This one fell a little flat for me. Overall, the plot was good following one main character closely. It didn't flip between characters or have anything that was overly complex and hard to follow. The writing was also not complex, to the point that it seemed a little to simple at times with the main character sounding juvenile as she would have entire paragraphs where it was like "I did this. Then I did this. I felt this." Because of the simplistic language and the overall lack of complexity, I'm giving it three stars.

I really enjoyed this very interesting historical fiction book that begins in Amsterdam in 1620 where Jana Beil is a servant to a wealthy family. Jana falls in love with the young lady of the family, Sontja. When the family loses their fortune, Jana loses her job. Sontja and Jana decide to join the Company Daughters and go to Batavia to marry men there. The nearly year long trip to Batavia is very interesting, heartbreaking and sad. The last part of the book deals with their lives in Batavia and their lives after marriage. I think the author did a fantastic job researching and writing this book from a time period so far back.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this very interesting, heartbreaking and sad book in exchange for an honest review.

The Company Daughters is a creative novel. I love reading colonial history and this one has many interesting twists. I admired Jana's strength. Whatever life threw at her she met the challenges. She grabbed at happiness to emigrate to the Dutch colony of Batavia. I liked her relationship with the local women and how they formed a business together. I think that was the best part of the book. Rajaram capture the voices of seventeenth century characters very well with all of the highlights, but also the drawbacks.

Hard to believe this is a debut novel: The writing is so assured and descriptive, the plotting so tight, the characterizations so believable. The story also benefits from a setting relatively unknown to most of us in the West (or at least to me): colonial Batavia, or what is now Jakarta, Indonesia. The primary reason I'm giving it four rather than five stars is that I felt somewhat distanced from some of the most pivotal moments. That could be just me, or it could have been in keeping with the narrator Jana's overall psychology—probably both—but as a result I didn't experience an emotional wallop I'd have expected from a few key events. That said, "The Company Daughters" should definitely go on the to-read list of those who relish quality historical fiction.

Thank you, NetGalley and Bookouture, for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book and the adventures of Jana. It’s a book of three parts really - the time in Amsterdam, the journey to Batavia and then finally living in Batavia. Now I didn’t know much about this period of history and even had to google Batavia. No idea it was the beginnings of modern day Jakarta. I love when books challenge you to learn more about history.

I thought the narrative of The Company’s Daughters was excellent. I have to say I was very invested in Jana as a character. She has a strong core, an inner strength that allowed her to fight for survival in a number of situations. I love the resolution of her story.

There is a lot of triggers in this book for sexual assault. However, it is slightly distance from the actual narrative, you see the mental results rather than the event itself. I also loved the same-sex relationship between two characters which wasn’t common in the 1600s.

This book has a beauty and grace to it. The authors writing just flows off the page and although there are struggles and upsets by the time you close the book over you are filled with a warm glow.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the arc. Loved this book! Some of the scenes were so descriptive even I felt like I was there. Loved most of the characters and how Jana was able to overcome such poverty for most of her young life and became the strong woman Someone from her past met again at the end. I felt every emotion while reading this story. So much thought went into this story.. Will definitely recommend to others.. Now I need to reflect on this story for a couple days.. This story will stay with me for quite some time....

After suffering from a book slump, and finding nothing worth requesting on Netgalley, I was delighted to be approved for, and devour, this book. I thoroughly enjoyed the story of Jana and her travels to Jakarta (Batavia) as part of the Dutch East India Co and its “buy a wife” program for Company employees. My only complaint was I didn’t want the story to end.

A terrific read a book so well written,a story that drew me in, this is a multi layered thoughtful novel that is a special read with characters that come alive and keeps you involved till last pages,#netgalley#bookouture

This is a heavy book. It’s heartbreaking but still in turn a moving book. It’s definitely not a light and fluffy book but it’s vivid, with amazing characters who were very well developed who kept having to overcome adversity. If you want a super cheerful book, this isn’t for you but if you want a book that’s well written and truly makes you think and appreciate the characters, this is a great read.

I was enchanted by this book! It’s a delightful read that will have your emotions all over the place and maybe even shouting out what you think at the end. It makes for a nice read if you wish to get away from the cold and imagine a warmer climate. A nice winter read really :) the writer paints a graphic book that is easy to image as though you are standing right next to the characters!