Rosh's Reviews

AUTHOR: Branwen OShea GENRE: Fantasy. RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A beautiful environmental fantasy that highlights the importance of natural and cultural heritage. Though a short story, it leaves a long impact. Plot Preview: The planet of Lenglood is inhabited by creatures called Firth ( who, sadly, don’t look like Colin Firth! 😉) The Firth respect the song trees, and sings paeans to them every day. However, when an ecological disaster strikes the planet, almost all the Firth are wiped out. The only one left behind is little Cerulean, who is too young to sing to the trees by himself. As he struggles to adjust to a solitary life, he does his best to follow what his parents had taught him about remembering the ancient ways. However, unknown to him, there’s yet another disaster arriving. And this time, it is in the form of human colonists, who don’t understand the value of nature. What is Cerulean to do? Can he save Lenglood? The story comes to us in the third person perspective o...

AUTHOR: S.A. Dunphy SERIES: DI Tessa Burns, #1 GENRE: Irish Police Procedural RATING:  4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A gripping police procedural set in Ireland. Great characters, interesting plot line, excellent use of the setting. Definitely recommend this series starter.  Plot Preview: Detective Tessa Burns, as a former child witness, has always wanted to work in crime cases involving children. And now, she finally has a dream team ready, comprising Danny Murphy – a garda with a large body, a bigger temper, and a soft heart; Maggie Doolan – who doesn’t allow her cerebral palsy or her wheelchair to stand in the way of her job as a police liaison officer, and Pavlov – Maggie’s loyal dog.  When seven-year-old Aisling Connolly is found in an isolated cabin, she takes her time to trust the trio who saved her, and will try to save her missing parents. As little Aisling reveals what she knows of that awful night, Tessa and her team know that they have a tough task ahead, especia...

  AUTHOR:  Sue Heath GENRE: Romance-Drama RATING:  4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A beautiful story about a group of people who bond over food. Tackles some tough themes in a soothing manner. Slow and steady in development. Likeable characters. Some teeny plot issues, but overall, enjoyable.   Plot Preview: Twenty-nine-year-old Kate has been a widow since three years now, but she is still lost in the what-ifs of the past. To take charge of her life, she quits her job as a teacher and decides to enter the kitchen, which was Eddie’s domain when he was alive. There’s only one problem: Kate knows nothing about cooking.  Through some circumstance or the other, various neighbours, old and new, enter Kate’s life after her decision to reclaim her life. All these people are also dealing with their own issues, but somehow, everyone ends up connecting over food and the community spirit.  Will Kate be able to let go of the past? Will all her neighbours also find relie...

AUTHOR: Robin Why GENRE: Children's Nonfiction RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A mindboggling array of trivia from a wide range of topics. A great collection to open at random and delve into some tantalising brain fodder. What you see in the title is exactly what you get in this book. It contains ‘wonderfully weird facts & whatnot for the seriously curious.’ And not just a few facts, but 1369 of them! There’s a reason why the author chose such a specific number as 1369, which you will learn right at the start of the book. All trivia aficionados will enjoy this collection. It is not just the facts that are impressive, but the sheer range of topics. The details cover topics as varied as animals, sleep, human achievements, urban myths, funny lawsuits, strange weather, quotes, and a whole load more. The trivia could be fun or scary or informative or inspiring, sometimes even baffling. Some of the facts weren’t much of “facts” as they were observations, but these were far and ...

AUTHOR: Sara Nisha Adams GENRE: Contemporary Fiction. RATING: 1.5 stars. In a Nutshell: Didn’t expect much, didn’t get much. Should have loved the ode to books, reading, and libraries, but the paper-thin character detailing and the lack of overall structure and sense in the plot didn’t work in favour of my reading experience. Plus, there were errors in the references it makes to the classics – so disappointing. Plot Preview: Seventeen-year-old Aleisha lives a frustrating life taking care of her mentally ill mother Leilah and working part-time in the local library while her elder brother works all hours to take care of the family. Aleisha dislikes books, but when she comes upon a reading list, she decides to alleviate her boredom and check out the first book on the list. Widower Mukesh Patel has been living alone after the death of his beloved wife Naina. His three daughters check in on him from time to time, but there is no one to understand him and speak to him the way Naina did. A...

AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR: Rashin Kheiriyeh GENRE: Children's Picture Book, Biography RATING: 3.5 stars In a Nutshell: A narrative nonfiction picture book highlighting the life of Sufi poet Rumi. Simple in style, good in content, stunning in illustrations. Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207-1273) was an Islamic scholar, poet and Sufi mystic. Many readers today might know him for his soulful verses, full of love for the divine. Some misconstrue his declarations to be seeped in romantic love, but his thoughts actually speak of finding God in love. If you read his quotes, you will not be surprised at why this poet is so popular even 750 years after his death. This picture book presents, in simple prose, the life of Rumi from childhood until his later years. It shows how Rumi was inspired by nature right from young age. In the prime of his life, he also learnt from other wise men around him, including Shams of Tabriz. ( I had first encountered Rumi and Shams in Elif Shafak’s The Forty ...

AUTHOR: Tonya Mitchell GENRE: Historical Fiction RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A compelling historical fiction about a woman accused of murdering her husband. Quick pace, complicated characters. Based on true events. A bit dissatisfied with the ending scenes, but overall, definitely recommended. Plot Preview: 1889. Liverpool, England. Twenty-six-year-old Constance Sullivan has been accused of murdering her husband William. As the whole world turns against her, the only person on her side is her mother, who promises to hire the best legal counsel to prove her daughter's innocence. As we see the proceedings of Constance's trial, we also see in flashbacks, the events that led to the trial. The story comes to us in Constance's third person perspective, and is written entirely in present tense. Bookish Yays: 😍 Constance as the lead character is exceptional - complicated and morally grey. I love how she wasn't portrayed as a picture-perfect innocent just because she was ...

