Svetlana's Reads and Views

  Name of Book: Goddess of the River Author: Vaishnavi Patel ISBN: 978-0-7595-5734-5 Publisher: Redhook Type of book: India, -3000s, retelling of Mahabharata,  Hastinapur, family feud, war, secrets, drowning children, marriage, prophecy, getting used to life on earth  Year it was published: 2024 Summary: A powerful reimagining of the story of Ganga, goddess of the river, and her doomed mortal son, from Vaishnavi Patel, author of the instant New York Times bestseller Kaikeyi . A mother and a son. A goddess and a prince. A curse and an oath. A river whose course will change the fate of the world. Ganga, joyful goddess of the river, serves as caretaker to the mischievous godlings who roam her banks. But when their antics incur the wrath of a powerful sage, Ganga is cursed to become mortal, bound to her human form until she fulfills the obligations of the curse. Though she knows nothing of mortal life, Ganga weds King Shantanu and becomes a queen, determined to regain her fre...

  Name of Book: Mother of Sorrows (Mater Dolorosa in original) Author: Jurica Pavicic  ISBN: 978-1-916725-31-7 Publisher: Bitter Lemon Press Type of book: Psychological thriller, secrets, murder, Croatia, 2020s, siblings, family ties, loyalty, blood, discovery, choices, post communism   Year it was published: 2026 (2022 originally) Summary: A masterful psychological mystery novel about the unbearable weight of maternal love, and the silences that shape a nation. In the quiet aftermath of Split's tourist season, the city is shaken by the brutal murder of 17-year-old Viktorija. As the investigation unfolds, suspicion falls on Mario, a withdrawn young man whose mother, Katja, and sister, Ines, grapple with the possibility of his guilt. Katja's maternal instincts drive her to shield her son at all costs, while Ines is torn between loyalty and a quest for truth. Through the perspectives of Katja, Ines, and the diligent yet overlooked detective Zvone, Mother of Sorrows del...

  Name of Book: The Lotus Empire Author: Tasha Suri ISBN: 978-0-316-53860-2 Publisher: Orbit Part of a Series: The Burning Kingdoms (The Jasmine Throne and The Oleander Sword are prequels) Type of book: fantasy India, LGBtQ+ relationships, grief, friendship, romance, angst, ruling, politics, temples,  Year it was published: 2024 Summary: The Lotus Empire brings Tasha Suri’s acclaimed Burning Kingdoms trilogy to a heart–stopping close. As an ancient magic returns to Ahiranya and threatens its very foundations, Empress Malini and priestess Priya will stop at nothing to save their kingdoms—even if it means they must destroy each other. Malini has claimed her rightful throne as the empress of Parijatdvipa, just as the nameless gods prophesied. Now, in order to gain the support of the priesthood who remain loyal to the fallen emperor, she must consider a terrible Claim her throne and burn in order to seal her legacy—or find another willing to take her place on the pyre. Priya has s...

  Title of the book: The Book of Birds; A Field Guide to Wonder and Loss  Author: Robert MaFarlane, Jackie Morris Publisher: W.W. Norton Publishing Date: 2026 ISBN: 978-1-324-00684-8 Summary: From the best-selling authors of The Lost Words, a dazzling celebration of endangered birds. The Book of Birds is a field guide with a difference: It shows readers not just how to identify birds, but also how to identify with them. Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris conjure the unique spirit of nearly fifty once-common species: avocet to yellowhammer, kestrel to kingfisher, skylark to nightingale. In lyrical and incantatory essays, Macfarlane describes each bird’s habits and habitats, their patterns of flight and patterns of song, how they hunt or fish or scavenge or gather, how they nest and raise their chicks, the myths that attend them, the threats that shadow them—and how their lives intersect with our own. On every page we encounter Morris’s exhilarating artwork, painted from l...

  Name of Book: Astronaut!  Author: Oana Aristide ISBN: 978-1-324-12389-7 Publisher: W.W. Norton Type of book: Romania, 1989, Soviet Union, child, adult, fiction, mystery, government, visit by Romania's dictator, one season, secrets, unlikely friendship  Year it was published: 2026 Summary: A tense, darkly funny, and politically resonant novel of life under authoritarian rule. Romania, 1989, the twilight of Ceausescu’s dictatorship: A time when every neighbor, every friend, every family member may be an informant for the regime. When news emerges of a man-eating bear terrorizing the country, two bright lives collide. Constantin, an idealistic police detective—prone to daydreaming and scribbling fairytales in his notebook for his four-year-old son—is tasked with solving the string of mysterious deaths. Lia, a rebellious, inquisitive schoolgirl pining for more color in her life, is unwittingly drawn into an elderly neighbor’s secret plot against the regime. The decisions th...

  Title of the book: Sparta; The Rise & Fall of an Ancient Superpower  Author: Andrew Bayliss Publisher: W.W. Norton Publishing Date: 2026 ISBN: 978-1-324-11751-3 Summary: Sparta - its legendary warriors and steadfast resilience are famous throughout the world as a model for toughness, justice and masculinity. The Spartans' reputation as fighters is matched only by their mythic code of honour. Their torch has been carried by footballers and politicians, video games and philosophers alike. But who really were the Spartans? And what was the driving force behind the rise - and dramatic fall - of Sparta? Sparta traces the story of Ancient Greece's most iconic city-state, from its humble beginnings as a hamlet in the Peloponnese to its meteoric rise as the foremost military superpower of the Classical world. Andrew Bayliss uncovers the eclectic quirks that set Sparta above its its famous double monarchy, the harsh methods for raising children as soldiers and the unique rol...