What an interesting story. Although a lot of the subject matter is quite harrowing & dark, this is a very real tale of recent history & rings completely true when one discovers it’s about this young author’s grandmother.
Beautifully & sensitively written I would recommend this book to anyone.

This book is such a page turner. The writing is so beautiful and it packs a punch. This book made me laugh and cry in equal measure. This was a heartbreaking read. I loved the female friendships in this book

This book reached into my heart and twisted it. I almost felt trapped, both by my inability to reach out as a reader and offer a hug to the protagonist, and by the reality of misogyny in that day and age, the kind of misogyny that persists in the modern day.

Lilac Skies told a tale I've heard before in Indian families, with clarity. The questions that Meena asks herself about societal norms at the time (and still in the present day) collide with the answers she finds in harsh reality. Her viewing herself as a burden and living under the God-like control of strangers was hard to stomach. She initially wasn't afforded a chance to have dreams and desires. Her talents were swept under the rug without a chance to flourish. When she did succumb to simple wants, like preparing a sweet just for herself, she had to do so in secret. Meena's utter powerlessness, and the ways that powers outside of her control contrived to keep her small, was difficult to read at first.

The book masterfully captures the cost of immigrating to new lands and the risks of arranged marriage in a certain time period. It also showed me the hidden signs of selfishness in any relationship, arranged or otherwise.

The author did a fantastic job of developing Meena's character. I watched her go from child to woman in 300+ pages and the journey felt gripping.

This is the kind of book that makes you look up the author and try to find other books she's written. Shivani Bansal, I'm a fan!!

Firstly thank you to Net Galley for allowing me to read and review this beautiful book

A powerful story highlighting the reality of some women in the world today.

It gave a great insight into the cultural differences from an Indian perspective. Going from India to Kenya and finally England. Each character was written with lots of thought.

We start our journey when Meena goes through an arranged marriage to a man she hasn’t even met. With great sadness she leaves her family and travels to Kenya where she is made to do everything in the house with no question asked. She must look after not only her husband but his mother too, who has a strong dislike for Meena as Amar we learn is the favourite child.

Sadly Meena sees a dark side to her husband and she is mentally and physically abused. It’s hard to read some bits as i really feel sad as some women really do go through a lot in silence.

When they finally move to England things slowly get better and Meena finds a beautiful friendship with her neighbour.sadly she is also going through alot of physical abuse yet too afraid to lose her husband.

In the end things go wrong for Amar and he turns to alcohol.

I don’t want to give away too much but I highly recommend this read!!! It will be one book that will stay in my thoughts always.

This just missed the mark for 5 stars as I wish the ending was more detailed and longer but it was still a lovely read!

I also loved this read because my family came from India then I was born in Kenya and have now lived in England since I was little.

Overall this is definitely a must read 🙂

I thought long and hard about this review. I even talked to my husband at length to ensure I didn't sound unreasonable when I talked about why I did not enjoy this book. I wanted to like this book before going in because I end up reading very few Indian-origin stories in any given year, especially ones based in different places than my usual reads.
This is the story of a woman in pre-partition India who marries a man who lives in Kenya and then moves to London later. Meena finds it difficult to adjust to her life, having been a tomboy who did not learn to cook before she wed. Also, her mother-in-law seems overly possessive of her son, the husband. The story is loosely based on real facts, and I liked the unique location and some of the insights the author provided about the time and place.
That said, I found the format a little hard to adjust to. The flashbacks are part of an existing chapter with a different format (italics instead of normal lettering), and there were a few anachronistic things and some other missteps along the way. My own copy for a pre-publication one, so I hope a couple of them got corrected for the final release. For one thing, there were a few times where Meena was said to be wearing a saree, and then she ended up later in the scene doing something with her 'kameez', which is part of a completely different attire.
One of the biggest things to stick with me was the statement that the mother-in-law was getting blue-coloured baby stuff ready as she was expecting a grandson, but I confirmed online that there is not much evidence of blue being a boy's colour that early in time. It is a more recent gender norm. I could be wrong, but it felt out of time and place for the people in the picture.
I do not want to go into individual points of things that didn't work for me beyond the couple I mentioned. I had higher hopes for the place, and people introduced to us. It is a turbulent period in history, and there are so many layers amongst the possibilities of people who would have crossed Meena's path. The plot sticks to the domestic abuse angle and the personal troubles of our protagonist. Since she is based on a real person, I am in awe of the person herself since she must have struggled quite a lot to reach a stable position in life.
I am not sure who I would recommend this book to, but I would like to try another book by the author.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

This is such a beautiful and heartfelt tale of one girl's life. It felt like I was reading private diary entries from Meena as I shared her journey from leaving home at a young age, trying to make things work in every and all situations she is placed in, until she finally finds a form of peace.

