The Tea Planter's Secret by Clare Flynn (The Ceylon Series Bk 2)

                                                        

Ebook:  365 pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publisher:  Storm Publishing May 2026

Source:  NetGalley

First Sentences: The baby was howling again. Her wailing was like a cheese grater dragging across Stella's skin.

Setting: Ceylon in 1908 (now known as Sri Lanka)

Review Quote: “Vivid and atmospheric… full of emotion, secrets, and resilience.” Reader Review,

My Opinion: 

The first title in The Ceylon Series 'The Star of Ceylon' was my introduction to the author Clare Flynn. I found her narrative about the British in Ceylon in the early years of the 20C a pleasurable and informative read.

Therefore I was pleased to have the opportunity to read and review 'The Tea Planter's Secret'. The characters were familiar and it was delightful to catch up with the main protagonists, Stella and Norton, Winnie and Paul and Cynthia and Ronald. The relationships are all complex and the narratives in this sequel are strong and emotional. I was once again transported to Colonial Ceylon and immersed in the beauty of the country as well as the social tensions of the country and the protagonists of the novel. Already looking forward to the final book in the series as the ending leaves the reader with hints of changes ahead for Stella, Winnie and Cynthia.

Although it works as a stand alone novel, reading the first in the series beforehand will enhance your understanding of the characters behaviour. Recommended as an atmospheric series for fans of historical fiction.

Thanks to NetGalley, Storm Publishing and the author for the opportunity to read and review. 

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

Ceylon, 1908: Stella Baxter returns to the island paradise that once promised her everything — haunted by her father’s death and the brutal assault that left her with a baby she cannot love.

Norton is waiting for her in Colombo. He rescued her from scandal, he sees her worth, and his steady presence offers something Stella had given up a chance to heal. At last she can turn to the work that still binds her to her father — preserving his precious academic legacy.

But the arrival of the scandalous Cynthia — abandoned by her lover and desperate to salvage her reputation — ignites forbidden desires within Norton’s own family. As secrets unravel and the respectable façade of British Ceylon begins to crack, the fragile new life Stella has built is caught in the fallout.

Soon the mistakes of the past resurface, and Stella must fight to protect not only her father’s legacy but her own future.

Previous Review:  The Star of Ceylon (The Ceylon Series Book 1)

Author Profile:

                                                 

                                          Photo and Bio Courtesy of Goodreads 

Clare Flynn is the author of twenty historical novels and a collection of short stories. She is the 2020 winner of the UK Selfies Adult Fiction prize for her best-selling novel The Pearl of Penang, was shortlisted for the RNA Industry Awards Indie Champion of the Year for 2021 and won the award in 2022. 

Clare lives in Eastbourne. on the south coast of the UK. She is a fluent Italian speaker and loves spending time in Italy. In her spare time she likes to quilt, paint and travel often and widely as possible.

Clare Flynn is an active member of The Romantic Novelists Association, The Alliance of Independent Authors and The Society of Authors.

You can read her full and interesting biography on her website

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Clare Flynn - Author Website.   Goodreads Profile.   Amazon Profile.   Instagram Profile

 Storm Publishing - Profile.    Facebook Profile

The Star of Ceylon by Clare Flynn

                                                  

Ebook: 368 pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publisher:  Storm Publishing June 2025

Source:  NetGalley

First Sentence: Norton Baxter stood at the stern of the 'Dambulla' watching the ship's wake plume like a feather below him.

Setting: Ceylon in 1906 (now known as Sri Lanka)

Review Quote: “A wonderfully evocative novel of old colonial Ceylon. Brilliantly written.” Reader Review,

My Opinion: 

A new to me author and a title that drew me in as I love to travel when I read.

Set in the early years of the 20C ' The Star of Ceylon' transported me vividly back to the time and place. The story opens on a ship travelling to Ceylon and it is where the two main protagonists, Stella and Norton first meet.  Stella Polegate, an intelligent young woman, who if allowed in those times would have been staying at university, instead she is fortunate to be travelling with her professor father and brother on an anthropology research trip. Norton Baxter is a young civil servant on his way to a first overseas posting in Ceylon.

I was very much drawn into the narrative, not for the love story aspect but more for the setting.  They were troubled times and the British were trying to fit in somewhere they were really not wanted. Recommended to readers that enjoy historical fiction.

Thanks to NetGalley, Storm Publishing and the author for the opportunity to read and review. 

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

Ceylon, 1906: Stella Polegate steps off the ship in Colombo harbour, her heart beating with contradictory emotions. As her father’s unofficial research assistant, she’s thrilled to explore this island of ancient temples and verdant tea plantations—yet painfully aware that her brilliant mind will remain uncredited, her academic ambitions dismissed simply because she is a woman.

When her father’s doctoral student makes unwelcome advances that escalate to violence, Stella’s carefully ordered world shatters. With her reputation and future hanging in the balance, she finds an unexpected ally in Norton Baxter, a principled young civil servant whose growing disillusionment with colonial rule mirrors her own questioning of societal constraints.

As Stella navigates the suffocating expectations of colonial society, she must make an impossible choice. Should she accept the limitations imposed upon her gender or fight for the academic future she deserves? And can she trust Norton with her damaged heart when every man in her life has sought to control her destiny?

From the misty highlands of Kandy to the bustling port of Colombo, Stella’s journey becomes a defiant quest not only for love but for something far more elusive—the freedom to become the author of her own story.

Author Profile:

                                                 

                                          Photo and Bio Courtesy of Goodreads 

Clare Flynn is the author of eighteen historical novels and a collection of short stories. She is the 2020 winner of the UK Selfies Adult Fiction prize for her best-selling novel The Pearl of Penang, was shortlisted for the RNA Industry Awards Indie Champion of the Year for 2021 and won the award in 2022. 

Clare lives in Eastbourne. on the south coast of the UK. She is a fluent Italian speaker and loves spending time in Italy. In her spare time she likes to quilt, paint and travel often and widely as possible.

Clare Flynn is an active member of The Romantic Novelists Association, The Alliance of Independent Authors and The Society of Authors.

You can read her full and interesting biography on her website

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Clare Flynn - Author Website.   Goodreads Profile.   Amazon Profile.   Instagram Profile

Storm Publishing - Profile.    Facebook Profile