Svetlana's Reads and Views

Name of Book: Changes Author: Gillian Felix ISBN/ASIN:   B00EADYMCA Publisher:  Createspace Part of a Series: Family Portrait Type of book: Soap Opera, wealth, fame, being naive, siblings, family, Young adult, New Adult, 2000s, California, mystery Year it was published: 2013 Summary: Adriana Banovic’s 15th birthday sucked! She got fired after eight years of playing Shayanne Montgomery on the #1 soap in the country, found out that her family was on the verge of bankruptcy and worst of all, forced to return to Westwood Academy. Her only saving grace was a chance glance at dreamy mystery boy Haze Lyndon. Armed with only his picture and a determination to find him—even if it means turning Los Angeles over on its ass. In this young adult novel, you’ll meet Robin Banovic, Adriana’s father; financially challenged, dealing with the death of a family member and his brother’s disappearance. You’ll meet Savannah DaCosta aka Savi, mother/manager; Savi enjoys the li...

Title: My Mother's Funeral Author: Adriana Paramo First copyright date: 2013 Type of book: Mother/Daughter relationship, poverty, Columbia, creativity, history, memoir, escape, South America, abandonment, bitterness, 1950s?-1990s? General subject matter: Mother and daughter relationship, memories, growing up Special features: N/A Price: $21.00 ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-933880-39-6 Author's Purpose:  "My real mother will be dead in less than two years, and her death will teach me a new definition of grief: one that is more than just a hurt heart because the pain is deep and widespread. I will feel her void in my cells, in the follicles of my hair, in the cuticle of my nails, in unsuspected places and at unexpected times." (xviii) a. Why did the author write on this subject rather than on some other subject? I can think of several reasons as to why My Mother's Funeral was written: one of the reasons as sort of a eulogy to her mother, as well as t...

I'm not sure if I'm late or not, but happy Multicultural Children's Day! I don't review children's books, although I do review YA novels, which I will present on this blog, along with the links. Considering how the entire world is populated by different cultures as well as mindsets that are different, its important to acknowledge and celebrate this diversity; after all we have more in common than we think. Here are some YA books I've reviewed: I focus a lot on Asian-American/Asian culture and a few are of Jewish origins: I will give links to other websites that focus on those who are African-American, Native American and so forth. Most of the books are for Grades 9 and up. (I do hope all are okay. Let me know if some don't' meet criteria thus I'll remove them) When I was in high school, it was common for students read The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. I personally didn't like the book due to the negative portrayal of Asian men, but I'm incl...

Name of Book: Netherwood Author: Jane Sanderson ISBN: 978-0-06-230039-3 Publisher: William Morrow Part of a Series: Eve Williams Type of book: 1902 or 1903?-1904, period drama, expanding, upstairs/downstairs, wealth, nobility, cooking, recipes, mining accidents, Yorkshire, Great Britain Year it was published: 2011 Summary: Two remarkably different worlds—one of wealth and privilege, the other of poverty and desperation—are about to collide in one shattering moment in this mesmerizing tale of high drama, forbidden love, and families fighting to hold on to what they have Upstairs: Lord Netherwood, a coal baron, earns his considerable wealth from the three mines he owns. Supplying a bustling industrial empire with the highest-quality coal keeps his coffers filled—money he needs to run his splendid estate, Netherwood Hall, and to dress his wife and daughters in the latest fashions. And keeping his heir, the charming but feckless Tobias, out of trouble, doesn’t come ...

Name of Book: The Banovic Siblings Friends & Liars Author: Gillian Felix ISBN:  9781493744503 Publisher: Createspace Part of a Series: Family Portraits Type of book: Soap Opera, New Adult? Adult, wealth, family, plots, love triangles, secrets Year it was published: 2013 Summary: College boy Kevin Banovic’s casual affair with Savi DaCosta suited him perfectly. Things change when he finds out that Savi is his mom’s high school bestie. When Kevin tries to end their affair, Savi blackmails him. After Kevin rescues Savi’s stepdaughter, L’Wren, from her abusive boyfriend, he can’t stop thinking about her. He must find a way to handle Savi, protect L’Wren, and keep his sanity. Bad girl Adriana Banovic is pleased with herself for getting her nemesis expelled from Westwood Academy. As feelings between her and her latest victim Haze Lyndon escalate, an unexpected rival discovers her secret and threatens to expose her. With emotions on the line, will her new rival ...

