East of India

Nadine, the child of an English planter and an Indian servant is forced into an arranged marriage at the height of World War II. Her new husband is sure the Japanese won't attack Malaya, but , of course they do, and Nadine ends up in a prisoner of war camp in Sumatra. Nothing in her sheltered upbringing could have prepared for the horrors that await, as she and the other women in the camp are used as sex slaves. With the dubious protection of a Japanese American officer, Nadine begins to have feeling for her protector. But how can love blossom under such ugly circumstances. This story is not for the faint of heart, but if you want a story based on actual historical events, a story of a woman who refuses to bow under unbelievable pressure, than you will love this story as much as I did

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. It gives an insight to the many issues involved in multi racial relationships particularly during times of conflict. Nadines relationship with her father and mother is the beginning of a turbulent life for her. Culminating in her capture by the Japanese and becoming a prisoner of war. The struggles, physically and emotionally that ensued to enable her to stay alive and survive a terrible time brought tears to my eyes.

I tend to read in bed at the end of the day and it generally has the affect of helping me go to sleep. Not so with this book. My attempt to do the same with this book left me reading till nearly 3am as I was so engrossed in the story.

It was, however, a slow starter for me; for example I was unconvinced by the way in which, in one of the opening scenes, Nadine reacted to the death of her ayah. Apparently she knew by that point that her ayah had been her mother but even if she was acting on autopilot the scene lacked authenticity to me.

I felt as if several such early scenes lacked detail and sometimes it was though the author was rushing through what background she needed to get out of the way before getting into the story proper.

Whilst the author took her time to warm up, the further I got into the book the more I was drawn in to the story. Earlier the story had progressed a little too fast for it to contain enough detail for my liking but after a while the pace did slow and I found myself more able to immerse myself into the story the further I delved.

Before too long the pace of the novel picked up once again and it was due to this that I found it so hard to put the book down that night. Yet despite my best attempts I was unable to keep my eyes open for longer and I did not manage to complete it that night. However the story tugged at my consciousness all of the next day whilst I was at work. I couldn’t wait to get home and read it. For me, that’s the mark of a good book.

The final third of the book resumed the faster pace of the first and I especially enjoyed the fact that the storyline was not predictable in it’s various changes of tack.

Overall I found this a good book with a great storyline although overall I felt the storyline sometimes ran a little too fast for the narrative to keep up with.

Review: I would like to thank Canelo for asking me to review and be apart of the blog tour for this book. 

This is an amazing story I loved it from this first look of the cover to the last page read. It is brilliantly written and has such amazing depth to it. The plot takes us to some amazing places in different countries, which are beautiful described. The action and emotions jumps out from the page. 

Nadine grows from a little girl into a very strong women. She has to as life is tough on her. I don't want to give too much a way as this is a book that as to be read to fully get the understanding and feel of the novel. The romance in this book gives it a light feel in amongst the tough hardship faced by Nadine. 

A marvelous story!

I really enjoyed reading this book and found I could not put it down. Highly recommended.