Svetlana's Reads and Views

Name of Book: If Only in My Dreams Author: Mariah Stewart ISBN:  B00WRBQOIW Publisher: Pocket Star Type of book: Maine, snow, winter, holidays, snowstorm, family legends, supernatural, budding romance, second chances, fatherhood, distracting the youngsters, 2000s Year it was published: 1997 (2015 reprint) Summary: New York Times bestselling author Mariah Stewart’s timeless, charming holiday novella, originally featured in the popular yuletide anthology Upon a Midnight Clear, now available as a standalone at a great price! A lively family reunion on a Montana ranch brings on a flurry of memories for a beautiful young writer—and a winter storm that rekindles an old flame—in this “warmly magical” (Library Journal) feel-good holiday gem! Characters: The main characters include Quinn and Cale. Quinn is a creative writer/illustrator and is good with kids as well as coming up with ideas for kids to do. She is also reluctant in going after what she wants and tend...

General Information: Name of Book: Tree of Souls ISBN: 9780195086799 Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA Year it was published: 2004 Overall theme: "With only one God, heaven would be a barren place, at least in mythic terms. Yet the actual Jewish view of heaven is quite different. There are seven heavens, filled with angels and other divine beings, such as the Messiah [Not jesus!], who is said to have a palace of his own in the highest heaven. The clestial Temple can be found there- the mirror image of the Temple in the earthly Jerusalem- as well as an abundance of heavenly palaces, one for each of the patriarchs and matriarchs and sages, where he or she teaches Torah to the attentive souls of the righteous and the angels..." (xliii) "Drawing on the full range of Jewish sources, sacred and nonsacred, ten major categories of Jewish mythology can be identified: Myths of God, Myths of Creation...Each of these categories explores a mythic realm, and, in...

The ideal gift for mystery and wine lovers — An immersion in French countryside, gourmet attitude, and light-hearted mystery. Two amateur sleuths gumshoe around French wine country, where money, deceit, jealousy, inheritance and greed are all the ingredients needed for crime. Master winemaker Benjamin Cooker and his sidekick Virgile Lanssien solve mysteries in vineyards with a dose of Epicurean enjoyment of fine food and beverage. Each story is a homage to wine and winemakers, as well as a mystery. In Treachery in Bordeaux, barrels at the prestigious grand cru Moniales Haut-Brion wine estate in Bordeaux have been contaminated. Is it negligence or sabotage? In Grand Cru Heist, Benjamin Cooker’s world gets turned upside down one night in Paris. He retreats to the region around Tours to recover. He and his assistant Virgile turn PI to solve two murders and a very particular heist. In Nightmare in Burgundy, a dream wine tasting trip to Burgundy turns into a troubling nightmare w...

Name of Book: Race to Tibet Author: Sophie Schiller ISBN: 9780692254097 Publisher: Tradewinds Publishing Type of book: Tibet, travel, France, 1889-1890, romance, a bit of interracial relationship WMAF, deprivations, survival, force, contest, adventure, mysteries Year it was published: 2015 Summary: "Fans of Jules Verne’s travel adventures will find Schiller has done a solid job of transforming an obscure real-life Victorian expedition into a thrilling yarn." Publishers Weekly. At a time when no Westerner has seen the holy city of Lhasa or met the Dalai Lama, French explorer Gabriel Bonvalot vows to do the impossible: he launches his own expedition to the Roof of the World with funding from the Duke of Chartres. The only caveat is that Bonvalot must bring along the Duke's wayward son, Prince Henri d'Orléans, a drinker, gambler, and womanizer whose reckless behavior threatens to derail the entire expedition. During the journey, the explorers encou...

Zenobia - Challenging a Legend (Zenobia Book Series, Book Two) by Russ Wallace Publication Date: November 14, 2015 Geode Press LLC Hardcover; 512 Pages Genre: Historical Fiction/Action & Adventure/Young Adult After winning the famous Alexandria horse race, Zenobia, a young Syrian warrior and an aspiring scholar, assumes her life will return to normal. Wrong! A tumultuous romance develops with her instructor, widely considered the most brilliant academic on earth. Unknown to her, an enemy plans to kidnap Zenobia for his harem. The hired mercenaries never suspect their intended victim is a deadly warrior. The attack is thwarted, but the Syrians are alerted to a slave trade in young girls. Meanwhile, a Nubian princess has been captured by the slavers. She struggles to survive in the dangerous situation while she seeks a way to escape. Can she succeed? Zenobia’s impetuous nature continues to impel her to take unwise risks, both in class and on a hunting trip. When a second kid...

As I was going through my Goodreads List to see what books I can recall that have adventure stories, I got more books than I bargained for. In real life, my travel has been limited to a few neighboring cities and states, only once did I fly off to Russia, and all those trips were family vacations, But through books, I was able to experience a lot of different adventures; one had me traveling to Chinese version of hell, others I experienced took me to Alaskan Islands about seven thousand years ago, travel through Texas in 1500s, traveling through different countries in Southeast Asia, and so forth. Curious to read more? Here are my favorite adventure stories that involve travel and character growth. Also a quick note: I'm a really big fan of Historical fiction, thus a lot of my recommendations will involve history, and many will also involve strong women heroines.  The Same Sky-Debbie Yee Lan Wong First of all its a true story about a Canadian born Chinese young woman who ...

Name of Book: Jesusita Author: Ronald L Ruiz ISBN: 978-1-937484-33-0 Publisher: Amika Press Type of book: 1945s-1950s, religion, prayer, Sacrament, materialism, classicism, vanity, California, Mexico, community, parent/child relationships, work, European Americans and Central Americans, Pinoys, desire Year it was published: 2015 Summary: Jesusita is the story of immigrants—legal and illegal—trying to survive in California in the years after World War II. Jesusita, alone and impoverished, struggles to keep her four young children together. Though she finds support from Padre Montes at St. Teresa’s Catholic Church, her faith won’t solve her problems, especially those with her daughter, Paulina. Far from home, Filipino laborers are denied by law any contact with white women. Angie, the young daughter of an illiterate and unmarried mother, knows only one way to make money. And Felix, abandoned by his mother and separated from his only brother, is placed in a foster ho...

Title of the book:  We had a job to do; a basic history of world war ii through the eyes of those served Author:  Theresa Anzaldua Publisher: Harvard Book Store Publishing Date: 2015 ISBN: 978-1-4951-5692-2 Summary: This heartfelt tribute to World War II veterans is history that reads like fiction. Follow a soldier who fought on Patton's Third Army and who landed on Omaha Beach at 9.a.m. on D-Day; a female Army Air Forces nurse who made helping veterans her life's work; a fighter pilot who flew with the African-American unit known as the Tuskegee Airmen and who was on one of the two teams that won the first Top Gun meet after the war; a guard in a top-secret intelligence base outside of Washington, D.C. where top german weapons scientists were interrogated; a female aircraft mechanic who served int he Navy and is still active in veterans affairs seventy years later; a gunner on a B-17 heavy bomber who was shot down and spent fourteen months in German prison ...