A fascinating account of tumultous times. This is a very personal story told with compassion and understanding. By the end you feel as if you know everyone personally. thank you Mishal for giving us an insight into your family history, and also making a much wider global issue much easier to understand. The British Empire has a lot to answer for.

I found this book both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Well written not hiding any emotion. A good read.

A blockbuster of a book, packed full with historical events and the author’s family background. Historical novels are generally not my choice, but the subject matter of the political situation in India in the 1940s, giving rise to the Partition was a great attraction. I found at times the reading a little heavy-going because of the complexities of the subject (not being an academic), but I certainly got thrust of this period of Indian and Pakistani culture and history. I can only imagine the weeks and months Mischal spent researching and her dedication to this task has paid dividends to bring this important part of history to the table.Perhaps this book also raises a considerable number of questions regarding the part played by British politicians. A second reading is definitely needed. My thanks to NetGalley and publishers for this ARC . The views expressed in this review are solely mine.

This book is enthralling. I was a little hesitant that it may be over my head, but found it was simply an enjoyable, story - about a family in tumultuous times. The author's grandparents were both Indian but by the end one had been made Pakistani. Before the horror of Partition there had been years of peaceful plans and strategies to create a safe homeland for the different religions, although throughout the unrest there had still been compassionate people who lived amicably with neighbours of different faiths. This seems particularly sad that after so many years of hope Lord Mountbattern was to rush through his unwanted job and leave the country in such a mess. Very much the Prince Andrew of that generation. Quite apart from world events is the fascinating story of a girl who was part Irish and who fell in love with a muslim man and on the other side, a man who avoided his arranged marriage and kept his word to his very tolerant fiance. Luckily for the reader these people were at the heart of the momentous events as they happened. I was shocked to find that racial segregation existed within India. As a newly qualified doctor one of the author's grandfather's is surprised to find he is able to ignore the racist signage for the first time and enter theough a door previously not accessible to him. It is this mix of family struggle interwoven with international events that makes this book so gripping

This didn’t capture me as I expected it to - & I pushed myself to finish it. Book does has some lovely photographs and covers the history of the time well