I longed to visit India when I was younger but having recently read a Robin Cook book set in India's crowded streets and then following with Kimberly Duffy's A Tapestry of Light which was set 100 years prior to Cook's book, I think I'll pass. Kimberly Duffy created a strong and extremely likable heroine in Ottilie Russell. Ottilie copes with extreme poverty and rampant illness while devoting herself to her family and their needs. The descriptions of the food and scents of Indian culture and of the artistic embroidery brought me into Ottilie's world. My heart was broken for Ottilie. A Tapestry of Light is a wonderful read.

This book was so much deeper than I expected. Ottilie Russell is 3/4 British and 1/4 Indian living in 1885, Calcutta, India. She knows trials and struggles. The story begins with the death of her beloved mother and now it falls to her to support her grandmother and six year old brother Thaddeus. She has been trained in embroidery using beetle wings that create an iridescent effect. This is a time of colonization in India and Ottlilie faces prejudices from both of her races because as an Eurasian she fits with neither. My heart broke for her many times.

The second part of the book has her traveling with brother to England. Because of family deaths Thaddeus is a Baron. Ottilie had no idea of her fathers life in England. He was a younger son and estranged when he left for India. Thaddeus is welcome with rejoicing and open arms by his grandmother and aunt. He looks like his father and can pass as white. Ottilie however, looks Indian like her mother, and for the family she is a problem.

The author has a beautiful way with words especially in describing India. The spices, scents, food all made India sound enticing. I love the description of her embroidery and have seen examples of it in museums. This is a hard book to read because there is an overwhelming amount of trials she must endure. She is questioning her faith as she goes on her path and it feels authentic. There is a romance which frustrated me because it is realistic for the times and not a sweeping grand gesture HEA I wanted for Ottilie.

This is a clean historical fiction with Christian overtones and a slice of romance. It is the kind of novel my book club will enjoy. Thank you to NetGalley and Bethany House for an ARC ebook in exchange for a honest review.

A Tapestry of Light is the second novel of Kimberly Duffy and I’m glad to say my prediction that she will be the next big name in Christian Fiction is still standing strong. But first, let me tell you a bit what it’s about.

The story starts in India, where Ottilie lives with her grandmother and younger brother. She has already had her fair share of loss, and is grieving for her mother who recently passed. Funds are low, and she turns to her family’s tradition of beetle wing embroidery (featured on this beautiful cover!) when a man arrives who wants to take her brother to England, where he is in line for a title. Thaddeus can pass as white, where Otillie looks very Indian like her mother, and this brings a clash of cultures as she’s not sure where she belongs. Will she find a place where she is truly loved?

I absolutely loved A Mosaic of Wings with the focus more on romance, I can appreciate this book even more, I feel like the author bared her soul in this one. Otillie is doubting her faith, she wants to believe but with all the grief and hardship she’s had, it’s very hard to do that, understandably. This is a theme that struck home with me, I struggle a lot too and to see it reflected in fiction and to make her see her choice to stubbornly believe despite it all made me feel less alone.

Okay, I guess I wanted to start with deep thoughts. The story itself is very rich and layered, and I now want to visit India. I loved reading more about the culture! The writing is well done, though I do think there are some pacing issues, it took a while for the story to really go somewhere, and then it rushes a bit toward the end. But I don’t mind that really as I wasn’t bored at all. I loved the developing friendship between her and the man that wants to take her brother away to England. There are also a strong female friendships which I love to see in books. I also liked that racism was addressed, as Otillie is too white to fit in with native Indians, and too Indian too fit in with white people, which made that she experienced racism a lot. I think the author shows this very well, she does not spell it out, but it’s always there in the background.

The story itself was quite heavy as there is so much grief throughout the entire book and the hardships are many, but I love stories that have depth in them and I could handle it. But if you yourself are grieving, you might want to avoid this book. There is plenty of other stuff too, forgiveness, family secrets, embroidery (yay!), sibling love and wise grandmother words, and of course a bit of romance. Despite the pacing issues, every scene feels important and necessary to the story, and is filled to the brim, so much has happened! And I can’t even talk about it as that is spoilery... All in all, I loved A Tapestry of Light and I think it’s quite unique in this genre.

I received a free e-copy of this book through Netgalley but it hasn’t influenced my opinion.