Name of Book: The Reckless Engineer Author: Jac Wright ISBN:  9781619353213 Publisher: Soul Mate publishing Part of a Series: The Reckless Engineer Type of book: Engineering, England, murder mystery, who did it? suspects, figuring it out, wealth, manipulation, adultery, marriage of convenience Year it was published: 2013 Summary: Love is a battlefield. The aftershocks of an affair reverberate out to those in the lives of the lovers, who will NOT take it lying down. Jack Connor's lives an idyllic life by the Portsmouth seaside married to Caitlin McAllen, a stunning billionaire heiress, and working at his two jobs as the Head of Radar Engineering of Marine Electronics and as the Director of Engineering of McAllen BlackGold, his powerful father-in-law Douglas McAllen's extreme engineering company in Oil & Gas. He loves his two sons from his first marriage and is amicably divorced from his beautiful first wife Marianne Connor. Their delicately balanced l...

Name of Book: The House on the Cliff Author: Charlotte Williams ISBN: 978-0-06-228457-0 Publisher: Bourbon Street Books Type of book: Mystery, Wales, England, modern times, relationships, cheating, double standard, death, murder Year it was published: 2014 Summary: One woman's quest to discover the dark secret at the heart of a family Actor Gwydion Morgan's dramatic appearance at Jessica Mayhew's psychotherapy practice coincides with a turbulent time in her own life - her husband has just revealed that he's spent the night with a much younger woman. Gwydion, son of the famous Evan Morgan, is good looking and talented but mentally fragile, tormented by an intriguing phobia. Jessica is determined to trace the cause of his distress. So when his mother phones to say he is suicidal, Jessica decides to make a house call. The Morgans live in a grand cliff-top mansion overlooking a rocky bay with its own private jetty. It's a remote and somewhat sinist...

I'm sorry that this is late in coming, but I would like to thank the wonderful Lynn Sholes for taking time and answering these questions. Enjoy! You may find my review of her book here: The Woman of the Mists 1. What inspired you to pen down Woman of the Mists?   I always loved writing and then in high school we had an assembly and the guest speaker was James Mitchner. I was in awe and knew at that moment I wanted to be a writer. I kept putting it off for a very long time, always finding a reason that would keep me from devoting the time. When I finally did decide to take writing seriously (I went out and bought a computer, printer, and software) I was paralyzed because I realized I had no story to tell. Luckily I was working with the Broward County Archaeological Society, participating in digs and learning more and more about the ancient people who once lived in my backyard. One day I found an artifact that intrigued me and that became the seed idea for WOMAN OF THE MISTS....

Name of Book: Last Train to Paris Author: Michelle Zackheim ISBN: 978-1-60945-179-0 Publisher: Europa Type of book: 1930s, Germany, America, reporting, escaping, Nazis, France, anti-Judaism, reminiscing, love, choices, fate, destiny Year it was published: 2013 Summary: Inspired by the story of a distant cousin who was murdered in Paris in 1937, award-winning author Michele Zackheim’s Last Train to Paris is a gripping epic about a half-Jewish female reporter from Nevada who writes for the Paris Courier in the 1930’s. The sole woman in the newsroom, she lives with both sexism and anti-Semitism. Then she meets Leo, a German radical and anti-Nazi and realizes that while Paris is interesting, the truly vital historical story is taking place across the border. Rose undertakes an assignment in the Berlin press office, where she is initially happy and in love until Kristallnacht and the growing threat of Nazism. When World War II is declared, Americans are forced to leave th...