Rosh's Reviews

AUTHOR: Se-ah Jang TRANSLATOR: S.L. Park GENRE: Psychological Suspense. PUBLICATION DATE: July 29, 2025 RATING: 2.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A Korean suspense thriller about two women whose lives change after one encounter. The first half is good enough, the final quarter goes bonkers. Morally ambiguous characters, regular twists, dysfunctional family, decent pacing, too much repetitive rambling, soap-opera feels. Reads a bit YA. Not sure if the negatives are because of the translation, but they certainly aren’t *only* because of the translation. Better to read after suspending disbelief. Plot Preview: Jae-young is on the run. Not just from her dead-end job and her cramped apartment, but also from a possible murder allegation. While on the train to Seoul trying to decide where to go, she meets a talkative young woman carrying her infant son. The mother seems to also be running from her past, as her husband left her for another woman. She is now on her way to the in-laws she has never met...

AUTHOR: P.D. Eastman GENRE: Children's Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: June 12, 1960 RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A cute little picture book about a little birdie looking for his mother. Lovely story, many funny interactions, okay illustrations. (Perhaps they haven’t aged well?) I can see why this is a classic. Plot Preview: When a mother bird senses that her baby is about to hatch, she flies off to search food for him. Unfortunately, Baby Bird hatches when she is away. He knows that he has a mother but he can't see her anywhere nearby. Thus begins his adventurous quest to find his mother. A task made very difficult by the fact that he has no idea what she looks like! Just a few days ago, I read a picture book about a mother bird who lost her babies . Thanks to my GR friend Shelley’s comment on its review, here I am, reading a picture book about a baby bird who lost his mother. 😅 This classic picture book, first published in 1960, was an offering from Dr. Seuss’ publishing ...

AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR: Li Chen SERIES: Detective Beans, #2 GENRE: Children's Graphic Novel PUBLICATION DATE: September 9, 2025 RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A children’s graphic novel about a young cat detective and his (mis)adventures in Cat Town. Anecdotal in style, with multiple adventures: some short, some long. Adorable illustrations. Silly and fun all the way! Recommended to the right age group: beginner independent readers. Almost as impossible to resist a cat book titled “Detective Beans” as to resist cat toe beans, right? When I saw the title, I expected a fun-filled graphic novel full of confuddling cases and clever detective work. Well, I did get most of this. What I didn’t expect was for the lead character to be a cat of school-going age! 😹 This graphic novel is the second in the Detective Beans series. Sadly, my library doesn’t yet have a copy of the first book, so I had to jump directly into this. But as this is just a children’s book, there is no major hurdle i...

AUTHOR: Wendi Nunnery GENRE: Contemporary Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: January 21, 2025 RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A character-driven contemporary fiction with a touch of magical realism. (I would have considered this a spoiler but the blurb mentions it right at the start.) Interesting characters, emotional themes, medium pace. A bit too much telling in the writing. Takes a wildly complicated turn in the final third that is both clever and confuddling. Has a couple of teeny plot holes, but a good option for those looking for unusual and heartwarming storylines. Plot Preview: Hawthorn, Georgia. Despite what others say, twelve-year-old Eleanor knows that her mother is not dead. Vera Black disappeared six years ago, but Eleanor, who now helps her father James run their family bookshop, believes that Vera just abandoned them. When she finds the draft of an old novel hidden in a secret desk compartment at the bookshop, Eleanor discovers a mystery that causes her to question many thing...

AUTHOR: Talya Tate Boerner GENRE: Contemporary Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: May 20, 2025 RATING: 2.3 stars. In a Nutshell: A contemporary fiction about an old man and a little girl thrown together by circumstances. Good characters but the girl is overly precocious and somewhat annoying. Okayish found-family vibes but the ending is too convenient. Decent plot but way too preachy on a multitude of unrelated topics. Too much telling rather than showing. A heartwarming option for those unbothered by the above-mentioned issues. Content warning: Covid pandemic and lockdown used actively in the plot. Plot Preview: Arkansas. 2020. Seventy-year-old Theo is a retired botanist who spends his days preserving plant specimens for university research. Living alone after his wife died several years ago, Theo appreciates his solitude and his fixed routine. So when a precocious eight-year-old named Penelope comes barging into his life to escape from the rain outside, Theo is taken aback. He assumes that th...

