Rosh's Reviews

AUTHOR: Daven McQueen GENRE: YA Historical Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: June 16, 2020 RATING: 4.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A coming-of-age Historical fiction with the themes of friendship and racism. Excellent depiction of historical attitudes, great setting, fabulous characters, amazing plot. I can't believe this was originally a Wattpad story! What a marvellous debut! One of my top favourite reads of 2026. Much recommended. Plot Preview: 1955. After fourteen-year-old Ethan, a biracial boy raised mostly by his white father, gets into a fight at school, his father decides to send him to Ellison (Alabama) to spend the summer with his aunt and uncle. However, as the only Black person in Ellison, Ethan’s race stands out much strongly in the conservative town, whose residents make it clear that Ethan isn't welcome. The only exception is Juniper Jones, a young white girl with a free spirit. She welcomes Ethan as her friend, and together, begins to plan an “invincible summer”. As Ethan ex...

AUTHOR: Ashley Elston GENRE: Mystery-Thriller PUBLICATION DATE: January 13, 2026 RATING: 3.5 stars In a Nutshell: A mystery-thriller built around what comprises an alibi. Fast-paced but convoluted plot, plenty of twists, somewhat flat characters. Gripping enough for the most part but the final resolution is a disappointment. Recommended to thriller fans. Plot Preview: Camille Bayliss lives a charmed life at least on the surface. But she is desperate to find proof that will help her become free of her marriage to Ben. She believes she has made the perfect plan when she ropes in Aubrey Price to dress up as Camille and roam around town for twelve hours while Camille focusses on her agenda of finding the truth about Ben. Except that Ben turns up murdered the next morning. Both Camille and Aubrey need a good alibi, but only one of them has it. The story comes to us mostly in the first-person perspectives of Aubrey, Camille, and Hank – Ben’s business partner at his law firm. I had enjoyed th...

AUTHOR: Patrick Horvath SERIES: Beneath the Trees Compilation #2 GENRE: Horror Graphic Novel PUBLICATION DATE: July 21, 2026 RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A sequel to the acclaimed horror graphic comic series. Excellent plot and character development, though both might be difficult to gauge for readers who pick up this book without reading the earlier one. Even darker than the first, but thankfully, not more gory. A great continuation, but not for those looking for justifications or closure. Has potential for a sequel. Must be read in series order. Recommended! Plot Preview: Many years after the horrifying events that plagued the small town of Woodbrook, Samantha Strong, now popular as the local hero who saved the townsfolk from a serial killer, still runs her shop. In the nearby city, Monica Brewer has spent the same period looking for information about her missing brother who vanished eight years ago without a trace. When she receives an anonymous tip with his possible location, sh...

AUTHOR: Ben Reeves GENRE: Literary Fiction, Magical Realism. PUBLICATION DATE: July 7, 2026 RATING: 4.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A literary fiction work focusing on life and death and all in between. Everything in the book is beautiful, but also hurts. Interesting variety of characters, plenty of wisdom and quotable quotes, lyrical writing. The shifts in grammatical voice can get disconcerting at times. But the mellow, introspective narrative is great for the right mood. A commendable debut. Definitely recommended! Plot Preview: Death’s current identity is ‘Travis’. He lives as a modern young man in a small town, and does his job well: the job of offering some solace to the dying in their final hours on Earth. He always stays detached from the living humans around him so that he can do his job without being affected. But when his next-door neighbours – midwife Dalia and her daughters eight-year-old Layla and infant Neda – become more frequent in his *life*, Travis gets a taste of the bond...

AUTHOR: Rachel Walkley GENRE: Dual-Timeline Mystery PUBLICATION DATE: August 4, 2026 RATING: 2 stars. In a Nutshell: A dual-timeline novel set in Barbados and England. The storyline had great potential but the writing style – with the constant headjumping, overreliance on telling, and the unclear narrative angle – wasn't my cup of tea. This is an outlier review.  Plot Preview:  Amy has newly taken over as the chief conservator at the historical Terrington Hall. When an heirloom vanishes, she appoints Harrison as a security advisor. However, Harrison isn't there only for his professional assignment. He has ties with the Hurly family who owned the Hall, and he is determined to learn the truth behind an old-standing family scandal. Unknown to them both, there is yet another presence at Terrington Hall, one carrying more secrets than either of them are aware of.  The story comes to us broadly in the first-person perspective of the mysterious character over two timelines....

AUTHOR: Ari Phillips GENRE: Literary Historical Fiction. PUBLICATION DATE: September 15, 2026 RATING: 3.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A genre-defying fictional work with elements of magical realism, dysfunctional family drama, intergenerational conflict, literary fiction, and philosophy. Original in its premise and creative in its execution. Too many character POVs and flashbacks. A good option for those not seeking instant gratification through fiction. Plot Preview: For more than a century, Rosa and her son Wyeth have lived quiet lives in the small town of Berkeley Springs. No one yet has noticed their unusual longevity, which is thanks to a secret spring hidden within a mountain cave. But their secret seems to be in danger of being spilled when a greedy corporate empire digs too close to the spring. Unknown to the mother-son duo, the owner of the organisation also has ties to the spring and wants more access to it. Narrated through multiple characters’ third-person perspectives and variou...

