Title: Rebel Queen.Author: Michelle Moran.
Genre: Historical Fiction, Adventure, Romance, India.
Plot: Sita grew up in a tiny peaceful village in the small kingdom of Jhansi - one of many little kingdoms that made up the mysterious land of India. With heartbreak in her past at a young age and the prospect of a horrifying future if her wicked grandmother has her way, Sita takes the only option left open to her and trains for years to become a Durgavasi. Sworn to protect their queen at all costs, the Durgavasi are Rani Lakshmi's personal bodyguards and competition to become one is stiff. Not surprisingly, Sita succeeds and becomes the newest member, only to quickly learn that life in the palace isn't at all what she'd thought it would be.
Tension from within and without begins to slowly build and trouble brews on the horizon. The raja is more interested in his plays than in ruling his kingdom, while his young wife nurtures the life growing inside her. But when tragedy strikes, the gates are opened and the storm bursts in painful waves of sorrow, defeat and death. But through it all, Sita bends but never breaks - like bamboo.
Likes/Dislikes: I won a copy of this book in a giveaway {which is something that never happens to me}, and I was really excited to start reading it. The story began beautifully and hit a sad bump almost right off the bat. But that bit factored into the story, giving motivation to our quiet heroine Sita. I loved how she loved reading books and bonded with people through exchanging books. I really wanted to learn more about this part of history since it was an era I don't know much about, and in the beginning of the book were lots of delightful little historical blurbs and explanations that were skillfully woven into the story. They stopped after awhile though and more than halfway through the story, there still wasn't much action going on. I'd expected lots of exciting battles and such, not confusing court intrigues. The book was wonderfully written; it was a joy to read, but the story itself started to fizzle out a little for me about halfway through and then the actual battle bits I was hoping for were a let down. They were basically reports of brutal awful things happening to other people; it felt rushed. I'm sincerely grateful none of it was in more graphic detail but it still jarred me. I loved the cover. One of my biggest disappointments was when the characters were getting etiquette lessons from an English woman; this would've been the perfect opportunity to learn more about day to day customs and practices in both cultures yet it didn't happen.
Rating: PG-16 and up, mainly for reading level and content {suggestive content, descriptions of temple prostitutes, descriptions of brutal massacres of women and children, reports of rape and kidnappenings of girls, etc. Nothing overly graphic but it's still there so sensitive people should be aware}.
Date Review Written: June 10th, 2015.
2 comments:
Sounds interesting. I haven't read much about Indian culture, so I'm sure there's much to learn from in a book like this.
I haven't read much on it either and in the first 2/3 or so of the book there was a lot to learn but the last bit was so rushed and just weird that it ruined the whole book for me. It was very sad too because the younger sister ended up in horrible circumstances - which I mention just in case you want to read the book and don't want a nasty surprise waiting for you.
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