Svetlana's Reads and Views

Name of Book: The War Between us Author: Sara Creviston lee ISBN:  B01AJFYMQS Publisher: Createspace Type of book: inspirational, AMWF, Korean-American, loyalties, war, prejudices, WW2, small town, Indiana, religious, christianity, Pearl Harbor, living, choices Year it was published: 2015 Summary: Alex Moon is not the enemy. Six months after Pearl Harbor's tragedy, Korean American Alex Moon is sent away from his home in California for refusing his father's request to join the fight against the Japanese. On his journey, Alex is attacked and stranded in the small town of River Bluff, Indiana. To everyone else, he looks like the enemy. Unexpectedly, Alex is befriended by a local girl, Lonnie Hamilton, who comes to his defense, saving him from doubt and despair while placing herself in the cross hairs of prejudice. Alex falls in love with his ally---a love that is clearly forbidden. Torn between his dual identities, Korean and American, and grappling with ho...

Name of Book: The Monkey House Author: Boyd Taylor ISBN: 978-0-9894707-1-1 Publisher: Katherine Brown story Part of a Series: Donnie Ray Cuinn Story Type of book: Austin, Velda, suspense, old vs new, monkey, discrimination, lawyer, family, old friends and new Year it was published: 2015 Summary: In this, the third Donnie Ray Cuinn book, Donnie returns to Austin from his law practice in the Texas Panhandle to confront All-American football player Wesley Bird, his former best friend. In the company of beautiful, athletic Anna Kaye Nordstrom, Donnie experiences the “new” Austin of glitzy condos, trendy restaurants and social media. He also revisits the “old” Austin of barbecue, power politics and greens versus developers. Donnie finds that not much has changed. Characters: Main characters include Donnie Ray who is a lawyer at a town called Velda.  Donnie Ray hasn't been back to Austin in ages and sometimes doesn't make the smartest decisions, although he ...

Name of Book: Hollow Man Author: Mark Pryor ISBN: 978-1-63388-086-3 Publisher: Seventh Street Books Part of a Series: Hollow Man Type of book: Sociopath/Psychopath, legal, prosecutor, Austin, Texas, anti-hero, murder, mystery, covering up tracks, twists, relationship Year it was published: 2015 Summary: Dominic is a prosecutor, a musician, and an Englishman living in Texas. He's also a psychopath. His main goal is to hide his condition and lead a seemingly normal life in hopes to pay off his debts and become a full-time musician in Austin's  club scene. But on one lousy day his carefully-controlled world starts to shatter: he's demoted at work and accused of stealing a fellow musician's song. He also meets a beautiful woman in a lime green dress--perhaps the biggest threat to his safety of all. At her urging, Dominic hatches a plan to steal a van he knows will be filled with cash. He picks two friends as accomplices, insisting on no guns and no vio...

Name of Book: The Marriage of Jane Austen Author: Collins Hemingway ISBN: 978-1-5049-1102-3 Publisher: Authorhouse Part of a Series: The Marriage of Jane Austen Type of book: 1802-1805, marriage, wealth, trade, science, war, Napoleon, Regency England, fashion, hot air balloon, old maid, Bath, travels, letter exchange Year it was published: 2015 Summary: Tradition holds that Jane Austen lived a prim and proper life as a single woman. 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 is a trilogy that resolves the biggest mysteries of Austen’s life, the “lost years” of her twenties—a period of which historians know virtually nothing. - Why the enduring rumors of a lost love or tragic affair? - Why, afterward, did the vivacious Jane Austen prematurely put on “the cap of middle age” and shut herself away to write her books? - Why, after her death, did her beloved sist...

Name of Book: The Heart of the Highlands: The Beast Author: April Holthaus ISBN: B00X6BIYNU Publisher: Grey Wolf Part of a Series: Protectors of the Crown Type of book: Scotland, King James IV, kidnapped, poverty, daughter of chieftain, responsibilities, romance, duties, chemistry, protectors Year it was published: 2015 Summary: For hundreds of years, Scotland has battled the English for their freedom. Now, they face a new, unforeseen threat. In a divided world between politics and religion, the young King James V faces a threat from his own people. As civil wars break out amongst the highland clans, James recruits a secret group of warriors for protection. He calls them, the Protectors of the Crown. Ian MacKay has one mission; to defend the crown no matter the cost. Along with his men, Ian’s mission is to hunt down one of the most dangerous men in the Highlands. While on his journey, venturing into unfriendly territory, he comes across a lass on enemy land that...

