Svetlana's Reads and Views

Name of Book: Help Wanted Author: Adelle Waldman ISBN: 978-1-324-02044-8 Publisher: W.W Norton  Type of book: New York, lowest rung, dying town, 2010s, relationships, microcosm, world of its own, competition, breaking out things, tact, politics  Year it was published: 2024  Summary: In Help Wanted, Adelle Waldman brings her unparalleled wit and knack for social observation to the world of work. At a big-box store in a small town in upstate New York, the members of Team Movement clock in every morning at 3:55. Under the eye of a self-absorbed and barely competent boss, they empty the day’s truck of merchandise, stock the shelves, and scatter before customers arrive. When a golden opportunity for a promotion presents itself, the diverse members of Movement―among them a comedy-obsessed oddball who acts half his age, a young woman clinging to her “cool kid” status from high school, a college football hopeful trying to find a new path―band together and set a just...

Name of Book: The Ivory Tomb Author: Melissa Caruso ISBN: 978-0-316-45439-1 Publisher: Orbit Part of a Series: Rooks and Ruin (THE OBSIDIAN TOWER and THE QUICKSILVER COURT are prequels; SWORDS AND FIRE trilogy are prequel trilogy)  Type of book: Friendship, ties, relationships, immortality, safeguards, heart guard, magic, demons, lore, secrets, diplomacy, determination, saving the world  Year it was published: 2022  Summary: The Ivory Tomb concludes the wildly original epic fantasy series bursting with intrigue and ambition, questioned loyalties, and broken magic that began with The Obsidian Tower. The Dark Days have returned. The Demon of Carnage mercilessly cuts through villagers and armies. The Demon of Corruption poisons/rots the land. The Serene Empire and the Witch Lords race towards war. And in the middle of it all stands Rxyander, the Warden of Gloamingard. Burdened by conflicting loyalties and guilt, Ryx searches desperately for a way to defeat th...

Name of Book: Cursebreakers Author: Madeleine Nakamura  ISBN: 9781939096128 Publisher: Canis Major Books Type of book: Fantasy, mental health, magic, secrets, hidden means, crushes, relationships,  Year it was published: 2023  Summary: Adrien Desfourneaux, professor of magic, must survive his own failing mental health and a tenuous partnership with a dangerous ally in order to save the city of Astrum from a spreading curse. Adrien Desfourneaux, professor of magic and disgraced ex-physician, has discovered a conspiracy. Someone is inflicting magical comas on the inhabitants of the massive city of Astrum, and no one knows how or why. Caught between a faction of scheming magical academics and an explosive schism in the ranks of Astrum’s power-hungry military, Adrien is swallowed by the growing chaos. Alongside Gennady, an unruly, damaged young soldier, and Malise, a brilliant healer and Adrien’s best friend, Adrien searches for a way to stop the spreading curse...