Before the Rains by Dinah Jefferies is a lovely romance set in the 1930s.

I love historical romance novels, but I just have a hard time finding ones I enjoy. Lucky for me, Dinah Jefferie's book swept me off my feet after prancing into my life.

Eliza, a newly minted widow, is sent to India by the British government to take many lovely pictures of the Indian royal family. She's a photographer, so it is only fitting that she be one of the few to see inside the royal family's lives. She meets Jay, an Indian prince who takes her eye, and they begin a dramatic love affair. Along the way, there's an old (creepy) friend named Clifford who also sees Eliza as the apple of his eyes. Chaos then ensues. And to top it all off, somehow, because fate is cruel and interesting, she seems to know more people than she realizes.

This little book holds so much emotion in it. My heart went on a roller coaster as I tried to figure out how this book was going to end. I was connected to this book by the hip - I needed to know how it ended and I was totally obsessed with it. It's a medium-paced book but it's packed full of tears, heart ache, romance, and drama.

The plot does get predictable half way through the novel, but it's not a major con for me.

If I had a negative for this book, it would be the historical accuracy. I'm not a historian, but I feel like this love affair would have been a much bigger deal in the grand scheme of things. It was definitely a cause of strife in the book, but it seemed to go over pretty well at other times. It was... strange? Either way, the book was still a great romance/dramatic read. I would highly recommend it if you love historical romances, romances set in other geographic locations (not just the good ol' US of A), or soap opera-esque books. This book felt VERY soap opera-y (in a good way, of course).

On top of the amazing-ness of this book, the cover is absolutely stunning. If you were going to judge a book by it's cover, pick this one! All of Dinah's books have truly marvelous covers.

Four out of five stars.

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. ( )

Before the Rains by Dinah Jefferies is a lovely romance set in the 1930s.

I love historical romance novels, but I just have a hard time finding ones I enjoy. Lucky for me, Dinah Jefferie's book swept me off my feet after prancing into my life.

Eliza, a newly minted widow, is sent to India by the British government to take many lovely pictures of the Indian royal family. She's a photographer, so it is only fitting that she be one of the few to see inside the royal family's lives. She meets Jay, an Indian prince who takes her eye, and they begin a dramatic love affair. Along the way, there's an old (creepy) friend named Clifford who also sees Eliza as the apple of his eyes. Chaos then ensues. And to top it all off, somehow, because fate is cruel and interesting, she seems to know more people than she realizes.

This little book holds so much emotion in it. My heart went on a roller coaster as I tried to figure out how this book was going to end. I was connected to this book by the hip - I needed to know how it ended and I was totally obsessed with it. It's a medium-paced book but it's packed full of tears, heart ache, romance, and drama.

The plot does get predictable half way through the novel, but it's not a major con for me.

If I had a negative for this book, it would be the historical accuracy. I'm not a historian, but I feel like this love affair would have been a much bigger deal in the grand scheme of things. It was definitely a cause of strife in the book, but it seemed to go over pretty well at other times. It was... strange? Either way, the book was still a great romance/dramatic read. I would highly recommend it if you love historical romances, romances set in other geographic locations (not just the good ol' US of A), or soap opera-esque books. This book felt VERY soap opera-y (in a good way, of course).

On top of the amazing-ness of this book, the cover is absolutely stunning. If you were going to judge a book by it's cover, pick this one! All of Dinah's books have truly marvelous covers.

Four out of five stars.

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. ( )

I should enjoy Before the rains. It's the type of book I usually like, it's about India, and I have enjoyed other books by Dinah Jefferies, but I guess I just don't like the main character. I've read over 100 pages and don't want to read more. ( )

This is the second Dinah Jefferies book that I have read and on both occasions have been swept away to the beautiful locations described in the book. Before the Rains, like the Tea Planter's Wife, is absolutely oozing with colour, sounds and smells of exotic imperial India. You often hear people say that 'I closed my eyes and I was there' but with Dinah Jefferies my eyes were wide open as she took me on a journey to 1930's India.

The book starts with a tragedy for Eliza as she leans over the balcony to catch a glimpse of her father in a procession into the city of Delhi. As he comes into view, Eliza gets her final glimpse of her father as she witnesses his death. Eighteen years later, Eliza returns to India as a photographer on assignment to photograph the royal family of Juraipore. Eliza doesn't want to get staged shots of the family in stiff poses, but rather wants to capture the natural flow of life in the castle. Eliza soon becomes friendly with the mysterious and alluring second son, Prince Jay, as he attempts to create an irrigation system before the rains come.

Eliza has a secret that she tries to keep from the royal family - she is a widow. As with all secrets, this secret gets out quite quickly as the walls in this castle really do have ears. In England nobody would bat an eyelid at this but in India, where women are tasked with ensuring the health of their husband, Eliza is seen as unlucky and must be chaperoned at all times. As Eliza inevitably grows closer to Jay, their relationship has the potential to create a royal scandal - you can almost see the headlines: The Prince and The Widow. In the end, will Jay chose love or duty? With many people trying to put a stop to their relationship, do they even stand a chance?

Before the Rains is another fabulous saga from Dinah Jefferies. It is filled with secrets, intrigue, skulduggery and romance. Eliza is an amazing trouser-wearing heroine, pushing the boundaries of what was expected of women in that era. She is such a strong and vibrant character that she breathed life into every page. A colourful, vibrant epic that I highly recommend.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion. ( )

Die junge Fotografin Eliza reist 1930 im Auftrag der britischen Krone nach Indien, um den Maharadscha von Rajputana und seine Familie ein Jahr lang zu porträtieren. Das ist eine große Chance für sie. Sie wird auch sehr zuvorkommend aufgenommen, aber schon bald muss sie feststellen, dass im Palast nicht alles Gold ist was glänzt. Dann kommt sie auch noch Jay, dem Bruder d des Maharadscha, näher. Doch diese Liebe darf nicht sein, denn Jay soll eine indische Prinzessin heiraten.
Die Autorin führt und mit diesem Buch in eine faszinierende Welt. Sehr detailliert beschreibt sie dieses fremde Land mit seinen Traditionen. Auch erfährt man einiges über die politischen Verhältnisse in dieser Zeit. Die Liebesgeschichte ist dann allerdings ziemlich vorhersehbar. Es gibt zwar eine Reihe von Schwierigkeiten, doch diese werden alle irgendwie recht schnell beiseitegeschafft.
Wir lernen diese Geschichte aus der Sicht von Eliza kennen. Eliza lebte mit ihrer Familie in Indien, hat aber mit ihrer Mutter das Land wieder verlassen, als ihr Vater bei einem Attentat ums Leben gekommen ist. Als sie diesen Auftrag erhält, kommt alles Schmerzliche wieder hervor. Ihre Liebe zu Jay wird von keiner Seite akzeptiert, weder von der indischen noch von der englischen. Aber es gibt auch noch eine Reihe von anderen Problemen, die sich recht schnell lösen. Ich konnte mich gut in Eliza hineinversetzten, sie war mir sympathisch. Man kann gut spüren, wie sie sich weiterentwickelt.
Allerdings hätte ich gerne mehr über Jay erfahren. Es wäre interessant gewesen, zwischendurch seine Sichtweise zu erfahren. So blieb er mir einfach fremd. Es gibt eine Vielzahl von Personen, die in dieser Geschichte eine Rolle spielen. Sie sind gut und authentisch dargestellt, aber naturgemäß sind nicht alle sympathisch.
Mir hat das Buch gefallen, es liest sich sehr angenehm und ist unterhaltsam. ( )