1910, India. Young and curious Alice, with her spun-gold hair, grows up in her familyâs sprawling compound with parents as remote as England, the cold country she has never seen. It is Raju, son of a servant, with whom she shares her secrets. Together, their love grows like roses â but leaves deep thorns. Because when they get too close, Aliceâs father drags them apart, sending Raju far away and banishing Alice to EnglandâĶ
1944. Intelligent and kind Janaki is raised in an orphanage in India. The nuns love to tell the story: Janakiâs arrival stopped the independence riots outside the gates, as the men on both sides gazed at the starry-eyed little girl left in a beautiful hand-knitted cardigan. Janaki longs for her real mother, the woman who was forced to abandon her, wrapped in a precious giftâĶ
Now old enough to be a grandmother and living alone in India, Alice watches children play under the tamarind trees, haunted by the terrible mistake she made fifty years ago. Itâs just an ordinary afternoon, until a young girl with familiar eyes appears with a photograph and Alice must make a choice. Will she spend the rest of her life consumed by dreams of the past, or can she admit her mistakes and choose love and light at last?
A stunning and heartbreaking novel about how a forbidden love can echo through the generations. Readers who love Lucinda Riley, Kathryn Hughes and The Storytellerâs Secret will be captivated.
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Readers absolutely adore The Orphanâs Gift:
âUtterly spellbinding and so beautifully writtenâĶ Will draw you in and immediately transport youâĶ This heart-warming and heartbreaking novel is a story of friendship, of love, of tragedy and lossâĶ I absolutely LOVED it as I have ALL of Renitaâs novelsâĶ Couldnât put it down and as always the tissues were definitely needed.â NetGalley Reviewer âïļâïļâïļâïļâïļ
âSo beautiful!... As I was reading, I was cryingâĶ Well written and the characters were really brought to life.â Goodreads Reviewer âïļâïļâïļâïļâïļ
âWow! This was an incredible storyâĶ Fantastic and the emotions were so real.â Goodreads Reviewer
âI kept turning the pages until my eyes blurred. I just wanted to hear how all of the stories would come togetherâĶ Look forward to checking out her other books!â Goodreads Reviewer âïļâïļâïļâïļâïļ
âCould not put this book down, a real page-turner. Definitely will be recommending this book to other readers, love to read more books from this author.â Goodreads Reviewer âïļâïļâïļâïļâïļ
âI could not put this story downâĶ The ending was perfect!... This book is captivating, sad and then more sad added in. This was a quick read for me but super enjoyable.â Goodreads Reviewer âïļâïļâïļâïļâïļ
âTransported me to another worldâĶ The characters are vibrant and dance off the page. I couldnât stop once I started. I laughed and cried.â Goodreads Reviewer âïļâïļâïļâïļâïļ
âThis book was so good! The characters were so well rounded, you felt like you actually knew them! The plot was so good you didnât want the book to end!â Goodreads Reviewer
âThis book has everythingâĶ I loved each and every character and felt every emotion that they did.â Rachel Marieâs Blog âïļâïļâïļâïļâïļ