Svetlana's Reads and Views

Books I'm reading: The Russian Saga-Kate Furnivall 1. The Jewel of St. Petersburg 79/250 The Earthsong Trilogy-Mary Mackey 3. The Fires of Spring 80/378 The Story of the Stone- Xueqin Cao 1. The Golden Days 414/525 The Elven Nations Trilogy- Paul Thompson, Tonya Carter, Douglas Niles 1. Firstborn 39/305 D'Artagnan Romances-Alexandre Dumas 4. Louise De la Valliere 338/671 The Decameron-Boccaccio 169/833 The Moonstone-Wilkie Collins 66/434 Sisters of the black moon-F.J Pesando 34/414 Books that are waiting for reviews: Tigress Sextet-Jade Lee (Will not get or read Desperate Tigress and Corned Tigress ) 6. Tempted Tigress Earthsong Trilogy-Mary Mackey 1. The year the horses came 2. Horses at the gate The Chosen-Chaim Potok The Promise-Chaim Potok Tell me your secrets-Cara Summers Coyote Dreams-Jessica Davis Stein The Secret Life of the bees-Sue Monk Kidd 'Till Morning Comes-Han Suyin North China Lover-Marguerite Duras The Mysteries of Udolpho- Ann R

Name of book:   The Hundred Secret Senses Author Name:  Amy Tan ISBN:  0-8041-1109-X Publisher:  Ivy Books, Ballantine Books Type of Book:  Adult, fantasy-history china, contemporary Year it was published:  1995 Summary:   From amazon: "Olivia, the narrator of this story, was born to an American mother and a Chinese father. She meets her 18-year-old Chinese half sister, Kwan, for the first time shortly after their father's death. Kwan adores "Libby-ah" and tries to introduce her to her Chinese heritage through stories and memories. Olivia is embarrassed by her sibling, but finds as she matures that she has inadvertently absorbed much about Chinese superstitions, spirits, and reincarnation. Olivia explains, "My sister Kwan believes she has Yin eyes. She sees those who have died and now dwell in the World of Yin..." Now in her mid-30s, Olivia, a photographer, is still seeking a meaningful life. The climax of the story comes when she and her estr

Name of the Book:  Jewels Author Name: Danielle Steel ISBN:   0-440-21422-X Publisher: Dell, Bantam Doubleday Dell Type of Book: Adult, historical Year it was published:   June 1993 Summary:  "On Sarah Whitfield's seventy-fifth birthday, memories take her back to New York in the 1930s. To a marriage that ends after a year, leaving Sarah shattered. A trip to Europe with her parents does little to raise her spirits, until she meets William, Duke of Whitfield. In time, despite her qualms, William insists on giving up his distant right to the British throne to make Sarah his duchess and his wife. "On their honeymoon, the newlyweds buy an old French chateau, but not long after, the war begins. William joins the allied forces, leaving Sarah, their first child, an infant, and their second child on the way, in France. Sarah survives the terror of the Occupation, unwavering in her belief that her missing-in-action husband is still alive. "After the war

When I was in middle school, I used to be a fan of Danielle Steel and read a lot of her books such  Jewels,  Daddy, Fine Things, Kaleidoscope, Family Album, Zoya, Star, etc.  How I got involved reading her books is a curious story. This part will discuss how I got involved reading Danielle Steel, along with some books I read, consistencies along the books, and what I wish she would do in the future with her books. In the year of 2000, she published her fiftieth novel  Journey.  (Which I hadn't read and will not read.) About the time she published her novel, I would guess that the publishing company she works for makes a choice to make all Danielle Steel novels free. Perhaps because they were free, my mom brought three books;  Family Album, Kaleidoscope  and  Fine Things.  About that time, I guess I was in seventh grade and of course beyond Judy Blume, R.L Stine, Lurlene McDaniel I believe and maybe few other authors I was not familiar with good authors. (Possibly later on I might

Name of the Book: Star Author Name: Danielle Steel ISBN: 0440205573 Publisher: Dell, Bantam Doubleday Dell Type of Book: Adult, historical, romance Year it was published: March 1990 Summary: Young, innocent and strikingly beautiful Crystal Wyatt was an outcast, envied and resented by all but her devoted father, with whom she shared a deep love for their remote California ranch. When her father dies, Crystal is alone and unprotected. Devastating events shake the once peaceful valley. With nothing but her dreams, her beauty, and her awe-inspiring voice, Crystal escapes to embark on the career that will ultimately make her a star. But stardom itself is shadowed by danger and violence and haunted by a memory that must be resolved before Crystal can find happiness and peace. Characters: The characters are on the flat side, women more so. There are two main women in the novel: the beautiful and innocent looking Crystal Wyatt and the smart intelligent Elizabeth Barclay H

Name of book:  The Burning Author Name:  R.L Stine ISBN: 0-671-86833-0 Publisher:  Archway Paperback, Parachute Inc Type of book:  Kid to young adult, attempt at being historical, horror Year it was published:  October 1993 Summary: Simon Fear thought changing his name would stop the evil. He was wrong-dead wrong. After generations of unspeakable horror, it is up to Daniel and Nora, brought together by their fateful love, to unite the feuding families. But is their forbidden love strong enough to withstand such awesome evil? Poor Nora-desperate to tell the truth and bury the family curse…before it buries her. Characters: Again the characters are interesting and somewhat fascinating for one dimensional characters. I do have problem with Angelica though. In the novel we get a chance to get a glimpse at her thoughts and actions and behavior. In thoughts, there is no indication that she thought Simon was her soul-mate until later on in the novel when he c

