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Meet Me in Bombay
Jenny Ashcroft's Meet Me in Bombay is a powerful, poignant and deeply emotional tale of love, mystery, loss and joy."–Kate Furnivall, New York Times bestselling author.
All he needs is to find her. First, he must remember who she is.
It's New Year's Eve in Bombay, 1913, and Madeline Bright, new to the sweltering heat of colonial India, is yearning for all she has left behind in England. Then, at the stroke of midnight, Maddy meets Luke Devereaux, and as the year changes so do both their lives.
Bold and charismatic, Luke opens her eyes to the wonders of Bombay, while Maddy's beauty and vivacity captures his heart. Only her mother disapproves, preferring the devoted Guy Bowen as a match for her daughter.
But while Maddy and Luke are falling in love, the world is falling apart. World War I is on the horizon, and Luke will be given no choice but to fight. They will be continents apart, separated by danger and devastating loss, but bound by Luke's promise that they will meet again in Bombay.
All he needs is to find her. First, he must remember who she is.
It's New Year's Eve in Bombay, 1913, and Madeline Bright, new to the sweltering heat of colonial India, is yearning for all she has left behind in England. Then, at the stroke of midnight, Maddy meets Luke Devereaux, and as the year changes so do both their lives.
Bold and charismatic, Luke opens her eyes to the wonders of Bombay, while Maddy's beauty and vivacity captures his heart. Only her mother disapproves, preferring the devoted Guy Bowen as a match for her daughter.
But while Maddy and Luke are falling in love, the world is falling apart. World War I is on the horizon, and Luke will be given no choice but to fight. They will be continents apart, separated by danger and devastating loss, but bound by Luke's promise that they will meet again in Bombay.
352 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2019
364 people are currently reading
17711 people want to read
About the author
Jenny Ashcroft
12 books397 followersI am an author of both historical fiction under the name of Jenny Ashcroft, and high concept novels under the pseudonym Jennifer Ross. Having spent many years living, working and exploring in Australia and Asia, I now split my time between Australia and the UK. I have a degree from Oxford University in history, and have always been fascinated by the past—in particular the way that extraordinary events can transform the lives of normal people. My newest novel, Every Lifetime After, will publish in January 2026.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 598 reviews
no-support-at-all
January 20, 2021September 10, 2020: No.
I don't want to read a white romance set in a place they occupied with force and during a time that's traumatic for very many generations.
Also, ask those who must have suffered during the British Raj about the "alluring opulence of colonial India".
I don't want to read a white romance set in a place they occupied with force and during a time that's traumatic for very many generations.
Also, ask those who must have suffered during the British Raj about the "alluring opulence of colonial India".
January 19, 2021: Since it's the release day today and more people are finding this book, I would like to add something of importance. The phrase quoted in my previous take has since then been changed by the publishers — which is a clear indication of how wrong something is — and this is a friendly reminder to everyone that omitting "alluring opulence" from a sentence describing colonial India doesn't change how insensitive this historical romance is or how inessential this white story in an occupied South Asian city is.
here's the original blurb
Read
September 10, 2020Colonizer doing colonizer things, nothing to see here
And this isn't Ashcroft's first offense ughhhh
And this isn't Ashcroft's first offense ughhhh
Read
January 6, 2021The colonial era: a gruesome period that caused immense, unfathomable tribulation to Indians due to invasion by WHITES. Romanticizing this and using it as a setting for a WHITE romance???
How insensitive !
I cannot and will not support this.
How insensitive !
I cannot and will not support this.
September 11, 2020
A white woman writes about white people falling in love while romanticizing a genocidal regime while other white women fawn over it.
It's 2020 and white women still think this shit is a good idea????
Where do y'all get the balls of steel to pull this?? Why do y'all think you should be centred in a story of others people's misery and pain that was directly caused by you???!?!?
It's disgusting. The woman who wrote this is disgusting and the other white women championing this are disgusting.
It's 2020 and white women still think this shit is a good idea????
Where do y'all get the balls of steel to pull this?? Why do y'all think you should be centred in a story of others people's misery and pain that was directly caused by you???!?!?
It's disgusting. The woman who wrote this is disgusting and the other white women championing this are disgusting.
May 3, 2021
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I believe that if I were to say that I am disappointed, it would be a bit of an understatement.
I, personally, believe that the best part of this book was the cover. It's absolutely gorgeous and was basically the only reason I wanted to read this book. I probably wouldn't have even thought about reading this if I knew what it was actually about.
'Meet Me in Bombay' tells the tedious tale of Maddy and Luke Devereaux and how their love for one another prevails. Unfortunately, this book is set in colonial India (hence the title), effectively invalidating the suffering of an entire group of people, as the book lacks the poise and discussion needed to justify its setting.
To begin, I need to address the issue of where the book was set. I truly felt that this book could have been set in literally any other country during the same time period and it would not, in any significant way, impact or affect the plot. Seeing as to how the time period that the book is set in is World War I era, there was plenty that was happening in the world, and a different setting could have actually made the story more meaningful.
I found it hurtful and ignorant that this book was set in early twentieth-century India, yet the entire issue of colonialism wasn't spoken of very much. There were no Indian characters that held any significance to the plot whatsoever, and British rule in India was underplayed to the point where it seemed like far less of a problem than it truly was.
