Rosh's Reviews

AUTHOR: Suzette D. Harrison GENRE: Historical Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: July 13, 2026 RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A historical fiction novel inspired by a true story. Good use of a dual-timeline narrative. Strong characters, compelling writing, many moral values. Realistic depiction of both eras. Somewhat slow and repetitive in between. Recommended to fans of the genre. Plot Preview: 1848. Mississippi. Enslaved midwife Zinnie has no choice but to follow her owner when he begins a two-thousand-mile journey from Mississippi to Utah. With her newborn daughter strapped to her back and her other two daughters walking by her side, Zinnie knows that her first priority is to make sure that her children are safe. When the party crosses state lines, can Zinnie take a chance and fight for their freedom? Present day. Texas. Elementary school teacher and single mom Lynette is tired of having to balance the various challenges in her life: her school work, her household chores, and parenting h...

AUTHOR: Amman Brar GENRE: Historical Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: July 2, 2026 RATING: 2.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A bittersweet fiction novel about an Indian-origin postmaster in England. Had great potential, especially as it highlights a scandal not many know about. But the plot is very diluted, the characters are mostly stereotypical, and the writing is heavily reliant on telling rather than showing. The eponymous character is like a typical traditional Indian uncle, which isn't necessarily a good thing. Disappointed, because this book could really have been impressive with better handling. Plot Preview: Sixty-something Mr. Sidhu has been the sub-postmaster of the local post office in Richmond for many years. Earlier, his wife also used to help him at the shop, and after her passing, Mr. Sidhu wants to make sure that he fulfils his last promise to her: that their two grown-up children are settled. But two things bring about a change in the status quo. One, Mr. Sidhu starts developin...

AUTHOR: Christina Baker Kline GENRE: Historical Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: May 12, 2026 RATING: 3.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A historical fiction novel about a pair of conjoined twins and their wives. Great historical research, realistic characters, interesting themes. Slow pace. Average writing that goes overboard on ‘telling’. Based on real-life events (related to the original Siamese twins), though the story is fictionalised. An interesting story for lovers of this genre, though it could have been even better. Plot Preview: 1840s. North Carolina. Sisters Sallie and Addie Yates belong to a prominent local family, but because of a controversy in their past, both the girls struggle to find eligible matches. Despite their contrary personalities, the sisters are fairly close. So when they hear that Chang and Eng Bunker – Siamese towns who have now settled in the same town and own a plantation – are looking for wives, Addie sees them as good potential husbands, despite what everyone else aro...

AUTHOR: Lucy Barker GENRE: Historical Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: June 13, 2023 RATING: 3.5 stars In a Nutshell: A historical fiction about the rivalry between two mediums. Interesting characters. Excellent look at the prevalent obsession with spiritualism and seances in 1870s England. Great atmosphere. Slow pacing. Somewhat predictable plot. Goes a bit downhill in the second half. Inspired by real events. A good debut that could have been better but still entertains. Plot Preview: 1873. England. Mrs. Violet Wood, who is in her late thirties, is the most successful medium in London at present. Ambitious and diligent, she does her best to ensure that her patrons get the complete experience from her seances. She is aware of the fickleness of their nature, always wanting something newer and more exciting. Moreover, a newspaperman who specialises in spiritualist content is out to expose all fake mediums in order to retain the sanctity of spiritualism. This, combined with her increasing age ...

AUTHOR: Dennis Lehane GENRE: Historical Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: April 25, 2023 RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A historical fiction novel showing the interplay of race and revenge. Set against true events. Flawed characters, somewhat offbeat writing style, steady pacing. Thought-provoking. A stark, true-to-life portrayal of racism. Definitely recommended. Go in blind. Plot Preview: 1974. Mary Pat Fenessey has always lived in “Southie”, the Irish-American enclave in Boston that sticks to traditions. Things are currently heated up in the locality, not just because of the unusually hot summer but also because of the city’s decision to desegregate its public schools. One night, Mary Pat’s teenaged daughter Jules doesn’t return home. The same night, a young Black man is found dead, struck by the subway train. Two events that are unconnected, and yet change Mary Pat’s life forever. The story comes to us in the third-person perspective of Mary Pat and a couple of other key characters. A...

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: Maria Tureaud GENRE: Historical Horror PUBLICATION DATE: January 27, 2026 RATING: 2.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A historical Gothic paranormal mystery set during the Irish potato famine. A lead character who’s compelling as well as naïve. Slow-paced plot. More horrifying in its historical content than in its supernatural inclusions. Fantastical content based slightly in Irish mythology, which might get confusing to outsiders. Some details left vague till the end. Recommended but with caution. Plot Preview: 1848. Ireland. Twenty-two-year-old Maggie once had a large happy family, but she is now all alone in the world, having lost all her loved ones to the potato famine. So when an eccentric wealthy lady approaches her with a strange proposal - to pose as her daughter Wilhelmina and convince solicitors to release her inheritance in exchange for a house and land after the completion of the task, Maggie sees it as the best chance of defeating her destiny and honouring the memory of her...

