Svetlana's Reads and Views

Books I'm reading: 'Till Morning Comes-Han Suyin 54/620 The Secret Life of Bees-Sue Monk Kidd 67/302 The Moonstone-Wilkie Collins 103/434 Coyote Dream-Jessica Davis Stein 72/364 Feather in the wind-Madeline Baker 314/395 The Decameron-Giovanni Boccaccio 701/833 The Tale of Genji-Murasaki Shikibu 84/1090 The Elven Nations Trilogy- Paul Thompson, Douglas Niles, Tonya Carter 1. Firstborn 117/305 D'Artagnan Romances-Alexandre Dumas 4. Louise De La Valliere 430/671 The Story of the Stone-Xueqin Cao 2. The Crab-Flower Club 108/582 Future Books: Tailspin-Cara Summers Just Surrender-Kathleen O'Reilly Lie with me-Cara Summers A tale of two cities-Charles Dickens Crime and Punishment-Fyodor Dostoevsky The Idiot-Fyodor Dostoevsky Great Expectations-Charles Dickens The castle of Otranto-Horace Walpole The Monk- Matthew Lewis The romance of the forest-Ann Radcliffe A Sicilian romance-Ann Radcliffe The Italian-Ann Radcliffe The red and the black- Stendhal ...

Name of book: The Jewel of St. Petersburg Author Name: Kate Furnivall ISBN: 978-0425234235 Publisher: Berkley Trade Type of book: Adult, historical, russia, 1910-1917 Year it was published: 2010 Summary: In this prequel to her debut novel, The Russian Concubine (2007), about White Russian Lydia Ivanova, Furnivall focuses on Lydia’s mother, Valentina, during the years leading up to and including the Russian Revolution of 1917. When Bolsheviks bomb her family’s country estate in 1910, crippling her younger sister, Katya, 17-year-old title character Valentina is left with guilt and resolve. With a slim frame but steely character, she defies both convention and her father, who is the czar’s minister of finance, first by training and working as a nurse and then by refusing to marry for money (in order to solve the family’s financial problems). Instead, she chooses the man she loves passionately, Dane Jens Friis, the czar’s engineer. Through the years, her hatred grows for...

Name of book: The Fires of Spring Author Name: Mary Mackey ISBN: 0-451-19589-2 Publisher: Onyx Type of book: young adult-adult, Pre-historical Europe Year it was published: 1998 Part of a Series: The Year the Horses Came, The Horses at the Gate, previously Summary: The year is 4300 BC. The place is Europe, where Eastern nomads have invaded Shara, a civilized city that worships the great Goddess...and where a bold and passionate young woman named Keshna comes of age as a female warrior and a daring avenger. The nomad diviner Changar has kidnapped Queen Marrah's son Keru-and Keshna has vowed to hunt Changar down. But the barbaric Changar is a force to fear. He has taken possession of Keru's spirit and turned him against his own people. Across a land of warring tribes, primitive rituals, and savage terrors of nature, Keshna begins an epic struggle for survival as she battles a dangerous, seductive enemy with the power to destroy her people and the proud young ...

Name of book: The Tao of Sex Author Name: Jade Lee ISBN: 978-0-373-79378-5 Publisher: Harlequin Blaze Type of book: Adult, contemporary, interracial, white female/Asian male relationship Year it was published: 2008 Sort of a sequel: Getting Physical Summary: Discovering that she's a Tantric sex goddess has given Tracy Williams a new mantra: more, more, more...And the source of that divine revelation is her hunky Chinese-born erotica instructor. When her yin bumps up against his yang, she's literally communing with heaven. Now that he has awoken her inner power, Nathan Gao is obligated to bring Tracy to the sacred Hong Kong temple for a life of training and devotion. No matter how much he wants her for himself. But when he makes her choose-sex or love-is he ready for the consequences? Characters: I really have enjoyed reading about Tracy and Nathan. Tracy is a strong female character who is struggling with life, trying to be a mother placement for her bro...

Name of book: Tell me your secrets... Author Name: Cara Summers ISBN: 978-0-373-79290-0 Publisher: Harlequin Type of book: Adult, contemporary, Gothic/thriller style, romance, Year it was published: 2006 Summary: It was a dark and sexy night... And Brooke Ashby knew she was in over her head. As head writer for the soap opera Secrets, she was used to living vicariously through her characters. But that all changed the day she learned she was adopted, and that her identical twin sister had mysteriously disappeared. What else could she do but try to discover what had happened, even if meant taking her sister's place? It shouldn't be hard. After all, she was good at research and had a talent for acting, if she did say so herself. Her plan seemed foolproof...until Brooke found herself in bed with her sister's fiancé... Characters: The character of Brooke certainly seemed rounded as she conquered her fear in the book and even went for someone she was in love...

  Books I'm reading The Decameron-Giovanni Boccaccio 550/833 Feather in the wind-Madeline Baker 121/395 The Secret life of the bees-Sue Monk Kidd 34/302 The Moonstone-Wilkie Collins 93/434 'Till Morning Comes-Han Suyin 24/620 Tell me your secrets...-Cara Summers 135/245 The Tao of sex-Jade Lee 170/248 Coyote Dreams-Jessica Davis Stein 19/364 The Tale of Genji-Murasaki Shikibu 49/1090 The Elven Nations Trilogy- The Elven Nations Trilogy- Paul Thompson, Douglas Niles, Tonya Carter 1. Firstborn 70/305 D'Artagnan Romances-Alexandre Dumas 4. Louise De La Valliere 355/671 The Earthsong Trilogy-Mary Mackey 3. The Fires of Spring 254/378 The Russian Saga-Kate Furnivall 1. The Jewel of St. Petersburg 181/250 The Story of the Stone-Xueqin Cao 2. The Crab-Flower Club 41/582 Future Books: The Russian Saga-Kate Furnivall 2. The Russian Concubine 3. The Girl from Junchow The Story of the Stone-Xueqin Cao 3. The Warning Voice 4. The Debt of Tears 5. The Dreamer...

Name of book: Gone with the wind Author Name: Margaret Mitchell ISBN: 0-684-83068-X Publisher: Scribner Type of book: young adult-adult, historical, civil war, reconstruction, south  Year it was published: 1936 Summary: Gone with the wind explores the depths of human passions with an intensity as bold as its setting in the bluff red hills of Georgia. A superb piece of storytelling, it brings the drama of the Civil War and Reconstruction vividly to life. This is the tale of Scarlett O’Hara, the spoiled, ruthless daughter of a wealthy plantation owner, who arrives at young womanhood just in time to see the Civil War sweep away the life for which her upbringing has prepared her. After the fall of Atlanta she returns to the plantation and by stubborn shrewdness saves her home from both Sherman and the carpetbaggers. But in the process she hardens. She has neared starvation and she vows never to be hungry again. In these vivid pages live the unforget...