While I will not pretend to know whether this was done intentionally or out of ignorance, I can only ask that the author works to do better. There may still be a long way to go, but we as a society have come so far in terms of racial equality, that books like this, which undermine the struggles of people who had their freedoms and lives taken away from them, only set us back.
Apart from that, I found the story itself to be quite monotonous, to the point where reading this book felt like a chore. It felt like the same thing was being rehashed over and over again, and, as a result, we never got anything meaningful for all the time we spent reading it. I truly do not understand all the rave reviews claiming this book to be an emotional masterpiece when the strongest feeling I could summon was a mild annoyance for how long yet repetitive the book was.
The romance was just not it for me. It was insta-love at its finest, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that. While Luke and Maddy may have felt that 'pull' the second they saw each other, and there is some time that passes between when they first meet and when they first kiss, I felt that there was no chemistry between the two; nothing that could entice me to root for them to stay together despite all that they go through.
The characters were interesting, if irritating. Maddy's defining character trait seems to be that she's in love with Luke, and she becomes downright infuriating during all of the drama with Guy. She doesn't stand up for herself, and plays the role of the HeLpLeSs MaIdEn In NeEd Of ReScUiNg.
Believing that there's someone out there who's willing to rescue you is a nice enough sentiment, I suppose, but there's a point where you have to realize that no one's going to solve your problems but yourself, and Maddy clearly didn't understand that, allowing her problems to become huge and all-consuming, before deciding to do something about it too late.
Luke was alright. To be honest, his character did not show up as much as I thought it would, and almost all of his perspective is told from many, many years after the events of the story have taken place. As such, he's a fairly unreliable narrator, but even so, you begin to notice a pattern and realize that, despite all that is happening, and however long it takes them to get there, Maddy and Luke Devereaux will get their happy ending.
(This realization was probably what took most of the emotions that I was expecting to experience while reading this away from me, which is a shame, but ultimately reflects on the book itself.)
There was no character development to speak of, and the side characters do not play much of a role in the story but for the sake of creating interpersonal drama and drawing out the book. The world-building seemed as though it were based on what one would expect colonial India to look like through a colonizer's view (which it was), and it felt at times that the historical context was disjointed or confusing.
The writing style was flowery and showy at times, but fundamentally quite vague. Specific information is revealed to the reader while other isn't, in an attempt to build suspense and drama. This results in some confusion as far as the timeline of the story is concerned, as well as what actually happens vs what is perceived to be happening.
Overall, I thought that this book was firmly mediocre and not deserving of all the praise that it has been given. I would not recommend this book to anyone seeing as to how the cover is a trap, I wasn't given the EmOtIoNaL mAsTeRpIeCe that I was promised, and the harmful way colonialism was dealt with (or rather, neglected). I would rather recommend a book about colonial India featuring Indian characters and their struggle for freedom instead of this.
All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own and are not indicative of the views of the author or publisher.
~~~~~~~~
oh god, somehow this was more problematic than i expected.
rant to come :D
I believe that if I were to say that I am disappointed, it would be a bit of an understatement.
I, personally, believe that the best part of this book was the cover. It's absolutely gorgeous and was basically the only reason I wanted to read this book. I probably wouldn't have even thought about reading this if I knew what it was actually about.
'Meet Me in Bombay' tells the tedious tale of Maddy and Luke Devereaux and how their love for one another prevails. Unfortunately, this book is set in colonial India (hence the title), effectively invalidating the suffering of an entire group of people, as the book lacks the poise and discussion needed to justify its setting.
To begin, I need to address the issue of where the book was set. I truly felt that this book could have been set in literally any other country during the same time period and it would not, in any significant way, impact or affect the plot. Seeing as to how the time period that the book is set in is World War I era, there was plenty that was happening in the world, and a different setting could have actually made the story more meaningful.
I found it hurtful and ignorant that this book was set in early twentieth-century India, yet the entire issue of colonialism wasn't spoken of very much. There were no Indian characters that held any significance to the plot whatsoever, and British rule in India was underplayed to the point where it seemed like far less of a problem than it truly was.
While I will not pretend to know whether this was done intentionally or out of ignorance, I can only ask that the author works to do better. There may still be a long way to go, but we as a society have come so far in terms of racial equality, that books like this, which undermine the struggles of people who had their freedoms and lives taken away from them, only set us back.
Apart from that, I found the story itself to be quite monotonous, to the point where reading this book felt like a chore. It felt like the same thing was being rehashed over and over again, and, as a result, we never got anything meaningful for all the time we spent reading it. I truly do not understand all the rave reviews claiming this book to be an emotional masterpiece when the strongest feeling I could summon was a mild annoyance for how long yet repetitive the book was.
The romance was just not it for me. It was insta-love at its finest, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that. While Luke and Maddy may have felt that 'pull' the second they saw each other, and there is some time that passes between when they first meet and when they first kiss, I felt that there was no chemistry between the two; nothing that could entice me to root for them to stay together despite all that they go through.
The characters were interesting, if irritating. Maddy's defining character trait seems to be that she's in love with Luke, and she becomes downright infuriating during all of the drama with Guy. She doesn't stand up for herself, and plays the role of the HeLpLeSs MaIdEn In NeEd Of ReScUiNg.
Believing that there's someone out there who's willing to rescue you is a nice enough sentiment, I suppose, but there's a point where you have to realize that no one's going to solve your problems but yourself, and Maddy clearly didn't understand that, allowing her problems to become huge and all-consuming, before deciding to do something about it too late.
