Not my favorite of this author’s. While it was exciting to hear all about the places she visits in Europe having just come back from the same places this summer, the story was just not as intriguing as Henna Artist. There were some questionable choices made by the characters but overall, (and it might have been because I read it in the right time and place) I enjoyed the book. I still love her as an author and I love the worlds she creates, especially in the South Asian space.

Don’t forget to check out Alka’s latest bestseller SIX DAYS IN BOMBAY, newly released just this past April 2025!! Readers will be submersed into what the climate and tension was like in India between WWI and WWII with a possible world war looming again and with sparks igniting of Indian independence in backlash against the longstanding power and control of the British. The situation is heightened even more for those who are “half-caste”or “in-betweens”, like Joshi’s chosen protagonist nurse Sona, who the reader follows the journey and life of. Due to her treatments as such, as well as a lifetime of resentment against the English father who abandoned her and her family, Sona has been living a narrow stunted life of poverty. But six days spent nursing the vivacious, free-spirited, and unconventional painter Mira will change her life forever and serve as a catalyst for a journey across the world traversing Istanbul, Prague, Paris, Florence, and London that will unveil all Sona could and wants to be. Finally, stay tuned for Alka’s next release — she recently updated readers on her FB that she is working on edits for her 5th book!! I can’t wait!

Another fantastic story by Alka Joshi! I really like the pace of Joshi’s stories. This one start out slow, but she weaves an interesting story with complex characters.

Six Days in Bombay is such a beautifully written book, set in a fascinating time. When our main character goes to Europe it’s just before WWII and tensions are brewing. It’s interesting to see mentions of that throughout, but I’m glad it wasn’t a focus of the book.

When Sona finally meets her British family, I really like the way that was handled. It could have easily gone another direction, but I’m glad it didn’t turn into a woman against woman moment.

There are a lot of heavy topics discussed in this book, but they’re all handled well. We see:

- Colonialism in India and how that affected families who were Anglo-Indian

- The concept of identity, especially for someone who is part of multiple cultures/races

- How well do we truly know someone?

- The impact you can have on someone’s life, even in only six days

I really enjoyed this book and it’s not one I’ll forget anytime soon!

Thank you NetGalley and MIRA Books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own

I adored Alka Joshi's Jaipur trilogy and was thrilled to receive an advanced digital copy of her new novel, Six Days in Bombay. Once again, I felt completely transported to a past India where the sights, sounds and smells were vibrantly described. I was excited to immerse myself into another strong female character who would stand up for her rights and those of others in a time of so much inequality for women. But I just could not connect with the main character Sona or the overall plot.

There is a lot of self reflection and inner monologue in this book that was excessive at times. Sona questions herself and others a lot which makes sense given she is in a coming-of-age period of her life, but I think I needed more action rather than full paragraphs composed of nothing but questions and self reflection. I understand Sona becoming so enamored with Mira but I wasn't invested in her enough to the point where I wanted to read about all of these people and their lifestyles and their paths crossing with Mira's. It pains me to be so critical but this book just didn't work for me.

Six Days In Bombay
Pub Date: 4/15/25

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was my first book by this author. I enjoyed the thorough description of India as she transplants you back to Bombay in 1937. Sona is a nurse at Wadia Hospital in Bombay. She becomes friends with her patient, Mira, who is a famous painter. Mira dies after complications from a miscarriage. Sona goes on a journey that Mira requested delivering her paintings. Sona is trying to clear her name while she is on this journey of self-discovery. This was a wonderful historical fiction book that kept me engaged the entire time. I did tandem reading with physical and audiobook. The audiobook was excellent and kept me wanting to listen and read more!!

Thank you @netgalley @harlequinbooks and @htpbooks_audio for the eARC and eALC of this book

Loved this book, my first by this author but wont be my last. thank you for the book in exchange for a fair review

Six Days in Bombay is a historical fiction novel following Sona, a half British, half Indian nurse. Sona meets Mira, a painter suffering a miscarriage, at the hospital. Sona is a naive and sheltered woman whose life is focused on working and taking care of her mother. When Mira dies in a suspicious manner, she also leaves Sona with four paintings and hints at where she wants Sona to take them. Mira takes on the adventure of getting these paintings to their designated owners in the hopes of learning more about Mira and her death. Sona travels through Europe meeting artists and having a little love triangle of her own.

I loved The Henna Artist so I was so excited to jump back into a world written by Joshi! At first I had a few qualms about Sona and her travels. I felt like Sona was very naive and innocent in a way that could be a bit bothersome. In the end, I had to remind myself that that was the point! Sona is young and has spent her whole life doing everything she can to get her nursing job so that she can take care of herself and her single mother. This story is about Sona growing up, facing her past and her origins, and finally deciding what it is she wants her life to be.

