Rosh's Reviews

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. 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 with the remote, and drying clothes....

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...

AUTHOR: Jennifer McMahon GENRE: Psychological Horror-Thriller. PUBLICATION DATE: April 26, 2022 RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A psychological horror-thriller loosely inspired by Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Slowburn and intense. Good atmospheric writing, complex characters, intriguing plot with some good twists. Leaves many things unsaid. Took me some time to get into it, but it delivered well enough on dark entertainment. Recommended. Go in blind. To be read without overthinking. Plot Preview: This story is way too complicated for a short preview. Just know that it comes over two timelines in multiple first-person and third-person perspectives. You may read the Goodreads blurb for more clarity, but it's too detailed. ( For once, I can't even blame the blurb writers. ) Of all the RFReadsTogether Challenge prompts (the annual reading challenge I run in my Facebook group 'Readers Forever' ), the retelling prompt is always one I am most careful about. While making...

AUTHOR: T. Kingfisher GENRE: Fantasy, Retelling PUBLICATION DATE: August 6, 2024 RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A dark fantasy supposedly retelling the Brothers Grimm fairytale: ‘The Goose Girl’. Excellent character development and interesting plot. Slowish pacing and vague world-building. Entertaining as a standalone story, though not effective as a retelling. I had fun reading this gripping novel. Recommended. Loads of triggers; take the adjective ‘dark’ seriously. Plot Preview: Fourteen-year-old Cordelia is controlled by her mother Evangeline. ( And when I say ‘controlled’, I mean *controlled*! ) She doesn’t know how her mother is different from other mothers, and she has no one she can confide in except her beloved white horse Falada. One day, Evangeline suddenly decides to leave their home and everything else behind, and move with just Cordelia, Falada and a few of their belongings to a wealthy squire’s manor, hoping to marry him. Cordelia doesn’t know what fate awaits her th...

AUTHOR:  Suzanne Rogerson NARRATOR:  Colette Davies-Kerwin GENRE: Contemporary Christmas Short Stories PUBLICATION DATE: November 17, 2025 RATING: 3.8 stars. In a Nutshell: A sweet collection of holiday short stories. Covering varied characters and emotions. Utterly feel-good and perfect for the festive season.  This collection contains eight short stories. As the title promises, each of them contains “a little Christmas magic”. The word ‘magic’ is used in both its interpretations: figurative and actual. Goodreads shows this book to be a part of the Winter Warmers series, but the series comprises short story collections that are independent of each other and hence can be read in any order.  As feel-good stories set during the Christmas season, the tales are obviously heartwarming. You might even assume that these are predictable, and many of them are. BUT this genre is anyway not meant to be twisty. AND there are a few stories that offer unexpected surprises, so...

AUTHOR: Kat Saturn ILLUSTRATOR: Chrystal Phegley GENRE: Teen Fantasy-Adventure PUBLICATION DATE: November 17, 2025 RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A teen fantasy about a stellar [pun intended] adventurous quest. Great characters, but even greater inclusions of astronomy, history, and anthropology. Light in terms of approach, but hefty in intelligence. Too many whats, not enough whys. Fabulous illustrations. A nice, thought-provoking option for those willing to try a complex read. Plot Preview: Eleven-year-old Elli Veil has always been fascinated by the stars, especially by a bright star that shines every night high beyond her bedroom window. Staying in a cult-like isolated community, Elli believes that the stars hold the promise of life beyond her village of Box Hollow. However, one night, that star abruptly disappears and no one in Elli’s whereabouts seems to care. But the little girl knows something is wrong, and with some unexpected partners, she sets off on a quest to locate the...