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 was surprised by how quickly I became absorbed into this book, so much so that I ended up finishing it within a few days. Set during the Dutch Golden Age, a period of history when the Netherlands emerged as the foremost economic and maritime power in the world, The Company Daughters explores the role of women in grand historical moments.

There’s a huge amount of literature on the Dutch East India Company, a sprawling proto-conglomerate considered the first of its kind, with a dark legacy of colonial violence and exploitation. This novel focuses on the experiences of “The Company Daughters”, young women who travelled from the Netherlands to the Dutch colony of Batavia in Indonesia, and imagines how they felt: alone, sailing off into the terrifying unknown.

Our narrator, Jana, begins the novel as a hardened survivor who has grown used to relying on herself. She is the opposite of the privileged and naïve Sontje who has never had to work for a living and knows nothing about the existence of the poor in Amsterdam. At first, Sontje seems like an irritating character, particularly from Jana’s point of view, as she never seems to appreciate just how much Jana is doing for her. However, as the girls travel together to Batavia, the barriers between them break down as their social situations equalise and Sontje emerges as a more sympathetic and interesting character. Rajaram vividly evokes the cramped, dirty ships quarters the girls spend months on, with heartbreakingly sad and touching moments interspersed with inevitable bickering, and a feeling that their relationship is maturing and deepening.

One criticism I have is that for me, Sontje’s development is slightly too sudden and inexplicable, although perhaps this can be explained by the extreme change in circumstances.

Once they reach Batavia, Jana and Sontje rebel in their own ways against the constrictions placed upon them as women and wives. I loved how Jana uses embroidery as an outlet for her feelings of loss and frustration, and how it becomes a tool for her emancipation. The author conveys the feeling of being trapped in the same place and routine, surrounded by people who don’t understand you or don’t care. The novel also dips into discussing the treatment of native people and slaves by the Dutch settlers, with some critique of how cultures can be stolen and commodified by colonisers, which remains a relevant topic today.

I would advise readers not to expect an unalloyed happy ending, but the book does end on a hopeful note, suggesting that it is possible to find some measure of happiness even in seemingly terrible circumstances.

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....

This novel takes an aspect of history that is often overlooked--that is, the role of women in European expansion into South Asia. The two women in this book, though they come from different backgrounds, suddenly find themselves in the same situation, far from home. One thing that I truly appreciate about this book is that it does not shy away from the more gruesome aspects of history. Many books within the genre of Historical Fiction tend to romanticize the past, while this novel does no such thing. Instead, The Company Daughters embraces these hardships and painful experiences, which helps to portray a much more accurate picture of the real experiences that encompassed these historical events. On the other hand, however, while these hardships inspire some powerful scenes, terrible happenings are so numerous that it could become overwhelming at times. This novel is over 800 pages, and as a reader, sometimes the tragedy started to make me feel a little bit hopeless. 'Hopeless' is not usually a word that I like to associate with literature, which led to a four star rating. Overall, however, this was a powerful and insightful read. I look forward to reading more historical work by Samantha Rajaram!

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!