Sona is a nurse in a Bombay hospital, taking care of renowned artist Miva Novak after she suffers a miscarriage. After her sudden death, Song is left to deliver three paintings to members of Mira's past. Along the way, Sona learns how to live life on her own terms and to take chances to make her life better

Having read Alka Joshi's other novels, I was excited to be given early access to this one. Unfortunately, this one didn't feel the same to me. I felt the story before Sona leaves India was too drawn out, whereas the delivery of the paintings and Sona's traveling on her own was rushed, and I didn't get the full joy that song should be experiencing while traveling to new countries. I really wish I'd enjoyed this book more.

Joshi took me to 1937 Bombay where our Indo-English protagonist Sona, a devoted young nurse leads a sheltered life encounters patient Maya, a flamboyant painter and her life is forever changed.

This was a perfect book for me as it blended two of my favorite genres…historical fiction and mystery.

Throughout this novel are the rich underpinnings of what life was like in Europe at the time. As Sona travels through four incredibly rich and romantic European cities I felt the rumblings of Mussolini and Hitler trying to emerge.

What was it like to be an Anglo-Indian at the time when India was building power in order to shake off England's throat-hold? Sona was called a darkie by some and a halfsie by others. My heart hurt for her as she was torn by the circumstances of her birth.

The author spent the first third of this novel in character building and scene setting and then BAM! it really took off. We are swept across Europe through four incredible cities with Sona on a quest which the artist Mira sent us on along with Sona.

This novel felt both heart warming and heart wrenching at times.

If you enjoy historical fiction, a quest for answers along with a large dab of romance than I suggest you pick up this novel.

Publication day is April 15 but I understand some Book of the Month members have already received their copies.

Thank you to Alka Joshi the author of The Henna Artist Trilogy, her publisher MIRA as well as NetGalley for my advanced reader copy of this fabulous novel.

Sona is a dedicated nurse to both her patients at the hospital and her Mom at home. When a famous painter, Mira, is admitted she becomes not only a fan but a friend to Mira. However, something goes wrong and Mira suddenly passes away under Sona's care and she is made to be the scapegoat and then her mother passes as well. Mira has left a note for Sona with 4 of her favorite paintings as to who she wants to have them and with the help of another patient, Mira goes on a journey through Europe to find the old friends and to mend relationships through delivery of the paintings to grant Mira's last wish but also herself. I loved these characters and the glimpse back into India and Europe as tensions rise of WWII.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review! #NetGalley #SixDaysinBombay

A slow burn atmospheric historical novel that's also a romance and a mystery. Mira changed Sona's life in a way neither woman could have predicted when Sona was assigned as her night nurse in a Bombay hospital. It's 1937 and Sona has the stigma of being Anglo-Indian, her father having left her family to return to the UK when she was 3. She lives with her mother in one room and works hard to support them. Her head is turned a bit by a handsome Oxford trained physician who is ignored by the Anglo management of the hospital. Something isn't right about Mira's illness but she rallies briefly and then sadly dies, leaving behind four paintings meant for Sona and three others. Dr. Stoddard, another of Sona's patients, helps Sona arrange travel to Europe to delivery the canvases, and introduces her to his son Edward. This has many ups, downs, and turns. Not everyone is what they seem, and the cause of Mira's death will not be revealed until the very end. The characters are terrific even when they're rotten people. Know that there's a bit of steam which didn't really work for me (it felt incongruous). This leans in on domestic abuse but most of all on the caste system and prejudice. Joshi's got mad storytelling skills and will keep you turning the pages. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Great read.

Alka Joshi's first book, The Henna Artist, drew me in to the worlds she is so good at building. Her newest book, Six Days in Bombay, builds yet another world you can practically see and smell as you read. While some parts were unbelievable (like finding a person in a giant city on your first try when you only know their first name!), others really put me in the situations of the characters. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

3.75 stars

I enjoyed this author’s previous novels and so was anticipating reading this one.

I have mixed feelings about this one. The first 60 percent was very interesting as we learn about Sona, a young British-Indian woman living in Bombay in 1937. She is the product of a relationship between her Indian mother and British father, who later abandoned them. Sona is a nurse at a hospital who has lived a safe life with her mother until she meets Mira, a patient at the hospital who changes Sona’s life. Events transpire that send her to Europe at Mira’s request, where she begins a journey of self-discovery, including questions about her biracial identity and her father.

