Rosh's Reviews

AUTHOR: 'Pemi Aguda GENRE: Speculative Fiction Short Stories PUBLICATION DATE: May 7, 2024 RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A beautiful OwnVoices collection of short stories set in Lagos, Nigeria. The locational feel as well as the writing is outstanding. Each story feels unique. An excellent debut, much recommended, especially to speculative fiction and dark fantasy lovers. The highlight of this collection of twelve stories is its setting. Each narrative is based in Lagos, a city that juxtaposes the modern as well as the traditional, the African culture with a sprinkling of Western modernity. ( Probably, a bit like India in this sense. We have the best of both worlds – traditional roots and modern wings. ) The stories have an authentic vibe that immerses you in the location and makes you feel Lagos and its sights and sounds. The cover, with the inherent contrast between the serene smile and the gush of blood, ought to prepare you for the content. Most of the stories are a combinati

AUTHOR: Niloufar-Lily Soltani GENRE: Middle-East Fiction. PUBLICATION DATE: November 9, 2023 RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: The story of an Iranian woman and her life in her motherland, beginning from 1958. Covers a lot of Iranian history as well as the struggles of women in the patriarchal society. Drags a bit in the final section, but overall, an insightful OwnVoices read. Plot Preview: In 2007, while returning to Tehran after visiting her son Sohrab in Amsterdam, Zulaikha runs into Kia, an old friend she hasn’t seen in almost forty years. Kia is also flying back to Tehran for the funeral of his father. This chance encounter spawns some unexpected events. At the airport itself, Zulaikha is taken into custody for being questioned about her relationship with Kia. Once she is allowed to go and she reaches Tehran, the Iranian authorities also harass her. The story then moves to 1958, where thirteen-year-old Zulaikha, residing in Khuzestan in Southern Iran, has just been informed th

  AUTHOR: Christopher Green GENRE: Contemporary Short Story Collection, Japanese Fiction. PUBLICATION DATE:  May 2, 2024 RATING: 3.9  stars. In a Nutshell: An interesting collection of stories, with most of them set in Japan. Loved the writing style and enjoyed the diverse emotions. Much recommended! This story collection has, as the title suggests, a strong Japanese flavour. So let me begin by confessing that I am not a fan of Japanese literature. Most Japanese fiction that I tried hasn’t suited my reading tastes, so I generally keep away from this genre. The reason I picked this collection up is... No, no, the sushi had no role to play in my decision; I can’t stand even the thought of sushi! The reason I wanted to read this is that the author is NOT a Japanese! 😁 I know this sounds quite silly to declare, but had the author been Japanese, I would have resisted opting for this. But by virtue of his being an “outsider”, I thought it was a great opportunity to get a look at Japan witho

AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR: LambCat SERIES: Cursed Princess Club #3 GENRE: Webcomic, Graphic Novel. RATING: 5 stars! In a Nutshell: By far, among the best graphic novels I have read. An astounding combination of plot, characters, social issues, and art. This review is for the ENTIRE fourth season and not specifically for this graphic novel. NOTE: I'm reading this book on the WEBTOON app, but as Goodreads doesn't have that option, I'll be updating my progress against the graphic novel entries. The first two graphic novels corresponded with the first two seasons of the webcomic. However, from the third book onwards, the paths diverge. This unreleased fourth volume of the graphic novel series is based on episodes 78 to 93 of the webcomic, which means season three (which ends with episode 106) is still going on the physical books. My review, however, is for the entire fourth and final season, so it will go far beyond the content of this graphic novel. The plot continues from

AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR: LambCat SERIES: Cursed Princess Club #3 GENRE: Webcomic, Graphic Novel. RATING: 4.5 stars. In a Nutshell: Still going full-strength! Still recommended as heartily! The subplots are getting deeper now, and the episodes are correspondingly getting longer. This review is for the ENTIRE third season and not specifically for this graphic novel. NOTE: I'm reading this book on the WEBTOON app, but as Goodreads doesn't have that option, I'll be updating my progress against the graphic novel entries. The first two graphic novels corresponded with the first two seasons of the webcomic. However, from this book onwards, the paths diverge. This third volume of the graphic novel series is based on episodes 62 to 77 of the webcomic. However, season three ends at episode 106. My review is for the entire third season, so it will go far beyond the content of this graphic novel. The plot continues from the events of the second season, and should NOT be read as a

AUTHOR: Kaela Noel GENRE: Middle-grade fantasy. PUBLICATION DATE: April 30, 2024 RATING: 1.5 stars. In a Nutshell: Grabbed it for the title, the cover, and the premise. This was supposed to be a contemporary MG fantasy with talking cats. However, the fantasy takes a much darker turn than expected, the cats held no appeal after a point, and the story also was mostly boring. Overall, very disappointed. Wouldn’t recommend this to cat-loving kids. Plot Preview: Twelve-year-old Elsby is spending a couple of months with her great-aunt Verity in Rhode Island as her mother has to travel for work. While wandering in the back garden, she stumbles on an unexpected sight: a cat, standing on its hind legs, and dressed in a sailor suit. Elsby cannot believe her eyes, but the cat runs away before she can figure out if it was real or a part of her imagination. At night however, the cat, along with three other cat friends, comes to Elsby’s bedroom, and begins to talk! They want Elsby’s help, and Els

AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR: LambCat SERIES: Cursed Princess Club #1 GENRE: Webcomic, Graphic Novel. PUBLICATION DATE: July 4, 2023 RATING: 4.5 stars. In a Nutshell: As excellent as the first season in content, art, and themes. An amazing book for challenging those stereotypes that you have and those that you don’t even know you have. Can’t recommend this highly enough! Not just to teens but to everyone who would enjoy a story that looks like fluff but is absolutely not it. NOTE: I'm reading this book on the WEBTOON app, but as Goodreads doesn't have that option, I'll be updating my progress against the graphic novel entries. This second volume of the graphic novel series is based on season 2 (episodes 30-61, plus four bonus shorts) of the webcomic. The plot continues from the events of the first season, and should NOT be read as a standalone work. No plot preview, as I don’t want to go into spoilers. All the feedback I wrote in my review for the first book is valid fo

AUTHOR: R.G. de Rouen ILLUSTRATOR: Uliana Barabash GENRE: Children's Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: October 21, 2022 RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A cute indie picture book for early readers. Takes the word ‘bookworm’ to a whole new level! Plot Preview: Benjamin the worm lives in the back lot of a grocery store with his family. While the rest of the worms devour their way through scraps, Benjamin eats up books, not in the way a worm should but by actually reading them. Imagine the horror of his family at this unhealthy habit! As Benjamin wants more reading material than he finds, he makes an ingenious plan to get access to books. But his plan, while taking some stumbles at the start, works even better than he dreamt. The story of this book is obviously exaggerated, as is evident from the fact that Benjamin the worm can actually read books. But that’s the fun of reading a children’s story – its imaginativeness needs no bounds. Benjamin is a wonderful character, what with h

AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR: LambCat SERIES: Cursed Princess Club #1 GENRE: Webcomic, Graphic Novel. PUBLICATION DATE: January 3, 2023 RATING: 4.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A well-crafted storyline combined with attractive graphics. The title doesn’t indicate how intricate and intelligent the storyline is, so my reading experience went much beyond my expectations. Great for all graphic novel lovers. Looking forward to the rest of the series. Plot Preview: Teenaged princesses Maria (18), Lorena (17), and Gwendolyn (16), live with their brother Jamie (also 16) and their overprotective father, the King of Pastel Kingdom. Maria and Lorena are everything you would expect from typical Disney princesses, but Gwendolyn is not so blessed physically. When she overhears her potential fiancé calling her ugly, Gwen runs into the forest, only to stumble into some members of the ‘Cursed Princess Club’. And luckily for Gwen, these are exactly the people Gwen needs to tell her that life is more than looks.

AUTHOR: Susan Stokes-Chapman GENRE: Gothic Historical Mystery PUBLICATION DATE: April 18, 2024 RATING: 3.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A Gothic historical mystery set in Wales. Great use of the location and an interesting storyline, somewhat marred by the lacklustre ending. Not as dark as it promised to be. Plot Preview: 1783. Meirionydd, Wales. When Dr. Henry Talbot loses his job in a London hospital after a scandal, and no other offers work out, he has no choice but to accept the post of a private physician to Lord Julian Tresilian of Plas Helyg, a castle in a small and remote mining village of Wales. Henry doesn’t speak Welsh, and he isn’t prepared for the hostility shown by the locals to him as an Englishman. When he discovers that his predecessor was found death under mysterious circumstances, Henry begins to wonder if there is some darker foul play involved in the villagers’ response to him. To add to his woes, Julian’s niece Linette, who takes of the estate, isn’t what Henry expect

AUTHOR: Cristina Henríquez GENRE: Historical Literary Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: March 5, 2024 RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A literary fiction focussed on Panama during the time of the construction of the Panama Canal. Note that this isn’t a book directly about the canal or its construction, but about the people connected to the canal in some way or the other during that period. A great book if you go in with the right expectations and enjoy character-oriented fiction. Plot Preview: 1907, Panama. Francisco, a Panamanian fisherman, hates the commercialisation of his country under the foreigners, and hence resents his son Omar’s joining the canal construction crew. Omar, however, wants to learn and earn more than his little village can offer him. Sixteen-year-old Ada has heard about Panama having many jobs. She has stowed away to Panama, hoping to get some work and earn enough for her ailing sister’s surgery back in Barbados. Her mother Lucille, a tailor, doesn’t yet know of her ru

AUTHOR: Catherine Cawthorne ILLUSTRATOR: Sara Ogilvie GENRE: Children's Nonfiction PUBLICATION DATE: April 25, 2024 RATING: 5 sparkly, scientifically accurate stars. In a Nutshell: This book and I were a match made in book heaven! Loved the approach that combines humour and logic to debunk the sillier elements of some fairy tales. Strongly recommended! I enjoy fairy tales. I love scientific thinking. I adore logic. I relish humour. Seeing all four of these together in a single work was almost a “bookgasmic” moment for me! 😆 Had the book not delivered on any of these factors, I might still have been happy reading it. But the content not only reaches but also surpasses the promise made by the title and cover. All of us know that there are several logically impossible elements in fairy tales. In childhood, we might have oohed and awwwed at the stories without overthinking the practicalities. In adulthood, we might have cringed at the gender bias, wealth bias, and the lack of conse

AUTHOR: Ann Leckie SERIES: The Far Reaches, #4 GENRE: Science Fiction Short Story. PUBLICATION DATE: June 27, 2023 RATING: 2 stars. In a Nutshell: A sci-fi short featuring a very unusual “alien” and their dreams and disappointments. Attempt to be deep but ends up bland. Might work better for those who enjoy pointless, philosophical tales. Plot Preview: Narr is a slug-like “person” working for humans who came to their planet some years ago. The humans tower over Narr’s species in size, but within the aliens’ work group, Narr is the boss, directing their coworkers to dig and burrow in a better manner. However, when Narr discovers how shortlived their species is, they go on a mission to discover the truth about death and what can be done to extend life. Their quest involves a better future for themselves, their fellow locals, and for the humans as well. How will such a difficult journey of self-discovery pan out? The story comes to us in Narr’s first person perspective. This is the fo