Farm Fresh Adventures: Fresh from the Bookshelf: A Heart Made of Indigo by Shaela Kay {Book Review}

I love historical fiction. I REALLY love historical fiction that takes place in a land far far away. The exotic the better. When I learned that my good friend Shaela Kay was working on her first novel, I was happy for her. When she told me she was going to have me review it--I felt honored! Needless to say when I learned that it was a historical fiction set in the heart of India, I was eager to get my hands on it. When A Heart Made of Indigo arrived in the mail, I was very eager to read it to review.

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About the Book

A Heart Made of Indigo begins in London, England 1831 and then shifts the scene to Calcutta, India on an Indigo plantation. The story follows young Katherine Greenwood as she escapes her abusive step-father and escapes by ship to find refuge in a land she's only heard stories about from her beloved but estranged grandmother...the exotic wilds of India. She has no money and no job waiting, thus she depends on the good graces of a woman she met on the ship who fortunately helps her get a job at an indigo plantation as a maid-of-all-work, even though she has no experience.

What follows next is a tale about Katherine finding her place in the land she is growing to love--even though it's so foreign from her own. Will she find love? Will she find acceptance? Or will she be forced to leave a land she now loves and once only dreamed about?

My Thoughts

I think this is a very sweet story and that the author does a good job exploring the world of 1800 India. I love the very vivid word pictures that are used to describe the different settings in the book--especially in places like the menagerie.

I think the characters are fairly developed, though I would like to know a bit more about Katherine and the things related to her grandmother. We know she has a relationship with her, but I would have liked to know MORE, especially since we know her grandmother is who got her interested in India to begin with. Actually I would have liked a lot more of Katherine's earlier life.

In relation to the plot--okay, it was actually pretty predictable. Did I ever want to stop reading? No. It was still a sweet romantic story. I finished just in case I was wrong with my prediction. LOL. Who was my favorite character? Probably Mr. Mendenhall's sister Sarah. She was just a sweet girl with a sense of adventure.

I really would have liked more meat to this story...and it was very predictable. I don't think there was enough exploration of the reality of the idea that Katherine was on her own without money or plans. She was a young girl going to a land where she can have so many things happen to her...and most of it just didn't happen. Takes away the reality of the situation she was in. I also am harder on books than most people, so I know many others would give it just a good 5 stars.

I still think this book is a sweet read for anyone who likes historical romance (clean!) and a good first novel for a rookie author like my friend!