Another qualm I had was how quickly Sona traveled from one city to the next. At first, I felt like this was a missed opportunity to explore Prague, Paris, and Florence, especially in a historical setting. In the end, I actually appreciated that this story wasn’t bogged down by Sona’s travels to all of these European cities. We get to explore the art scenes of these cities and also read as Sona experiences World War II brewing within each city. So while I had my qualms at first, I ended up really loving Sona’s journey and all of the things she experiences along the way.

Another aspect of this story I really loved was Sona’s relationships with her patients and the love triangle Sona finds herself in. Sona mostly just has her mother at the start of this book, but as she goes out into the world, her circle of support and her relationships grow. Sona learns about the father who abandoned her and the complicated life Mira lived, but Sona also learns about being in the world and living her life.

Six Days in Bombay is a perfect summer read. While this story has the fun and eye-opening aspects of traveling across Europe, it also delves into deeper topics like race in India, fascism, loss, domestic abuse and more. This story does have its harder moments, but in the end it is about a woman discovering life and love as she explores the world. I would highly recommend this, even if historical fiction is not your usual genre. This book has so much to offer - mystery, romance, travel, history.

Picture it.

1930's Bombay, India.

Occupied by the British but on the brink of independence creating a backdrop of cultural division and discord.

It's in this context that we meet Sona, a young nurse working in a British hospital who, by nature of her birth straddles the cultural lines and, in turn, belongs no where except with her mother and her role as nurse. Perhaps that's what makes her relationship with Mira, a patient and artist, so special Regardless of the reason, that relationship will change her life.

The first two-thirds-ish introduce us to Sona, her life in Bombay, her relationships, the hospital and her friendship with Mira. The last third is an adventure, a little bit of Eat, Pray, Love-esque, that sees Sona exploring Prague, Paris and Florence and discovering not just more about the world but also about her friend and herself.

While there are lots of layers, this is a story about self-discovery and I think Joshi tackled it with care and beauty. Did I wish the adventure could have been more of the story? Absolutely. I'd have loved a little bit more of her experiences in each location. If that meant sacrificing some of the set up, I probably would have been okay with that.

Regardless, it is pure Alka Joshi quality and I will gladly eat up her work as she takes us into Bombay and beyond.

“Wasn't it enough that our bodies, our limbs hurt? Why did we also have to hurt in our heart, the pain tucked so deeply in the soft tissue that we couldn't just pluck it out?”

I absolutely loved Alka Joshi’s The Jaipur Trilogy, so I was ecstatic to pick up Six Days in Bombay even without knowing what the story was about. How stunning is that cover?

We meet Sona, a nurse of Anglo-Indian descent in 1937 who together with her mother, has been ostracised due to her father leaving their family when she and her brother were young children. Her mother, a seamstress managed as best they could following the death of her brother soon after their father’s departure, making their house a home and saving every rupee that she could, sacrificing her needs to ensure that Sona was cared for. The relationship that they share is both beautiful and enviable, fighting together against society that is quick to judge. Sona meets Mira Novak, a famous painter also of mixed Indian and Czech descent who she quickly befriends. Mira regals Sona with stories of her life but dies unexpectedly following her re-admission. Sona finds herself accused of negligence and decides to follow Mira’s cryptic request to deliver paintings to people who impacted her life.

This journey forces Sona out of her comfort zone as well as to critically evaluate Mira’s stories, showing Mira in a light that Sona did not expect and forcing her to question everything that she knows to date.

I loved how well Alka handles Sona’s growth, and how different she is at the beginning of the story compared to the last chapter, and how she compares her life to Indira in terms of taking chances and being fearless. I also love how this story was inspired by Amrita Shergil, an artist of Hungarian Jewish and Indian descent who did not grapple with the matter of her identity as Sona did, and as most people of mixed descent do, as most South African Indians do, when we are asked where in India we are from. I get this question often, as I work with our regional colleagues based in India and they try to determine where in India my ancestors are from and I quite honestly answer, I don’t know. My family has been in South Africa for 3 or 4 generations now and our surnames were quite twisted either by the English when our forefathers first arrived or by strange naming conventions applied when being attached to a sugarcane plantation, making it quite impossible to tell which part of India where we originated from. A fun experience I had recently when I attended a conference in Rwanda with some colleagues that I met for the first time in person was that I was told that I looked like I was Punjabi – because I seemed fun and bubbly, just like these girls tend to be. It also may explain my obsession with Patiala style salwar kameez – swipe to see an example.

Overall, another excellent novel by Alka Joshi, one that I connected with on an intrinsic level and loved intensely.

