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 narrator did a wonderful job as well.

I was thrilled when I saw that Alki Joshi had written another historical fiction book. I am a huge fan of Her "The Henna Artist's trilogy". I love the way Alka writes and the description of India makes the words paint pictures in my mind. I also love that even though the subject matter could be really dark and sad, Alka emphasizes the positive and shows the growth of the characters.
Sneha Mathan is the narrator of this story and she does an amazing job. Her voice has the ability to bring the story to life.
Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Harlequin Audio for the ARC. This review is my personal opinion.

I have loved the Jaipur series by Joshi and was excited for this new standalone which is about Sona, a nurse in Bombay that befriends a patient that is an artist. Mira suddenly dies and asked Sona to help fulfill her wishes.

This wish is to travel out of India and share paintings with people. We follow Sona through this journey. I enjoyed seeing her perspective as 1/2 Indian and 1/2 English and how she was treated in India and abroad.

I appreciate that while Sona was naive, she grew so much through this journey. I love how each character added so much depth to the story.

Sneha Mathan did a great job with bringing all the scenes to life.

Thank you @_mira_books_ @htpbooks_audio for a copy of the audiobook.

ALC Review: Six Days in Bombay by Alka Joshi

Narrated by: Sneha Mathan

Publishes on April 15, 2025.


Thank you to Netgalley, HTP and Harlequin Audio for the advanced listening copy of this book.

If you were a fan of Joshi’s Jaipur Trilogy, especially the audio, I think you will enjoy this standalone story as well. Sneha Mathan does a phenomenal job of bringing Joshi’s characters to life.

Six Days in Bombay follows a half-Indian and half-British nurse in 1937 Bombay. Sona is a nurse at Wadia hospital and becomes attached to a renowned painter, Mira, who is her patient. When Mira dies under suspicious circumstances, Sona embarks on a journey to fulfill Mira’s last wishes as well as learn more about her life. Along the way, Sona discovers more about herself as she learns about the world around her. Through her travels in Prague, Paris, Florence, and London we see snippets of what life was like there in 1937 along with the changing political climate pre-WWII.

Joshi’s writing is so descriptive that you feel as if she’s picked you up and put you down in the pages of her book. You can imagine life in 1937 Bombay in vivid detail. If you love historical fiction that is more character driven, then I think you’ll really enjoy this one.

After falling in love with the characters in The Henna Artist series, this new book from Alka Joshi was HIGH on my list of anticipated reads this year, and so worth the wait!!! I devoured this book in a day, and I am so thankful to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for an early listen of this Audiobook in exchange for my honest feedback.

This story follows Sona, a nurse caring for renowned painter, Mira Novak, who has just experienced a miscarriage. They bond over their shared half-Indian identities, and quickly become friends. But the story takes a quick turn when Mira suddenly dies, and Sona is suspected for her death. Sona flees Bombay with some of Mira’s paintings, in hope of finding some of that carefree life that Mira lived.

Alka Joshi does so well to tell stories through character relationships and memories. Sona is taken on a journey of finding freedom and identity, and learns how by the people who encourage her along the way. An encouraging word, a shared experience, or a moment of kindness, all shape her into a strong willed woman with direction she couldn't find before.

Sneha Mathan did a fantastic job narrating. This story is set in 1930's India, but also travels through Prague, Florence, Paris and London. Sneha eloquently shifts between believable character voices and perfectly pronounces names of places within the setting.

5/5 Stars! ⭐️ I loved it, would absolutely recommend.

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 listener 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!

The audio was absolute perfection and I would recommend it over the book because the narrator is fantastic.

Thank you to Net Galley and Harlequin Audio for the DLC. All opinions are my own.

I was looking forward to reading another Joshi novel, I loved The Henna Artist and The Secret Keeper of Jaipur. Six Days in Bombay is the immersive story of Sona, an Anglo-Indian nurse who lives a very small and sheltered life in Bombay. Due to her mixed heritage, she doesn't know where she belongs. Her life changes when over the course of six days she when cares for renowned artist Mira Novak. From there Sona finds herself on a journey of self-discovery through Europe, experiencing new things and coming to terms with her past. I felt the pace was pretty slow in the beginning, but it picked up and was very enjoyable once Sona began her adventure.

I appreciated listening to the audiobook, as it really brought Joshi's descriptive words to life. I especially loved all the descriptions of Prague, Paris, Florence and London. I felt like I was walking down the street, right along with Sona.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Another sweeping and beautiful novel by Alka Joshi. I really enjoyed this audiobook. The narrator, as usual with her audiobooks, was excellent. The main characters all had depth and were well developed. The story of Sona and her journey from a sheltered young woman to one who grows and becomes more worldly through contact with a patient at the hospital where she works is has interesting twists and turns. I would highly recommend this in audio or book version. I have read and listened to her books and either method is appealing.

