Svetlana's Reads and Views

Name of Book: Forgotten Reflections Author: Young-Im Lee ISBN : 978--1-68411-382-8 Publisher: Self published Type of book: Korea, school, present day, 1948--1950, Korean war, society, hierarchy, espionage, saving, dreams, nature, determination, courage, relationships Year it was published: 2017 Summary: In the current international climate where North Korea takes center stage, “Forgotten Reflections” weaves an inspirational tale of family, lost memories, folklore and an unforgotten history, spanning three generations as South Korea rises from the ashes. DARE TO DREAM IN THE MIDST OF WAR. 1945. Rice fields seem endless in a quaint farming village of South Korea, yet Iseul the villagers have been starving for as long as they can remember. Their Japanese colonizers have taken every last grain with them as they are finally forced out of the Peninsula. In the newly independent Korea, Iseul and Jung-Soo dream of what their future might bring. Yet, war is on the horizon...

Name of Book: My Sister's Bones Author: Nualla Ellwood ISBN:  9780062661968 Publisher: William Morrow Year it was published: 2017 Summary: In the vein of Fiona Barton’s The Widow and Renée Knight’s Disclaimer, My Sister's Bones is a psychological thriller about a war reporter who returns to her childhood home after her mother’s death and becomes convinced that all is not well in the house next door—but is what she’s seeing real or a symptom of the trauma she suffered in Syria? The One Person You Should Trust Is Lying to You… Kate has spent fifteen years bringing global injustice home: as a decorated war reporter, she’s always in a place of conflict, writing about ordinary people in unimaginable situations. When her mother dies, Kate returns home from Syria for the funeral. But an incident with a young Syrian boy haunts her dreams, and when Kate sees a boy in the garden of the house next door—a house inhabited by an Iraqi refugee who claims her husband is away...

Name of Book: Kings of Broken Things Author: Theodore Wheeler ISBN:  9781503941472 Publisher: Little A Year it was published: 2017 Summary: With characters depicted in precise detail and wide panorama—a kept-woman’s parlor, a contentious interracial baseball game on the Fourth of July, and the tragic true events of the Omaha Race Riot of 1919—Kings of Broken Things reveals the folly of human nature in an era of astonishing ambition. During the waning days of World War I, three lost souls find themselves adrift in Omaha, Nebraska, at a time of unprecedented nationalism, xenophobia, and political corruption. Adolescent European refugee Karel Miihlstein’s life is transformed after neighborhood boys discover his prodigious natural talent for baseball. Jake Strauss, a young man with a violent past and desperate for a second chance, is drawn into a criminal underworld. Evie Chambers, a kept woman, is trying to make ends meet and looking every which way to escape her che...

Name of Book: The Art of Keeping Secrets Author: Rachael Johns ISBN:  9780778330400 Publisher: Mira Year it was published: 2017 Summary:  Some Secrets Weren't Meant to Be Kept… They started out as the "misfit moms"—the trio of less- than-conventional parents at their sons' tony private school. They've shared everything. Or so they thought. Now, on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to New York City, they'll sightsee, they'll shop, they'll catch a few Broadway shows. They'll tell all… After seventeen years as a single parent, Neve will reveal a past sin that could destroy her relationship with her son. Emma will uncover the roots of her exhaustion and divulge the inappropriate feelings she has for her boss. And Flick—who knows a little about crafting a flawless exterior—will share the shocking truth that lies beneath the veneer of her perfect marriage. When the tight hold they've each kept on their secrets for years begins to slip, ...

Name of Book: The Hidden Light of Northern Fires Author: Daren Wang ISBN:   9781250122353 Publisher:  Thomas Dunne Books Year it was published: 2017 Summary: A novel rooted in the remarkable, but little-known, true history of the only secessionist town north of the Mason Dixon Line. When escaped slave Joe Bell collapses in her father’s barn, Mary Willis must ward off Confederate guerrillas and spies, Joe’s vengeful owner, and even her own brother to help the handsome fugitive cross to freedom. Mary has always been an outcast, an outspoken abolitionist woman in a town of bounty hunters and anti- Union farmers. Helping runaways is the only thing that makes her life in Town Line bearable. As the countryside is riled by the drumbeat of civil war and the promise of an extravagant bounty for the wounded fugitive, Mary finds herself drawn to the stranger in forbidden ways. When rebels cross from nearby Canada intent on killing him, they bring the devastation o...