Luke was alright. To be honest, his character did not show up as much as I thought it would, and almost all of his perspective is told from many, many years after the events of the story have taken place. As such, he's a fairly unreliable narrator, but even so, you begin to notice a pattern and realize that, despite all that is happening, and however long it takes them to get there, Maddy and Luke Devereaux will get their happy ending.
(This realization was probably what took most of the emotions that I was expecting to experience while reading this away from me, which is a shame, but ultimately reflects on the book itself.)
There was no character development to speak of, and the side characters do not play much of a role in the story but for the sake of creating interpersonal drama and drawing out the book. The world-building seemed as though it were based on what one would expect colonial India to look like through a colonizer's view (which it was), and it felt at times that the historical context was disjointed or confusing.
The writing style was flowery and showy at times, but fundamentally quite vague. Specific information is revealed to the reader while other isn't, in an attempt to build suspense and drama. This results in some confusion as far as the timeline of the story is concerned, as well as what actually happens vs what is perceived to be happening.
Overall, I thought that this book was firmly mediocre and not deserving of all the praise that it has been given. I would not recommend this book to anyone seeing as to how the cover is a trap, I wasn't given the EmOtIoNaL mAsTeRpIeCe that I was promised, and the harmful way colonialism was dealt with (or rather, neglected). I would rather recommend a book about colonial India featuring Indian characters and their struggle for freedom instead of this.
All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own and are not indicative of the views of the author or publisher.
~~~~~~~~
oh god, somehow this was more problematic than i expected.
rant to come :D
January 4, 2021
are you seriously telling me this book is trying to tell us how beautiful Mumbai then Bombay was in a colonial India?#$:?!!£|\}??!/
i thought this book would have Indian characters but nope! honestly my bad, I didn't see the author's name at first glance. romanticizing colonialism now, are we?
wtf white people, lemme tell you something, colonization is not romantic!!! writing books about white people's romanctic struggles in a country which was invaded and taken forcefully by them leaves a bad taste in the mouth especially for me who is a resident of the city you're writing about here... y'all need a reality check and history lesson honestly.
i thought this book would have Indian characters but nope! honestly my bad, I didn't see the author's name at first glance. romanticizing colonialism now, are we?
wtf white people, lemme tell you something, colonization is not romantic!!! writing books about white people's romanctic struggles in a country which was invaded and taken forcefully by them leaves a bad taste in the mouth especially for me who is a resident of the city you're writing about here... y'all need a reality check and history lesson honestly.
August 17, 2020
Meet Me In Bombay is one of the best historical fiction books I’ve ever read!
Meet Me In Bombay is about British soldiers and their families living in India during World War I. This is a story of love, loss, family and friendship. I have nothing I would change about the book. Meet Me In Bombay is a fantastic book.
I highly recommend this to all historical fiction fans. I think fans of The Bronze Horseman will love this book.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for Meet Me in Bombay.
Meet Me In Bombay is about British soldiers and their families living in India during World War I. This is a story of love, loss, family and friendship. I have nothing I would change about the book. Meet Me In Bombay is a fantastic book.
I highly recommend this to all historical fiction fans. I think fans of The Bronze Horseman will love this book.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for Meet Me in Bombay.
January 1, 2021
I received a NetGalley ARC of this book and declined to give feedback because I declined to finish it.
Ughh. Double ughh. There's a Sex Pistols song I often think of, "Holidays in the Sun," with a line about cheap vacations in other people's misery.
Cheap romance in other people's pain. India is not exotic, and it's not a backdrop for white colonizers to fall in love.
Ughh. Double ughh. There's a Sex Pistols song I often think of, "Holidays in the Sun," with a line about cheap vacations in other people's misery.
Cheap romance in other people's pain. India is not exotic, and it's not a backdrop for white colonizers to fall in love.
August 14, 2020
India, 1914. Maddy Bright, after finishing her school in England, returns to Bombay, where her father is stationed. Upon her return, she meets Luke Devereaux, who now occupies her thoughts constantly. He encourages her to explore the city by sending her a quidebook as he is away at first. Once, he is back, they explore the city together.
Luke is stationed in India to guide mobilizing the Indian troops for war in Europe, if ever required. He hopes not, but it turns out otherwise. The war separates them.
France, 1915. The story intertwines with a wounded soldier at hospital, who doesn’t remember anything at first.
Maddy is a flat character. It comes across as her expectation is of her father to hand her over a position after college. She is a pretty dreamy person. If not for Luke, I don’t think she’d care to explore Bombay.
Luke, on the other hand, is a much more interesting character. He loves the natural beauty of the country, its cultural colors and raw life. He shows respect and appreciation for another culture.
I enjoyed the exploration of Bombay, but this is rather short. And that’s what I was looking forward to in this story. I wanted more of that.
The separation of two young people by war, who are deeply in love, is deeply-touching and heart-breaking. This comes through very vividly. I think that’s a part that distinguishes this story and if you like romance stories, this might be a book for you.
Overall, I wished Maddy was a much more interesting character. The style of writing is descriptive, progressing the story slowly. At the same time, I can see this story being turned into a movie. With the colorful background of India and enchanting music, the contrast of beauty vs drama, this could be a movie of epic proportions.
Source: ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Luke is stationed in India to guide mobilizing the Indian troops for war in Europe, if ever required. He hopes not, but it turns out otherwise. The war separates them.
