Svetlana's Reads and Views

Name of Book: The Captive Queen Author: Danny Saunders ISBN:  9781497462434 Publisher: Self published Year it was published: 2014 Summary: Political schemes, religious partisanship and unbridled love shake the Royal Court of Scotland at the end of the Stuart dynasty. Witness to sordid murders, spy for Her Majesty among the Protestants of the infamous preacher John Knox, forced to give up her one true love, thrown out onto the streets then ruthlessly attacked by a drunkard, Charlotte Gray will do everything in her power to remain the sovereign’s lady-in-waiting. As for the Queen of Scots, she faces turmoil of a completely different kind: prisoner in a castle under the command of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England, Mary Stuart learns that she is the victim of a vast conspiracy and that her English counterpart has ordered her imminent execution. Despite their hardships, Mary and Charlotte will keep their dignity throughout the storm. The two women will fi...

Name of Book: Beyond the Storm Author: Joseph Pittman ISBN: 978-0-7582-7698-8 Publisher: Kensington Year it was published: 2013 Summary: They chose their own roads, but they couldn't change their destination. . . Twenty years ago, Vanessa Massey couldn't wait to graduate from high school and make her small hometown of Danton Hill a distant memory--despite an indelible friendship she'd recently forged. But life has largely ignored her plans, and time has summoned her back to the shores of Lake Ontario for a school reunion that could change everything. After four years as Danton Hill High's resident outcast, Adam Blackburn went on to a successful career in New York City. Yet now he's drawn homeward for a reunion he's surprisingly curious to attend--if he and his car survive the fierce summer storm that's hit. Adam always hated storms and their destruction. And sure enough, he soon collides with another vehicle in the blinding rain. But it...

Name of Book: The Laws of Gravity Author: Liz Rosenberg ISBN: 9781611099546 Publisher: Amazon publishing Year it was published: 2013 Summary: An exquisite tour de force, The Laws of Gravity is a testament to what it means to be a family, what it takes to save a life, and the lengths we will go to to protect the ones we love. Two families, bound by blood, hear terrible news. One decision holds the key to survival--but at a devastating cost. Nicole, auburn-haired, airy, and beautiful, discovers her body is betraying her. She turns to cousin and childhood best friend Ari for the cord blood he's been banking for his own children. Ari stands firm, bringing them before the scales of justice. Solomon Richter, a state Supreme Court judge on the brink of retirement, is touched by this legal battle like no other. His blood case, he calls it. A case that calls into question the very things we live for: the enduring bonds of family, and the love that lasts a lifetime. It...

Name of Book: Teller of Tales Author: Ray Dacolias ISBN: 978098881772 Publisher: Self published Year it was published:  2012 Summary: “Janitor” is a story about a man whose skin pigments happen to be predominantly black, who exists in Southern society before the advent of a kinder and gentler America. Although he is not treated with respect at his custodial job or in town, he is the embodiment of affability and graciousness. One day, something dramatic happens to alter the shameful attitude of his fellow citizens toward him. “Love” is about the inviolate affection between a father and his daughter. As she lies dying on a hospital bed, he faithfully attends to her every need; it is here that we see their special bond, and the deep sorrow that compels him to desperate measures. “The Whispering Bells” is a tale about tiny creatures that seek adventure and excitement as they soar throughout the galaxies. Sometimes, they form long lines and watch young Bells catch ...

Name of Book: Can't Hardly Breathe Author: Gena Showalter ISBN:   B01MTBXD8G Publisher: Harlequin Year it was published: 2017 Summary: New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter returns with an irresistible Original Heartbreakers story about a woman who's never felt desired and the man who wants her more than air to breathe… Bullied in high school, Dorothea Mathis's past is full of memories she'd rather forget. But there's one she can't seem to shake—her long-standing crush on former army ranger Daniel Porter. Now that the sexy bad boy has started using her inn as his personal playground, she should kick him out…but his every heated glance makes her want to join him instead. Daniel returned to Strawberry Valley, Oklahoma, to care for his ailing father and burn off a little steam with no strings attached. Though he craves curvy Dorothea night and day, he's as marred by his past as she is by hers. The more he desires her, the more ...

