Review: Faint Promise of Rain by Anjali Mitter Duva

Title: Faint Promise of Rain
Author: Anjali Mitter Duva
Format: Paperback
Publisher: She Writes Press
Publish Date: October 7, 2014
Source: I received a copy from the PR; however, this did not affect my review.

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "It is 1554 in the desert of Rajasthan, and a new Mughal emperor is expanding his territory. On a rare night of rain, a daughter, Adhira, is born to a family of Hindu temple dancers. Fearing a bleak future, her father—against his wife and sons’ protests—puts his faith in tradition and in his last child for each to save the other: he insists Adhira “marry” the temple deity and give herself to a wealthy patron. But after one terrible evening, she makes a bold choice that carries her family’s story and their dance to a startling new beginning. Told from the perspective of this exquisite dancer and filled with the sounds, sights and flavors of the Indian desert, Faint Promise of Rain is the story of a family and a girl caught between art, duty, and fear in a changing world."

My Two Cents:

"Faint Promise of Rain" takes place in 16th century India. It is a time of great change in the country with a new ruler coming to power. The story follows Adhira, a young woman born into a family of dancers who tell epic stories and myths through their dances. The exotic setting combined with a fascinating main character makes for a great story.

I loved reading about Adhira and her close knit family. This book shows a lot of the changes that the family goes through as their country is changing around them. I loved reading about how they coped with everything. Adhira's family are all Hindu temple dancers and as Adhira finds out after she is tied to a wealthy patron, their lives are not always their own. I was not really familiar with the lives of these temple dancers before reading this book so I really ate up all of the detail that the author provided.

The description of the time and place that Adhira's family lives in really made this book stand out for me. I love reading about India but I did not know much about the time in which this book takes place. The author provides a lot of great description in a relatively small amount of space that really pulled me into the story! Overall, if you're looking for a good pick for historical fiction lovers, this might fit!