Svetlana's Reads and Views

Book Details: Book Title: The Chef's Secret by Crystal King Category: Adult fiction, 352 pages Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Atria/Simon & Schuster Release date: Feb 12, 2019 Tour dates: Feb 11 to 28, 2019 Content Rating: R (for a couple of explicit, but loving, sex scenes (no abuse or rape) and minor curse words) Book Description: A captivating novel of Renaissance Italy detailing the mysterious life of Bartolomeo Scappi, the legendary chef to several popes and author of one of the bestselling cookbooks of all time, and the nephew who sets out to discover his late uncle’s secrets—including the identity of the noblewoman Bartolomeo loved until he died. When Bartolomeo Scappi dies in 1577, he leaves his vast estate—properties, money, and his position—to his nephew and apprentice Giovanni. He also gives Giovanni the keys to two strongboxes and strict instructions to burn their contents. Despite Scappi’s dire warning that the information c...

Name of Book: The Last Woman Standing Author: Thelma Adams ISBN: 978-1503935181 Publisher: Lake Union Type of book: 1880-1882, Arizona Tombstone, Josephine Marcus, Wyatt Earp, the lawless West, relationships, family, loyalty, gun fights Year it was published: 2016 Summary: Two decades after the Civil War, Josephine Marcus, the teenage daughter of Jewish immigrants, is lured west with the promise of marriage to Johnny Behan, one of Arizona’s famous lawmen. She leaves her San Francisco home to join Behan in Tombstone, Arizona, a magnet for miners (and outlaws) attracted by the silver boom. Though united by the glint of metal, Tombstone is plagued by divided loyalties: between Confederates and Unionists, Lincoln Republicans and Democrats. But when the silver-tongued Behan proves unreliable, it is legendary frontiersman Wyatt Earp who emerges as Josephine’s match. As the couple’s romance sparks, Behan’s jealousy ignites a rivalry destined for the history books… At o...

Name of Book: Guy Author: Jowita Bydlowska ISBN: 978-1-928088-23-3 Publisher: Wolsak and Wynn Publishers Type of book: relationships, chauvinist, attention to detail, judgment, attraction, modern times, lack of commitment, ruin, wealth Year it was published: 2016 Summary: Guy is a successful talent agent who dates models, pop stars and women he meets on the beach. He's a narcissistic, judgmental snob who rates women's looks from one to ten; a racist, homophobic megalomaniac who makes fun of people's weight; a cheating, lying, manipulative jerk who sees his older girlfriend as nothing more than an adornment. His only real friend, besides his dog, is a loser who belongs to a pick-up artist group. Guy is completely oblivious to his own lack of empathy, and his greatest talent is hiding it all...until he meets someone who challenges him in a way he's never been challenged before. Darkly funny and utterly offensive, "Guy" is a brilliant and insi...

Name of Book: The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen Volume II Author: Collins Hemingway ISBN: 9781535444958 Publisher: Self published Part of a Series: The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen Trilogy Type of book: Jane Austen, marriage, relationship, Napoleonic wars, slavery, pregnancy, motherhood, 1805-1807, scientific discoveries, steam engines, travel Year it was published : 2016 Summary: Jane Austen Lived a Quiet, Single Life-Or Did She? Tradition holds that Jane Austen lived a proper, contemplative, unmarried life. But what if she wed a man as passionate and intelligent as she-and the marriage remained secret for 200 years? The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen resolves the biggest mystery of Austen's life-the "lost years" of her twenties-of which historians know virtually nothing. - Why the enduring rumors of a lost love or tragic affair? - Why, afterward, did the vivacious Austen prematurely put on "the cap of middle age" and close off any th...

Hey guys, traveling overseas this year and worried about missing a book fair? Or want to experience a book fair in a different part of the world? As someone who loves reading translated  literature from different parts of the world, and who does their best to bring attention to diverse novels, I'm really excited to present this amazing compilation of book fairs that will take place around the world throughout the year of 2019. The book fairs do take place in diverse nations from Western and Eastern Europe as well as different parts of Asia, Australia, Africa, South America and even Mexico and Canada. Check out this awesome link that was brought to my attention and happy travels! Click here (I want to thank kotobee.com for this mind-blowing post of different book fairs around the world) 

Name of Book: The Pisces Author: Melissa Broder ISBN: 978-1-5247-6155-4 Publisher: Hogarth Type of book: Merman, love, obsession, coldness, depression, anxiety, care, unconditional vs conditional, death vs life, California, magical realism, Los Angeles, Year it was published: 2018 Summary: An original, imaginative, and hilarious debut novel about love, anxiety, and sea creatures, from the author of So Sad Today. Lucy has been writing her dissertation about Sappho for thirteen years when she and Jamie break up. After she hits rock bottom in Phoenix, her Los Angeles-based sister insists Lucy housesit for the summer—her only tasks caring for a beloved diabetic dog and trying to learn to care for herself. Annika’s home is a gorgeous glass cube atop Venice Beach, but Lucy can find no peace from her misery and anxiety—not in her love addiction group therapy meetings, not in frequent Tinder meetups, not in Dominic the foxhound’s easy affection, not in ruminating on the ...

