Rosh's Reviews

AUTHOR: Valeria Angela Pisi ILLUSTRATOR: Francesc Rovira GENRE: Children's Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: May 12, 2026 RATING: 3.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A picture book about a princess who doesn’t want to be rescued. Great concept, good execution, cute illustrations. A decent story that upturns gender stereotypes but has some problematic elements as well. Recommended to be read with discussion. Plot Preview: When the princess is in the dragon’s lair, the king calls all the knights in the land and makes a grand declaration: anyone who saves the princess will be rewarded with all the treasures of the kingdom. Several knights try their luck. But when they reach the dragon’s castle, the princess makes it clear that she doesn’t want to be rescued. Now what? The cover first caught my attention, and the blurb ensured that I would definitely read this book. It’s always nice to see stories where princesses don’t want to be or need to be rescued. Plus, this book is the winner of the ninth ...

AUTHOR: J.S. Helms GENRE: Contemporary Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: May 5, 2026 RATING: 2.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A Christian novella about the power of faith and forgiveness. A contemporary retelling of the Book of Jonah from the Bible. I liked most of the story but the writing didn’t work for me. The ending was a disappointment. Not a light read. I wish I could have liked this better because it has a powerful message. Recommended, but not to everyone. Triggers for human and animal deaths. Plot Preview: Even after a family tragedy, Jonas continues in his pastoral work, ensuring the spiritual health of the locals as the Pastoral Care Coordinator at Grace Street Ministry. But while he has grace and forgiveness for those he serves in the community, he hasn’t found it in his heart to forgive certain people from his past. When he is asked to minister to death row inmates – one of whom is a man whose crime mirrors the tragedy that devastated Jonas – he refuses and runs. But God works in myst...

AUTHOR: Mara Rutherford NARRATOR: Anna Burnett GENRE: YA Fantasy PUBLICATION DATE: October 21, 2025 RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A YA Cozy Fantasy centring on the spunky young owner of a (fake) magic shop. This book took me by surprise! Whatever complaints I usually have about YA novels were mostly missing. I liked the characters, the storyline, the magic (though relatively minimal), the writing and the ending. Except for a few developments in the final quarter, I enjoyed this book. Definitely recommended, as long as you keep in mind that it is YA and has YA characters. Plot Preview: Seventeen-year-old orphan Willow Stokes has been running her father’s magical curiosity shop ever since his sudden death. So what if she too is a charlatan like her father and knows there’s nothing magical about their stock? A girl has to survive! When an outlander named Brianna Hargrave enters the shop, something about her makes Willow realise that there might be some magic in the Stokes stock after al...

AUTHOR: Colm Tóibín GENRE: Short Story Collection PUBLICATION DATE: March 31, 2026 RATING: 2.1 stars. In a Nutshell: A literary short-story collection by the acclaimed Irish writer. Interesting variety of characters and situations. A bit haphazard in plot development. Flat in character development. Bleak. Feels very lengthy because of the slow pacing and meandering structure. Disappointing endings at times. Didn’t work much for me. This collection comprises nine stories, a few of which have been published before in other publications. The stories are set across multiple countries, Ireland included. I had grabbed this collection mainly for two reasons. One, I have enjoyed a majority of the literary works written by contemporary Irish writers and want to explore more Irish fiction. Two, I liked one short story written by this author for Amazon Original Stories. ( ‘The Shortest Day’ ) However, this collection just wasn’t for me. For one, the 300 pages seem endless as each story is terribl...

AUTHOR: Jennifer Killick GENRE: Middle-grade Horror PUBLICATION DATE: June 4, 2026 RATING: 2.75 stars. In a Nutshell: An illustrated middle-grade horror novel about two boys facing a nightmarish reality. Interesting story and illustrations, but needs work on the execution. I adore the cover art, and like the inside illustrations. The concept had great potential, but certain writing choices didn’t work well for me. It might go decently for the target age group. Plot Preview: Caiden’s dad runs a house-clearing business, and during the vacations, Caiden and his best friend Sam often help him out. Their latest assignment seems like a challenge for all the wrong reasons. The house is filled with bizarre wall displays, deadly weapons, and a strange vibe. It is clear that something went drastically wrong for its owner, though there is no visible evidence of any struggle. When the boys are alone in the family business warehouse that night planning to sort through some of the things from the cr...

AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR: Clarice Tudor GENRE: Satire PUBLICATION DATE: May 5, 2026 RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A humorous book about contemporary dating misadventures but worded and illustrated in medieval English style. Funny in content and illustrations, though the humour is also a painful reminder of the travails of dating (men in particular.) Recommended to readers with a funny bone and a frustrated love life. One look at that title, cover art, and blurb was enough to make me grab this book. I am long past my dating days, but no woman can resist a chance to empathise with other women’s dating mishaps. Reading this book is like a virtual gossipy session with a fellow woman, bitching about the male specimen of our species. While there might be many books with dating misadventures, what sets this one apart is the medieval style. The tagline calls this “A Modern Medieval Guide to Bad Dates and Worse Decisions”, and the content sticks to this agenda. The author says the content was...

