Rosh's Reviews

AUTHOR: Katya Balen GENRE: Contemporary Literary Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: February 17, 2026 RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A contemporary literary fiction. Children's author Katya Balen's first adult fiction novel. Beautiful lyrical prose, melancholic plot, morbid lead character. Not an easy read as it's raw in its pain. A good option for those who like dark emotional stories and poetic writing. Major triggers for personal loss. Plot Preview: Anna, an author in her late thirties, has struggled to pen her second novel after a tragedy. Pressured by her deadline, she leaves London and goes to a remote cottage in rural England with no connectivity, hoping to find some inspiration. But in the marshes, an old secret resurfaces. Anna finds herself irresistibly drawn to that site, almost to the point of obsession. Can the past help Anna heal her present? The story comes to us in Anna's first-person perspective. PSA: Go in blind. The blurb is really accurate and tight-lipp...

AUTHOR: Audrey Perrott ILLUSTRATOR: Ross Burach GENRE: Children's Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: April 16, 2024 RATING: 3.75 stars. A funny picture book about true friendship and acceptance. Milton the bull cannot help but bawl. Whether he is happy or sad or frustrated or angry, tears stream out from his eyes and he goes “Moo Hoo Hoo”, because of which all the other animals call him Moo Hoo. Milton tries changing but nothing works. Until a sheep named Wanda enters his life and teaches him the valuable lesson: it is okay to be yourself. This is a silly yet sweet story. Given the exaggerated crying, it is obviously not one to be read from the head. There’s no depth to the story, but it offers plenty of entertainment. I wasn’t happy with one particular decision taken by Milton, but thankfully, he came to his senses soon enough. What I liked better than the plot are the myriad puns scattered in the text as well as the illustrations! Some puns might be a bit too difficult for young rea...

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: 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 ...

AUTHOR: Samantha Mills GENRE: Speculative Short Story Collection PUBLICATION DATE: April 21, 2026 RATING: 3.65 stars. In a Nutshell: A speculative fiction collection containing some truly imaginative stories. Introspective and dystopian – a strangely effective combination. I love the creativity but the random back-and-forth in some stories was a bit challenging. A great option for those who enjoy speculative SFF tales. This story collection contains thirteen stories from the speculative genre. The stories come from varied speculative set-ups such as dystopian, fantasy, science fiction and paranormal. The collection begins with an enthusiastic introduction by Meg Elison. I had no clue who she was, but her writing in this foreword impressed me so much! It's one of the most lyrical and heartfelt introductions I've read. I was happy to discover that she too is an author because it means that this single collection has given me the names of two talented writers I need to keep an eye...

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: 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: The Amazing Theatre of Physics GENRE: Juvenile Nonfiction, Science. SERIES: Science All Around Us, #1 PUBLICATION DATE: June 18, 2024 RATING: 3.75 stars. A fully-illustrated nonfiction book for old middle-graders and teenagers about how we experience physics in our daily life. It covers the physics found in different rooms of the house such as the living room, the bedroom, the kitchen, outside in the garden and the garage, and even in the house structure such as the roof and the chimney. This is not a beginners’ book, so it presumes a certain familiarity with basic concepts such as inertia, centre of equilibrium, friction, infrared colours, and so on. So it will be a good option for those who already know the fundamentals of theoretical physics but do not understand how frequently we encounter it every single day in everything we do, even in common tasks like walking and sitting, riding a bicycle to school, boiling water in a microwave, draining a bathtub, changing a channel wi...

