Rebel Queen by Michelle Moran, 354 pages

When Britain sets its sights on India in the mid-nineteenth century, it expects a quick and easy conquest. After all, India is fractured and divided into kingdoms, each independent and wary of the rest, seemingly no match for the night of the Empire. But when English soldiers arrive in the kingdom of Jhansi, they've met with a surprising challenge.
Instead of quietly surrending, Jhansi's ruler, Queen Lakshmi, raises two armies-one male and one female-and rides into battle, determined to protect her country and her people. Although at first her soldiers may not appear formidable against superior British weaponry and training, Lakshmi refuses to back down from an empire that is trying to take away the land she loves.
Told from the unique perspective of Sita-Queen Lakshmi's closest confidante and most-trusted soldier in her all-female army- shines a light on a time and place rarely explored in historical fiction.

Rebel Queen