This novel was exquisite in its attention to detail – not in a monotonous or droning way – but in the essence of how the author captured the senses in every paragraph. With some well-crafted wording, we’re transported from 2021 into a time and place far from home. I don’t generally read about the British colonization of India, for no other reason than it just hasn’t struck my fancy. Duffy has changed that for me by bridging the two worlds of British society and Indian culture and highlighting the plight of a people caught in the middle.

My heart broke for the injustice of this novel and the theme of searching for home – the longing for acceptance, love, and belonging. Even as the author struck a chord with her tale, did she do justice in a book whose very core message highlights difficulties due to one’s family tree or the people group they belong to? I think Duffy told Ottilie’s story well. She also created an awareness that prods me to dig deeper into learning about the history of Anglo-Indians – to hear their stories and to learn.

Overall, this was a moving page-turner of a tale. It brought me to tears, to frustration, to empathy. It didn’t coat over messy moments. It made me want to dig deeper, and that’s not something that every piece of fiction can do. It was an engaging work of fiction with notes of bittersweet honesty. Thankfully, it wasn’t just darkness and uncertainty, struggle and loss, but also a richly captivating beacon of beauty, hope, and welcome.

My thanks to the publisher for the complimentary copy via NetGalley. Opinions expressed are my own and excerpts from a full review on my personal blog: www.lifelovelaughterlinds.ca

The story of Ottilie Russell, a young lady of a mixed race marriage, was told with such rich descriptions of life in India that I truly felt like I was truly there with her. The two extremely different worlds of the ruling British class and the Indian people was something that Ottilie struggled with since she was both British and Indian. She must discover that she is a special young lady, worthy of love, who must forgive those who have treated her and her family shamefully in order to find peace and a sense of belonging.

While Ottilie wanted to reject her British ancestry and the painful circumstances she would have to endure when she moves there, this is what brought healing, happiness, and redemption. I thought it was a brilliant way of depicting both cultures converging in her life.

One part of the story that I found intriguing was that while Ottlilie lived in India, she earns a living for her family by painstakingly embroidering beautiful, intricate designs for the wealthy British ladies of society by using iridescent beetle’s wings. Ms. Duffy’s skillful use of Ottilie’s embroidery in having it play such a vital role in the transformation that takes place in her life is well done. Additionally, the cover of the book was creative and added richness to the story by incorporating a delicate beetle wing design as the framework for Ottilie.

My thanks to Net Galley for a complimentary copy of this ebook. I was not required to write a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A Tapestry of Light by Kimberly Duffy is a heart-wrenching story of loss, prejudice, and fortitude.

Ottilie was born in India to an Anglo-Indian mother and an English father. Looking like an Indian but educated within the English community, Ottilie lived amidst two different cultures, not being accepted by either.

The story is so sorrowful. My heart went to Ottilie and her endless string of losses and all the pain it brought her. The blatant prejudice she was subjected to was heart-breaking.

She immigrated to England with her brother, and matters became even worse when not even her own family members fully accepted her.

The characters were layered and flawed. Ottilie's strength and courage despite all her misfortunes were very inspiring. She was always kind and understanding of her family and friend's many weaknesses.

There was a strong faith element throughout the story. Ottilie's faith was repeatedly tested, and she did not hide from her doubts.

There was a little romance in the story's background, although I must confess I resented the hero too much to rejoice in their HEA.

I loved to learn about an embroidering technique that uses iridescent beetle wing cases. I checked online, and they have a lovely blue hue. I could imagine how stunning Ottilie's creations would have been.

A Tapestry of Light is a moving story to read with a box of tissues at hand.

Disclosure: I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

*This review will be posted on https://lureviewsbooks.com on 03/16/2021*

Another fantastic trip to Calcutta, India. This book will make you want to eat Indian food and long for vibrant colored saris and embroidered tapestries.

Ottilie has suffered greatly as the book opens but sadly her life doesn't get any easier through the pages of the book. I really appreciated the honest look i to what life was like for a mixed woman of her time.

Everette wasn't on enough pages to suit me. I wanted so much more of him. But the pages he was on I loved very much. Especially at the end.

As Ottilie searched for answers in her faith journey and for where she belongs in the world I longed for her not not feel so alone. She battled so many difficult things emotionally and spiritually. She was such a brave and strong character.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley. This is my honest review.