Name of Book: All We Shall Know Author: Donal Ryan ISBN:  9780143131045 Publisher: Penguin Year it was published: 2017 Summary: A breathtaking and redemptive novel from the award-winning and Man Booker nominated author Donal Ryan Melody Shee is alone and in trouble. At 33 years-old, she finds herself pregnant with the child of a 17 year-old Traveller boy, Martin Toppy, and not by her husband Pat. Melody was teaching Martin to read, but now he's gone, and Pat leaves too, full of rage. She's trying to stay in the moment, but the future is looming, while the past won't let her go. It's a good thing that she meets Mary Crothery when she does. Mary is a bold young Traveller woman, and she knows more about Melody than she lets on. She might just save Melody's life. Following the nine months of her pregnancy, All We Shall Know unfolds with emotional immediacy in Melody's fierce, funny, and unforgettable voice, as she contends with her choices, past ...

Name of Book: The Bloody Black Flag Author: Steve Goble ISBN: 978-1-63388-359-8 Publisher: Seventh Street Books Part of a Series: Spider John Mysteries Type of book: pirates, sea life, murder, mystery, 1722, cursed ship, witch blood, superstition, Year it was published: 2017 Summary: Agatha Christie meets Patrick O'Brian in the first book in a new series of swashbuckling historical mysteries featuring Spider John Rush, a most reluctant pirate. 1722--aboard a pirate ship off the American Colonial Coast. Spider John Rush never wanted to be a pirate, but it had happened and he'd learned to survive in the world of cut and thrust, fight or die. He and his friend Ezra knew that death could come at any moment, from grapeshot or storm winds or the end of a noose. But when Ezra is murdered in cold blood by a shipmate, Spider vows revenge. On a ship where every man is a killer many times over, how can Spider find the man who killed his friend? There is no law here, ...

Name of Book: The unity game Author:  Leonora Meriel ISBN: 978-1-911079-43-9 Publisher: Granite Cloud Type of book: aliens, philosophy, evolution, thought, mathematics, ambition, unity, emotion, humanity, keys, modern times, heaven, afterlife Year it was published: 2017 Summary: WHAT IF THE EARTH YOU KNEW WAS JUST THE BEGINNING? A New York banker is descending into madness. A being from an advanced civilization is racing to stay alive. A dead man must unlock the secrets of an unknown dimension to save his loved ones. From the visions of Socrates in ancient Athens, to the birth of free will aboard a spaceship headed to Earth, The Unity Game tells a story of hope and redemption in a universe more ingenious and surprising than you ever thought possible. Metaphysical thriller and interstellar mystery, this is a 'complex, ambitious and thought-provoking novel' from an exciting and original new voice in fiction. Characters: Main characters include David...

Name of Book: The Revolutionist Author: Robert Tucker ISBN: 9781944056520 Publisher: Wise Words publishing Part of a Series: Prequel to Burton Blake Type of book: 1890s to 1900s, corruption, escape, Chicago, race, racism, getting ahead, philosophy, socialist, immigrants, lessons Year it was published: 2017 Summary: Two different families escape from the political tyranny of their respective homelands, the Josephsons from Sweden and Matias and Kurt Bauman, brothers from Germany and Austria Hungary, with the aid of a Viennese opera diva, Sophie Augusta Rose, and Jean Guenoc, a former Jesuit priest, family friend and protector and partisan of the French underground. Their journey brings them to America in the throes of the industrial revolution during the 1890s and early 1900s. Ingrid and Olaf Josephson settle on a small wheat farm in North Central Minnesota to raise their children, Newt and Julie. Among the Jewish entrepreneurs forced to leave Germany and Austr...

Name of Book: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid ISBN: 978-1-5011-3923-9 Publisher: Atria Books Type of book: 1950s-2000s, Hollywood, glamour, LGBTQ+ romances, acting, Oscars, the system, interview, family, friends, hiding self, California, New York, secrets Year it was published: 2017 Summary: Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now? Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career. Summoned to Evelyn's luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los...

Name of Book: Melding Spirits Author: Michael E. Burge ISBN: 9780996309837 Publisher: Self published Type of book: 1958, summer, Wabash River, first love, crush, friendships, relationships, murder, evil, Illinois, coming of age Year it was published: 2017 Summary: Twelve-year-old Evan Mason’s life has been turned upside down by the sudden death of his father. His mother isn’t home much, the insurance office during the day, waiting tables at night. Evan is spending a great deal of time alone. Now he finds himself on a Greyhound bus headed for a small town on the Wabash River where he’ll spend the summer of 1958 with his loving grandmother. Evan soon meets his new neighbor, Katie Dobbins. She’s a feisty blue-eyed girl with a ponytail, the type of girl Buddy Holly might sing about on American Bandstand. Evan is instantly enamored with her. It seems the perfect summer is underway—but strange things are happening in the woods surrounding the Ghost Hill Indian Mound. ...

