Reviews - Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion

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685 reviews for:

Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion

Bushra Rehman

4.04 AVERAGE

lrgluck's review against another edition

5.0

emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

k__mccabe's review against another edition

4.5

funny reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Content Warnings

lil1inblue's review against another edition

4.25

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

smlaurie's review against another edition

3.5

emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I found this character exploration to start slow, establishing the Pakistani neighborhood in Queens in which the main character lives. When she starts attending a high school in Manhattan–venturing on her own outside her childhood neighborhood–is when the character development really picks up. The first half was vignettes of traditional culture and the story of Razia’s exploration of her identity was short changed with its delegation to the second half.

I wanted to read this book because of the title–it’s a compelling description of the situation Razia finds herself in.

2025 Beyond the Bookends Winter #3: Read a book set in the 80s.

Booklist Queen’s 2025 Reading Challenge #44: Animal in the Title.

sunfir3girl's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

the ending was so sad & made me feel so distraught :( i think it definitely could have been fleshed out more or done differently, but i loved this book regardless, the characters & story was beautiful & written in a very poetic way, which i love <3