"A Tapestry of Light," by Kimberley Duffy

 "A Tapestry of Light," by Kimberley Duffy

In 1886 Calcutta, Ottilie Russell is adrift between two cultures, British and Indian, belonging to both and neither. In order to support her little brother, Thaddeus, and her grandmother, she relies upon the skills in beetle-wing embroidery that have been passed down to her through generations of Indian women.

When a stranger named Everett Scott appears with the news that Thaddeus is now Baron Sunderson and must travel to England to take his place as a nobleman, Ottilie is shattered by the secrets that come to light. Despite her growing friendship with Everett, friend to Ottilie's English grandmother and aunt, she refuses to give up her brother. Then tragedy strikes, and she is forced to make a decision that will take Thaddeus far from death and herself far from home.

But betrayal and loss lurk in England too, and soon Ottilie must fight to ensure Thaddeus doesn't forget who he is, as well as find a way to stitch a place for herself in a cold, foreign land.

This book was so interesting.  It had so many layers to it; however what stood out to me about this book, was how descriptive it was.  You could visualize the sounds, the sights and smells of India in the way it was written.  I learned so many things about India that I knew nothing about.  As a sewer I was fascinated with the Beetle Wing Embroidery that Ottilie did, you can read more about that here.

The strength if character that Ottilie had, stood out the most in this book and despite all her challenges in life, she relied on God to help her over come them.   When the book took us to England; although a different country, the descriptions that the author wrote about made it easier for you to visualize everything.  You could almost feel how cold Ottilie felt with all the damp weather in England!  Then going from food which includes some making flavours and spices, to the bland British food it made you feel so sorry for Ottilie and her brother.😀

Stars out of 5 : 4.5 The book only lost half a star as some passages in the book went on for much too long, to my liking.  I loved the historical aspect of the book and I learned a lot.  This book is well worth reading in my opinion.

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. 

Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".