It was with the last 40 percent of the novel that the novel somewhat faltered for me. The story then became less about Sona and more about the people she met in Europe and their relationship to Mira. While we see the impacts of what Sona learns on her own life. I found this part of the story to be disconnected from the first part and almost like I was reading two different novels,

There are many things I enjoyed about this novel, including the vivid descriptions of life in Bombay as well as the European settings. I also enjoyed the themes of identity, and the weaving of the time period into the story such as the rising Indian political movement for independence from Britain and the growing signs of fascism in Europe. The relationship between Dr. Stoddard and Sona was well-depicted.

Overall, a mixed read for me. I am happy that I read it and really enjoyed the first part. Suggest reading the author’s notes as they provide context for the second half of the book though my comments on the disconnection remains.

Thanks to the publisher for this complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for giving me access to this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Six Days in Bombay is the story of Sona, a young woman living in Bombay in the 1930's. Sona is an Anglo-Indian nurse working night shifts at a hospital where she meets Mira a famous painter. During the week that Sona looks after Mira Sona is told about the exciting life Mira had lead and the two become close friends. Mira is released from the hospital just in time to attend a lavish party but the next day is admitted back to the hospital. Mira passes away under mysterious circumstances and Sona falls under suspicion.

Mira's passing sets Sona on a journey to complete her last wishes. Traveling to Prague, Florence, Paris and London Sona is taken out of her small sheltered life and thrusted into the world. Meeting may people along the way Sona learns many lessons and eventually finds herself.

This story has mystery, love, friendship and adventure. I highly recommend it!

This book was given by NetGalley as an advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was super excited about another book by Alka Joshi. Her books always tell a good story full of relevant topics.

This story was about a nurse who meets a patient and six days later, when the patient dies, the nurse goes to deliver the patient’s artwork to three people in Europe. The biggest problem I had was that I can’t remember the main character’s name. The most memorable character, on purpose, I suppose, was the patient. The patient’s name is Mira. It felt unrealistic that after six days of knowing someone, the main character would go on the journey she did.

Regardless, I enjoyed the read well enough and will read whatever Joshi writes next.

I have never read Alka's work before but I'm glad I started with Six Days in Bombay. This story is all about reflecting on one's complex identity and what this means for our main character who is both white and Indian. I really enjoyed her point of view and was intrigued by where the story went.

The entire premise of this book felt shaky from the start. The time period the story is set in (pre-independence India) is one of my favorites but everything else fell flat. Our main character Sona lives a small, sheltered life due to circumstances outside her control. Though she doesn’t complain, she is clearly embarrassed by her family background, which drives a large part of her narrative in this book. Her story changes as she comes to know a painter who is admitted as her patient, and whose untimely death sends her on a quest of self-discovery.

The characters were fairly fleshed out, but the relationship between Sona and Mira — the entire premise of the aforementioned quest — was not built up enough to warrant the lengths that Sona went to to complete Mira’s last wishes. She drained her savings, traveled independently to new countries (in a time when this wasn’t the norm for women, certainly not for those as sheltered as Sona) for…what? A random patient who she met and took care of (along with other patients in her caseload) for 6 days? If more time had been spent on the interactions between Sona and Mira, I might have enjoyed this book more. While I agree that Sona’s ultimate journey was for the better and infinitely more interesting than the life she previously led, the reason behind this did not feel believable to me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Harlequin publisher and netgalley for allowing me to read a copy of Alka Joshi Six Days in Bombay. Alka Joshi is a favorite historical author that captures historical fiction with such ease you feel like you are there in the present story. I have read her previous books and I was happy to get a copy of this book and have been praising it ever since. The story takes place in India where a nurse takes care of a patient who is a painter and they becomes friends . A friendship develops between these two ladies who are of different nationalities. This book was of characters that are well developed.

When I saw Alka Joshi’s newest novel, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. Like all of her previous novels, it has a slow start for me, but once I hit the half way point, I couldn’t put it down and finished it in one setting. In this story, which felt very different from The Henna Artist, a young nurse, Sona, from Bombay, looses everything and decides to step out of her comfort zone to set off on an adventure in Europe to follow the last wishes of her deceased patient. Mira was a famous painter from Prague who succumbed to complications from a miscarriage. Throughout Sona’s travels, she learns nothing with her friend Mira was as it seems and relationships are more complicated than what meets the eye. My favorite parts of this story explored Istanbul, Prague, Florence, Paris, and London. Also, the historian in me enjoyed reading about the political climate in 1937 when WWII was imminent. I recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys art history, European history, and travel. 4.5/5 Stars!

