Svetlana's Reads and Views

 The Sunday Post The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly or for a monthly wrap up. See rules here:  Sunday Post Meme #57 No Fear When I imagine receiving certain news that involves a short life, I don't get afraid or terrified or anything. I feel resolute and think, in hindsight I might have led a good life. I lived a life of traveling through books, being hurt by people. In a way, I accomplished what I desired to do, aside from ever marrying. But I do have a son, I have read a lot of books and I did learn a whole lot. I don't imagine that I would be bargaining or anything like that. It would probably be a relief and kind of sadness but also resoluteness too. Weeks have been disappointing.  My son is enjoying Boxcar children and we went

 Name of Book: The Mask of Mirrors  Author: M.A. Carrick  ISBN: 978-0-316-53967-8 Publisher: Orbit  Part of a Series: Rook And Rose (THE LIARS KNOT and LABYRINTH'S HEART are sequels)  Type of book: Romani people based? Venice based? Fantasy, determination and grit, politics, intrigue, images, lost family, found family, mysteries, secrets, Robin hood character, double dealing, magic, numbers, fortune telling, betrayal, LGBtQIA+ characters and budding romance  Year it was published: 2021  Summary: Fortune favors the bold. Magic favors the liars. Ren is a con artist who has come to the sparkling city of Nadežra with one goal: to trick her way into a noble house, securing her fortune and her sister's future. But as she's drawn into the elite world of House Traementis, she realizes her masquerade is just one of many surrounding her. And as nightmare magic begins to weave its way through the City of Dreams, the poisonous feuds of its aristocrats and the shadowy dangers of its imp

  Name of Book: Engines of Empire  Author: R.S. Ford  ISBN: 978-0-316-62956-0 Publisher: Orbit  Part of a Series: The Age of Uprising (Engines of Chaos is sequel) Type of book: Fantasy, action oriented, steam punk type, prisoner, negotiations, assassin, guilds vs church, control, empire, family, secrets  Year it was published: 2022 Summary: This epic fantasy tells the tales of clashing Guilds, magic-fueled machines, intrigue and revolution—and the one family that stands between an empire's salvation or destruction. The nation of Torwyn is run on the power of industry, and industry is run by the Guilds. Chief among them are the Hawkspurs, and their responsibility is to keep the gears of the empire turning. It’s exactly why matriarch Rosomon Hawkspur sends each of her heirs to the far reaches of the nation.  Conall, the eldest son, is sent to the distant frontier to earn his stripes in the military. It is here that he faces a threat he could have never seen coming: the first rumbling

  Name of Book: The Unbound Empire  Author: Melissa Caruso  ISBN: 978-0-316-46693-6 Publisher: Orbit  Part of a Series: Swords and Fire Trilogy (THE TETHERED MAGE and THE DEFIANT HEIR are prequels)  Type of book: Fantasy, Venice based, magic, fire magic, skin witch, alliances, politics, Vaskandar, heiress, wealth, relationships, final decisions, secrets, intrigue, LGBtQIA+ romance,  Year it was published: 2019 Summary: The final volume of the Gemmell Morningstar Award-shortlisted Swords and Fire fantasy trilogy, in which political scion Amalia and her bound fire warlock Zaira must save the Empire from a ruthless, magical enemy. Perfect for fans of Tamora Pierce, The Queen of the Tearling, and Uprooted. While winter snows keep the Witch Lord Ruven's invading armies at bay, Lady Amalia Cornaro and the fire warlock Zaira attempt to change the fate of mages in the Raverran Empire forever, earning the enmity of those in power who will do anything to keep all magic under tight imperial c

  Name of Book: Y/N Author: Esther Yi  ISBN: 978-1-6626-0153-8 Publisher: Astra House  Type of book: literary, obsession, love, South Korea, fandom, parasocial relationships, mental illness, stalking, dream, challenges  Year it was published: 2023  Summary: Y/N, a novel about a Korean American woman living in Berlin whose obsession with a K-pop idol sends her to Seoul on a journey of literary self-destruction. It’s as if her life only began once Moon appeared in it. The desultory copywriting work, the boyfriend, and the want of anything not-Moon quickly fall away when she beholds the idol in concert, where Moon dances as if his movements are creating their own gravitational field; on live streams, as fans from around the world comment in dozens of languages; even on skincare products endorsed by the wildly popular Korean boyband, of which Moon is the youngest, most luminous member. Seized by ineffable desire, our unnamed narrator begins writing Y/N fanfic—in which you, the reader, inse

    Title of the book: Israel; A simple guide to the most misunderstood country on earth  Author: Noa Tishby  Publisher: Free Press Publishing Date: 2021 ISBN: 9781982144944 Summary: A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A “fascinating and very moving” (Aaron Sorkin, award-winning screenwriter of The West Wing and The Social Network ) chronological timeline spanning from Biblical times to today that explores one of the most interesting countries in the world—Israel. Israel. The small strip of arid land is 5,700 miles away but remains a hot-button issue and a thorny topic of debate. But while everyone seems to have a strong opinion about Israel, how many people actually know the facts? Here to fill in the information gap is Israeli American Noa Tishby. But “this is not your Bubbie’s history book” (Bill Maher, host of Real Time with Bill Maher ). Instead, offering a fresh, 360-degree view, Tishby brings her “passion, humor, and deep intimacy” (Yossi Klein Halevi, New York Times bestselling author

 The Sunday Post The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly or for a monthly wrap up. See rules here:  Sunday Post Meme # 56 Relationship bust, can't wait until my next life I would guess this is self explanatory. The person I thought I could connect to, decided he wanted to be friends with benefits instead of something serious. To say I'm sad, angry and heartbroken is truly an understatement. All I can say is, I sincerely hope that in my next life I will have social life that I dreamt of having in this life. I dream of not having depression nor anxienty nor ADHD. I dream of being normal, of feeling part of everyday crowd instead of being different or unable to find my place in this world. I also dream of getting married and having childre