In Alka Joshi's own words she writes her stories as a love letter to her mother, giving her mother the voice that she felt perhaps her mother never had.  I have truly enjoyed her Jaipur trilogy but for some reason I struggled with this book, even though the central theme of growth and empowerment is one that is very meaningful to me on a personal level.
Sona the main character is an Anglo Indian born of a British father and Indian mother.  Abandoned by her father, mother and daughter grew up in genteel poverty in Bombay with the mother working as a seamstress to make ends meet. Now a nurse, Sona works in a large hospital in the city where she meets renowned painter Mira Novak, whose stories enthrall her and open up a new universe for her.
When Mira suddenly dies, Sona sets out on a journey armed with four of Mira's paintings to seek our Mira's former lovers in a Europe teeming on the brink of World War II.  Sona moves beyond her narrow life in Bombay, where her mother wants her to marry a suitable boy who's willing to overlook her half English blood and settle down in genteel respectability.
Much of this story reminds me of myself and my own growth from a naive young Indian girl who came and settle in America and discovered a whole new universe.  Yet, despite all that should have made this story an automatic A+ given my reception to the author's earlier books, I struggled with this story and ultimately ended up abandoning the book.
The book has rave reviews and won the author a name in the 50 over 50 list, so clearly the fault must be with me, and I keep telling myself that I will go back and try one more time. Perhaps, one day I will.

Alka did it again! Another fantastic read that completely immerses you with every sense in the lush world of her characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this multi locale story. The MC, Sona, had that pluck and charismatic girl boss hustle energy that I’ve come to love in the women that Alka writes. I was so invested in Sona’s growth. I hated the men Sona encountered for her with every fibre of my being but was reminded in her growth that a female MC can be both strong and retain her softness. My only hesitation on giving it a full 5 stars was that I felt that Sona’s choices in the end were not consistent with her character and it jarred me from the story a bit. Would highly recommend this and all of Alka’s books to anyone who loves rich storytelling with standout female leads.

In this immersive historical fiction novel set in Bombay, readers follow Sona, a nurse at Wadia Hospital, as she starts caring for the renowned painter Mira Novak, whose life is a complex story half truth and half rumor. Sona wants more from life and connects with the similarly half-Indian Mira, but Mira’s sudden death makes Sona a suspect. When she learns that she can prove her innocence with a note and four paintings left in her care, Sona sets off across Europe to find Mira’s former friends and lovers as the continent is on the brink of war and discover both Mira’s identity and her own. Loosely based on the life of painter Amrita Sher-Gil, this novel is a fascinating exploration of identity, truth, and future happiness that readers will resonate with. The characters are the stars of the novel, and the similarities and differences between Sona and Mira really add a lot of nuance and complexity to the events of the novel and the literal and metaphorical journeys that Sona embarks on in this fascinating book. A brilliant exploration of life and identity, readers will love Alka Joshi’s latest book and the depth of detail in both her characters and her settings.

This historical fiction set in 1931 British-ruled India offers a richly detailed and realistic portrayal of the era, with strong writing and a compelling concept. The cultural contrasts and vivid setting are beautifully depicted, immersing the reader in the time and place. While the protagonist is deeply drawn to Mira’s life, this obsession adds emotional depth and highlights the complexities of identity and longing. The character development feels authentic, and the story’s progression, though subtle, reflects a meaningful personal journey. Overall, it’s a thoughtful and engaging read with a satisfying balance of history, introspection, and discovery.

I'm a big fan of Alka Joshi's writing, especially her Jaipur Trilogy. Six Days in Bombay is a very different story from that trilogy and Joshi's masterful writing shines through in this book as well. It took some time for the plot to get going, however, and at about halfway through was still building, so it was unfortunately altogether a little slow for me.

Where are my historical fiction readers at? If you’re a regular reader of the blog or someone who knows me in real life and has to put up with me talking about books all the time, you’ll know I’m a fan of historical fiction. Though, lately, they’ve been letting me down. I’m waiting for the next wave of books to come that will teach me something new, not just tell the same stories that have been published for the last decade. That’s part of why I picked up Six Days in Bombay by Alka Joshi. While the time period may be similar to other books I’ve read (it takes place in the late 1930s), the setting was a new one and I was looking forward to reading it. It was a good enough read but, in the end, it didn’t wow me as I expected it to.

