About The Book

Book:  A Tapestry of Light

Author: Kimberly Duffy

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release date: March 16, 2021

Calcutta, 1886.

Ottilie Russell is adrift between two cultures, British and Indian, belonging to both and neither. In order to support her little brother, Thaddeus, and her grandmother, she relies upon her skills in beetle-wing embroidery that have been passed down to her through generations of Indian women.

When a stranger appears with the news that Thaddeus is now Baron Sunderson and must travel to England to take his place as a nobleman, Ottilie is shattered by the secrets that come to light. Despite her growing friendship with Everett Scott, friend to Ottilie’s English grandmother and aunt, she refuses to give up her brother. Then tragedy strikes, and she is forced to make a decision that will take Thaddeus far from death and herself far from home.

But betrayal and loss lurk in England, too, and soon Ottilie must fight to ensure Thaddeus doesn’t forget who he is, as well as find a way to stitch a place for herself in this foreign land.

Click here to get your copy!

My Impressions:

Wow! I was totally blown away by A Tapestry of Light by Kimberly Duffy. This book has EVERYTHING! This 5-star historical novel is a must-read — put it at the top of your TBR now!

So I loved A Tapestry of Light — let me count the ways. 😉 First, the characters are complex and very, very real. Although I have very little in common with main character Otillie, she is Ango-Indian and very much a bound by the conventions of her day, she is a character that struggled and grew in ways that I could definitely relate to. And relatable is probably the best word to describe all of the characters. Even one character in particular who was not very nice and very easy not to like AT ALL, I found to mirror some of my more unlikable character traits as well. Talk about uncomfortable. But Duffy writes her characters in such a way that they become friends and you can learn from each of them. Second, the setting of the first half of the book is amazing. India, and in particular, Calcutta of the late 1880s, becomes something of a character on its own. It plays such a big role in who Otillie is. Duffy engages all of the senses in her vivid descriptions. I also really liked that the setting for the second half of the book — England — mirrors Otillie’s emotional state. As winter turns to spring, Otillie begins to thaw and see new growth as well. Duffy explains her connection to Otillie in the Author’s Note. Otillie’s story is very personal — this reader felt that and it again makes real the strong spiritual threads in the book.

A Tapestry of Light gets a Very Highly Recommended rating from me. It will definitely be on my best of the best list for 2021.

Very Highly Recommended.

Audience: adults.

(Thanks to Bethany House for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

About The Author

Kimberly Duffy is a Long Island native currently living in Southwest Ohio, via six months in India. When she’s not homeschooling her four kids, she writes historical fiction that takes her readers back in time and across oceans. She loves trips that require a passport, recipe books, and practicing kissing scenes with her husband of twenty years. He doesn’t mind.

More from Kimberly

When I set out to write a new novel, I plan the entire thing from start to finish. I write down each scene on an index card and know exactly what’s going to happen when I sit down for the day’s work. I’m meticulous that way.

But I never plan my characters’ spiritual arcs. Because I want their faith journey to be organic to the story. I want it to feel authentic. It’s such an important part of each of my books and I recognize that some things just refuse plotting and need to develop in a more natural way.

My debut novel, A Mosaic of Wings, features a heroine steeped in science. Nora loves the natural world and so her faith was encouraged by studying the wings of a butterfly or examining an interesting plant. She’s not particularly sentimental or emotive so the faith element of that story had to be presented in a way that made sense for her. Nora’s faith arc is subtle.

Not so for A Tapestry of Light. I had no intention of writing a book that delved into my own struggle with doubt. But that’s what Ottilie required. And it wrung me dry.

Then built me back up.

My faith story is a twisted kind of one. Raised a Christian, I went into ministry, firmly attached myself to the faith of my childhood, and thought it would never waver.

I was wrong.

Oh, how it wavered. For whatever reason, when I hit about 30, it seemed everything I had always believed no longer made sense. It was devastating. Terrifying. And it broke me.

But brokenness is its own sort of beauty and when you recognize there is no way for you to pick up the pieces yourself, God can come in and fill those cracks and shattered places.

Those five years of doubt and questioning and facing the reality that even though I’d always loved Christ, I didn’t really know Him (and didn’t really know why I believed in Him), were some of the most painful I’ve experienced. But I believe with every bit of my being that God is in the business of redemption. Of restoration. Of filling up so that we can pour out.

And he took my own very personal struggle and helped me turn it into a story that, I hope and pray, might encourage others. I gave Ottilie my questions. I gave her my doubt. I gave her my fear and desperation and, in the end, I gave her my hope.

There’s a little piece of me in each of my books, but this one contains my heart.

Blog Stops

To celebrate her tour, Kimberly is giving away the grand prize $25 Amazon gift card along with a signed copy of either A Mosaic of Wings or A Tapestry of Light!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

Tags: historical fiction, Kimberly Duffy