This book actually has a dual setting. The first part of the book is set near Calcutta, India, in the late 1800s. The story follows an Anglo Indian girl, Ottilie Russell, and her family. Unfortunately, Ottilie has suffered more than her share of death. She lost her English father and two siblings to cholera and recently suffered the loss of her Anglo Indian mother as a result of a horse accident. Left to provide for her Indian grandmother and her brother, Thaddeus, Ottilie follows in her mother’s footsteps and offers her services in beetle wing embroidery. Still, the family struggles to meet their basic needs. Then a visitor from England arrives and huge changes follow.

I really enjoyed reading this story. The dual setting was great because I find both India and England fascinating. I enjoyed learning about the Anglo Indian people and their struggles during this time period. The beetle wing embroidery so fascinated me that I did more research on my own. What a wonderful art! It is so beautiful.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction. Although Ottilie and her family go through some very hard times that are heart rending to read, it is so worth it. It is a totally clean book too, so I would have no hesitation in recommending it for all ages.

Ottilie Russell is adrift between two cultures, British and Indian, belonging to both and neither. In order to support her little brother, Thaddeus, and her grandmother, she relies upon her skills in beetle-wing embroidery that have been passed down to her through generations of Indian women.

When a stranger appears with the news that Thaddeus is now Baron Sunderson and must travel to England to take his place as a nobleman, Ottilie is shattered by the secrets that come to light. Despite her growing friendship with Everett Scott, friend to Ottilie's English grandmother and aunt, she refuses to give up her brother. Then tragedy strikes, and she is forced to make a decision that will take Thaddeus far from death and herself far from home.

But betrayal and loss lurk in England, too, and soon Ottilie must fight to ensure Thaddeus doesn't forget who he is, as well as find a way to stitch a place for herself in this foreign land.

The author seemed to do a good job of bringing the characters to life. All of them seemed to have some sort of issue to work through. The focus was mainly on Ottilie. She was 3/4 English and 1/4 Indian. She looks like an Indian with not a trace of English blood in her. Her little brother looks all English. He's accepted into "polite" society. She is shunned and looked down on. Even her relatives don't want to acknowledge her. They claim she is a servant. Then there's Everett. He has secrets of his own that he is trying to overcome. He finds himself loving Ottilie but he must find a suitable wife.

I found this to be an average book. I enjoyed reading it. I was given this book by Bethany House Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated in any way.

3.5 stars

India, 1885. Ottilie Russell and her brother Thaddeus have just lost a second parent. In order to support her family, Ottilie continues her mother’s work of embroidery.

As the story begins, her mother’s recent passing puts a dark cloud over the story. Ottilie’s thoughts keep referring to her mother’s memory, which gives a melancholic atmosphere. Faith is a big part of this story and those who like books under Christian category will probably appreciate this story.

The story is presented with beautiful prose, well-developed characters. It is rich in customs, touching upon English and Indian ways of life and having influence on each other. However, I wished there was a bit more to the plot to carry this story a bit faster.

Kimberly Duffy writes historical fiction that grabs her readers and makes them think. A Tapestry of Light is no exception to that. Most of the time I won't take the time to read the author's notes, because I am more interested in the story being told. This time I did take the time to read it and I find that Kimberly has opened up her inner self in the notes and put herself into the book.

Ottilie is the orphaned daughter of a British scientist and an Indian woman, and she also is the guardian of her little brother, Thaddeus. Just a few short months after her mother dies, someone comes looking for her brother to take him back to England to inherit his title. Because of her parentage and her looks, she is not accepted in the English world or in the Indian world. The only place she feels she belongs is with her brother and her grandmother. Now this interloper named Everett has upset the calm order of Ottilie's world. When her grandmother dies from the sudden onset of cholera, Ottilie decides that she will go back to England with her brother because there is nothing left in India for her.

When Ottilie finally arrives in England, she finds just how unaccepted she is in her own family's home. Because of her coloring and her resemblance to her mother, she is looked down upon as less than. When her father's mother and her aunt decide to send Thaddeus to school, she decides to go to London to be nearer to her brother and find work as an embroiderer for a modiste. Ottilie's talent lies in using beetle wings in her embroidery and it is becoming quite the rage in London. She is the only one with a source and the talent to use the wings.

With the unrest among the races that is current in today's world, Kimberly has brought out the unrest that has been prevalent for generations. She has also brought out the struggle to make faith something personal and something worth pursuing. This is one of those books that won't be forgotten soon. The other thing Kimberly does and does well is her descriptive settings that come alive in the reader's mind. If books could share the sights and scents of a setting, this one certainly could.

This is a five-star book with two thumbs up and a beautifully embroidered dress for your next ball.

