Matriarchs, Cows and Epic Villains: New and Selected Fables and Poems by Suniti Namjoshi - Book Review

Publication Date: 24th Mar 2025

Purchase Link (India): https://www.amazon.in/Matriarchs-Cows-Epic-Villains-Selected/dp/819425339X/

Genre: Short Story Collection

3.7 Stars

One Liner: Interesting!

The book is a collection of short stories, fables, lyrical poems, and observations (commentary) based on Hindu epics. It has several pieces, including abridged versions of her two novellas and two books from the Ravana trilogy – Shupi’s Choices and Kumbh.

The book begins with a foreword about the author, her writing, and storytelling style etc.

The first set is a bunch of fables based on Indian and other folklore. These are short and crisp retellings with a feminist twist. However, unlike most feminist works I’ve read so far, the fables don’t preach or rant. They simply present a different perspective on things. This really cuts down the drama and fluff, leaving the reader to think about what the author wants. It’s an effective storytelling style.

There are some poems scattered between the fables. These have a surreal and abstract vibe despite the brief notes provided by the author. I like how they sound, though I can’t explain them if you were to ask (and before you wonder, I’m a poet too).

It’s amazing how some of these pieces have been written in the 1970s. They do have a timeless quality. The author mentioned P.Lal in one of her notes (he published two of her poems). I’m assuming it’s the same Prof. Purushottama Lal who translated the complete Mahabharata into English in verse. Well, if he gave his approval for her works, I’d be more than happy to read along! 

After the short pieces, we get four novellas of sorts:

• The Conversations of a Cow (abridged)
• The Mothers of Maya Diip (abridged)
• Shupi’s Choices (part of the Ravana trilogy)
• Kumbh (part of the Ravana trilogy)

The Conversations of a Cow is divided into five parts (it has an author’s note and an internal content page). The author, a lesbian and a feminist, takes on the lesbian feminist movement using herself as one of the main characters. The genres are a blend of magic realism and bizarro fiction, if you ask me. There’s no gyan or preaching. Just a confused woman trying to figure out who she is while being thoroughly stressed out by so many definitions, labels, and the behavior styles a person labeled as something should follow.

The Mothers of Maya Diip is divided into three parts and is a take on how things would be in a matriarchal society. Kinda dystopian. There isn’t enough world-building to support the plot, so you need to wing it and go with the flow.

Shupi’s Choices and Kumbh have overlapping content since both belong to the same trilogy (they didn’t include the third book). The stories deal with Shurpanaka and Kumbhakarna (Ravana’s siblings) and how they adjust to a modern-day world. As with most retellings, this one also shoves modern-day caste and empowerment into the bygone era and pretty much eliminates the nuances of the epic. Luckily, these have only a minor role. Most of the plot is set in the future timeline (current-day scenario of sorts), so it has something unique to offer (while also ticking off a checklist). As you can guess, these are my least favorite entries in the book. However, I still chuckled at a few scenes, so all is not lost!

I love how the book has been structured and formatted. It is so neat, with clear author’s notes for sections and internal ToC (table of contents). Jojy Philip did a great job typesetting this book.

To summarize, Matriarchs, Cows and Epic Villains is a collection of poems, fables, and stories with women and feminism as the central theme. Most of them are non-preachy, crisp, and thought-provoking.

My thanks to Blogchatter and Penguin Zubaan for a copy of the book. This review is powered by the Blogchatter Book Review Program and contains my honest opinions. 

The Girl from Normandy by Rachel Sweasey - Book Review - Blog Tour

Publication Date: 27^th June 2025

Purchase Link: https://mybook.to/GirlfromNormandy

Goodreads Book Page: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/220707309-the-girl-from-normandy

Genre: Women’s Fiction, Dual Timeline

3 Stars

One Liner: Interesting premise!

Book Blurb:

Paris, 1940: Marie-Claire steps into the Gare de Lyon, not knowing it will be the last time she'll see her husband and son. Fleeing occupied Paris, she travels into the countryside of Normandy and stumbles upon a chateau near Caen and a growing resistance movement. Soon, Marie-Claire finds herself working in a cafe in the quiet village of Sainte-Mère-Église, where she tries to come to terms with all she has lost – but little does she realise that her presence in Normandy will change the course of history…

1998: Half a century later, Esther is returning to the Normandy village she visited as a teenager, seeking a break from her monotonous life. Back then, she'd fallen in love with a rustic farmhouse and the family that lived there – not least the charming eldest son, Jules Joubert. But now, when Esther discovers an old annotated cookbook in the family kitchen, she begins to realise that the place she holds so close to her heart may hide more secrets than even the Jouberts realise...