Name of book:  The Secret Author Name:  R.L Stine ISBN:  0-671-86832-2 Publisher:  Archway Paperback, Parachute Inc Type of book:  Kid to young adult, attempt at being historical, horror Year it was published:  September 1993 Part of the series:   The Fear Street Saga Summary:  What is the secret of Fear Street? Why has its horror lasted for so long? Ezra Fier wants to find out. He searches for the answer among the rotting bones in the ghostly town of Wickham. But he finds only betrayal and death. Elizabeth and Kate are in love with the same boy. How can they know that they too are caught by the evil that will haunt this family forever? Characters:  The characters are a little far more unique and entertaining; in beginning two sections of the book you have Jonathan who is good and doesn't desire or want the father's power; then you have the mother who confuses her youngest daughter for her eldest, (the sisters don't even resemble each o

Name of book:  The Betrayal Author Name:  R.L Stine ISBN:  0-671-86831-4 Publisher:  Archway Paperback, Parachute Inc Type of book:  Kid to young adult? Year it was published:  August 1993 Summary: Why do so many horrifying things happen on Fear Street? Nora knows. She knows how the terror began. She knows about the young girl who burned at the stake-and the bloody feud between two families that caused the unspeakable horror that has lasted 300 years!  She knows, and she wants to tell. Are you sure you want to hear it? Characters: The characters are one dimensional and have very little personality distinguishing them from one another. The story is mostly focused from female perspective and supposedly it takes place from witch hunts in Salem until 1725. The characters were also victims of circumstance and although they attempted to stand up for themselves, (as in the case of Susana who tries to deal with the mob that wants her and her mother to be bur

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Books I'm reading:  The Russian Saga-Kate Furnival 1. The Jewel of St Petersburg 54/250 Earthsong Trilogy-Mary Mackey 2. The Horses at the gate 353/408 The Story of the Stone- Xueqin Cao 1. The Golden days 324/525 D'Artagnan Romances- Alexandre Dumas 4. Louise de la Valliere 292/671 Tigress Sextet-Jade Lee 6. Tempted Tigress 201/346 Star-Danielle Steel 205/474 The Hundred Secret Senses-Amy Tan 138/399 The Moonstone-Wilkie Collins 39/434 The Decameron- Boccaccio 96/833 The North China lover- Marguerite Duras 123/231 Books that are waiting for reviews: Tell me your secrets...-Cara Summers The Mysteries of Udolpho- Ann Radcliffe The Chosen-Chaim Potok The Promise-Chaim Potok 'Till Morning Comes-Han Suyin The Secret Life of the bees-Sue Monk Kidd The Kitchen God's wife-Amy Tan Coyote Dreams-Jessica Davis Stein Gone with the wind-Margaret Mitchell The Earthsong Trilogy-Mary Mackey 1. The Year the horses came The Fear Street Saga-R.L Stine 1. The

I have to admit that the book is pretty bad and repetitive. I will do my best to make this a short version without any descriptions of Crystal's beauty or whatnot. What will I do? Try to make chapters and just give main points. (Checks book, notices 44 chapters) wow this will be long... and also, since this is chapter by chapter, I will purposely include spoilers and plot twists so beware as you read it. Chapter 1 Basically this chapter begins with Crystal swimming and singing and how she loves the land. Her older sister Becky is getting married and it deals with preparations for the wedding such as food, the clothes she will be wearing for the wedding, etc. This also gives some background of the family and discusses their distaste towards foreigners, in particular for Boyd and Hiroko Webster. (This possibly takes place in 1946?) Chapter 2 Becky and her husband, Tom Parker marry, but Tom begins to flirt with Boyd's sister Ginny. A commanding officer, Spencer Hill shows up

Name of Book: The First Wives Club Author Name: Olivia Goldsmith ISBN: 0-671-79705-0 Publisher: Pocket Books Fiction division of Simon and Schuster Inc Type of book: adult, revenge, contemporary Year it was published: 1992 Summary: Elise, Brenda, and Annie were all first wives. A movie star and heiress, Elise had connections that paved the way for her lawyer husband. Brenda’s “family” business lauched her husband’s home entertainment empire. And good girl Annie sustained her spouse on his rise in the advertising world. But when their husbands were at the pinnacle of success, they abandoned their mates for “trophy wives”-younger, blonder, sleeker models. Lunching at Le Cirque, Annie, Brenda and Elise decide that the time for self pity is over. Now it is time to get even. How they conspire to give each man his due-in full view of tout New York society-makes for the smartest, sexiest, most wickedly funny blockbuster in years. Review:  Characters: The characte

Books I'm reading now: The Russian Saga-Kate Furnivall 1. The Jewel of St. Petersburg 16/245 Earthsong Trilogy- Mary Mackey 2. The Horses at the Gate 221/408 The Story of the Stone- Xueqin Cao 1. The Golden Days 229/525 D'Artagnan Romances-Alexandre Dumas 4. Louise de la Valliere 241/671 The Tigress Sextet-Jade Lee  6. Tempted Tigress 21/346  The Hundred Secret Senses-Amy Tan 30/399 The North China Lover-Marguerite Duras 13/231 Tell me you secrets...-Cara Summers 200/245 The First Wives Club-Olivia Goldsmith 426/513 Books that are waiting for reviews: The Mysteries of Udolpho-Ann Radcliffe The Earthsong Trilogy-Mary Mackey 1. The Year the horses came The Fear Street Saga-R.L Stine 1. The Betrayal 2. The Secret 3. The Burning The Chosen-Chaim Potok The Promise-Chaim Potok 'Till Morning Comes-Han Suyin The Secret Life of the Bees-Sue Monk Kidd The Kitchen God's Wife-Amy Tan Coyote Dream-Jessica Davis Stein Gone with the Wind-Margaret Mitchell