AUTHOR: Lesley Nneka Arimah GENRE: Short Story Collection PUBLICATION DATE: April 4, 2017 RATING: 3.95 stars. In a Nutshell: A short story collection based primarily in Nigeria. Excellent plots, diverse genres, intriguing characters, fabulous writing. Thought-provoking and captivating as a whole. Can't believe this is a debut work! Much recommended. This collection comprises twelve stories, almost all of which are set in Nigeria. The author, born in the UK, has Nigerian roots and has spent a part of her childhood there, among other places. Reading the book though, you won't be able to tell that it is written by an expat. ( Of course, I have no first-hand experience of Nigeria, so this is based on whatever I have read of the country through other books by OwnVoices authors. ) There is a gritty undercurrent to the stories that depict the country without being excessively positive or negative. This book came into my life thanks to its title. I didn't know what to expect from s...

AUTHOR: Mike Darcy ILLUSTRATOR: Tincho Schmidt GENRE: Children's Picture Book. PUBLICATION DATE: May 26, 2025 RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A chapter book about a little dog and his adventure in the city. A bit too text-intensive and a bit clunky in flow, but the cute storyline and characters will charm those who enjoy animal characters. The illustrations are sweetly quirky. Recommended to little animal lovers. Plot Preview: Little Joe is a puppy who lives with his girl Anna and her family in a farm near a forest. When the family decides to visit Anna’s auntie and uncle in the big city, Joe is excited at the adventure. The city doesn’t turn out to be exactly as fun as Joe had hoped. While he goes around the neighbourhood looking for fun things to discover, he ends up lost in the unknown neighbourhood. With so many dangers around him, will Joe be able to find his way back to Anna? And what about the new companion he has bumped into unexpectedly? This book is the second title in...

AUTHOR: Constance Lombardo ILLUSTRATOR: Micah Player SERIES: Itty Bitty Betty Blob, #2 GENRE: Children's Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: August 19, 2025 RATING: 4.5 stars. In a Nutshell: Itty Bitty Betty Blob, the adorable monster, returns in this picture book about facing yet another monstrous challenge. Almost as cute as the first book in terms of storyline, writing, and illustrations. Definitely recommended! Plot Preview: Itty Bitty Betty Blob still doesn’t fit in with her fellow monsters in Ghoulington. But she has mostly accepted herself, and knows that being fierce isn't her cup of tea. When the new school year requires all students to try for a club, Betty wants to use her new diving skills in the ‘Devil Divers’ club. However, there’s one big problem. The coach wants his divers to make a big SPLASH in the pool, while Betty can manage just a dainty ‘splish’ in the water. Will Betty once again be the misfit? I had read the first book: 'Itty Bitty Betty Blob' last ...

AUTHOR: Madeline Miller NARRATOR: Perdita Weeks GENRE: Greek Myth Retelling PUBLICATION DATE: April 10, 2018 RATING: 3.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A mythological retelling of the life of the Greek goddess Circe. Lyrical writing, episodic narrative, somewhat distanced in its storytelling, interesting characters (credit for this goes to Greek myths) but in limited roles, slow pace. A good-enough read but not sure if it lives up to the hype or if my expectations were too high. Plot Preview: When Helios, the mighty Titan and god of the sun, and Perse, a bewitching ocean nymph, had their first child, they didn’t expect their daughter to be so unlike them. Neither powerful nor beautiful, Circe finds herself ignored by the parents and hence turns to mortals for company. Unexpectedly, she discovers her power of witchcraft, though not the kind that the gods would be happy about. Threatened by her skill, Zeus banishes Circe to an isolated island, where she uses her time to perfect her prowess whil...

AUTHOR: Ashley Audrain GENRE: Domestic Suspense. PUBLICATION DATE: June 6, 2023 RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A contemporary domestic suspense about four families and an event that reveals their truth. Think ‘Desperate Housewives’ meets ‘Big Little Lies’. Contains all the staples of this genre: unlikeable characters, unreliable narrators, OTT proceedings, a multitude of secrets, and an abundance of questionable behaviour. An entertaining ride as long as you know what to expect. Keeping my review somewhat vague as it is best to go in blind. Plot Preview: Four families lives close to each other in the suburbs. The only thing common to them is the street they stay on. Their financial capability, the size of their houses, their professional situations, and their personal/marital state of affairs varies. Now, the ten-year-old son of one of the couples is in coma after a fall from his bedroom window late at night. This event is the trigger for many discoveries and revelations. The story...

