On the one hand, I think Harris did a wonderful job of creating Sundar as a setting- evocative and sweeping, the plantation felt like its own character.

However, I think that in 2021, we should not be romanticising colonisers without any sort of consideration for the colonised. For well over a century, people have romanticised the colonies of the British Empire without regard for the people who have been oppressed. I was really excited for this book, and I kept reading on hoping for something, but alas, no luck.

It was 1930 when Charlotte Lawrence returned to the family tea plantation in India, Sundar, after eleven years virtually imprisoned at the boarding school in England, looking forward to catching up with her beloved father and mother. But Sundar seemed empty when she arrived and it was when she saw the estate's assistant manager, Dan Fitzgerald, that she received a terrible shock. Her father, Charles, had died only two days before her arrival. Charlotte was devastated, and then shocked to learn her father had left Sundar to her. He had also arranged for her to marry the son of the adjoining plantation, Andrew McAllister, so the two plantations could be combined.

Beside herself with grief, she was not ready for marriage, and Andrew was prepared to wait. Charlotte wanted to learn the life of the tea plantation as she’d loved working by her father’s side when she was young. So Dan proceeded to teach her the detailed and many facets of the tea making.

When Charlotte had sailed for India, she’d had an English woman, Ada Eastman as her chaperone. Ada was travelling to Darjeeling to marry Harry Banning, giving her a new start to her life. But Ada hadn’t changed, much as she thought she could and would…

Darjeeling Inheritance by Liz Harris started off well – a historical fiction novel which is up there with my favourite genres. It was interesting with descriptions of tea making as Charlotte was learning, of the small township of Darjeeling and the many tea plantations in the area. But around the halfway mark the book started to deteriorate – into a steamy, wild sex romp – and that’s not what I signed up for! So consequently, I was disappointed.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ 25%

After reading a book set in India during the British colonial period, I was looking for more books about it and how it impacted the country. This book held so much promise as a historic romance set in Darjeeling on a tea plantation. The British fought over the land surrounding Darjeeling to have a foothold in the Himalayas between Bhutan and Nepal. Later, they found the climate suitable for tea so they converted it to tea gardens aka tea plantation where locals worked for low wages to support the East India Co. Unfortunately I had to go learn this on my own as I read this book rather than from this book itself.

There was so much promise in the premise of this novel and I enjoyed the descriptions of walking the lands of the tea garden. Liz Harris's descriptions were gorgeous but the book fell short for me. I ultimately had high expectations for the historic fiction aspects when this book is more a romance with historic elements (a woman must be married rather than run a tea plantation!). In the first 25% of this book, it failed to touch on deeper topics on how British colonialism impacted Darjeeling and its inhabitants. As a read I was left feeling like Darjeeling and the tea plantation was a convenient setting for a novel that chose not to recognize the trauma created by tea plantations that still exist today. I think this was not the book for me and will look for some type of history book on this region instead.

What could be more romantic than being an heiress to a family tea plantation in India, at the age of 18, and getting ready to your arranged marriage to the most handsome man in the neighbourhood?

A great book with the right amount of romance, a bit of intrigue and a chance to peep into the secrets of tea growing. The exotic location and the engaging writing style make this an unputdownable read even if it's not full of action. The first book of the Colonials series has absolutely convinced me to watch out for Liz Harris' other books.

My thanks to NetGalley and Haywood Press for this Advance Reading Copy.

This is the first book by this author that I have read. I was attracted by the setting, life in India on a tea plantation set in the 1930s. It was an interesting read about how tea is grown and processed but I found the story although well written with wonderful characters a bit slow. I found it too full of explanation and not enough action. It could have been condensed down by half and made a nice quick read. I received this as an ARC from netgalley and freely give my review.

I really enjoyed this book. It's more of a romance novel than an historical novel, but it was a good story with compelling characters and a nice plot. A young woman, Charlotte, inherits a tea garden in India, and she's expected to marry the handsome heir to the tea garden next door. A wrench is thrown in the works by the chaperone who accompanied Charlotte back to India, a sultry older woman who has left England in disgrace. Passions ignite, and everyone ends up in a different bed than expected. This is great light reading for pure entertainment, but I also learned a lot about growing tea in the process.

Sundar

An enchanting story set in the foothills of the Himalayas, the tea region of Darjeeling in the country of India a young girl discovering life and love in her childhood home of Sundar. It tells of the beauty of the Sunrise, the majesty of the tea gardens and the interesting history of how the tea is processed.