Name of Book: A Year in the Company of Freaks Author: Teresa Neumann ISBN: 978-0-9831210-4-6 Publisher: All's Well House Type of book: hippies, California, 1972-1973, farming, lost, jesus freak, motorcycle, warm-hearted tale of connections, second chances, probation, getting high, drugs, friendships, relationships Year it was published: 2017 Summary: It's 1972 and a seismic clash-of-cultures is rattling northern California. In the redneck town of Trinity Springs, rumors of hippies migrating up from San Francisco have residents bracing for an invasion. When Italian-American hometown boy and Berkeley graduate Sid Jackson is busted for growing pot on his deceased parents' farm, locals suspect the assault has begun. Will a crazy deferral program devised by the sheriff keep Sid out of prison? Or will a house full of eccentric strangers, a passionate love interest, and demons from his past be his undoing? A "disarmingly appealing" tale of discrimina...

Title of the book: Alycat and the Monday Blues Author: Alysson Foti Bourque, Illustrations by Chiara Civati Publisher: Mascot Books Publishing Date: 2017 ISBN: 978-1-68401-245-9 Summary: Alycat wakes up on Monday with the dreaded Monday Bluescertain that nothing will go right. But when a mishap sends her astray, she discovers that helping a friend will help her discover her own hidden talent and cure her Monday Blues! Author Info: (From iRead Book Tours) Buy the Book: Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Mascot Books Book Depository ~ Powells Books Add to Goodreads Meet the Author: Alysson Foti Bourque is the author of the Rhyme or ReasonTravel series, and the multi-award winning Alycat series. Alysson received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and a law degree from Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge. She believes that there is an Alycat in all of us, encouraging our imaginations to guide us...

Name of Book: The Luster of Lost Things Author: Sophie Chen Keller ISBN: 978-0-7352-1078-3 Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons Type of book: Bakery, good deeds, connections, New York, journey of one day, subway, denizens of underworld, speech impediment, dogs, Golden retrievers, relationships, kindness, small deeds, friendships Year it was published: 2017 Summary: In this story for readers of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and A Man Called Ove, when all seems lost, he finds what matters most. Walter Lavender Jr. is a master of finding. A wearer of high-tops. A maker of croissants. A son keeping vigil, twelve years counting. But he wouldn’t be able to tell you. Silenced by his motor speech disorder, Walter’s life gets lonely. Fortunately, he has The Lavenders—his mother’s enchanted dessert shop, where marzipan dragons breathe actual fire. He also has a knack for tracking down any missing thing—except for his lost father. So when the Book at th...

Name of Book: Raven's Feast Author: Eric Schumacher ISBN: 9781545516843 Publisher: Creativia Type of book: Vikings, Danes, powers, Hakon, 935-936, North, Uplands, Norway, Swedes, christianity, priests, Eric the Bloodaxe, battles, brotherhood, two sides to the story Year it was published: 2017 Summary: It is 935 A.D. and Hakon Haraldsson has just wrested the High Seat of the North from his ruthless brother, Erik Bloodaxe. Now, he must fight to keep it. The land-hungry Danes are pressing from the south to test Hakon before he can solidify his rule. In the east, the Uplanders are making their own plans to seize the throne. It does not help that Hakon is committed to his dream of Christianizing his people - a dream his countrymen do not share and will fight to resist. As his enemies move in and his realm begins to crumble, Hakon and his band of oath-sworn warriors must make a stand in Raven’s Feast, the riveting sequel to God’s Hammer. Characters: Main chara...

