The Tea Planter's Bride (The India Tea, #2)

by Janet MacLeod Trotter

When Sophie is suddenly orphaned at the age of six, she is taken from her parents’ tea plantation, the only home she has ever known, to be raised halfway across the world in Scotland.

As the years pass and her exotic childhood becomes a distant memory, adventurous Sophie finds refuge in her friendship with her kind, shy cousin, Tilly. It is no surprise when the girls follow each other to India to embark on new adventures, new lives and new loves.

But the reality of 1920s India is far removed from their dream: the jungles are too humid and the breathtaking tea gardens too remote. And amongst the stifling beauty, intrigue abounds; while Sophie struggles with affairs of the heart, Tilly, alone in a difficult world, delves into the mystery of Sophie’s parents’ deaths. As the past begins to darken their friendship, will long-held secrets shatter everything they’ve ever striven for?

Revised edition: This edition of The Planter's Bride includes editorial revisions.

• ISBN10: 1503934209
• ISBN13: 9781503934207
• Publish Date: 21 June 2016
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 3 January 2022
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Amazon Publishing
• Imprint: Lake Union Publishing
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 432
• Language: English

Reviews

[zooloo1983]

Oh, I love this saga so much! Another I listened to and had to race to the end by reading it as I couldn’t wait! God, I want to go to India and see the tea plantations that are so vividly described in the books. So much so you feel you are in the jungles with Sophie or on the Himalayas. Or even with Tilly in Newcastle and Sophie in Scotland which is where the story begins.

I had briefly read some reviews for this book and it mentioned we would see some old faces. I wasn’t quite sure who would we see but I was happy to meet Clarrie and Wesley again and to see what adventures they have had and plus we get to see James Robson again.

This instalment is told from both Sophie and Tilly’s point of view with the occasional interlude from Rafi and Tam. Sophie was uprooted from India at such a young age due to the sudden death of her parents. Living with her Aunt Amy in Scotland we see she grew into such a vibrant and happy woman, but always with the call to India. Tilly, living in Newcastle, falls in love with an older man who whisks her off to India and her adventures start there with Sophie in tow.

India is not always a happy place, the girls are separated as they go to be with their loves and we see them living their lives. Tilly dealing with a baby and a man who is so closed off, trying to understand the system with the wives and reaches a breaking point. I could relate to her in her dark days with baby Jamie. Struggling to stop a baby from crying and at your wits end until she receives help. She then takes up a mission to find out if all is as it seems with the death of Sophie’s parents. However, no matter how dark things got, I felt in comparison that god did Sophie have the wrong end of the stick.

The things Sophie endured made my heart reach out to her. She should never have been subjected to such outrageous behaviours. She suffered so much for the man she loves and it was not fairly so. I just can not say anymore but everything she feels and everything that happens you feel. I just wanted to wrap my arms around her and take her away from it all.

I am looking forward to the next one in the series as this book left me with unanswered questions! I can’t tell you what they are because it would ruin the story for you. This is one hell of a saga that you need to pick up. There are only 4 books in this series…I do hope there will be more so I think I need to pace myself now after blitzing two this month. I long to already be back at Belgooree, that place has stolen my heart just like these books have. I have cried, I have got angry and I have yearned for a happier life for both. Back to days when things were so simple as just playing tennis on a sunny afternoon.

I am nowhere near ready to say goodbye to the Robsons or the Logan’s of the books. These women will touch your lives in such a way they stay with you long after you have finished the book. There is so much I can’t say but I do urge you to take a punt as I did and step out of your comfort zone as you might find something magical like I have!