AUTHOR: Wanda M. Morris SERIES: Alibis Collection, #6 GENRE: Short Story PUBLICATION DATE: June 2, 2025 RATING: 2.5 stars. In a Nutshell: The sixth and final story in the Alibis collection. More of a domestic drama; not much of a mystery or thriller. The characters are interesting but the plot has neither depth nor surprises. Not great, not bad. Plot Preview: To the outside world, Hannah and her husband have the perfect marriage. But only Hannah knows the emotional trauma and gaslighting she endures behind closed doors. She has her small acts of rebellion when he isn't home, but if he’s present, he keeps attacking her dignity. When he threatens to take away even the small things that bring her joy, she is forced to amp up her mutiny. The story comes to us in Hannah’s third-person perspective. This is the sixth standalone story in the 'Alibis’ series, described on Amazon as “stories about lies, truth, and deception. It’s just a matter of what you can get away with.” Woohoos: 🥳 ...

AUTHOR: Niall Williams GENRE: Historical Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: October 24, 2024 RATING: 3.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A companion novel to "This is Happiness" (TIH). Same setting and era, different key characters. Even more slow-paced and meandering than the earlier novel. The writing is just as stunning, but the narration didn't work as well for me this time around. Still, a good option for prose lovers. Plot Preview: 1962. Faha, four years after the events of "This is Happiness" . Doctor Jack Troy is still in Faha, but of his three daughters, only his eldest, Ronnie, still stays with him and helps him with his duties. As Advent begins, a teenaged boy from their neighbourhood turns up at their doorstep with a baby in his arms. With no idea about who abandoned the baby, the Troys have to accept responsibility for the little charge, with Ronnie doing so gladly. But the good doctor knows that there needs to be one immediate change in their life if Ronnie wants to ...

AUTHOR: Lisa Zimmermann GENRE: Urban Fantasy PUBLICATION DATE: May 31, 2025 RATING: 2 stars. In a Nutshell: An urban fantasy with a mysterious prophecy being at the centre of the plot. The idea was great but the implementation was a bit basic. The writing style didn’t work for me, nor did the main characters who read younger than their age. Despite the shortcomings, I was still curious enough to know what happens. A good choice for those who care more about the story than the plot/character development. Plot Preview: Sarah, who is in her early thirties, lives a quiet life as a barista in an English town. When she suddenly starts getting strange hallucinations, she worries about her physical and mental health. Little does she know that a mysterious man named William, who is possibly stalking her, is connected to her visions. Soon, Sarah’s safe and predictable world is thrown into chaos, and the only solution can supposedly be found through a strange prophecy. But Sarah knows only half o...

AUTHOR: Annette LeBlanc Cate GENRE: Children's Picture Book. PUBLICATION DATE: January 7, 2025 RATING: 3.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A silly little picture book about a mother duck and her ducklings. Cute illustrations, rhyming text, funny scenes. Could have worked as a good resource for beginners to counting, but has a major unaddressed problem. Plot Preview: One night, Mama Duck is fast asleep with her seven eggs tucked firmly under her wings. Unknown to her, the eggs start cracking and hatching, and soon, seven little ducklings, who don’t want to disturb their tired Mama, step into the wild alone to explore their new surroundings. When Mama wakes up in the morning, she is horrified to see the empty egg shells and rushes to find her babies. She is successful in her quest, probably a bit too successful because somehow, she ends up with more babies than there were eggs! What happens next? (I hope spoilers are okay for picture books! But if not, skip the second para below.) If taken at ...

AUTHOR: Chad Zunker SERIES: Alibis Collection, #5 GENRE: Short Story PUBLICATION DATE: June 2, 2025 RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: The fifth story in the Alibis collection. Finally a proper pacy thriller in this collection, even though it isn't the most original of plots. Plot Preview: In her new neighbourhood, Kara has just one friend: Mindy. So when Mindy confides to Kara her suspicion that Mindy’s husband might be having an affair, Kara, who stays just across, promises to keep an eye. One night, Kara sees someone sneaking into Mindy’s house, and she does what a good neighbour would: she goes to take a closer look even though her husband Jackson warns her not to meddle. She certainly doesn’t expect to find what she did, and worse, she doesn’t expect to be running for her life. The story comes to us in the alternating third-person perspectives of Kara and Jackson. This is the fifth standalone story in the 'Alibis’ series, described on Amazon as “stories about lies, truth, ...