AUTHOR: Michael Thompson NARRATOR: Ryan Ennis GENRE: Contemporary Fiction, Magical Realism PUBLICATION DATE: May 21, 2025 RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A contemporary magical realism. Also tagged as romance but I found it tilting more towards general fiction. Good characters, though a bit cookie-cutter. Interesting magical realism. Heartwarming and emotional. This was a fairly strong read for me until the final quarter or so. Still, a good option for those looking for somewhat bittersweet reads. Plot Preview: Dr. Charlie Knight, 38, has spent many years as a GP in the same small town he grew up in. Just as he decides to take a step in a new direction, his life changes. He is suddenly endowed with a mysterious gift, that of knowing exactly how many days his patients have left to live. While this gift is helpful at times, Charlie does not want to know the death dates of his loved ones, and of his ex-girlfriend Genevieve who has just returned from London. Will this new insight turn o...

AUTHOR: Ruth Hogan NARRATOR: Mark Elstob GENRE: Contemporary UpLit PUBLICATION DATE: December 6, 2025 RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A contemporary fiction about a group of people coming together for the titular purpose. Good characters (mostly older in age), great concept, genuine emotions. Found family trope. Heartwarming, though a bit too sentimental at times. A nice option for fans of the UpLit genre, though not the best by this author. Plot Preview: Widower George McGlory has tried to make the best of his life after the passing of his wife two years before. He works as a part-time librarian and has an active presence in the community. So when he sees a ‘public health funeral’, with no mourner in attendance and no flowers or candles for the deceased, he is determined to take action so that those who die alone receive a meaningful goodbye. Joining George on his noble quest are several locals/friends such as Roxy the librarian, Elena the florist, Niall the government employee in ...

AUTHOR: Vicky Alvear Shecter GENRE: Historical Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: January 20, 2026 RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A historical fiction set in Ancient Rome and inspired by true events. Gritty and disturbing. Slow but atmospheric. Good character development and build-up to the finale. Slightly repetitive. I’m somewhat undecided on my feelings about the ending. Recommended. Plot Preview: 216 BCE. Sixteen-year-old Mia has been serving as one of the Vestal Virgins for more than a decade already. Though this wasn’t a decision she made by choice, she performs her role with diligence. When she hears of the huge defeat of the Roman Army at the Battle of Cannae, she is sad for the 50000 fallen soldiers, but more than that, she mourns the death of her childhood love Attius in that battle. The priests declare that the only reason the gods abandoned Rome at Cannae was the breaking of the vow of chastity by the youngest Vestal Virgin. Mia knows that it is up to her alone to save her life...

AUTHOR: Larysa Maliush GENRE: Children's Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: March 17, 2026 RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A picture book about a wolf and his moral dilemma. Funny story with interesting animal characters but some questionable logic. A good option for kids who don’t overthink. Plot Preview: Big Gray Wolf follows the rules of his pack except when they don’t suit him. One night, as he is howling at the moon and wishing for good food, he finds a lost bunny in the forest. According to the lupine code of conduct, Wolf has to eat it. But it’s so tiny and cute and fluffy! Plus, the little rabbit has a little note from his family that says they will offer a scrumptious feast to anyone who brings Bunkins back home safely. Should Wolf follow the wolf rules, or should he take Bunkins home in the hope of a bigger feast? This story offers a flip-around of the traditional predator-prey narrative. Wolf's moral dilemma is real because predators do eat other animals to survive, n...

AUTHOR: Lim Sunwoo TRANSLATOR: Chi-Young Kim GENRE: Speculative Fiction Collection PUBLICATION DATE: February 10, 2026 RATING: 3.7 stars In a Nutshell: A speculative stories collection. True to the genre, with a good mix of real and surreal. Character-oriented despite having tricky plots. Good translation. A bit disjointed at times in the storytelling but on the whole, a great debut. Recommended. This debut collection contains eight stories that delve into human feelings while still reaching beyond the human experience into the surreal and the bizarre. It is ‘speculative’ in the true sense of the word, with each of the stories transcending logic without offering pragmatic justifications. There is no foreword or note introducing the theme of the collection. But the blurb says that these stories “explore feelings unseen, unconveyed, unexplainable” and that “each sparkling story asks you to look within, to encounter all that is desired and strange and possible in life and death.” This ef...