AUTHOR: Ariel Lawhon, Kristina McMorris, and Susan Meissner GENRE: Historical Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: October 18, 2022 RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A WWII historical fiction focussing on three nurses stationed in the Philippines. Based on the ‘Angels of Bataan’. Okay character development but good variety of perspectives. Steady plot development, but too complicated at times. Fair representation of the experience of nurses during war-time. Great use of the location. Too much telling. Despite the shortcomings, I found this better than Kristin Hannah’s ‘The Women’. Recommended. Plot Preview: 1941. Manila, Philippines. Eleanor Lindstrom (23, US navy nurse), Penny Franklin (26, US Army nurse), and Lita Capel (22, Filipina nurse) forge a friendship when they first meet at the Army Navy Club in Manila. Each has their secret reasons for enlisting with the military, but as the Philippines is just a stopover point and the war is mainly in Europe, they don’t think they will have trouble....

AUTHOR: Amélie Callot ILLUSTRATOR: Geneviève Godbout GENRE: Children's Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: January 2, 2018 RATING: 2.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A picture book that probably holds more meaning to romance-loving adults. Cute story but too rambling in the first half. Fabulous illustrations. It is officially aimed at kids, but I don’t think children will like this one. 🤔 Plot Preview: Adele runs a little café, offering it as a happy place not just for food but also for local small businesses to set up stalls. But she absolutely hates rain, so whenever it rains, she closes the café and stays inside under her covers feeling sad. Because she is such a good friend to everyone, someone decides to offer her kindness. One by one, they leave three items that will help Adele deal with the rain. All three objects are perfect for Adele in colour, style, and fit. But who is this mysterious friend trying to make sure that Adele enjoys a rainy day just as much as she loves the sunny ones?...

AUTHOR: Kirsten Miller GENRE: Fantasy PUBLICATION DATE: October 7, 2025 RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A multi-timeline fantasy featuring powerful witches with a modern-day agenda. Many intriguing (female) characters, many interesting subplots. First 75% excellent, final 25% a bit too wild! A creative combination of themes not often seen together. Recommended. Plot Preview: Wild Hill, an isolated place at the tip of Long Island, has long been haunted by a ghost. For centuries, she didn’t allow anyone to settle there, until a young Scottish girl with strange powers, Sadie Duncan, was permitted to stay. Five generations of Sadie’s descendants have now known this magical place as their home, each generation more “gifted” than its predecessor. But after a terrible incident, the latest generation of Duncan women left their ancestral residence. Brigid moved to California and used her dark talent to carve a successful acting career. Her sister Phoebe settled at a remote ranch in Texas wo...

AUTHOR: Nora Gold GENRE: Literary Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: May 1, 2026 RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A literary fiction novella about a young math-obsessed girl caught in an institution. Creative in concept, clever in execution. Dark and disturbing content. A few inclusions made me uncomfortable, though these might not affect all readers. Definitely recommended. Not for children despite the young protagonist. Plot Preview: 1968. A twelve-year-old girl is angry at being kept in a state-run children’s home. Every day, she waits for someone to come and take her back home. But why is she there? Why is she angry? The story is told to us in the unnamed narrator’s first-person point-of-view over a period of six months. I had encountered Nora Gold’s writing through the brilliant flip-book with two literary novellas, “In Sickness and In Health / Yom Kippur in a Gym” . I was impressed enough to know that I would read more of her works. This second encounter of her writing has mostly justified...

AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR: Peter H. Reynolds GENRE: Children's Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: January 30, 2018 RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A beautiful picture book about a boy who loves words. Cute story and illustrations, and loads of wonderful words. Recommended. Plot Preview: Jerome is fascinated by words and collects favourites from wherever he can. He is meticulous about organising his collection based on themes. But one day, after a little stumble, he learns that words don't necessarily belong to fixed categories, and that words from across categories can come together to create a whole new meaning. Should he keep this knowledge to himself, or share it with others? Recently, I read a picture book named 'The Gift of Words' , focussing on some beautiful words Jerome shares with others during the Advent season. When I learnt that it was a follow-up to this book, I knew I'd read this one as well. This is almost as cute! Jerome is a lovely boy in every way, as I...

AUTHOR: Jennie Wood GENRE: YA Graphic Novel PUBLICATION DATE: April 28, 2026 RATING: 2.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A YA graphic novel dealing with an important topic – the online exploitation of children by influencer parents. The intent is fabulous but the execution needs finetuning. Uni-dimensional characters. Too cluttered with subplots, too aggressive about certain themes, too deliberate about inclusive representation. Decent illustrations. This has all the negatives of typical YA writing, but I guess I can’t hold this against the book as it is meant to be YA. I still appreciate the purpose behind the storyline but I wish it had stuck to the central theme instead of spreading itself thin. Might work better for YA readers. Plot Preview: Daisy is tired of her mom sharing every single detail of her life on her mom blog, even when Daisy refuses. So when she gets invited to an online group called “Not Your Baby Anymore”, she hesitates only a little before joining. This group comprises some ...

AUTHOR: Ai Jiang SERIES: Natural Engines #2 GENRE: High Fantasy PUBLICATION DATE: April 21, 2026 RATING: 2.5 stars.  In a Nutshell: A high fantasy with elements of science fiction and family trauma. Highly imaginative, highly complicated. Though a direct sequel, the content feels very different, making this book feel like a different genre. I didn't expect the change, and this, combined with the complex character set, affected my experience. Might better suit readers who enjoy intricate high fantasy. The second novella of the Natural Engines duology and needs to be read in series order. Plot Preview: ( This preview contains spoilers from Book One. The rest of my feedback is spoiler-free. ) After their daring escape, Lufeng and her two younger siblings are on their way to Gear to meet Sangshu. When they are just moments away from the island, they are kidnapped by rebels, from whom they learn about the dangerous experiments Zinc has been conducting on their people. Sangshu herself h...