“But if we don’t try to help, what good is our privilege?”

🪷 Genre: Histirical Fiction
🪷 Steamy rating: Warm mild
🪷 Profanity: Low

Six Days in Bombay is yet another captivating story by Alka Joshi. I loved immersing myself in 1930s India, just before World War II, and experiencing the rich historical setting through her storytelling.

Sona, a nurse of mixed English and Indian heritage, has lived a sheltered life in Bombay. Her world begins to expand when she meets Mira, a famous painter who becomes her patient. Their quick friendship introduces Sona to a life beyond her job and the small apartment she shares with her mother.

While I appreciated the depth of Sona and Mira’s friendship, I wasn’t entirely convinced by Mira’s character. Certain traits of hers frustrated me, making it hard to believe Sona would be so drawn to her.

Overall, I found this story to be both beautiful and painstakingly slow. While I enjoyed it, it took me much longer to finish than expected.

Triggers: Racism, domestic violence, drug overdose, infidelity, death of a friend, death of a parent, and abandonment

Thank you @harlequinbooks for the gifted advanced copy of this beautiful story.

Six Days in Bombay
Publishes April 15, 2025
Narrator: Sneha Mathan

TRIGGER WARNING: MISCARRIAGE, Sudden Death

Six Days in Bombay was a beautiful story about a renowned painter Mira Novak. Mira arrives to Waida Hospital in Bombay after suffering a miscarriage. As Mira recovers her nurse Sona wanted to learn more about her due to sharing her half-indian identity. Sona finds herself wanting more from life after hearing all Mira’s stories about her travels, and exploits, even all the lovers she had as she made her way all over. Things turned rapidly as Mira ends up back in the hospital again suddenly dying, leaving Sona under suspicion, forcing her to find new means of work.

Mira left Sona four paintings with cryptic messages sending her on a wild goose chase all over to deliver paintings to people once in Mira’s life. Not only was Sona able to go see many new places she was also able to learn that Mira’s life wasn’t all she made it out to be and that things were so much more complicated.

This was my first book by Alka Joshi and let me tell you it WONT be my last. I wasn’t always a fan of women’s fiction but I really have been enjoying it lately and some of my favorite new books fall in this category. I highly recommend reading this amazing story.

Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin Audio for the ALC audiobook. This review is voluntary and all my own words.

A wonderful coming-of-age historical fiction novel! I loved spending time with these lovable, well drawn characters. I felt like I wanted to take the main character under my wing as she navigated her early twenties. The narrator brought all of these characters to life!

I am always excited to read what Alka Joshi writes, especially after reading and loving The Henna Artist series. In Six Days in Bombay, we follow nurse Sona and the friendship she strikes up with patient Mira over the course of a week. When Mira passes away though, Sona is the one who looks likely to take the blame. Before the hospital can act, Sona finds a note Mira left for her, along with paintings which she wants delivered to important people in her life, across the world. Jumping at the chance to escape the investigation, Sona takes up the challenge of fulfilling her friend's final wish, while also discovering some things about herself along the way.

I had the pleasure of listening to this one on audiobook and it was absolutely divine. The storytelling was, as usual for this author, exceptional. I was in Sona's world from the first page and felt every emotion she did. I also enjoyed traveling the world with her and meeting Mira's old friends. This was another fantastic book by Alka Joshi which I am glad I was able to read.

The story opens about a decade before India gains independence from the British, in a hospital in Bombay (the city that will become Mumbai). The central character, a nurse in that hospital, Sona, befriends a couple of her patients, an elderly doctor and a worldly female artist, Mira. For more than half the story we see Sona's quiet, sheltered existence. But when Mira dies, and fingers are pointed at the young nurse, Sona is pushed out, her quiet existence is shattered, and she is left with the task of distributing 3 painting to Mira's friends through Interwar Europe. Sona leaves India as a heath aid to the recently recovered retired doctor, traveling as far as Turkey with him then journeying on to Prague, Paris, Florence, and eventually London. The story becomes one of not just discovering the many facets of the woman that she befriended but a journey of self discovery. I don't want to draw too much of a comparison but there is a commonality with eat, pray, love and several other books where a character must leave themselves behind and travel to find themselves. This tale proved to be an enjoyable escape through time and around the world and I look forward to more stories from this author.
I enjoyed this book in the audiobook format and must commend the excellent narrator for imparting the perfect tone and emotions into her performance.
I received advanced access to this audiobook thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Harlequin Audio) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.