AUTHOR: Annie Proulx GENRE: Short Story PUBLICATION DATE: October 13, 1997 RATING: 2 stars. This story has its good moments ( the final scene was particularly poignant ), but I think my poor experience was a case of expectation mismatch. Based on the little I had heard about the movie, I thought this was a sensitive love story. So the crass words, the lustful portrayal of the relationship and the darker content such as physical violence caught me unawares. The conversation-dominant narrative also didn't help. This might be a good story for some readers ( especially those who favour strong prose ), but it wasn't my cup of tea. Mine is clearly an outlier opinion, so just make sure you go in with the right expectations if you wish to give this award-winning story a go. The story was first published in the New Yorker, for which it won the National Magazine Award for Fiction in 1998. The expanded version has been published in book form, but if you wish to read the original, you can...

AUTHOR: Angela Bell NARRATOR: Beverley A. Crick SERIES: Daughters of Genius Society, #2 GENRE: Historical Fantasy PUBLICATION DATE: July 7, 2026 RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A historical fantasy with a lot of cozy tweeness and also some romance and mystery. Wonderful whimsical characters, good touch of humour, great vocabulary. Excellent representation of chronic pain. Strong Christian elements. Some clever automations and automatons. A bit light on the mystery but gripping nonetheless. Second of the series, but works as a standalone. If you liked the first book, you will enjoy this one as well. Definitely recommended. Plot Preview: 1895. England. Margaret Kingsley is restricted to her wheelchair thanks to her chronic pain. She still uses her time and expertise to work with the ‘Daughters of Genius Society’ (D.O.G.S.), a covert team of lady inspectors. While most of the inspectors work on the field, Margaret is happy to contribute from behind the curtain, until one case needs her...

AUTHOR: Vincent Delecroix TRANSLATOR: Helen Stevenson GENRE: Literary Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: April 21, 2026 RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A literary fiction inspired by a true event and highlighting the moral ambiguities of human nature. Extended first person with a bit of repetition. Three somewhat lengthy chapters, but fast-paced. Thought-provoking. No quotation marks. Good translation. Recommended to literary fiction readers. Plot Preview: In November 2021, a dinghy carrying migrants from France to the UK sprung a leak and later capsized in the Channel. Despite the French rescue centre getting numerous calls for help from one of the migrants, the radio operator repeatedly told them that they were in English waters and so needed to call the British authorities. She also assured them that help was on the way. But no rescue vessels came for the drowning refugees. Twenty-seven migrants perished in the freezing waters that night. Only two were saved. The above incident is true. (...

AUTHOR: Cynthia Pelayo GENRE: Historical Fantasy PUBLICATION DATE: June 9, 2026 RATING: 2 stars. In a Nutshell: A historical fantasy-horror combining ‘Peter Pan’ and ‘IT’. Lyrical writing and vivid imagery. Extremely slow-paced in the first half. Repetitive. Confusing shifts in timeline. More about atmosphere than about gore. The final quarter is the strongest. Recommended to those who don’t seek instant gratification. The official blurb is inaccurate. Plot Preview: 1914. Twelve years after the incident that changed her life and her family forever, Wendy Darling works as a school teacher and also volunteers with a local hospital, reading to soldiers who have returned broken from the Western Front. One patient in particular is her regular subject; he is unable to wake up from his sleep despite all the care. One day, when he utters the name ‘Peter Pan’ in his sleep, Wendy is taken aback, recollecting the dark days from the past when multiple children went missing from Kensington Park and...

AUTHOR: Stefany Valentine GENRE: YA Romance PUBLICATION DATE: January 14, 2025 RATING: 1 star. In a Nutshell: A YA “romantic dramedy” (Official label.) This didn’t work for me in any way: plot, writing, characters, agenda, realism, romance, drama. The only thing I liked other than the cover was the Taiwan rep. It hurts me to rant about a debut OwnVoices book, and I tried my best not to, but I just can’t recommend such a poorly written book that sends the wrong message to youngsters. Plot Preview: Seventeen-year-old Catie Carlson, a half-white half-Taiwanese girl, doesn’t remember much about her birth mother. Her parents divorced when she was just five and her father moved with her to the USA, and later remarried a white single mother. After his death two years ago, Catie feels like she has no family of her own, even though her adoptive mother – her father’s second wife – treats Catie with the same love as she does her own daughter. When Catie stumbles into an opportunity to learn Manda...

AUTHOR: Jennie Godfrey NARRATORS: Joanne Froggatt, Mark Noble, Asif Khan, Gemma Whelan, & Simon Harvey GENRE: Coming-of-Age Historical Fiction. PUBLICATION DATE: February 15, 2024 RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A coming-of-age historical fiction with elements of mystery. Character-oriented. Child narrator, which is an unusual but interesting choice for this storyline. Interesting characters, slow-ish pacing, great use of time period and location. Too many themes. Mostly bleak, though there are many glimpses of joy and hope. A good debut. Recommended, but don’t read this as a crime mystery. Plot Preview: 1979, Yorkshire. Twelve-year-old Mavis, known to all as ‘Miv’, isn't happy about how things are in her life. Her mom suddenly became sick and stopped talking, her father has been struggling to keep things going so his somewhat-stern sister has moved in to help out with Miv. But now, because of the unidentified serial killer murdering young women in Yorkshire, her father has ...