France, 1915. The story intertwines with a wounded soldier at hospital, who doesn’t remember anything at first.
Maddy is a flat character. It comes across as her expectation is of her father to hand her over a position after college. She is a pretty dreamy person. If not for Luke, I don’t think she’d care to explore Bombay.
Luke, on the other hand, is a much more interesting character. He loves the natural beauty of the country, its cultural colors and raw life. He shows respect and appreciation for another culture.
I enjoyed the exploration of Bombay, but this is rather short. And that’s what I was looking forward to in this story. I wanted more of that.
The separation of two young people by war, who are deeply in love, is deeply-touching and heart-breaking. This comes through very vividly. I think that’s a part that distinguishes this story and if you like romance stories, this might be a book for you.
Overall, I wished Maddy was a much more interesting character. The style of writing is descriptive, progressing the story slowly. At the same time, I can see this story being turned into a movie. With the colorful background of India and enchanting music, the contrast of beauty vs drama, this could be a movie of epic proportions.
Source: ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
January 4, 2021
Please excuse me if I don't want a book depicting a white couple's love story set in colonial India when countless Indians were suffering at the hand of their oppressors. And to top it, it doesn't really make sense to me that the author chose to set a story based on how a white couple suffered due to WW1 in colonial India. Couldn't the author have chosen to set it in England and not scratch old wounds for people whose ancestors suffered under the British Raj? More than 70,000 Indian soldiers lost their lives during WW1 while fighting on behalf of Britishers. They sacrificed their lives because their motherland was promised freedom in exchange for their sacrifice. And in the end, the promise was not kept by their oppressors. This horror continued for more than two decades after WW1. And this book wants us to feel sorry for a white couple in Bombay. I would've gladly read this book if the author hadn't inserted colonial India into it as an aesthetic backdrop. Please stop romanticising other people's pain for god's sake.
no-thanks
January 3, 2021The whole white romance in a colonial setting kinda makes me cringe. No need to use an 'exotic' setting for a dramatic historical romance...
January 4, 2021
As my first official read of the new year, Jenny Ashcroft’s Meet Me in Bombay is a book that I found difficult to put down as soon as I started reading it. When I first read the book’s summary and saw that the premise would be a love story set in Bombay, against the backdrop of the Great War, I admit that I was a little apprehensive, as I’m not usually one to gravitate toward love stories for one, and two, I wasn’t sure what to expect with Ashcroft being a “new-to-me” author whose previous works I’ve never read. Also, while I’m a fan of historical fiction, I’m not too keen on historical romances, which I knew this one would be going into it. In the end though, the setting of pre-WWI Bombay won me over, mainly because there are so few historical fiction novels nowadays that are set in this time period, so to come across one, even if it’s a romance, I felt it would still be worth my time. I’m glad I went with this one, as it turned out to be a good story, well told (even though there were definitely moments where I felt frustrated with parts of the story).
The story revolves around Madeline (“Maddy”) Bright, the daughter of a British diplomat stationed in Bombay, India during the early 1900s. Having spent most of her childhood and adult life in England, Maddy returns to the place of her birth thinking it will only be a temporary visit to see her parents – however, due to unforeseen circumstances back home, she ends up remaining in Bombay indefinitely. At a New Year’s Eve party in 1913, she meets charismatic Luke Devereaux and over the course of the next few months, they fall deeply in love. As Maddy and Luke are on the brink of planning for a happy future together, World War I erupts and as Luke is in the reserves, he has no choice but to join the ranks and fight in the war. Forcibly separated due to circumstances beyond their control, Maddy is consoled by Luke’s promise to return to her after the war – a promise that becomes difficult to keep after Luke emerges from the war broken and unable to remember the woman he once loved.
Based on the summary, I initially went into this one thinking the story would be predictable, but was pleasantly surprised that the author ended up taking an entirely different direction than I anticipated. Right off the bat, the structure of the story was already unique, as it started off with snippets of what sounds like a letter from a soldier to his lost love, and then from there, the narrative goes back and forth in time, slowly revealing bits and pieces of a story that we don’t get a full picture of until the very last pages. It was an interesting structure and I came away with a sense of awe at how the story turned out (with my immediate reaction being to go back through some of the previous sections in the later timeline to validate the way the threads came together).
In terms of the writing, Ashcroft’s style here was very descriptive, and like most good historical fiction, atmospheric to the point that I felt transported to the time and place and circumstances that the characters were experiencing. With that said though, some parts were a bit too descriptive and unnecessarily drawn out, but fortunately it didn’t detract too much from the overall story (at least it didn’t to me). I found this to be an immersive read – so much so that I ended up finishing it in two sittings without even realizing it. My one complaint though, as I alluded to earlier, was that some parts of the story frustrated me, especially as it pertained to a few of the characters (i.e. Maddy and her mother Alice) and the (at times) seemingly intentional lack of communication between some of them which resulted in things happening that I felt were preventable. I saw these instances as “melodrama for melodrama’s sake,” which never fail to annoy me whenever they occur in any story (not just this one). Luckily, these moments were few enough that it didn’t negatively impact the story in a huge way.
So far, it looks like my 2021 reading life is getting off to a good start. While there’s no way for me to anticipate how this new year will turn out, one thing I can always rely on is that I will encounter at least a few (hopefully way more) good books that enhance my reading experience. I’m excited and definitely looking forward to it!