What stories does the area carry? And could this trip change Esther’s life forever?

***

My Thoughts:

The story comes in the third-person POVs of Esther, Marie-Claire, and a couple of other characters.

It has been a long time since I read WWII fiction, that too with the popular dual timeline setting. This one sounded good as I could explore another region of France, Normandy.

The premise is solid. There’s no denying that. The alternating chapters for each track also work well to bring some suspense and keep the reader hooked.

However, both timelines have so much going on that neither gets a chance to be fully explored. Everything happens in 4x speed; one event after another.

Though you’ll want to slow down and feel the emotions, the narration (which is mostly ‘telling’) doesn’t give you that chance. We see how the Nazis were, what they did, et al. However, we cannot fully experience what the characters are going through.

The setting is, of course, lovely. I did enjoy the glimpses into the places mentioned. Some of the events in the book are based on real ones. That’s a bonus.

A couple of developments were strange, like an awkward kind. I couldn’t really understand the reasons, TBH. That said, the book ends on a happy/ hopeful note, which I appreciate.

The side characters were lovely, especially the ones from the historical timeline. I liked them all.

To summarize, The Girl from Normandy is a decent read if you want a lighter version of WWII fiction. I finished it sooner than expected, so no complaints.

Thank you, Rachel's Random Resources and Boldwood Books, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. 

#NetGalley

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About the Author – Rachel Sweasey

Rachel was born to English 10-pound-pom parents in sub-tropical Brisbane, Australia, and when the family moved back to Poole, Dorset, she was just 5 years old. She then grew up against the stunning backdrop of Poole Harbour where she sailed and played on the beaches of Brownsea Island and Studland, and walked across the Purbeck Hills, all of which inspired her imagination and provided the setting of her debut historical fiction novel set in WWII. Since then, Rachel has moved back to Brisbane, Australia.

Follow the Author:

Facebook: @RachelSweaseyAuthor

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/RachelSweaseyNews

Bookbub Profile: @rachelsweaseyauthor

***

This has been a stop on the #TheGirlFromNormandy blog tour by Rachel's Random Resources (@rararesources). Thanks for stopping by!

A Terribly Nasty Business by Julia Seales - Book Review

Series: Beatrice Steele #2

Publication Date: 24th June 2025 

Genre: Historical Cozy Mystery 

3.5 Stars 

One Liner: Mindless fun but with important themes 

After solving a murder (in the previous book), Beatrice Steele feels like things are finally falling into place. She relocated from Swampshire to London with her trusted chaperone, Miss Bolton. Beatrice and Inspector Drake start their detective agency, D.S. Investigations. However, the elusive Sir Huxley is still considered the only real detective in the city. 

When a string of murders put her and her investigating partner in the middle of a mess, Beatrice must survive the threats on their lives, the disturbances in their partnership, the pressure from her mother to marry well, and a lot more! 

The story comes in Beatrice’s third-person POV with snippets like news articles, letters, notes, etc. 

My Thoughts: 

Well, in a way, it’s not different from the previous book. But it becomes a bit darker. I would recommend starting at the beginning. This series is an OTT farcical blend of Austen and Christie’s works. So, you have a P&P-type set-up with a murder mystery. 

The writing style is quirky, satirical, and fun. Maybe not as fun as book one, but it is still good. I laughed out loud many times at the deliberate absurdity of the situation. 

Since the FMC moved from Swampshire to Sweetbriar in London, frogs have been replaced by… flying squirrels. Not as fun, sadly, but deadlier! 

I like the themes, though. Suppression of arts and artists, the noblemen trying to control society with restrictions, banning arts, gender bias, vehemently opposing women’s freedom, etc., are central to the plot. However, the book doesn’t feel preachy or heavy, thanks to the lighthearted writing style. 

The mystery starts on an interesting note. Since it is a cozy book, you can easily figure out the twists and reveals before the main characters. But the pacing is good, so you don’t have to wait long for them to catch up. 

Beatrice seems uncertain and tentative in the new setting. While it aligns with the plot changes, I did miss her spunk from book one. Luckily, she gets back on track towards the end. 

There’s the dreaded love triangle, which wasn’t too bad due to the lingering comic presence. It seems to have been sorted to an extent. I can only hope there won’t be a curveball in the next book. 

That ending is a perfect bait for book #3! I’m so curious about what will happen. As long as there won’t be unwanted complications in the love track, I’ll be eager for the next installment. 