Name of Book: The Tale of Genji Author: Murasaki Shikibu (Translated by Edward G Seidensticker) ISBN: 0-394-73530-7 Publisher: Borzoi Book Alfred A Knopf Type of book: Japan, Heian Court Era, wealth, generations, women, men, 800s-900s?, cloistered, marriage, love, courting Year it was published: 900s?- 1000s? (Version I have 1976) Summary: The Tale of Genji was written in the eleventh century by Murasaki Shikibu, a lady of the Heian court. It is universally recognized as the greatest masterpiece of Japanese prose narrative, perhaps the earliest true novel in the history of the world. Until now there has been no translation that is both complete and scrupulously faithful to the original text. Edward G Seidensticker's masterly rendering was first published in two volumes in 1976 and immediately hailed as a classic of the translator's art. It is here presented in one unabrdiged volume, illustrated through-out by woodcuts taken from a 1650 Japanese edition of The...

Name of Book: The Girls at 17 Swann Street Author: Yara Zgheib ISBN: 978-1250-20244-4 Publisher: St Martin's Press Type of book: Anorexia, USA, France, modern times, bulimia, specialized group home, Missouri, friendship, love, family, Spring/summer of 2016 Year it was published: 2019 Summary: The chocolate went first, then the cheese, the fries, the ice cream. The bread was more difficult, but if she could just lose a little more weight, perhaps she would make the soloists’ list. Perhaps if she were lighter, danced better, tried harder, she would be good enough. Perhaps if she just ran for one more mile, lost just one more pound. Anna Roux was a professional dancer who followed the man of her dreams from Paris to Missouri. There, alone with her biggest fears – imperfection, failure, loneliness – she spirals down anorexia and depression till she weighs a mere eighty-eight pounds. Forced to seek treatment, she is admitted as a patient at 17 Swann Street, a peach ...

Name of Book: Melding Spirits Author: Michael E. Burge ISBN: 9780996309837 Publisher: Self published Type of book: 1958, summer, Wabash River, first love, crush, friendships, relationships, murder, evil, Illinois, coming of age Year it was published: 2017 Summary: Twelve-year-old Evan Mason’s life has been turned upside down by the sudden death of his father. His mother isn’t home much, the insurance office during the day, waiting tables at night. Evan is spending a great deal of time alone. Now he finds himself on a Greyhound bus headed for a small town on the Wabash River where he’ll spend the summer of 1958 with his loving grandmother. Evan soon meets his new neighbor, Katie Dobbins. She’s a feisty blue-eyed girl with a ponytail, the type of girl Buddy Holly might sing about on American Bandstand. Evan is instantly enamored with her. It seems the perfect summer is underway—but strange things are happening in the woods surrounding the Ghost Hill Indian Mound. ...

Name of Book: Finders Keepers Author: Russ Colchamiro ISBN: 9780998364124 Publisher: Crazy 8 Publishing Part of a Series: Finders Keepers Trilogy Type of book: Science fiction, coming of age, travel, Europe, Eternity, stars, fame, living on earth, adjusting, jar of Earth's DNA Year it was published: 2018 Summary: In the spirit of The Good Place, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, author Russ Colchamiro has gone back to the future to deliver his wildest, funniest novel yet--the new and updated Sci-Fi/Fantasy tale Finders Keepers: The Definitive Edition. When a jar containing the Universe's DNA falls from Eternity, bumbling backpackers Jason and Theo find their loyalties--and sanity!--put to the test. Unaware that a motley crew from another realm is chasing them across the globe to retrieve that radioactive vessel, these intrepid new friends are forced to contend with passion, responsibility, and their own...

So bad and good news: Bad news is that I'm beginning to doubt that I'm part of a certain book tour company :( because I haven't received any invites from them for February, so yes, very little book tours unfortunately. Good news is that more time to read what I want to read, or books that are awaiting me to read. I can probably schedule my own reviews starting with February. Also, to any readers from Asia, Happy Year of the Pig! Without further ado, here are my plans for February! Book Tours/Spotlights Book Spotlight:  The Chef's Secret by Crystal King February 20th, 2019 Scheduled Reviews: The Girls at 17 Swann Street by Yara Zgheib (February 7th, 2019) The Pisces by Melissa Broeder (February 10th, 2019) Guy by Jowita Bydlowska (February 14th, 2019) The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen Volume II by Collins Hemingway (February 15th, 2019) Planned Reads: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid Dinosaurs Without Bones; Dino...

The Last Woman Standing by Thelma Adams SR: January 29th, 2019 FR: February 11th, 2019 Master of Verona by David Blixt SR: January 8th, 2019 FR: February 10th, 2019 A House Divided-Pearl S Buck SR: March 11th, 2016 FR: N/A From An-other land-Tanushree Ghosh SR: February 27th, 2019 FR: Trials and Trails by Jim Halverson SR: February 15th, 2019 FR: February 20th, 2019 The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen-Collins Hemingway SR: January 7th, 2019 FR: February 13th, 2019 Woman 99-Green Macallister SR: January 30th, 2019 FR: February 20th, 2019 The Queen of Hearts-Kimmery Martin SR: February 22nd, 2019 FR: February 28th, 2019 The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo- Tamara Jenkins Reid SR: February 16th, 2019 FR: February 27th, 2019 Brandon Tudor Knight-Tony Riches SR: February 24th, 2019 FR: The Island of Sea Women-Lisa See SR: February 28th, 2019 FR: Goodbye Cafe- Mariah Stewart SR: February 16th, 2019 FR: The last pier- Roma TEARNE SR: January 20th, 2019 FR: Fe...