Title of the book:   overwhelmed writer to the rescue; Boost Productivity, Improve Time Management, and Replenish the Creator Within Author: Colleen M. Story Publisher: MidChannel Press Publishing Date: 2017 ISBN: 978-0-9990991-0-0 Summary: Find the time, energy, and confidence you need to make your creative dreams come true! Do you feel like you're always behind? Do less important tasks frequently flood your schedule and sink your creative motivation? Are you frustrated and out of touch with your inner artist? After 20 years experience in the writing industry, author Colleen M. Story extends a lifeline to pull you out of the sinking swamp of "busyness" and back into the flourishing creative life you deserve. Today's demands on writers and other creative artists are overwhelming. Not only must you produce the work you love, but build and maintain a platform and market your finished products to the world--all while holding down a day job and/or ...

Title of the book: The Fever of 1721; The Epidemic That Revolutionized Medicine and American Politics Author: Stephen Coss Publisher: Simon and Schuster Publishing Date: 2016 ISBN: 978-1-4767-8308-6 Summary : More than fifty years before the American Revolution, Boston was in revolt against the tyrannies of the Crown, Puritan Authority, and Superstition. This is the story of a fateful year that prefigured the events of 1776. In The Fever of 1721, Stephen Coss brings to life an amazing cast of characters in a year that changed the course of medical history, American journalism, and colonial revolution, including Cotton Mather, the great Puritan preacher, son of the president of Harvard College; Zabdiel Boylston, a doctor whose name is on one of Boston's grand avenues; James and his younger brother Benjamin Franklin; and Elisha Cooke and his protegee; Samuel Adams. During the worst smallpox epidemic in Boston history Mather convinced Doctor Boylston to try a proc...

The Soldier's Return by Laura Libricz Publication Date: September 15, 2017 eBook & Paperback Series: Heaven's Pond Trilogy, Book Two Genre: Historical Fiction The year is 1626. A senseless war rips through parts of Germany. Ongoing animosity between the Catholics and the Protestants has turned into an excuse to destroy much of the landscape situated between France, Italy and Denmark. But religion only plays a minor role in this lucrative business of war. The young dutchman, Pieter van Diemen, returns to Amsterdam in chains after a period of imprisonment in the Spice Islands. He manages to escape but must leave Amsterdam in a hurry. Soldiers are in demand in Germany and he decides to travel with a regiment until he can desert. His hope of survival is to reach Sichardtshof, the farm in Franconia, Germany; the farm he left ten years ago. His desire to seek refuge with them lies in his fond memories of the maid Katarina and her master, the humanist patrician Herr Tucher. ...

Book Details: Book Title: Journey's End: Death, Dying and the End of Life Authors: Victoria Brewster & Julie Saeger Nierenberg ​Category: Adult Non-Fiction; 558 pages ​Genre: Resource/Educational Publisher: Xlibris Release date: July 20, 2017 Tour dates: Sept 4 to 22, 2017 Content Rating: PG-13 + M Book Description: In Journey's End, we write about death, dying, and end of life issues. We attempt to define and describe these real-life circumstances, and we discuss ways to proactively deal with them. Multiple personal and professional perspectives provide valuable insights. What is dying like for dying persons, for loved ones, and for those who lend support in the process? Each experience will have unique qualities. Everyone dies in his own way, on his own schedule. While we explore the dying process, we make no assumptions about how any particular death will unfold. Grief and bereavement support, training tools, and educational resources are includ...

Name of Book: The Chesapeake Bride Author: Mariah Stewart ISBN: 978-1-5011-5435-5 Publisher: Pocket Books Romance Part of a Series: Chesapeake Diaries Type of book: Maryland, St Dennis residents, Cannonball island, charm, restoration of houses and the way of life, slow sweet romance, summertime, divorce, secrets, being burned, slow seduction, history, architecture, plans Year it was published: 2017 Summary: From New York Times bestselling author Mariah Stewart comes a new chapter in her celebrated Chesapeake Diaries series. Architect Cassidy Logan has sworn off good-looking adventurers. Newly divorced, she’s focused on building ecologically friendly, historically accurate homes on the Chesapeake Bay for her father’s construction company. Traveling to Cannonball Island—where there has been no new construction in nearly one hundred years—Cass is sensitive to the heritage of the island, and has come up with plans so perfect she’s determined to buy a home for herself. ...