Oh, the comedy quotient is a bit less in the second half as the seriousness increases. I never thought I’d say this, but I miss Mary (we get updates about her, don’t worry)! We still don’t have any explanation, though there are many clues. 

To summarize, A Terribly Nasty Business indeed deals with a terribly nasty business of murders, control, and infuriating men with a generous dose of silliness and fun. Rounding up since it was entertaining. 

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House, for the eARC. 

#NetGalley #ATerriblyNastyBusiness

A Body at the Book Fair by Ellie Alexander - Book Review

Series: A Secret Bookcase Mystery #6 

Publication Date: 16th June 2025 

Genre: Small Town Cozy Mystery 

3.5 Stars 

One Liner: The finale… 

Annie and Fletcher, the new co-owners of the Secret Bookcase and private investigators, attend the annual book fair in Santa Clara. Their plan is for Annie to finally solve the mystery behind her best friend, Scarlet’s, death all those years ago. However, Annie ends up becoming a part of another case when an industry colleague dies in front of an audience, and it is clearly a murder. 

Can Annie, with help from her friends, solve both cases and come out alive? 

The story comes in Annie’s first-person POV. 

My Thoughts: 

This is the concluding book in the series. While the first two chapters provide the necessary backstory to make this a standalone, I think readers might enjoy it more if they read at least the previous two books. That shouldn’t take long since these are short books and can be finished in a couple of hours or so. 

Here, the main mystery is about the death at the annual book fair. The other is not a mystery since the FMC figured things out in the previous book. This is more of a confrontation/ conclusion part, but not without risks, of course. 

Technological advancement is the central theme, focusing on the use of tech in the publishing and bookselling industry. Would you like a VR (virtual reality) device that ‘shows’ a book’s setting, characters, story, etc., or do you prefer to imagine it yourself? I fall into the latter category. While VR sounds fun, I don’t want technology to replace my imagination! 

We also get some insight into the cut-throat world of publishing, like how stressful the auctions for popular authors’ manuscripts are, how not everything is ethically done, and so on. 

There are some mentions of coffee and food, too. On that note, can anyone tell me what a progressive Indian restaurant is supposed to mean? I thought most Indian restaurants in the West don’t serve traditional dishes (even if they say they do) like we have them here (and anyone willing to try avocado raita? Not me!).  

Anyhoo, the mystery is solved, and the overarching plot is also handled pretty easily. There’s a bit of danger, but since someone in the FMC’s team is actually sensible, everyone is safe and alive. 

There’s a surprise for series readers at the end. Don’t miss the author’s note (it’s a short one anyway). If you enjoyed the books so far, you’ll be happy with the update. 

To summarize, A Body at the Book Fair is the final book in the series and keeps the pacing, plotting, and character development aligned with the previous books. Since the series has been a steady 3.5 stars for me, I think it’s only fair to round up this time. 

Thank you, NetGalley and Storm Publishing, for the eARC. 

#NetGalley #ABodyAtTheBookFair

No More Yesterdays by Catherine Bybee - Book Review

Series: The Heirs #3 

Publication Date: 17th June 2025

Genre: Romance 

4 Stars 

One Liner: This was good! 

Never did Alex Stone think she would take over her father’s company. But now, as the CEO chair at Stone Enterprises, Alex puts all her energies into rebuilding the empire while dodging the attempts on her life and business, with support from her half-sibling. 

Hawk Bronson is Alex’s bodyguard and determined to protect her. With his own past, he cannot afford to get close to her and increase the risk. However, this is easier said than done with their undeniable chemistry. 

Alex and Hawk have to face their past, their family secrets, and threats to have a future together. 

The story comes in Alex and Hawk’s third-person POVs. 

My Thoughts: 

After enjoying the previous book in the series, I was excited to read this one, where the story concludes and the loose ends are tied up. 

However, the focus is on Alex (Alexandra), the only single Stone sibling since her brothers now have partners. The FMC is strong, independent, and determined, but as the MMC says, she has zero situational awareness. 

Like the previous book, this one has a steady pace. Though it is 400 pages long, it never feels stretched out or slow. In fact, I finished it in two days flat. 

The MMC is easy to like despite his grumpy exterior. He isn’t afraid to be harsh to make the FMC see the extent of danger she is in. However, he is also very protective and caring.  

There are quite a few twists and developments as the story progresses. We can pretty much guess who the actual culprit is, but that’s okay since this is marketed as romance and not a mystery or suspense. 

