Svetlana's Reads and Views

  Name of Book: Wild and Distant Seas  Author: Tara Karr Roberts  ISBN: 9781324064886 Publisher: W.W. Norton  Type of book: Based on Moby Dick, 1849-1905, Nantucket, Massachusetts, quest, South America, Europe, generational trauma, repetition cycle, travel, female-centric,  Year it was published: 2024 Summary: A gorgeous debut, laced through with magic, following four generations of women as they seek to chart their own futures. Evangeline Hussey’s husband is dead―lost at sea―and she has only managed to hold on to his Nantucket inn by employing a curious gift to glimpse and re-form the recent memories of those around her. One night, an idealistic sailor appears on her doorstep asking her to call him Ishmael, and her careful illusion begins to fracture. He soon sails away with Ahab to hunt an infamous white whale, and Evangeline is left to forge a life from the pieces that remain. Her choices ripple through generations, across continents, and into the d...

    Title of the book: Author: Publisher: Publishing Date: ISBN: Summary: Author Info: Personal Opinion: When one says Egypt, I imagine that the Egypt that is imagined is one of ancient pyramids and pharaohs or Alexander the Great, or Egypt of Cleopatra, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. But Egypt that's not often thought about is one between Alexander the Great and Cleopatra; the Egypt of Ptolomies. This is the time period that is covered in this book, a bridge between ancient Egypt and Roman protectorate, and boy was I in for a wild and unpredictable history ride, especially as it involves ancient Iran and the truth of how Rome became the ruling power of Egypt. I thought I knew everything there was to know, but its a lie, and I learned a whole lot more. If you want to understand the Egypt before it became Roman protectorate as well as how the Ptolemaic Dynasty influenced the future, giving way to Roman Empire, and if you are looking for something beyond the typical ancient Phar...

  Name of Book: Night in the City Author: Michael McGarrity ISBN: 9781324066279 Publisher: W.W. Norton Type of book: Detective, mystery, 1950s, New York, murder, lawyers, mafia, life threatening, ex boyfriends,  Year it was published: 2025 Summary: When Sam Monroe’s former lover is found dead in her Manhattan penthouse, he must fight to clear his name. In this exhilarating New York noir, Assistant District Attorney Sam Monroe, a Korean War veteran, quickly becomes the prime suspect in the murder of socialite Laura Neilson and is forced to risk his career and reputation to find the killer before the world comes crashing down around him. As Sam uncovers information about the men in Laura’s life, he suffers a series of attacks from rogue cops and is targeted for elimination by members of a well-known Mafia crime family. Forced to operate in the shadows, Sam becomes entangled with private investigator Deborah Jean Ryan, who offers to help for reasons she refuses to disclose. ...

 Name of Book: The Liar's Knot Author: M.A. Carrick ISBN: 9780356515182 Publisher: Orbit Part of a Series: The Rook and the Rose (prequel The Mask of Mirrors, sequel Labyrinth's Heart) Type of book: Fantasy, con, nobility, Italy based setting, masks, fortune telling, lack of trust, changes, lives, mysteries, numbers, magic, past Year it was published: 2021 Summary: Trust is the thread that binds us . . . and the rope that hangs us. In Nadezra, peace is as tenuous as a single thread. The ruthless House Indestor has been destroyed, but darkness still weaves through the city’s filthy back alleys and jewel-bright gardens, seen by those who know where to look. Derossi Vargo has always known. He has sacrificed more than anyone imagines to carve himself a position of power among the nobility, hiding a will of steel behind a velvet smile. He'll be damned if he lets anyone threaten what he's built. Grey Serrado knows all too well. Bent under the yoke of too many burdens, he figh...