Charlotte grew up on the tea plantation in India, then as a young girl she was sent to school in England. After her father dies she returns to Darjeeling and the tea garden of Sundar. She finds she has inherited Sundar and that her father's wishes were for her to marry the son of the McAllister's and merge their tea gardens together. Her mother is anxious for her to marry so she can return to England as she has never liked India. Charlotte is not sure about any of it.

The story is that of Charlotte, how she learns about Sundar and how tea is processed. It is about her learning about life and her feelings and what she wishes in life as opposed to what other's have planned for her. Will she follow her father's wishes, or will she find her own way.

The book is filled with love, romance, beauty, but also betrayal and family secrets long left alone. In a small place where the servants know more about the family than their own family and where rumor is common and customs are rich we follow along with the Lawrence and McAllister families as the drama plays out.

It was an interesting read and I enjoyed reading it. I would recommend it.

Thanks to Liz Harris, Heywood Press, and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary copy of the book for my honest review.

Darjeeling inheritance is a historical romance, emphasis on the romance. In my twenties I would have loved this book. The more the romance the better, if there was an historical setting that was a bonus. Today in my sixties I find my reading tastes have done a 180. While enjoying some romance in a book,I’m looking for more historical detail and depth then this book offers. This is not said to slam the book, simply to point out a fact that may bias my review.
The book is a simple story, simply told. The main character is an 18 year old woman, Charlotte who has returned to India after an absence of 11 years during which she attended school in England. Upon her return she finds her much loved father died two days prior, leaving her the family’s tea garden as her inheritance. Being 1930’s India she is told she will not be able to successfully run the business because she a female. She is left with two choices sell the garden or marry a neighbors’ son and merge the two farms. She cannot imagine selling so she chooses the later BUT can she go through with marriage to a man she does not love or is love possible? This is the dilemma Charlotte faces.
Of course my summary does not include the twists and turns present of which there are quite a few. Unfortunately I was able to predict them at about a quarter of the way through. The writing in general, with the exception of a few run on sentences, was nicely done. The main characters were adequately developed and the pacing of the book was even with each scene moving the plot forward.
I cannot recommend this book for readers like myself who are looking for more complex themes and storylines. However if a simple nicely told romance is what your looking for this just might be the book for you.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Heywood Press, through net galley. This fact in no way influenced my review.

My rating:

Plot: 4 out of 5 stars
Writing: 4 out of 5 stars
Character development: 4 out of 5 stars
Overall: 4 out of 5 stars

Recommended for readers of:

Romance
Historical Fiction


Review:

Set in the beautiful remote hill station of Darjeeling, India during the 1930’s the book tells the story of Charlotte Lawrence who is returning home after she has been away for several years at a boarding school in Britain. Her homecoming does not turn at all out the way she expected, hoping to be reunited with her family and friends instead she returns to an empty house and soon learns that her father has passed away and she inherited Sundar the family tea plantation, It was also her father’s wish that she married Andrew the son of a neighbouring plantation. Determined not to marry a complete stranger, Charlotte buys herself some time to get to know her future husband and convinces Dan the plantation manager to teach her more about running a tea plantation.

Overall:

The story is nicely written, set in a beautiful location which is described vividly and in great detail. Woven into the story was the explanation of the process of growing and producing tea, this added an extra layer to the story that was very interesting. The whole book has an authentic feel to it and appears well researched. The characters were interesting; their actions explained well, this made them realistic. This is one of those books that captures you from the start, transports you away to a different place and time and doesn’t let you go until the very end.

Review copy provided by Netgalley at no cost to me.

Liz Harris has successfully transported me to 1930s India in her five-star novel set on a tea plantation in Darjeeling! I’ve read books set in colonial India before, but Harris has a superb gift in making life during the British Raj come to life. Harris’s strong sense of place, evident in her skyscapes, distinctive dialogue, syntax, as well as specifics of the 5 senses, helps readers effortlessly make the imaginative leap back into the fascinating world of the past.

Readers who love a strong female protagonist are going to love Charlotte Lawrence. Just as she returns to the plantation after 11 years at boarding school in England, the 19-year-old discovers that her father has died and left her the estate. His last wish was that she’d marry, Andrew McAllister, the good-looking son of the neighbouring plantation. Choosing not to be railroaded into a commitment she’s not ready to make, she throws herself into her plan to run the plantation single-handedly. The plantation’s assistant manager, Dan Fitzgerald, aids her in her quest. Can she hold off her suiter’s advances long enough to take the reins of the plantation? Or will she realize her ambition is too grand a scheme and relent to a partnership, loveless or not?