Bethany House and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

DNF at 16%. This story is tediously sad. There are too many characters and most of them are dead. It's just too depressing and I don't feel compelled to keep reading.

"Calcutta, 1886.

Ottilie Russell is adrift between two cultures, British and Indian, belonging to both and neither. In order to support her little brother, Thaddeus, and her grandmother, she relies upon her skills in beetle-wing embroidery that have been passed down to her through generations of Indian women.

When a stranger appears with the news that Thaddeus is now Baron Sunderson and must travel to England to take his place as a nobleman, Ottilie is shattered by the secrets that come to light. Despite her growing friendship with Everett Scott, friend to Ottilie's English grandmother and aunt, she refuses to give up her brother. Then tragedy strikes, and she is forced to make a decision that will take Thaddeus far from death and herself far from home.

But betrayal and loss lurk in England, too, and soon Ottilie must fight to ensure Thaddeus doesn't forget who he is, as well as find a way to stitch a place for herself in this foreign land."

Yes, this has so many of the things I love in a book, but the uniqueness of the beetle-wing embroidery is what made it stand out.

"A Tapestry of Light" is a book I very much enjoyed and look forward to reading it again the future, as I do with most of my favourite books!

Set in the Victorian time, the story begins in Calcutta, India, where Ottilie, a young Eurasian women (of British and Indian ascent) lives in a poor neighbourhood with the remaining members of her family: her grandmother and younger brother. Then comes a kind, young, British man, Everett, who announces that Ottilie's younger brother Thaddeus is in fact a baron and must go to England to learn his role in the British society. After the death of her grandmother (which I wish wasn't revealed in the summary), Ottilie, her brother, and Everett embark on a ship towards England. There, Ottilie and Thaddeus meet their extended British family, the latter not knowing how to deal with the fact that their newly found family members have Indian ancestry. Both siblings try to find their place in British society as well as in their new family and community, but struggle to adapt to their new country.

I loved the story and its sweet and relatable characters. I also loved travelling to India in my mind and learning so much about British and Indian societies in the 1880s.

There are a few elements I particularly appreciated in the story:

- the historical and geographical details. This book is full of descriptions which allows the reader to really imagine two societies and countries during the late 19th century, which the readers might not be familiar with. It allows them to really immerse themselves in the books' imagery.
- the sensory details (visual, odorant, tactile, etc.) about India - it made me want to travel to India, see the colours; touch the silk saris; taste the food: the mustard seeds, the lassi, the sweets; as well as have an oil massage!
- the faith element. I am not religious and don't usually like books with too strong a religious focus, but here it brought something important to the story as Ottilie struggled with her faith. I just wish faith was explained more clearly for non-religious people (here, I didn't really get most of the teachings of Christianity addressed in the book which is a shame - I'm sure I would have appreciated them).
- the sensitive way in which topics such as death, grieving, loneliness and racism are dealt with. These are some topics that are not easy to address.

What I would have appreciated it:
- that the Indian words be explained. There was quite of bit of Indian vocabulary (that might or might not be found in English dictionaries), but as a non-native English speaker, I often wished there were small notes to explain what these words meant instead of having to guess or skip them.
- I wish there was an illustration of the elytra/beetles embroidery in the first pages of the book (in addition to what's already drawn on the gorgeous cover), because I had never seen it before and couldn't imagine how beautiful it looks!
- the ending was a bit too rushed. I seem to understand the author was already over a world limit. Considering the slow pace of the first three quarters of the book, I regret that the ending was so fast and resolved everything in so few pages. I was left hungry for a bit more.

Wow! One of the best books I’ve ever read! I loved Otillie and her grit, questions, struggles, and victories. This story was so intricately woven with stories and experiences from India to England. It handled faith, prejudice, and cruel circumstances with reality laced with grace. Everyone should read this book!

I haven't read a lot of books set in India, so I appreciated that. Characters are well-developed and realistic. Of course, there is a romance angle, and that developed at a natural pace. The main character's struggles with isolation will likely be relatable to many readers, as it's a common struggle. The faith element wasn't preachy.