I really enjoyed the first half of this book but then it seemed to really drag and there was just too many uninspiring relationships and infidelity to root for any of the characters. The parentage mysteries kept me reading but the emotion and connection to characters was lacking. I did enjoy the writing and learning more about the people and places during this time period.

Synopsis:

When renouned painter Mira Novak arrives at Wadia hospital in Bombay after a miscarriage, she's expected to make a quick recovery, and Sona, a nurse, is enraptured by Mira's stories of her travels, and shocked by accounts of her affairs. When Mira dies under mysterious circumstances, Sona immediately falls under suspicion. Mira leaves her a note, along with her 4 favorite paintings that sends Sona on a mission delivering them, first to Petra, Mira's childhood friend and first love in Prague; the second to her art dealer Josephine in Paris; the third to her first painting tutor, Paolo, with whom both Mira and her mother had affairs. Along the way, Sona also comes to terms with her own complex history and the English father who deserted her and her mother in India so many years ago.

Review:

This book had Alka Joshi's typical charm and detailed descriptions that transport you to where the story is taking place. There are many characters, but they are all distinct and easy to keep track of. I enjoyed the unique perspective of someone with mixed heritage in this time when it was frowned upon. We watch Sona become confident and grow throughout the book as she travels the world. I truly believe that travel is a wonderful way to learn about others and to become appreciative of the fact that our differences are what make us stronger. A lesson that I feel the world needs more than ever right now!

Thank you to Mira for my digital ARC.

Sadly, I think I have to stop trying to read Joshi's novels. The Henna Artist was a solid 4-star read for me, but I have liked each successive book of hers less and less. On paper, this historical novel looked like a perfect fit for me. An Anglo-Indian nurse in 1930s Bombay gets swept up in a charismatic patient's life. When the patient (a painter) dies, Sona sets off on a multi-country journey to deliver paintings to significant people in the painter's life. My problems with the novel were mostly character-related. I didn't buy in to Sona's transformation and growth, nor her love story(ies), nor the series of tragedies that kick-started her journey. It just didn't ring true for the time and place. And a small nitpick, and I freely admit that this might be something that I'm wrong about, the constant use of Hindi, including Sona's mother wondering if she should have encouraged more Hindi fluency over English in her daughter, did not fit my understanding of the south of India. Maybe it was different in the 1930s, but I thought Hindi was much more prevalent in the north than in the south. Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA for a digital review copy.