Here’s the book’s description:

When renowned painter Mira Novak arrives at Wadia hospital in Bombay after a miscarriage, she's expected to make a quick recovery, and Sona is excited to spend time with the worldly woman who shares her half-Indian identity, even if that's where their similarities end. Sona is enraptured by Mira's stories of her travels, and shocked by accounts of the many lovers she's left scattered through Europe. Over the course of a week, Mira befriends Sona, seeing in her something bigger than the small life she's living with her mother. Mira is released from the hospital just in time to attend a lavish engagement party where all of Bombay society. But the next day, Mira is readmitted to the hospital in worse condition than before, and when she dies under mysterious circumstances, Sona immediately falls under suspicion.

Before leaving the hospital in disgrace, Sona is given a note Mira left for her, along with her four favorite paintings. But how could she have known to leave a note if she didn't know she was going to die? The note sends Sona on a mission to deliver three of the paintings—the 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. As Sona uncovers Mira's history, she learns that the charming facade she'd come to know was only one part of a complicated and sometimes cruel woman. But can she discover what really happened to Mira and exonerate herself?

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. In the end, she'll discover that we are all made up of pieces, and only by seeing the world do we learn to see ourselves.

Six Days in Bombay was the first book of Joshi’s that I had read, despite knowing how popular some of her previous books have been. I got partway through the book and found myself wondering, just a little, about why people adored her books. Then, I heard from a few trusted reader friends that this one was, unfortunately, not up to the standards they expected from Joshi. Ah, that explained it. It hasn’t put me off reading her work - I still absolutely intend on getting to The Henna Artist - but it’s a bit unfortunate that this one wasn’t the winner I had been expecting.

But what was it that wasn’t living up to my expectations? It’s hard to put my finger on it. There was just something that felt…missing. Perhaps it was that I couldn’t get a good sense of Mira and I couldn’t quite understand why Sona immediately fell into hero-worshipping her. Even after learning some stories and seeing Sona grow and then return back to Bombay…it didn’t quite answer the questions I had. I didn’t see why Mira was a big deal and I think I was supposed to for the whole story to work.

There was a lot happening at this time period - there are the first hints of the war to come and India is starting to push back against British rule - and I loved getting a bit of insight into what it would have been like to be a young woman with a complicated family history in Bombay at this time. Sure, this is fiction and Sona didn’t exist, but the beauty of historical novels (or any novels, really) is you can still put yourself in someone else’s shoes, especially when the author is writing from a place of knowledge.

Six Days in Bombay wasn’t a winner for me but I’m still looking forward to reading more of Alka Joshi’s novels in the future. I can tell she’s a skilled writer who has many interesting stories to tell - stories that I’d like to read myself someday.

*An egalley of this book was provided by the publisher, HTP Books, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

This was a bit of a struggle for me. I had a hard time connecting with the characters but overall a good read and a dynamic story.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC of Six Days in Bombay. I am a huge fan of Alka Joshi and am always excited to read her work!
Overall I really liked this book for the historical aspects of it and the journey that the main character Sona embarked on with the help of Dr Stoddard. I felt like the world building and the details included for each of the stops on Sona's journey from Bombay to Prague to Florence and Paris and even to London (for a separate matter) must've taken a lot of research to make sure that the events of that time period were reflected in the novel. In addition to the world building I think the author did a great job of dealing with the discrimination and racism of the time period the book is set in.
This story starts with a famous artist who gets care at the hospital Sona works in and in the 6 days under their care she makes a huge impact on Sona. I heard from the author about her inspiration for the character Mira and it was fascinating and made that part of the book even more interesting to me.
I personally wouldn’t call this a mystery and I think if the author just said that Sona went on the trip to give the paintings to the people Mira wanted her to because she needed a break from Bombay and needed time and space to grieve her mother, that would’ve made way more sense than to say if she gave the paintings to these people it would help her understand about Mira’s death, because her trip didn’t do that, talking to Filip in Bombay did. I feel like the journey taught Sona so much more about herself and how brave she was. The ending was a bit of a shock for me as well, but I do liked to be surprised!

“Six Days in Bombay” by Alka Joshi is not at all what it would seem. The title and blurb would lead you to believe this a a fast paced mystery. Unfortunately, neither occurred. Very little happens for over half the novel, and when things pick up, I was disengaged. The premise had much potential but falls short.

I was so excited that Alka Joshi had a new book being published! I loved her Henna Artist trilogy and this new book did not disappoint. For those who love historical fiction this is a great choice!

Loved the textured history with a unique view point for a time once lived. Enjoyed the bright description of India and the travel journey. The main character development ( Sona ) growth was shown here beautifully, a discovery of one's true self needs and path to happiness. Although the story started off slow for me and didn't agree with with some of the decisions this was such a beautiful story and enjoyed every minute of it. The audio was such a phenomenal way to read the story. I read and listen to this and it was such a wonderful experience.


Thank you NetGalley for the Ebook and audiook!

This is a review of the audiobook.