Sarah's Secret: A Western Tale of Betrayal and Forgiveness by Beverly Scott Publication Date: January 31, 2017 eBook & Paperback; 306 Pages Word Project Press Genre: Fiction/Historical/Western Follow the paths of Sarah and Will (or Sam) as they tell their stories of trust, secrets, and betrayal on the frontier in the old West. Their pioneer spirit helped to fuel the expansion into the Western territories of the United States. The two are historically on their separate journeys, yet they remain intimately connected. Through the fictionalized Western frontier tale of Sam and Sarah, the author, Beverly Scott, was inspired to reveal rumored secrets from her family history. In 1878, Will is on the run after killing a man in a barroom gunfight. He escapes the Texas Rangers by joining a cattle drive as a cook headed to Dodge City. He struggles with the dilemma of saving his life or attempting to return to his pregnant wife and five children. Just when he thinks he might be able...

Name of Book: Path of Lucas; the Journey He Endured Author: Susan Bellefeuille ISBN: 978-1-5043-4290-2 Publisher: Balboa Press Type of book: Canada, 1950s-1990s, 2000s, death, family, friendship, loyalty, tough times, work, goals, marriage, dreams Year it was published: 2017 Summary: Lucas Clarkson is a simple man, a family man, and a hard working farmer's son. From a small town in Eastern Ontario, the author, Susanne Bellefeuille, brings us on Lucas's journey through the trials and tribulations of his life. Lucas's path is not as simple as the man he's portrayed to be. From the days spent working on his dad's farm to becoming a successful mechanic, with a genuine heart and his incredible strength, Lucas faces many difficult decisions. The choices he makes may be the difference between realizing his dreams and keeping his family together. Based on true events, this is Susanne Bellefeuille's first novel Characters: The main characters include...

Name of Book: Blood Moon Author: Ruth Hull Chatlien ISBN: 078-1-937484-46-0 Publisher: Amika Press Type of book: 1862, Minnesota, Native American captivity, family, marriage, loyalty, determination, deprivation, capture, wars, possessions, mindset Year it was published: 2017 Summary: Southern Minnesota, August 1862. Smoke fills the horizon and blood soaks the prairie as the Sioux fight to drive white settlers from their ancestral homeland. Sarah Wakefield and her young son and baby daughter are fleeing for their lives when two warriors capture them. One is Hapa, who intends to murder them. The other is Chaska, an old acquaintance who promises to protect the family. Chaska shelters them in his mother’s tepee, but with emotions running so high among both Indians and whites, the danger only intensifies. As she struggles to protect herself and those she loves, Sarah is forced to choose between doing what others expect of her and following her own deep beliefs. Characters...

August and September are months of endings for me, but in a way, they are also of beginning a new life for better or worse. I do hope that in this case the endings will be for the better and that I can start anew. In honor of what I hope will be new events for me, I will begin what I will call "Coming Attractions" post once a month which will showcase some possible upcoming reviews and reads for the future. (Also Diverse Reads Post will be once a month instead of once a week, thus #12 will be in December...) Expect Reviews For...(Can change) Traitor's Knot by Cryssa Bazos The Chesapeake Bride by Mariah Stewart (September 5th, 2017) Path of Lucas-Susanne Bellefeuille (September 4th, 2017) Blood Moon-Ruth Hull Chatlien (September 4th, 2017) Overwhelmed Writer Rescue-Colleen M Story (September 15th, 2017) Raven's Feast-Eric Schumacher (September 17th, 2017) A Year in the Company of Freaks-Teresa Neumann (September 27th, 20...