Excited to read a new novel by the amazing novelist of The Henna Artist trilogy. The way Alka Joshi brought me into the culture of India with those stories, kept me rapt and waiting for more. In her newest story, it is the late 1930s, when Europe's political current is rumbling with the rise of Hitler and when Gandhi represents the country's desire for independence from British rule. Sona, a nurse at a Catholic affiliated hospital in Bombay, doesn't spend as much time taking in the scenic nature of India, instead she will embark on an adventure to 4 countries, marking the last request of a patient named Mira who lost her life following complications of a miscarriage.
Years ago, Sona is 3 years old when her mother is left bereft and in shock to learn that the British soldier that fathered her two children is also the father of a family in England and he is returning to England so they are abandoned, without income or any stability. Then Sona's little brother dies and it is the two of them, trying to piece together a life on her mother's small seamstress income. Sona is the target of bullies who make fun of her being a "half-half" but her mother always makes her feel loved. Now, Sona is a nurse though after some not fully fleshed out reason, she is fired from her first job and she ends up at this new hospital where wealthier patients come. Many of her patients enjoy her care and become friendly with her including Dr. Stoddard, who plays backgammon with her and a famous artist, Mira, who is there following a miscarriage. Mira captivates Sona with her confidence and charm and the stories of people she has known. A fellow nurse named Rebecca for some reason picks on Sona, constantly telling the Matron things to make Sona look bad. And two doctors butt heads as to the care plan of Mira who is constantly feverish and using morphine shots to deal with the extreme pain. Mira's standoffish husband brings 4 of her paintings to the hospital to show Sona and after Mira dies, Sona discovers that Mira would like to have her to deliver one to each of the people in her life she has shared stories about over the 6 days she was hospitalized. Sona does go on this errand, seeking to get closure for these 3 people when it comes to their relationship with Mira. Sona also finds her own world opens up and also closes some doors that changed her family's life.
As fabulous as Joshi's first books were, this one lacked. Sona's character was just so flat, too much time was spent in the hospital setting without much necessary content and her journey into 4 countries for a woman who was so unsure of herself, so afraid to speak up for herself, so cloistered by her mother, so unworldly, so naïve, so unsophisticated, just didn't make sense. There is a build up of sexual tension between her and a young doctor at her hospital so for her character who has zero experience with men in general to go head first into a sexual romp did not fit her character at all. Some of the scenes set up was also so out of left field it didn't seem plausible or was too convenient, like what happens to her mother and once again being released from her job. This story would be better if it were tighter. Mira's stories didn't intrigue me at all. It might have worked better if there were two voices and timelines to build up the tension better and to get to know Mira on a deeper level to even make Sona's journey more meaningful. The issue of prejudice against the mixing of British and Indian during that time was educational as seen by the struggle Sona had regarding her identity within the Indian culture but, it was mentioned a lot. The cover art is gorgeous.
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Six Days in Bombay is set in the 1930’s Bombay, India and centers on Sona, a young night nurse at the local hospital, who looks after a wealthy patient who turns out to be a famed artist. Sona begins to form a friendship with the artist and that sets the story up. Sona is half British and half Indian and her lineage frames the backdrop of India’s independence and the prejudices of the period which are tightly woven into the narrative.

When Sona is left with a legacy of a patient (purposefully vague to avoid spoilers), and other events compel her to leave Bombay, she sets off on part adventure, part pilgrimage, part journey of self-discovery to Istanbul, Paris, Prague, Florence, and ultimately London to find her father.
There are deeply threaded themes throughout, and a glimmer of romance as Sona explores forgiveness on multiple levels as well as what it means to belong. As expected Alka Joshi’s descriptions are lush and vivid, transporting the reader to another place and time. I appreciated the epistolary elements as another layer of interest in the storyline. Six Days in Bombay will be loved by Joshi's fans and any historical fiction reader.
Also don’t miss the author’s note at the end explaining how the artist patient was inspired by Hungarian–Indian avant-garde female artist Amrita Sher-Gil.

Thank you NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Mira Books for the advance reading copy.

Alka Joshi delivers another unique story set in India. The author weaves a story featuring Sona, a half-Indian, half-British nurse who is in Bombay. She forms a bond with a patient, Mira, who is also a painter and following the patient’s death sets out on an adventure to deliver the final paintings to the painter’s most important people in their life. This was a book that is full of self discovery, realizing self-love and adventure! I always have enjoyed the author’s previous books so I did also enjoy this one. I felt like it was an easy quick read!

Thank you NetGalley, MIRA Original and Alki Joshi for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of Sux Days in Bombay.
This is a beautifully written , compelling, dual-part story of life lessons for sheltered Sona, our protagonist. The first part introduces us to Sona’s family and her life as a young nurse in Bombay. Women are treated as second class citizens which does not help Sona’s self esteem. The second part is Sona’s journey across Europe where she meets strong characters who teach her to understand herself. I felt transported to these areas through such descriptive , vivid writing.
I loved this story as Sona struggles with her identity. I was rooting for her every step of the way. Her heart belonged in Bombay but by seeing the world she learned more about herself. This story is going to stick with me for a long time. No doubt- 5 stars!

Sona is a nurse and when Mira Novak become her patient, they develop a close connection. When Mira suddenly dies and Sona is blamed, Sona sets out to figure out Mira and her death. With Mira being half-Indian like Sona, there are many similarities. Set in the lush backdrop of 1937 Bombay and a Europe tiptoeing towards an inevitable war, the reader is sucked into the story.

I adore Alka Joshi's writing style. It is full of vivid descriptions while also keeping the story at a brisk pace. The characters are complex and loveable.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves historical fiction. The ending is also perfection and was EXACTLY what I had hoped for!

Thank you to Net Galley, MIRA, and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the DRC. All opinions are my own.