Alison McQueen

This book takes place in 1947 and 1957. Sophie first comes with her mother and father to India as her father becomes a doctor for a maharajah. It's a small world, her mother suffocates her and she finds a friend and her life is changed. India becomes a country and fast forward to 1957. This time Sophie comes to India with her new husband, it's a different country from what she remembers. Still again she feels suffocated.

What to say about this book, what will I remember from it. Well, it made me cry. I can't even remember when a book last made me cry, maybe it happens once a year. It's a good thing, this book truly made me feel. It's a bad thing, omg it made me cry, it was sad! Why!? It broke my heart.

But before that happened a lot of other things happened. Sophie was kind of quiet, first she followed her parents and then her husband. First in the end she followed herself. This was her journey and I am glad she found courage in the end. True courage.

Some things happen that I wont get into too, spoilers. But now (-57) and then (-47) comes together.

Just as it is Sophie's story it is also a story about India. We see how India is formed, and broken apart. Hindu and Muslim countries, there is kidnappings, rape, murder, families torn apart. It was not a pretty break.

An interesting story.… (más)

I've noticed there are two distinct types of books about India that come across my reading desk. The first is those books that showcase the lives of the privileged; the people who are without caste, who don't struggle against poverty and the other injustices meted out by a flawed system. The second are books that really dive deep into the lives of the underprivileged. Those books tend to either produce an underdog who rises above or serve their purpose by educating the reader about a life that, quite frankly, 99.9% of those lucky enough to be reading the book, will probably never have to experience. Under the Jewelled Sky by Alison McQueen is one of the books that fits the first category.

Read the rest of this review at The Lost Entwife on April 12, 2014.… (más)

Are you ready? Today it is time for another great new book. Today's book is another wonderful find at the library. I was lucky to have obtained this one from NetGalley also. I didn't realize I already had it! LOL. This book was published in January 21 of 2014. It is a beautiful story of forbidden love set in a magical palace of a maharaja.This book is a real gem. You should read it!!

Sophie is becoming a woman. She is the apple of her father's eye and the object of her mother's wrath. She is bored with her life in the palace of the maharaja until she meets Jag. Jag is a young servant boy that she falls in love with. He opens up a whole new world to her of love and the sights and sounds of the palace. Sophie soon finds herself the victim of her forbidden affair. Her whole life is turned topsy-turvy. Little does she realize that this one event will affect the rest of her life.

This is another book that travels back and forth in time, but Alison does a wonderful job weaving everything together. We see how the past has an effect on Sophie's future. I liked that this story has a happy ending, but that it wasn't what I thought would happen. I felt that this book was very well written with really well-developed characters. Be aware that this is mostly a romance story, there is a little about partition and british colonialism, but not much. If you are reading it for the political history you will probably be disappointed. I thought that it gave a wonderful sense of what it would be like to be in India. If this sounds interesting to you at all, you should give this one a try!! I give this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars. Can you tell I loved it?… (más)