Received ARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley.
nein-nein-nein
January 24, 2021edit: holy fucking shit this author has a HISTORY degree from OXFORD and she doesn't know the difference between hindi and hindus?? she's obviously not stupid, then, and she knows the importance of history, so this has just made everything worse - she's not blissfully ignorant, she simply doesn't fucking care. disgraceful.
(NOT a review before anyone goes off on me, just a note/comment.)
whereas i firmly believe anyone can write whatever the fuck they want, i ALSO firmly believe that you need to be sensitive about the whole thing. write a romance about two white people in colonial india, fine, BUT you can't do that without acknowledging the pain and suffering brits brought to india, which apparently this does not, and AT LEAST include some prominent indian characters, which apparently this does not. again, i haven't read this book which is why this isn't a review, i'm just telling y'all why i'm not going to read it.
using colonial india as nothing more than an exotic backdrop without going into the very real issues surrounding colonial india is insensitive and ignorant at best and straight-up callous at worst.
not only does this book pay no fucking attention to the historical background (and it's not like this is just hIsToRiCaL, india's still feeling the aftershocks of the british raj even now), the author seems massively ignorant, calling the people of india "hindis". hindis??? pretty sure languages aren't walking around india bro!! (hindi is a language and hindus are members of the hindu religion, but of course not everyone in india IS a hindu so going around calling indians "hindus" in the first place is pretty ignorant without getting hindi and hindus mixed up. in fact, the implication that "hindu" is interchangeable with "indian" also shows a massive ignorance towards india and her history, especially when you consider pakistan and bangladesh's independence and all the conflict surrounding that.
tl;dr if you're going to write about something, put the fucking research in and don't just flounce in there doing whatever the hell you want.
(NOT a review before anyone goes off on me, just a note/comment.)
whereas i firmly believe anyone can write whatever the fuck they want, i ALSO firmly believe that you need to be sensitive about the whole thing. write a romance about two white people in colonial india, fine, BUT you can't do that without acknowledging the pain and suffering brits brought to india, which apparently this does not, and AT LEAST include some prominent indian characters, which apparently this does not. again, i haven't read this book which is why this isn't a review, i'm just telling y'all why i'm not going to read it.
using colonial india as nothing more than an exotic backdrop without going into the very real issues surrounding colonial india is insensitive and ignorant at best and straight-up callous at worst.
not only does this book pay no fucking attention to the historical background (and it's not like this is just hIsToRiCaL, india's still feeling the aftershocks of the british raj even now), the author seems massively ignorant, calling the people of india "hindis". hindis??? pretty sure languages aren't walking around india bro!! (hindi is a language and hindus are members of the hindu religion, but of course not everyone in india IS a hindu so going around calling indians "hindus" in the first place is pretty ignorant without getting hindi and hindus mixed up. in fact, the implication that "hindu" is interchangeable with "indian" also shows a massive ignorance towards india and her history, especially when you consider pakistan and bangladesh's independence and all the conflict surrounding that.
tl;dr if you're going to write about something, put the fucking research in and don't just flounce in there doing whatever the hell you want.
September 10, 2020
The cluelessness of publishing never ceases to amaze me.
No. Never. Please stop.
No. Never. Please stop.
January 26, 2021
Heartwrenching, beautiful, and bittersweet!
Meet Me in Bombay is predominantly set in India during the early 1900s and is told from two different perspectives; Maddy, a young woman who finds the love of her life only to lose him to war, and Luke, a young officer who can’t remember his name or where he’s from, but knows deep down that he’s experienced the all-consuming, power of true love.
The prose is expressive and vivid. The characters are vulnerable, multi-layered, and resilient. And the plot is a mysterious, moving tale about life, love, familial relationships, heartbreak, loss, guilt, grief, hope, regret, friendship, and the physical and psychological tragedies of war.
Overall, Meet Me in Bombay is a lovely blend of evocative fiction and palpable emotion. It’s a poignant, tender, affecting tale that will make you smile, make you cry, and definitely tug at your heartstrings.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Meet Me in Bombay is predominantly set in India during the early 1900s and is told from two different perspectives; Maddy, a young woman who finds the love of her life only to lose him to war, and Luke, a young officer who can’t remember his name or where he’s from, but knows deep down that he’s experienced the all-consuming, power of true love.
The prose is expressive and vivid. The characters are vulnerable, multi-layered, and resilient. And the plot is a mysterious, moving tale about life, love, familial relationships, heartbreak, loss, guilt, grief, hope, regret, friendship, and the physical and psychological tragedies of war.
Overall, Meet Me in Bombay is a lovely blend of evocative fiction and palpable emotion. It’s a poignant, tender, affecting tale that will make you smile, make you cry, and definitely tug at your heartstrings.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
August 8, 2020
A lush, lovely, and often gut-wrenching historical romance about two lovers torn apart by WWI. Set in Bombay (so exotic) and the terrible trenches on the front, this sumptuous story kept me rapt throughout.
So compelling is the love between Luke and Maddy that when he disappears after being injured, we wonder if they will ever be reunited. But Maddy keeps hope alive through the twists and turns, and I clung to her belief that he was somehow still alive. An arresting tale filled with joy and tears. I loved it!
5 of 5 Stars
Pub Date 19 Jan 2021
Thanks to the author, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.