A TAPESTRY OF LIGHT by KIMBERLY DUFFY is a book that really spoke to my heart and brought tears to my eyes.
The story moves between Calcutta in India and Wiltshire in England, giving us insight into what life was like in these two countries in the nineteenth century. The novel has a wealth of wonderful characters and a heartwarming Christian message.
Ottilie Russel is Eurasian, looking more Indian than British, whereas her little brother Thaddeus looks completely European. As Ottilie says of herself "She was either not enough or too much of one or the other." When Thaddeus is all that is left of her beloved family, she leaves India with Englishman Everett Scott for her six year old brother to take up his responsibilities as Baron of Sunderson Park.
I like the author's description of life in India with its sights, sounds and smells, exotic food and people, as opposed to a constrictive life in England. Ottilie's fear of rejection and feelings of loneliness, which have always been a part of her life, are exacerbated by the lack of welcome shown by her father's family. There are so many secrets in her family and also in Everett's, with him longing to belong in a society that has made very strict rules.
I do not want to spoil the read for you - there is so much I could say but I will leave you to discover this beautiful story for yourselves. The message of faith starting as a mustard seed in our hearts and either growing or being discarded, is really beautifully woven into the tapestry, and the beetle wing embroidery brings a special light into the story.
This is a novel I will read many times and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Bethany House Publishers. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

Some of my favorite things about A Mosaic of Wings, my previous read by this author, was the way she writes (in general), and her beautiful and respectful descriptions of colonized India. So those were the main things I was looking forward to in A Tapestry of Light. A Tapestry of Light had all the things I liked about Mosaic of Wings and none of the things I didn't. It was everything, better.
We returned to late nineteenth century India, this time to Eurasian siblings, the children of a British father and a half-British, half-Indian mother. My heart was shredded walking with Ottillie through unfathomable loss of her family and control over her future, painful wrestling with her identity, and deep doubts about her faith. She has to navigate shame, regrets, and unforgiveness on both sides of her family tree and figure out what it all means to her now, and is able to participate in and observe hearts being softened all around. She willingly sacrifices her own future and happiness to serve those she loves, and she allows her own struggle with bitterness to drive her to the Scripture, where she discovers the same key to rebuilding her faith that her grandmother had years before.
There was just so much that I loved about this book. I liked the main characters. I felt hopeless when they felt hopeless, but the author never left us in a pit of despair. It wasn't so depressing that I didn't want to pick the book back up; as the characters kept pressing toward the light, I was kept turning pages faster and faster. I think we were able to have more empathy with the "difficult characters" in this book than in Mosaic, and they actually softened in this story. I loved the complexity of all the relationships. Nothing was simple, nothing was cut and dried, and none of the characters were too hateful to love.
The faith thread was strong and consistently a major theme throughout the book. It was very well done. I loved the friendships, I loved the family relationships, I loved the romance. This book was just a lot of everything and I loved it all. The one thing that dropped from a "love" to a "like okay" was that in some places, the description got in the way of the story. For the most part the scene setting was terrific, but in a couple of places, I was so desperate to know what was going to happen, that I lost patience with it. I'm sure the author intended us to slow down in those places, but I rebelled.
I would be happy to be in a book discussion about this book, and recommend it to book clubs and lovers of historical fiction.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher, but I was not required to leave a positive review. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated in any way.

Any book set in India I am game for, and I am so glad I received this ARC. Wonderfully written, and felt very authentic. Excellent story, and I really liked the characters and the relationships portrayed. Recommended

This book was wonderful. I loved getting to know Ottilie and her family. Her life is so hard and yet it has to get harder before it can get better. When you meet her you will know what I'm talking about.

Life has always been hard for Ottilie. When her father was alive things were better. But when he died he took all the good with him it seemed. When her father died two of her siblings died too. All in her care. I can't imagine how hard that must have been for her at her young age!

And life just keeps getting worse. To top it all off she's not really accepted where she lives in India. It's because she's not really Indian and yet not really English. You see, her grandfather was British, and so is her father. But her mother is the product of that English grandfather and an Indian grandmother.

Ottilie herself looks Indian except for the green eyes and the love of learning she got from her father. Her brother Thaddeus though looks British through and through.

When not only Ottilie's mother but also her grandmother die can she make the right choices for herself and her brother. When she learns that her brother is the next Baron Sunderson and that he is expected to take that position her life will never be the same. And neither will her heart.

Can Ottilie let go of what she wants for the good of others or will she let fear rule her? Can she allow herself to love and be loved again? And what about God? Will she ever find her way back to him?

This is such a wonderful book. I really loved it and it read quickly. Many times I cried along with Ottilie in the book. Part of that might be my pregnancy but a lot of it is just good writing and characters that draw you in and make you a part of their story.

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received through Netgalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.