The romance track is nice and has a bit of steam. The supporting characters are a highlight and continue to enhance the storyline. The bonding between the siblings and their partners is lovely to read. No unwanted drama here. 

While this still works as a standalone, I think I enjoyed it more since I read at least book #2. The central plot starts in the first book, so if you are particular about details, add all three to your TBR. It won’t take long to finish them anyway! 

There’s an epilogue that nicely rounds up everything and gives a solid ending (HEA) to the entire series. 

To summarize, No More Yesterdays is a fast-paced romance with a good dose of suspense and a touch of danger. It is a worthy entertainer with a bit of everything to keep you hooked. I’ll be sure to read more books by the author. 

Thank you, NetGalley and Montlake, for the eARC. 

#NetGalley #NoMoreYesterdays

Coming Home to Maple Tree Lodge by Alison Sherlock - Book Review - Blog Tour

Series: The Inn on the Lake #1

Publication Date: 20th June 2025

Purchase Link: https://mybook.to/MapleTreeLodge

Goodreads Book Page: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/217965087-coming-home-to-maple-tree-lodge

Genre: Small Town Romance

3.7 Stars

One Liner: Sweet and cozy; low-stakes romance

Book Blurb:

A family and hotel in desperate need of help…

Maple Tree Lodge has been the home of the Jackson family for over a century. But the hotel has never been a success, and following the sudden loss of his father, architect Ben Jackson soon discovers the hotel is close to financial ruin. Ben has to make some tough decisions if the hotel is to survive and his family are to keep a roof over their heads.

With the hotel in urgent need of a renovation, Ben’s sister calls on the talents of her best friend, interior designer Lily Watson. Cash-strapped Lily needs a successful project to prove to herself and her high-achieving parents that she can carve a successful career and Maple Tree Lodge sounds like just the place for Lily to showcase her talents. However, Lily’s vision for a cozy, country Cotswolds hotel is the complete opposite to what Ben has in mind for a minimalistic, modern makeover and fireworks ensue!

Can they work together to save Maple Tree Lodge?

Can Lily help Ben and his family find a future together?

And can Ben show Lily that there's more to life than work?

As autumn at Maple Tree Lodge begins to weave its magic spell, perhaps Lily will discover somewhere to finally call home and a reason to stay...

***

My Thoughts:

The story comes in Lily and Ben’s third-person POVs.

Since I enjoyed the previous series by the author, I was excited to read this one. It is set in the same region, a fictional setting in the UK countryside, close to London. A few characters from the other series make a guest appearance here. Only one of them has a slightly prominent role… Dodgy Del! Yeah, though here, he seems to be less prone to causing trouble.

This is a low-stakes romance with very little angst or drama. If you are into intense love stories, this may not work for you. But if you want something hopeful, lighthearted, and cozy, you will enjoy the book.

The writing is mostly ‘tell’ with very little ‘show’. Also, there’s an infodump right at the beginning (this seems to be the author’s writing style). Still, the book has a good pace. I could finish 70% in a single sitting.

Though we have some heavy themes like the death of a parent, tensions in the family, a heroine with reinforced walls, financial concerns, etc., they don’t feel overwhelming. The feel-good vibes are strong and ensure there’s a sense of hope from start to finish.

Family and friendships are the core of the plot. I loved all members of the Jackson family as well as the friends of the MCs. Two pairs for the next books have been hinted at, and there’s one person left. We’ll have to wait and see how that goes. So, this is also bound to be a four-book series set in the beautiful Maple Tree Lodge.

The remote setting of the lodge nestled in the woods with a lake close by and hundreds of ancient trees feels like the best place to be! I enjoyed the descriptions of the interiors of the lodge and the nature around it. Since the story happens over four-six months, we can see the seasonal changes as well.

To summarize, Coming Home to Maple Tree Lodge is a cozy and heartwarming story about finding your place in the world and having a supportive family. It works well as a breather between heavier reads.

Thank you, Rachel’s Random Resources and Boldwood Books, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

#NetGalley

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About the Author – Alison Sherlock

Alison Sherlock is the author of the bestselling Willow Tree Hall books. Alison enjoyed reading and writing stories from an early age and gave up office life to follow her dream. Her series for Boldwood is set in a fictional Cotswold village.

Follow the Author:

Twitter: @AlisonSherlock

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/AlisonSherlockNews

Bookbub Profile: @AlisonSherlock

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This has been a stop on the #ComingHomeToMapleTreeLodge blog tour by Rachel's Random Resources (@rararesources). Thanks for stopping by!