#MeetMeInBombay
So compelling is the love between Luke and Maddy that when he disappears after being injured, we wonder if they will ever be reunited. But Maddy keeps hope alive through the twists and turns, and I clung to her belief that he was somehow still alive. An arresting tale filled with joy and tears. I loved it!
5 of 5 Stars
Pub Date 19 Jan 2021
Thanks to the author, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.
#MeetMeInBombay
February 8, 2021
Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy of this book via netgalley!
This is a mesmerizing love/ heartbreak story set in A beautifully described historical fiction. The Issue that I have with this book is that some of the setting can be a bit culturally insensitive for a fictional story. Maybe adding a preface touching upon some of these historical sensitivities would alleviate some of the Ackwardness.
This is a mesmerizing love/ heartbreak story set in A beautifully described historical fiction. The Issue that I have with this book is that some of the setting can be a bit culturally insensitive for a fictional story. Maybe adding a preface touching upon some of these historical sensitivities would alleviate some of the Ackwardness.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 1, 2025
I must confess. The first thing that appealed to me about this book was its title. "Bombay" is not just a word, it is a feeling. I have never been able to feel as close to the word "Mumbai" because I have grown up in Bombay. So when I saw the ARC of this book listed on NetGalley, I had to have it, irrespective of its genre. It has been ages since I've read a romantic drama, but I am glad that this time lapse was rectified by this book. It is such a gem!
Maddy Bright and Luke Devereaux meet in the British-governed Bombay of 1913. Head over heels in love from the moment they see each other, they start making plans for the future, which has different plans for them. The First World War brings in its wake an unexpected upheaval in the lives of the young couple and their families.
Jenny Ashcroft has a firm grasp over her plot at all times. With a deft use of varied timelines, she creates a narrative that sustains the interest of the reader from the first page to the last. Rather than succumbing to plain old mushy romance, Meet Me in Bombay creates a fabulous blend of romantic moments along with adequate drama and thrills to interest even a mature reader. Her tendency to hint at a change in the characters' destinies with appropriately-placed suspenseful statements creates an stimulating atmosphere that doesn't allow the reader to relax.
In spite of not being in a mood for romantic dramas, and in spite of not having read romantic dramas in almost a decade, Meet Me in Bombay kept me hooked. It was wonderful to see my Bombay from the eyes of a outsider. Initially, I thought this book might have certain similarities with "East of the Sun" by Julia Gregson due to the timelines of both the books, but thankfully, it doesn't go that way and is a much better read.
If I had read this book in my teens of early twenties, I have no doubt that this would have been an emotional read with a 5/5 rating. But with middle age comes a little rigidity and stinginess in giving ratings to books. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to all lovers of historical fiction or romantic dramas. I'd rate it 4.5, thereby still giving me the pleasure of putting a 5 star rating on Goodreads.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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Join me on the Facebook group, Readers Forever! , for more reviews and other book-related discussions and fun.
Maddy Bright and Luke Devereaux meet in the British-governed Bombay of 1913. Head over heels in love from the moment they see each other, they start making plans for the future, which has different plans for them. The First World War brings in its wake an unexpected upheaval in the lives of the young couple and their families.
Jenny Ashcroft has a firm grasp over her plot at all times. With a deft use of varied timelines, she creates a narrative that sustains the interest of the reader from the first page to the last. Rather than succumbing to plain old mushy romance, Meet Me in Bombay creates a fabulous blend of romantic moments along with adequate drama and thrills to interest even a mature reader. Her tendency to hint at a change in the characters' destinies with appropriately-placed suspenseful statements creates an stimulating atmosphere that doesn't allow the reader to relax.
In spite of not being in a mood for romantic dramas, and in spite of not having read romantic dramas in almost a decade, Meet Me in Bombay kept me hooked. It was wonderful to see my Bombay from the eyes of a outsider. Initially, I thought this book might have certain similarities with "East of the Sun" by Julia Gregson due to the timelines of both the books, but thankfully, it doesn't go that way and is a much better read.
If I had read this book in my teens of early twenties, I have no doubt that this would have been an emotional read with a 5/5 rating. But with middle age comes a little rigidity and stinginess in giving ratings to books. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to all lovers of historical fiction or romantic dramas. I'd rate it 4.5, thereby still giving me the pleasure of putting a 5 star rating on Goodreads.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
**********************************
Join me on the Facebook group, Readers Forever! , for more reviews and other book-related discussions and fun.
March 20, 2021
I don't read too much historical fiction, but when I do read it I love it and that was definitely the case with Meet Me in Bombay by Jenny Ashcroft. This was a stunning novel that spans the course of many years, and it was incredibly emotional as well as vivid and gripping. I had not yet read a book set in Bombay and I love the way Ashcroft brought it to life through this romantic and heart-wrenching tale. We start with Maddy meeting Luke and falling in love, and then get into WWI where the trouble starts. I went into this not knowing what to expect, and when I got into the story and found out where it was going I literally gasped out loud. There is deception in the novel as well, and it broke my heart how long it took for Maddy to find out exactly what had happened to Luke.
