoy long descriptive passages then The Orphan’s Gift is for you. Unfortunately, it was overly descriptive for my taste. I felt that at times the writer overexplained her point, writing four pages when one would have sufficed, which meant that I skimmed through some chapters, just to get to the point. But again, that is a purely personal opinion.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. #NetGalley #Bookouture #TheOrphansGift

A beautiful story about love and loss set in India. Beautifully written: you can feel and taste India. The descriptions of the country are vivid and give the feeling of being there and then. This was my first book by the author and thanks to NetGalley definitely not my last one. I will offer this book as well as recommend it.

Utterly spellbinding and so beautifully written, The Orphan's Gift flawlessly captures the lives of the two main characters, Alice and Janaki with vivid imagery and rich descriptive prose that will draw you in and immediately transport you to the world the author has created.

We first meet Alice in 1909, she is 4 years old and the daughter of the Deputy Commissioner of the British government. They live in India where Alice was born but Alice spends most of her time with her nanny and with Raju, the nanny's son.

It's 1944, Janaki is living in an orphanage in India run by the nuns. Left on the orphanage steps as a baby, life for her is very different to that of Alice.

So told from the points of view of two different characters and two different time periods, this heart warming and heart breaking novel is a story of friendship, of love, of tragedy and loss, inspirational meetings and emotional turmoil.

I absolutely LOVED it as I have ALL of Renita's novels.
Couldn't put it down and as always the tissues were definitely needed .

Can't wait to find out what's in store in the future from this highly gifted author.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for my ARC for an honest review
5 stars all the way from me and a highly recommended read.