Robert Burns captured it best when he penned “the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” On paper, Charlotte’s plan could be simply executed. However, when expectations meet the arrogance, greed, deception and lust of human nature, a carefully planned future gets re-written. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Flexibility and the ability to press pause often give us perspective and that is exactly what this heroine needs.

I was fascinated learning about India; communicating in Nepali versus Hindi, about plantation life, harvesting and processing tea, and the unspoken hierarchy that existed within this culture. I was swept away by the lush and exotic setting with its sandalwood, turmeric and cardamom, and the meticulously crafted and endearing characters. This is the first of three books in the series, 'The Colonials.'

This is a fabulous novel that needs to top your list come October 1st, 2021.

I was generously gifted this advance copy by Liz Harris, Heywood Press, and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

4 stars

An interesting read. Set in 1930s India it evokes the old systems that were in place in the hill tea gardens. There is hypocrisy in the way a mistake is hidden and then attributed to another to protect the status quo. Charlotte is an ingenue heroine learning to find her feet. Dan is the tea plantation manager who is training her as the new owner. Andrew is the potential groom which will also amalgamate two tea plantations. Ada is the chaperone.
Charlotte's mother is fairly horrible, though her looses were great and thus the reader can understand her need to get away from India after her husband, Charlotte's father died.

I think it's going to be part of a series and it is set in colonial times for which the author gives a warts an all expose. I will probably look out for the others in this series. This is a new author for me.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own..

I love the atmosphere and setting of the 'Darjeeling Inheritance' - the writer encapsulates the sights and smells of the country brilliantly; I felt a huge sense of transportation and escapism when I settled down to read. I love drinking tea, so this part of the novel also interested me.
There's a mix of characters, some likeable and others not so; with themes of arrogance, romance, the female, patriarchy and guilt this is a great book for a summer read.
I enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it to other readers.

Liz Harris presents an exceptional historical novel based on the life events of Charlotte Lawrence. The storyline provides an exceptional insight into the main character's emotional experiences but also describes the historical events of the time. The author offers a storyline attractive to readers who enjoy historical novels but focus on the difficult times and complexities people experience. The book provides a balance between the emotions of the main character but also the relationships she develops during a complex time in her life.

Harris presents the reader with easy reading but an interesting story where a person eagerly continues to the next page until the end. I definitely recommend this novel to people who enjoy history combined with an emotional but significantly intricate storyline.

Charlotte Lawrence has spent eleven years at boarding school in England and she’s excited to be returning home to Darjeeling and her family’s tea plantation. When she arrives, the house is empty, her mother Winifred and father Charles are not home and she’s told the terrible news. Her father Charles died a couple of days earlier, from dysentery and she’s devastated.

Charlotte inherits Sundar, Dan Fitzgerald’s the assistant manager, Charlotte wants to learn everything she can about running a tea garden and Dan agrees to show her. It involves early mornings, really long days, delegating jobs to the workers and negotiating with old fashioned tea merchants.

Charlotte’s fathers wish is for her to marry Andrew McAllister, the younger son of Douglas, combine their plantations and create a tea dynasty. Charlotte’s only eighteen, she upset by her father’s death, and she doesn’t want to rush into marriage, she needs time to get to know Andrew and it’s a big decision. An English woman’s role in Darjeeling in the 1930's was to marry, have children and make friends in the small social group, would Charlotte be happy with this lifestyle and she wouldn't be involved in running the estate?

Ada Eastman, chaperoned Charlotte on the journey from England, she’s marrying Harry Banning and he’s a neighbor of the Lawrence’s and the McAllister’s. For Ada moving to Darjeeling is a chance for a fresh start, Harry’s a steady chap, she will have financial stability, and live close to her new friend.

Darjeeling Inheritance is a story about family, loyalty, expectations, friendship, romance, secrets, betrayal, and set in a beautiful location. I didn’t realize growing tea was so involved, I enjoyed how the whole process was included in the narrative and I’m a tea lover.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, a fascinating story, well researched, lots of descriptive information and four stars from me.