I am pretty sure that nothing I can say will actually do this book justice and describe just quite how much I loved it. I listened to the audiobook and it was a real stunner, narrated by Aysha Kala. I have listened to another book she has narrated, and I loved that she was the choice for this one. The audio is long at just over 14 hours, but man is it worth it, and it goes pretty quickly. It added so much to the story for me and made me even more emotional than I would have been reading it. The descriptions of the war were hard to read but so important, and I thought they were done very well. Ashcroft has the romance aspect, yes, but also gives you a taste of what the war was like and just how it affected families and the soldiers out fighting. A great read if you love historical fiction and want something that tugs at your heart.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I am pretty sure that nothing I can say will actually do this book justice and describe just quite how much I loved it. I listened to the audiobook and it was a real stunner, narrated by Aysha Kala. I have listened to another book she has narrated, and I loved that she was the choice for this one. The audio is long at just over 14 hours, but man is it worth it, and it goes pretty quickly. It added so much to the story for me and made me even more emotional than I would have been reading it. The descriptions of the war were hard to read but so important, and I thought they were done very well. Ashcroft has the romance aspect, yes, but also gives you a taste of what the war was like and just how it affected families and the soldiers out fighting. A great read if you love historical fiction and want something that tugs at your heart.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
January 24, 2021
Let me introduce you to my first 5 star read of the year! I mean, from the very first page, Meet Me in Bombay had me HOOKED. There is a man, trying to remember someone, someone he knows is special to him. But he doesn’t even know who he is, let alone her. If only he could see her face. He just knows it would bring everything back.
Maddy is now in Bombay with her parents, after spending many years growing up in England. On NYE, she meets a man. She is struck with awe and longing. And he disappears just as quickly as he appeared.. Who is he? Was he as drawn to her? The man is Luke Deveraux and he and Maddy will have a love only a few of us are ever lucky enough to find. But while love like that can be amazing, it’s never that easy.
WWI is about to begin and Luke must go. Maddy aches for him every minute, day, month, year that he is gone. Will they find their way back to each other? Will he remember?
The world building in this story is phenomenal and the characters’ emotions are raw enough to feel them yourself. The story quite literally kept me guessing until the very end. The story lines that start to connect are both sneaky and intricately planned. I was on the edge of my seat until the last few pages at 2 a.m. You will have no idea what the ending will be until Ashcroft is ready to tell you.
Both heartbreaking and lyrical, this WWI fiction captures your heart until the very end. Just remember to breathe.
I received an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
Maddy is now in Bombay with her parents, after spending many years growing up in England. On NYE, she meets a man. She is struck with awe and longing. And he disappears just as quickly as he appeared.. Who is he? Was he as drawn to her? The man is Luke Deveraux and he and Maddy will have a love only a few of us are ever lucky enough to find. But while love like that can be amazing, it’s never that easy.
WWI is about to begin and Luke must go. Maddy aches for him every minute, day, month, year that he is gone. Will they find their way back to each other? Will he remember?
The world building in this story is phenomenal and the characters’ emotions are raw enough to feel them yourself. The story quite literally kept me guessing until the very end. The story lines that start to connect are both sneaky and intricately planned. I was on the edge of my seat until the last few pages at 2 a.m. You will have no idea what the ending will be until Ashcroft is ready to tell you.
Both heartbreaking and lyrical, this WWI fiction captures your heart until the very end. Just remember to breathe.
I received an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
February 12, 2023
Too gushy. Very slow in spots and yet at others it jumps to a ridiculous degree. It's chick lit effusive almost throughout. 2.5 stars but I can't round it up. I don't agree that it is well written as it has periods where the continuity is quite poor. I don't believe in any way choosing to write about Raj orphan English of the period within Bombay is any sin either. Colonial periods had huge negative and positive outcomes. The largest oppressors of Indian classes have been other Indian classes and mores. In any case you could clearly negate about 1/2 the literature with those requisites. And being disgusted or not doesn't reveal much except about your own prejudicial judgments. Gone with the Wind and 100's of other classics come to.mind. The Good Earth is another.
December 7, 2020
Thank you Netgalley and St Martins press for providing me a copy of Meet me in Bombay by Jenny Ashcroft for an honest review.
This story is beautiful and heartwarming. It deals with love and separation and never giving up. This book takes place in 1913 and there is a war going on. After Madeline and Luke are married Luke is called off to go to war. Then one day Madeline gets devasting news that Luke has been killed. Grief overtakes Madeline and she has a hard time believing this to be true.
I enjoyed the story and the characters from beginning to end. A fantastic read.
This story is beautiful and heartwarming. It deals with love and separation and never giving up. This book takes place in 1913 and there is a war going on. After Madeline and Luke are married Luke is called off to go to war. Then one day Madeline gets devasting news that Luke has been killed. Grief overtakes Madeline and she has a hard time believing this to be true.
I enjoyed the story and the characters from beginning to end. A fantastic read.
January 19, 2021
I don't understand how can anyone find this story beautiful. I'm literally disgusted.
I thought this would be about a white girl falling in love with an Indian guy and then she'll help his people and all (because that would be BEAUTIFUL) but no no no, after reading blurb I found out that it's about a white girl falling in love with a white guy who is incharge of sending INNOCENT Indian soldiers to Britain for WW1.
Wow I mean WOW.
I think this story is written by someone who doesn't understand what happened in India during colonialism.
I thought this would be about a white girl falling in love with an Indian guy and then she'll help his people and all (because that would be BEAUTIFUL) but no no no, after reading blurb I found out that it's about a white girl falling in love with a white guy who is incharge of sending INNOCENT Indian soldiers to Britain for WW1.
Wow I mean WOW.