Name of Book: The Secret Life of Anna Blanc Author: Jennifer Kincheloe ISBN: 978-1-63388-080-1 Publisher: Seventh Street Books Part of a Series: Anna Blanc Mysteries Type of book: Los Angeles, murder, brides, groom, 1907, mystery, murder, woman detective, humor, bickering chemistry, corruption, greed Year it was published: 2015 Summary: It's 1907 Los Angeles. Mischievous socialite Anna Blanc could match wits with Sherlock Holmes, but in her world women are not allowed to hunt criminals. Determined to break free of the era's rigid social roles, she buys off the chaperone assigned by her domineering father and, using an alias, takes a job as a police matron with the Los Angeles Police Department. There she discovers a string of brothel murders, which the cops are covering up. Seizing her one chance to solve a crime, she takes on the investigation herself. If the police find out, she'll get fired; if her father finds out, he'll disown her; and if...

Name of Book: To be a Queen Author: Annie Whitehead ISBN: 978-1-78407-165-3 Publisher: FeedARead.com Type of book: 874-918, Mercia, Wessex, King and Queen, battles, vikings, daily life, royalty, ruling, gardening, bee-keeping, marriage, partnership, peacekeeper, family Year it was published: 2015 Summary: This is the true story of Aethelflaed, the 'Lady of the Mercians', daughter of Alfred the Great. She was the only female leader of an Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is the tale of one family, two kingdoms and a common enemy. Born into the royal house of Wessex at the height of the Viking wars, she is sent to her aunt in Mercia as a foster-child, only to return home when the Vikings overrun Mercia. In Wessex, she witnesses another Viking attack and this compounds her fear of the enemy. She falls in love with a Mercian lord but is heartbroken to be given as bride to the ruler of Mercia to seal the alliance between the two Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. She must learn to sub...

Name of Book: Jorie and the Magic Stones Author: A.H Richardson ISBN: 978-0-692-35892-4 Publisher: self-published Type of book: Fantasy, different worlds, dragons, prophecy, children to teens, friendship, orphans, loyalty Year it was published: 2015 Summary: When Marjorie went to live with her frosty maiden aunt, she couldn't imagine the adventures she would have with dragons - good and bad - and all the strange creatures that live in a mysterious land beneath the Tarn. The spunky 9-year-old redhead forges an unlikely friendship with an insecure young boy named Rufus who lives with his crusty grandfather next door. When Jorie - for that is what she prefers to be called - finds a dusty ancient book about dragons, she learns four strange words that will send the two of them into a mysterious land beneath the Tarn, riddled with enchantment and danger. Hungry for adventure, the children take the plunge, quite literally, and find themselves in the magic land of Cabry...

Name of Book: Seeing Double Author: Nancy J. Alexander ISBN: 9781512160291 Publisher: NJA Productions Type of book: Jewish main characters, Israel, modern times, secrecy, missions, spying, terrorist cult, charisma, family, siblings, relationships, Lebanon Year it was published: 2015 Summary : "A chill ran up her spine, triggering an alarm that spread through her system. Her eyes studied him as his eyes studied her. In the recesses of her mind, a fragment of a memory tingled...a tiny blip from long ago. An image spiraled, then vanished. There was something about this young man, this Ari Ben Aviv. There was something about him she couldn't pinpoint." On the heels of her last mystery, Elisabeth's new patient is more than meets the eye, and unraveling his secrets will throw her team into a desert storm of double agents and religious extremists. All that stands between love and ware are two families, two brothers, and two conflicting versions of the tr...

Name of Book: Kill and Run Author: Lauren Carr ISBN: 9780692477151 Publisher: Acorn Book Services Part of a Series: A Thorny Rose Mystery Type of book: Cozy mystery, rape, power, hiding, secrets, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Navy, Army, taking advantage of power and situation, murder, everyday life, present times Year it was published: 2015 Summary: Five women with seemingly nothing in common are found brutally murdered in a townhome outside Washington, DC. Among the many questions surrounding the massacre is what had brought these apparent strangers together only to be killed. Taking on his first official murder case, Lieutenant Murphy Thornton, USN, believes that if he can uncover the thread connecting the victims, then he can find their murderer. Before long, the case takes an unexpected turn when Murphy discovers that one of the victims has a connection to his stepmother, Homicide Detective Cameron Gates. One wintry night, over a dozen years before, her first ...