AUTHOR: Thibault Busschots GENRE: Short Story RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A short story about a young couple who encounter an unexpected guest in their new cottage. Mixes humour and awareness in an interesting way. Plot Preview: A young couple has just moved into a cottage, eager to begin the next phase in their relationship: that of living together. As they are going about what they usually do, they have an unexpected visitor. Yup, as you might have guessed from the title: a bear. What happens next? Let me first blow my own trumpet. This story exists because of me. 😎 No, no, I didn't write it. But I happened to read a short story titled 'There's a Bear in the House!' , on the review of which I had complained that I was expecting something funnier and directly related to the bear. Author Thibault Busschots, who  happens to be a friend of mine on Goodreads, commented with what he would have expected from the title. I liked his idea so much that I told him he ne...

AUTHOR: Chris MacDonald GENRE: Advertised - Psychological Thriller. Actual - Literary Suspense. RATING: 1 star. In a Nutshell: There’s a great story somewhere in here, but it is tough to locate the plot with all the flaws. This isn’t a thriller as advertised. Might work if you want a slow literary suspense. Story Synopsis: ( Too bored to write sensible sentences. ) Adam Sealey. Method actor. Obsessed with winning an Oscar. Blindly trusts controversial mentor Jonathan, who teaches him to tap into his greatest trauma, from back in drama school, to bring out the best performance of his career. Someone accuses Jonathan of something. Investigations begin. Danger of Adam’s dark secret coming out. Will he get the Oscar? ( For that’s all that matters, right? ) The story is written in Adam’s first person perspective. What I thought this book would offer: 👉 A taut psychological thriller. ( To all those who advertised it as a thriller: please DM me with YOUR definition of ‘thriller’. ) 👉 A q...

AUTHOR: Daphne du Maurier GENRE: Gothic Literary Fiction, Classic. RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: Well worth the hype. An excellent character study. Great for literary fiction and classic readers. Skipping my usual ‘Story Synopsis’ section as most of you might have already read this classic, and if you haven’t, the Goodreads blurb is good enough. It is said that things happen only when they are meant to happen. I didn’t have ‘Rebecca’ on my reading agenda, though I have been an avid reader of the classics. It wasn’t on my school reading list ( for obvious reasons ), and no one around me was an avid-enough reader to suggest this title as a must-read. However, about 6 years ago, Amazon showed me this book in its recs section, and I found it interesting enough to buy a paperback, which had been lying on my bookshelf unread until now. Two things pushed this book to the top of my reading list. One of my ARCs (The Fiction Writer by Jillian Cantor) has Rebecca ( the book, not the character...

EDITOR: Sandra Proudman GENRE: YA Retelling Anthology. RATING: 3.7 stars In a Nutshell: A well-written YA anthology that takes sixteen classic stories/fairy tales and gives them a Latinx spin. Excellent as a retelling collection. Quite good as a YA work. Recommended! My friends know that I don’t have any fondness for YA fiction. Its characters are usually so self-centred and whiny that I can’t stop rolling my eyes at them. However, the YA anthology subcategory has brought out story collections with some unusual and inclusive themes over the last couple of years. This anthology too appealed to me by virtue of its central intent and hence I grabbed it, despite the YA tag. Luckily, the *risk* was much worth it. 😉 This collection of sixteen stories takes classic short stories, poems and fairy tales, and reimagines them in a new setting with Latinx characters at the helm. The original stories span a variety of styles: Frankenstein, Goldilocks, Pride & Prejudice, Theseus and the Minota...

AUTHOR: Edgar Allan Poe GENRE: Classic, Poetry. RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: The audio version helped me crack a classic poem! Enjoyed it way more than I expected. (This isn’t an insult to Poe, but an honest comment about my – Ahem! – outstanding poetic sensibilities.) I am not a staunch fan of verse. This logical head much prefers to read stories in prose then in poem form. I do love a few poems, but I am very much a traditionalist in my choices. Free verse makes my head spin. Rhymes and repetitions make a poem a “poem’ in my eyes. ‘The Raven’ was not at all on my reading radar. To be honest, I have attempted it twice in the last couple of years, but my brain is so anti-verse that the moment it sees lengthy poems, it goes a-wandering after the threshold limit is crossed. Any poem that extends beyond 15-20 lines gives me palpitations. However, a retelling based on this poem is present in the anthology I am currently reading, and I like to be familiar with the source materi...

AUTHOR: Mojgan Ghazirad GENRE: Iranian Historical Fiction RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A historical autofiction based on a young girl’s recollections of what happened in Iran during and after the 1979 Islamic revolution. Not as traumatic as I had expected, which is both good and bad. Impactful in its writing. Disliked the final quarter or so, but the rest was great. Story Synopsis: In 1978, six-year-old Moji and her younger sister love nothing more than to visit her grandparents’ house on Sun Street and listen to their grandfather narrating stories from ‘One Thousand and One Nights’. They do not yet know that the seeds of revolution have already begun to spring up, and very soon, the Shah (the monarch of Iran) will leave his country, changing all their lives. Through Moji’s eyes, we get to see the days during and after the 1979 revolution, with a glimpse of their brief stint in the US where Moji’s dad had been studying during the uprising. The story comes to us from Moji’s fir...