This novel of love on a tea plantation is exotic and descriptive in its historical fiction. I received this novel as an advanced reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book from start to finish. It was more complex than the usual romance I was expecting , and all the better for it. Telling the tale of Charlotte, who has inherited a tea plantation form her father, in 1930. The vivid descriptions of Darjeeling are a sheer delight.

I found this book a light and easy read. It is a story of romance and betrayal; involving two newly befriended, but very different young women who are about to begin a new life in India. To the one, it is a homecoming after years abroad; to the other, a new life in a foreign country. Both forge their own unique path in this new environment, the one guided by duty and vision, the other... well, no spoilers! I appreciated the many insights into life in India during the early to mid 1900s, and especially the well-researched details about tea growing and production.

On the flip side, I found the characters not always believable, frequently veering into cliché. The writing style was generally fluent; although vivid descriptions were interspersed with clumsy passages at times. Lastly, had I not committed to write a review, I would not have read much further than the prologue and into chapter one. The stilted, unrealistic dialogue, which often read like an monologue to inform the reader, badly needed editing; especially so, since the beginning is crucial in captivating - or repelling - a reader. Especially the prologue needed rigorous editing not only of dialogue...

Overall, if you want to while away time with an undemanding and entertaining book, the Darjeeling Inheritance is a laid back way to do so.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing this book as an ARC in return for an honest review.

Charlotte Lawrence loves living in Sundar. She follows her father around learning all she can about the tea plantation. It’s all she has ever wanted.

After eleven years in England, Charlotte has finished her studies and is coming home by boat with a suitable companion named Ada Eastman. Arriving home to find her father has just died and has left her the plantation with the current manager to stay on.

The current manager, Dan, is everything a good man should be. And while Charlotte’s father may have arranged for his daughter to marry his best friends’ son, Andrew, who is a lazy womanizer and gambler, Charlotte is a stubborn girl and intends to put off marriage as long as she is able to.

Her companion is married within days of setting foot in Sundar. To a much older man with money. And within days she is looking at Andrew like a juicy steak. All the while Charlotte has no idea and really doesn’t care.

She intends to learn everything about tea and follow her heart.

As a tea reviewer, this book was heavenly. I learned so much about growing tea and the history of the area.

A lovely read!

NetGalley/October 1st, 2021 by Heywood Press

At the age of 7 Charlotte Lawrence followed her father around the tea plantation in Darjeeling, inhaling his every word. He was the man she adored. Now 11 years later, having just returned from England, her education behind her, she comes back home. Arriving a day too late, Charlotte learns of her father's death a day before her return. More than distraught, Charlotte learns she has inherited Sandar, the tea plantation. Along with this, her father also requested she marry Andrew McAllister the young man whose family owns the plantation next to theirs...they would marry and bring the two plantations together. Thrown off balance, she wonders how can she marry a man she never met, doesn't know. Her knowledge of how to run a plantation is zero, yet she is resolved to learn. Unfortunately, it is easier said than done. It is 1930, there are standards that are unacceptable...women do not run plantations. Furthermore, not only are the times against her, living in India is also a place where women are not at the forefront. However, when Charlotte meets Dan Fitzgerald, the assistant manager of Sandar, she finds someone who will help her learn how to manage the plantation. It is her journey that the reader takes with Charlotte.

Well researched, well written this was an enjoyable novel. Although this is a work of fiction, there is something to learn about growing and processing tea that eventually finds its way into your teacup.! Yet, this is not a bland story, as there is betrayal and intrigue among the other characters.

My thanks to NetGalley and Haywood Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

To be reviewed on my blog https://bookreviewsbylulu.blogspot.com/, Goodreads and Amazon.

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Darjeeling Inheritance

by Liz Harris

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Read in June 2021

After the Linford series (among other books by this author who's one of my favourites), I was looking forward to this new historical novel, and I'm now happy to say it completely lived up to my expectations. I greatly enjoyed following Charlotte as she learned all about running the tea plantation she'd just inherited, adjusted back to life in India after years away at school in England, and got to know Andrew, the neighbour her father wished her to marry. Even when some characters acted in a not-exactly-condonable manner, I really liked the way they were written in the chapters that reveal their points of view. And, although I don't drink tea and had therefore never given any thought to how it's grown and processed, I found myself interested in the information that Dan, the assistant manager, gives to Charlotte during the lessons she requested even if she's supposed to end up running the household and let her husband manage the plantation.