Book Review: A Sister’s Promise by Renita D’Silva

I had read ‘The Forgotten Daughter’ by Renita D’Silva and had loved her writing, so when I saw ‘A Sister’s Promise’ on Netgalley, I absolutely had to request it.

Got approved for it, read it and then started this review which sat in my drafts for ages. Sigh. End of the year clean up showes me this and a bunch of others which needed completing. This had to be one of the first to be completed and published, given how much I enjoyed the book.

Puja and Sharda are two sisters, who grew up together in India. With personalities like chalk and cheese, they were different but close while growing up. They promised to be with each other, support each other through life, however life had other plans for them. Circumctances forced them apart, far apart. Sharda is living in India with her daughter Khushi while Puja lives in the UK with her son Raj. She has cut off ties with her family, and her son has never been to India, never met his mother’s family. Puja lead an ordered, controlled life in the UK, where emotions had no place. When she receives a phone call from her sister Sharda, her life is turned upside down. She has to make a decision from which there is no turning back. Will she find it in her to honour the promise she made her sister? Will the bond they shared as children be stong enough to bing them together again?

Set mainly in India, it resonates with flavours and colours of the place and the emotions that the characters go through. I especially loved the descriptions, be it of the food that Sharda cooks or the emotions, you can almost taste the food and you can feel the pain, the sadness and the joys. Their childhood is so beautifully portrayed.

A beautifully narrated story of two sisters, of human emotions that come close to destroying the bond between them, and the strength of emotions and shared lives. I’ve always loved books which transport you to the place where they are set, and this book does that so very beautifully. This is not the first book b Renita D’Silva and will certainly not be the last. I can’t wait to lay my hands on her next book.

My Rating: 4/5.

About the Author

Renita D’Silva is the auther of 4 books, ‘Monsoon Memories’,’The Forgotten Daughter’,’The Stolen Girl’ and ‘A Sister’s Promise’. Her books evoke vivid imagery of India and food and makes for very compelling reads.