Svetlana's Reads and Views

Name of Book: The Immortal King Rao Author: Vauhini Vara ISBN: 9780393541755 Publisher: W. Norton  Type of book: 1951-2070s? Dalit background, family, ambition, gender issues, racism, casteism, India, North America, life, experiences, running business, breaking down, South Asian male/ American female relationship, manipulation   Year it was published: 2022 Summary: In an Indian village in the 1950s, a precocious child is born into a family of Dalit coconut farmers. King Rao will grow up to be the most accomplished tech CEO in the world and, eventually, the leader of a global, corporate-led government. In a future in which the world is run by the Board of Corporations, King’s daughter, Athena, reckons with his legacy—literally, for he has given her access to his memories, among other questionable gifts. With climate change raging, Athena has come to believe that saving the planet and its Shareholders will require a radical act of communion—and so she sets out to tell ...

Name of Book: Vanda Author: Mariion Brunet  ISBN: 978-1-913394-65-3 Publisher: Bitter Lemon Press  Type of book: Southern France, Marseilles, poverty, job, single parenthood, past, secrets, mother/son relationship, lack of housing, choices, determination, contemporary times  Year it was published: 2022 Summary: A psychological thriller set in Southern France. Brunet has followed on from the success of “the Summer of Reckoning” with this magnificent portrait of a woman and a mother, a beautiful and often poetic tale that is unflinching about social and personal violence. Set in Marseilles, this the story of Vanda, a beautiful woman in her thirties, arms covered in tats, skin so dark that some take her for a North African. Devoted to her six-year-old son Noé, they live in a derelict shed by the beach. She had wanted to be an artist; she is now a cleaner in a psychiatric hospital. But Vanda is happy living alone with her boy. “The two of them against the world”, as she says....

Name of Book: The Throne of the Five Winds Author: S.C. Emmett ISBN: 9780316436946 Publisher: Orbit  Part of a Series: Hostage of Empire  Type of book: Fantasy based on Asia, Zhaon, Khir, politics, chess game, marriage, survival, rules, drama, fashion, friendship, bonds, life  Year it was published: 2019 Summary: Two queens, two concubines, six princes. Innumerable hidden agendas. Yala, lady-in-waiting to the princess of a vanquished kingdom, must navigate their captors' treacherous imperial court. The Emperor's palace -- full of ambitious royals, sly gossip, and unforeseen perils -- is perhaps the most dangerous place in Zhaon. A hostage for her conquered people's good behavior, the lady Komor Yala has only her wits and her hidden maiden's blade to protect herself -- and her childhood friend Princess Mahara, sacrificed in marriage to the enemy to secure a tenuous peace. But the Emperor is aging, and the Khir princess and her lady-in-waiting soon find themselves pawn...

Name of Book: The Stardust Thief Author: Chelsea Abdullah ISBN: 978-0-316-36887-6 Publisher: Orbit Part of a Series: The Sandsea Trilogy  Type of book: Fantasy based on Middle East, journey, jinn, legends, ifrit, magic, death, morals, friendship, secrets, bonds  Year it was published: 2022 Summary: Neither here nor there, but long ago… Loulie al-Nazari is the Midnight Merchant: a criminal who, with the help of her jinn bodyguard, hunts and sells illegal magic. When she saves the life of a cowardly prince, she draws the attention of his powerful father, the sultan, who blackmails her into finding an ancient lamp that has the power to revive the barren land—at the cost of sacrificing all jinn. With no choice but to obey or be executed, Loulie journeys with the sultan’s oldest son to find the artifact. Aided by her bodyguard, who has secrets of his own, they must survive ghoul attacks, outwit a vengeful jinn queen, and confront a malicious killer from Loulie’s past. And, in a wor...

Name of Book: The Shadow of Memory Author: Connie Berry ISBN: 9781643859088 Publisher: Crooked Lane Part of a Series: Kate Hamilton Series Type of book: modern times, England, mystery, antiques, sixty years ago, scandals, mental illness, paintings, hiding, decisions, marriage,  Year it was published: 2022 Summary: In Connie Berry’s fourth Kate Hamilton mystery, American antiques dealer Kate Hamilton uncovers a dark secret buried in Victorian England. As Kate Hamilton plans her upcoming wedding to Detective Inspector Tom Mallory, she is also assisting her colleague Ivor Tweedy with a project at the Netherfield Sanatorium, which is being converted into luxury townhouses. Kate and Ivor must appraise a fifteenth-century painting and verify that its provenance is the Dutch master Jan Van Eyck. But when retired criminal inspector Will Parker is found dead, Kate learns that the halls of the sanatorium housed much more than priceless art. Kate is surprised to learn that Will had been ...

Name of Book: The Readers' Room Author: Antoine Laurain  ISBN: 9781910477977 Publisher: Gallic  Type of book: France, cozy? Mystery, contemporary times, secrets, publishing world, readers, audience, awards, dreams Year it was published: 2020 Summary: When the manuscript of a debut crime novel arrives at a Parisian publishing house, everyone in the readers’ room is convinced it’s something special. And the committee for France’s highest literary honour, the Prix Goncourt, agrees. But when the shortlist is announced, there’s a problem for editor Violaine Lepage: she has no idea of the author’s identity. As the police begin to investigate a series of murders strangely reminiscent of those recounted in the book, Violaine is not the only one looking for answers. And, suffering memory blanks following an aeroplane accident, she’s beginning to wonder what role she might play in the story … Antoine Laurain, bestselling author of The Red Notebook, combines intrigue and charm in this da...

Predictably entering goodreads giveaways resulted in failure 'rather than successes. I also discovered several more books that I want, and quite a few are expensive, in particular the WINTERNIGHT trilogy by Katherine Arden. ( How expensive? 3 books equals thirty dollars, which is kind of expensive for me...) It's interesting how well I have taken to fantasy, because I am seriously in love with reading it. I enjoy picking up a book and reading it and traveling to a world that doesn't exist. So yeah, quite a few of my wants are fantasy persuasion. I still want some other books. Not sure how lucky I will get with it. Without further adieu, here are books I am planning on reading in the near future.  Good people by Nir Baram  My half of the sky by Jana McBurney Lin The Room on Rue Amelie by Kristin Harmel The poison prince by S.C. Emmett  The ballad of perilous graves by Alex Jennings  Kalmann by Joachim Schmidt  If there are any heavens by Nicholas Montemarano...

 The stardust thief- Chelsea Abdullah  SR: April 20th, 2022 FR: May 25th, 2022 Half a soul- Olivia Atwater  SR: May 25th, 2022 FR: May 25th, 2022 THE throne of the five winds- S.C. Emmett SR: March 12th 2022 FR: May 25th, 2022 The ballad of perilous graves- Alex Jennings  SR: May 25th, 2022 FR:  The five wounds- Kirsten Valdez Quade  SR: April 30th, 2022 FR: May 28th, 2022 The German wife- Kelly Rimmer SR: May 25th, 2022 FR:   The shore- Katie Runde SR: April 30th, 2022 FR:  May 10th, 2022 Kalmann- Joachim B. Schmidt  SR: May 25th, 2022 FR:  The immortal king rao- Vauhini Vara SR: May 10th, 2022  FR: May 25th, 2022 For the wolf- Hannah Whitten  SR: May 28th, 2022 FR:  Nonfiction: If there are any heavens- Nicholas Montemarano SR: May 10th, 2022 FR: May 10th, 2022