Svetlana's Reads and Views

Book to be reviewed: I am Venus: A Novel by Bárbara Mujica In this breathtaking historical novel by the acclaimed author of the bestselling Frida, Bárbara Mujica reimagines the dramatic life and loves of the Baroque Spanish painter Diego Velázquez. Narrated by the mysterious model who posed for The Toilet of Venus, his only surviving female nude, I Am Venus is the riveting account of a great artist’s rise to prominence, set against the backdrop of political turmoil and romantic scandal. The year is 1619, and Diego Velázquez is a rising star at an art academy in Seville run by his father-in-law. But even as his young wife builds him a family, the painter yearns for a larger canvas, and soon his ambition lands him at the court of King Philip IV, where he quickly gains prominence, just as Spain is plunged into military defeat and domestic chaos. But as he gains nobility and privilege, Velázquez encounters the sinful decadence that defines the regime. At the heart of this most c...

In the past I've gotten a lot of compliments from friends and family members about how well I read. So I decided to video record myself reading some books and post them on Youtube, which will be soon, I promise. With some exceptions, 98 percent of the books will be from either four or five star ratings. The other 2 percent will be below four stars. I will only read the first chapter of a chosen book, and nothing beyond that. I most likely will skip prologues. If I read a certain book and you'd like me to remove it, please email me, ask me respectfully and I will do so. I never wrote the books and only claim to have read and enjoyed them. By the way, I will NOT read sexually explicit sections of a book. Books I read: The Foreign Student-Susan Choi Possible Readings: Trust: A New Beginning- Cristianne Serruya Trust; Betrayed- Cristianne Serruya Down This Road-Kelli Dawn Eleanor & Park-Rainbow Rowell Push Not the River- James Conroyd Martin The Thread of a T...

Name of Book: Soul in Present Condition Author: Mary E Merrell ISBN/ASIN:  B00EN0ZOC2 Publisher:   Morningglory Publishers Part of a Series: The Real Estate Paranormal Mystery Series Type of book: Paranormal, ghosts, real estate, vampires, humor Year it was published: 2013 Summary: Divorced. Check. Ghost Whisperer. Check. Human Servant. Check. Great. Check. Real estate agent Rosemary Fernandes never expected to inherit the ability to communicate with spirits, and she certainly didn’t expect her gift to attract the undead as well. Now Rosemary finds herself ghost whisperer to the lost souls stuck at their haunts and human servant to a gorgeous but aloof vampire Marcus Lyons. Benito Cruz died with a dangerous secret, a secret that connects the ghost to Rosemary. Can Rosemary send the spirit to his final resting place before his past catches up with them, and can she convince the vampire helping spirits like Benito is her destiny? When real estate...

"Do you know who I am? I shall tell you. I am Elizabeth, Princess of England, daughter of Henry VIII and his wife Anne Boleyn. I am eleven years old. My mother, once Queen, is now dead. Almost eight years ago, when I was not yet three, Father chopped off her head." Daughter of a fallen queen, young Princess Elizabeth lives a complicated and dangerous life. She fears her father's famous temper but loves him dearly, noting that she would trade all her jewels just to be noticed by him. She also loves her brother Edward, heir to the English throne, but doesn't like her older sister Mary, who torments her and conspires against her. Kat, her governess, is so worried for Elizabeth's life that she spends hours checking their room for poison whenever they move to a new palace. Court intrigues swirl around her, the French are threatening an invasion, and Kat is clamoring for her to have another bath--that makes nearly six in three months! Through Elizabeth's dia...

Newbery Honor author Kirby Larson brings us the first new Dear America diary in years, taking readers through the attack on Pearl Harbor, the start of World War II, and the Japanese incarceration.  With this sweeping tale of life on the World War II homefront, Newbery Honor author Kirby Larson brings her incredible talent to the Dear America series. When Pearl Harbor is attacked, America is finally unable to ignore the wars raging in Europe and Asia any longer. And one girl's entire life is about to change when everything she knows is turned on its head. After the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, where her brother, a navy sailor, is stationed, Piper Davis begins chronicling her compelling journey through one of history's most tragic and unforgettable eras. For my take on the book, click here COMING UP 2 out of 5 (0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it,...