AUTHOR: Susan Verde ILLUSTRATOR: Peter H. Reynolds GENRE: Children's Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: September 13, 2016 RATING: 5 unhesitant stars! In a Nutshell: A touching picture book about the water scarcity issue affecting so many children around the world but especially in Africa and Asia. Excellent writing, message, and illustrations. Informative back matter. A must-read. Plot Preview: “Princess Gie Gie”, our young lead character, knows she rules over the wide African sky and the vast land. But the one thing that doesn’t listen to this princess is water. No matter how much she tries commanding water to come closer to her home, it doesn’t. So she is forced to wake up early every morning and walk many miles along with her mother to carry a pot of water back home. Sadly, this water lasts just a day, so the cycle has to repeat every day. Gie Gie dreams of the time when water will finally listen to her and be more accessible from home, but can such a dream come true? This story is...

AUTHOR: Jane Davis SERIES: The Chiswell Street Chronicles #2 GENRE: Historical Literary Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: March 2, 2026 RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A historical literary fiction about a bookseller couple. Based on a true story. Character-oriented storytelling. Excellent research, sensible writing, admirable depiction of 1780s-90s England. A book about books, but the books alluded to were too esoteric for me. Somewhat conversation-dominated at times, which doesn’t always work for me. The second book of the Chiswell Street Chronicles duology, and better read in series order. Definitely recommended. Plot Preview: 1780. London. Dorcas and James Lackington are ready to put their dream into action: to create a reading space where no one will feel out of place by their gender or occupation or social class. They believe that books are the best way out of poverty, which is also proven by James’ rise to his position as a successful independent bookseller. So they launch a daring soci...

AUTHOR: Remy Lai GENRE: Graphic Novel PUBLICATION DATE: January 14, 2025 RATING: 3 stars. In a Nutshell: A middle-grade graphic novel about a teen girl's chickenpox quarantine time with her younger siblings. Partly biographical. Great sibling dynamics and chickenpox info. 😉 Hit or miss on the other themes. A decent option for the target age group. Plot Preview: Once upon a time, Abby had wished for a younger sibling. But after her parents have given her FOUR younger siblings, the twelve-year-old has had enough! She's tired of being the responsible eldest child and fed up of her siblings’ immaturity. She tries to spend as much time away from home as possible, either at school or going out with her best friends. But when all five siblings get chickenpox, Abby faces a horrifying truth: she needs to stay quarantined in the house with those *animals*! How will she survive without losing her sanity? The story is written in Abby's first-person perspective. I have heard a lot abou...

AUTHOR: Haley Cohen Gilliland NARRATOR: Alejandra Reynoso GENRE: Historical Nonfiction PUBLICATION DATE: July 15, 2025 RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A historical nonfiction account about the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, a group of braveheart grandmothers in Argentina seeking their lost family members. Covers multiple decades. Good use of flashbacks and present narratives, combining historical and biographical facts to build a complete picture. Disturbing and informative. Recommended. In the late 1970s, many dissidents of the Argentinian dictatorship were rounded up by the soldiers of the military junta and “disappeared”. These citizens might then be imprisoned, tortured, raped, drugged, murdered – sometimes all. Their families rarely heard the details of their fate, and in many cases, had no news even after the dictatorship was overthrown for a democratic government in 1983. Sadly, some of the “disappeared” were pregnant women. When these women gave birth in captivity, their newborn ...

AUTHOR: Hallie Rubenhold NARRATOR: Louise Brealey. GENRE: Historical Biography, True Crime. PUBLICATION DATE: February 28, 2019 RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A historical account of the women supposedly murdered by Jack the Ripper. Focuses more on the historical and social circumstances and the biographical sketches of the victims than on the murderer or the crime. Informative, but also slightly speculative. Recommended, not to true crime fans but to those looking for a picture of the dark underbelly of Victorian England. I don't read true crime books anymore. With reality being so nightmare-inducing, I don't want anything else to add to my stress and fears. But as this book promised to focus more on the victims than on the crimes, I was intrigued. The resulting reading experience has been quite informative. ‘Jack the Ripper’ is one of the world’s most infamous undetected serial killers. He is known not just for evading capture and identity reveal, but also for choosing stree...

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...