I think this story is written by someone who doesn't understand what happened in India during colonialism.
February 22, 2020
Really lovely novel! Takes you right there, and oh, what a story. I am never tempted to flip to the end to see what is going to happen, but I reached a point in this book where I 'almost' did!! I had to stop myself and keep reading. I'm glad I didn't peek! It's been a long time since a book totally swept me away like this one. Highly recommended!
January 13, 2021
Slow to start, the storyline failed to capture me. This was disappointing for me but obviously not for other readers.
I found my self flailing around and disinclined to finish.
A St. Martins Press ARC via NetGalley
Goodreads
I found my self flailing around and disinclined to finish.
A St. Martins Press ARC via NetGalley
Goodreads
Read
January 1, 2020A wonderful book!
December 24, 2021
Sorry but who thought it would be a good idea to create a love story and have the backdrop be in colonial India?! Let alone have the two main characters be white?!
That would be like having two white characters fall in love on a plantation where people are being beaten and killed for no good reason. It's honestly tasteless and an adult should know better than to glorify something like that.
I don't care how in love they are, the setting and time could have been at any point other than this. There are countless other historical time periods and settings that don't include a society that was heinously oppressed and tortured. It's confusing to see how someone said let's have the focus be on these white characters and how "colorful" and beautiful the location is and completely ignore how the people of the area are being wronged.
That would be like having two white characters fall in love on a plantation where people are being beaten and killed for no good reason. It's honestly tasteless and an adult should know better than to glorify something like that.
I don't care how in love they are, the setting and time could have been at any point other than this. There are countless other historical time periods and settings that don't include a society that was heinously oppressed and tortured. It's confusing to see how someone said let's have the focus be on these white characters and how "colorful" and beautiful the location is and completely ignore how the people of the area are being wronged.
March 16, 2021
Let’s think. What should our plot be? A forbidden love story with WWI looming on the horizon? Nah, that’s overused. Hmmm, I know! A forbidden love story with WWI looming on the horizon in Bombay! Properly exotic and dreamy.
Except for the fact that colonial Bombay is not dreamy because these English people with their stupid forbidden love story are oppressing the actual people who deserve to live there. And no, what beauty of Bombay are you talking about? The one where you treat Indians as subhuman and second class citizens because that is really beautiful, to a sadistic, white supremacist with no humanity.
This book is frankly, disgusting. How is this celebrating the beauty of India if it is about Britishers? If you want to write a book about colonial India, talk about the wrongs of colonial India, instead of still refusing to accept the evils of the British empire. Colonial India isn’t something you can just forget about. India is still scarred from that terrible time.
“Meet Me in Bombay?” Don’t bother, Bombay don’t want you.
Except for the fact that colonial Bombay is not dreamy because these English people with their stupid forbidden love story are oppressing the actual people who deserve to live there. And no, what beauty of Bombay are you talking about? The one where you treat Indians as subhuman and second class citizens because that is really beautiful, to a sadistic, white supremacist with no humanity.
This book is frankly, disgusting. How is this celebrating the beauty of India if it is about Britishers? If you want to write a book about colonial India, talk about the wrongs of colonial India, instead of still refusing to accept the evils of the British empire. Colonial India isn’t something you can just forget about. India is still scarred from that terrible time.
“Meet Me in Bombay?” Don’t bother, Bombay don’t want you.
March 31, 2021
Don’t let this pretty cover fool you, this book is problematic in so many ways. A romance novel written by a white author with the backdrop of the British Raj in India is not acceptable. India is not merely an exotic location convenient for a story of colonists falling in love to be told.
There were SO MANY inaccuracies throughout this novel. To correct a few in the first 30 pages:
- Hindis are not people. The language is called Hindi and the people who practice the religion Hinduism are called Hindus.
- Mosques are not where Jain monks pray, but are places of worship for Muslims. A Jain place of worship is called a Derasar.
- Many times this novel refers to the native language in Bombay as Urdu. Urdu is the language spoken in Pakistan. Marathi is spoken in Bombay (now Mumbai). While some individuals in the British Raj may have learnt Urdu, more than likely those in Bombay would not have.
This novel really needed to not be published, but in the least should have been fact-checked. Overall, this was an atrocious novel that emphasized colonialism and the white savior complex. I read this one so you don’t have to.
A huge thank you to Goodreads and St. Martin’s Press for the giveaway ARC win, and NetGalley for the e-book in exchange for my honest opinion!
There were SO MANY inaccuracies throughout this novel. To correct a few in the first 30 pages:
- Hindis are not people. The language is called Hindi and the people who practice the religion Hinduism are called Hindus.
- Mosques are not where Jain monks pray, but are places of worship for Muslims. A Jain place of worship is called a Derasar.
- Many times this novel refers to the native language in Bombay as Urdu. Urdu is the language spoken in Pakistan. Marathi is spoken in Bombay (now Mumbai). While some individuals in the British Raj may have learnt Urdu, more than likely those in Bombay would not have.
This novel really needed to not be published, but in the least should have been fact-checked. Overall, this was an atrocious novel that emphasized colonialism and the white savior complex. I read this one so you don’t have to.
A huge thank you to Goodreads and St. Martin’s Press for the giveaway ARC win, and NetGalley for the e-book in exchange for my honest opinion!
will-not-read
June 1, 2021White romance written by a white author in 'alluring opulence' of colonial India.
Well fck you too.
Well fck you too.
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