Some material the book contains may be upsetting to certain readers. I did find some instances where I had to take deep breaths myself.

Minimal grammatical and spelling errors were found. Well edited.

I would recommend this book.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to review this novel.

This book is written from the heart, showing the reality of abusive husbands. The characters featured clearly illustrate the power of the Indian system of arranged marriages. Some work, but unfortunately those that don’t live miserable lives in constant fear of tipping the balance and bringing out the worst with harrowing effects. Having been married off to Amar, then moving to Kenya and ultimately to England, Meena has much to contend with including the strong bond between her husband and his mother and the power of alcohol.I would urge you to read this novel; it depicts real life and is totally heart-wrenching.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers Orion Dash for the opportunity to read this novel

This is an intriguing book! I liked the setting and the imagery brought each place in the book to life! The characters were relatable and genuine. Meena- wow! What a great character! She endures so much in her life. She perseveres through her difficulties in life. The story line is unique and covers many themes. Miscarriages, death and abuse. I really liked the ending!
I was provided an ARC copy from Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book! I was instantly lost in a story that spans many generations. Very absorbing story heart wrenching at times.
An incredible story of just how strong women can be.
I review also on Facebook, Amazon and my others book clubs that I belong to.
Thanks to NetGalley for a free Arc.

What a beautiful yet at the same time harrowing story. This novel really captured my attention and my heart and once started I could not put this book down, in fact, I read it long into the night. Shivani Bansal has written a masterpiece and one that the author should be justly proud of.

I thought the author really captured the historical era, it came across as very believable and it was certainly richly drawn. Likewise, the characters came across as very real in the telling.

I thought this book was wonderful from beginning to end. I highly recommend it.

*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley for review consideration.

A debut novel that is loosely based on the authors grandmother's life. It isn't just a tale of a young woman, this is a journey through a life that experienced so much and found a way to get through most things that would have broken many women. It's compelling and at times sad, most of all it's a book that I didn't want to put down.

Set in 1942 in India and Kenya we learn of Meena, a young woman who lives in India with her family until she is married to Amar. She has to make a new life in Kenya, surrounded by strangers, with no one to turn to, it is a hard time for her. Then she ends up friends with her sister-in-law, which gives her a little lightness, until she discovers Amars abusive nature.

As the years pass they move to the U.K but Amar is still the abusive husband he always was and Meena lives with this. Meena's happy times are spent with her children and her friend, Kanika and she is the one who helps her through.

I always love historical fiction due to feeling like I am educating myself as well as learning. Lilac Skies taught me much more than I knew about India and Kenya before this. It was interesting too as my Grandfather fought over near Kenya in the second world War! Apart from the historical content, the human content was at times, humorous and other times harrowing.


Shivani Bansal knows how to write a powerful story. Issues such as domestic violence against women and miscarriage too are dealt with perfectly. It made Meena all the more relatable and made me want to look after her on her journey. The unfairness of her life did make me think about the hand a lot of women are handed in life and made me feel so angry.

A perfectly paced, well written debut that is a book that took me through almost every emotion and left me thinking after I had finished the book.
Thanks to NetGalley and the author for my copy of the book

It’s been a while since I’ve read a book that has Impacted on me as much as Lilac Skies has. Oh my goodness what an utterly amazing and compelling read this was. I was completely captivated by Meena’s story and how strong a woman she was. This book is at times filled with sadness but also there is signs of love and laughter between friends. Lilac Skies is a book that once you start reading it you will become so captivated by the story that you won’t want to put it down.

Lilac Skies was a very in-depth look at cultural expectations of women; wives, mothers ,friends and daughters. Meena had no idea what to expect from her quickly arranged marriage to a man living in a different country.. One day she was a beloved daughter and sister. A week later she was married to Amar, and moving far away from her close knit family. There is much to learn and adjust to in her new circumstances, not the least in living in the same house with her new mother-in-law, who is critical of everything Menna does. She is so lonely for her family and to far away to visit. Her journey is hard, but she dreams of how things could be, and works hard to please her new family. She learns to believe in herself as she tries to make the best of this new, unexpected life.
Thank you to Netgalley for the chance to read this ARC. I really liked this author. Though it was the way things are/ were for women in Kenya and India, there was sadness in her story, though she adapted to her new expectations and became a strong woman. If you like stories set in different cultures, you should read this.

This is such a beautifully written book, you get swept along with Meena.

I couldn’t put it down, Meena is such an interesting character and seeing her growing into a strong woman, despite some of what life threw at her, made me quite emotional at times.

This is a book that gives you so much, love, family, different cultures and most importantly friendship.