Name of Book: Under a Pole Star Author: Stef Penney ISBN: 9781681441177 Publisher: Quercus Year it was published: 2017 Summary: A whaler's daughter, Flora Mackie first crossed the Arctic Circle at the age of twelve and fell in love with the cold and unforgiving terrain. In 1889, she sets out to become a scientist and explorer. Despite those who believe that a young woman has no place in this harsh world of men, her determination leads her back to northern Greenland at the head of a British expedition. Yearning for wider horizons, American geologist Jakob de Beyn joins a rival expedition led by the furiously driven Lester Armitage. When the path of Flora's expedition meets theirs, the three lives become intertwined. All are obsessed with the north, a place where violent extremes exist side by side: perpetual night and endless day; frozen seas and coastal meadows; heroism and lies. Armitage's ruthless desire to be the true leader of polar discovery takes ...

Name of Book: The Sworn Virgin Author: Kristopher DUkes ISBN:  9780062660749 Publisher: William Morrow Year it was published: 2017 Summary: Dukes's gripping historical novel tells the tale of a desperate Albanian woman who will do whatever it takes to keep her independence and seize control of her future...even if it means swearing to remain a virgin for her entire life. When eighteen-year-old Eleanora’s father is shot dead on the cobblestone streets of 1910 Albania, Eleanora must abandon her dream of studying art in Italy as she struggles to survive in a remote mountain village with her stepmother Meria. Nearing starvation, Meria secretly sells Eleanora into marriage with the cruel heir of a powerful clan. Intent on keeping her freedom, Eleanora takes an oath to remain a virgin for the rest of her life—a tradition that gives her the right to live as a man: she is now head of her household and can work for a living as well as carry a gun. Eleanora can also par...

Name of Book: Nothing is Forgotten Author: Peter Golden ISBN:  B074ZFSRRC Publisher: Atria Type of book: 1950s-1964, New Jersey, family secrets, thriller/spy, strong heroine, WWII in Russia as experienced by Jews, forbidden music, grandmother/grandson relationship, secrets, spying, double dealing. Year it was published: 2017 Summary: From the beloved author of Comeback Love and Wherever There Is Light, comes a novel about the life-changing journey of a young man who travels from New Jersey to Khrushchev’s Russia and the beaches of Southern France as he finds love and discovers the long-hidden secrets about his heritage. In 1950s New Jersey, Michael Daniels launches a radio show in the storage room of his Russian-Jewish grandmother’s candy store. Not only does the show become a local hit because of his running satires of USSR leader Nikita Khrushchev, but half a world away, it picks up listeners in a small Soviet city. There, with rock and roll leaking in thr...

Name of Book:  the War bride's scrapbook Author: Caroline Preston ISBN:   9780061966927 Publisher: Ecco Year it was published: 2017 Summary: A World War II love story, narrated through a new bride’s dazzling array of vintage postcards, newspaper clippings, photographs, and more Lila Jerome has never been very lucky in love, and has always been more interested in studying architecture and, more recently, supporting the war bond effort on the home front. But in the fall of 1943, a chance spark with a boarder in her apartment sets Lila on a course that shakes up all of her ideas about romance. Lila is intoxicated by Perry Weld, the charismatic army engineer who’s about to ship out to the European front, and it isn’t long before she discovers that the feeling is mutual. After just a few weeks together, caught up in the dramatic spirit of the times and with Perry’s departure date fast approaching, the two decide to elope. In a stunning kaleidoscope of vibr...

Name of Book: Boy on the Beach Author: R.D. Maddux ISBN: 9781978448162 Publisher: Self-published Type of book: Revenge, karma, free-love, relationships, past and present, California, architecture, mysterious companies Year it was published: 2017 Summary: Andrew Foster, a real estate developer in San Diego, is a man suddenly haunted by his past. Memories, like specters from his former life of sex, drugs and rock and roll have come crashing into his current world of business in this sunny coastal city. The ominous, repeated appearance of a black SUV at the beach where he meets his sister each week, has triggered fears that it’s payback time for a bad choice he made years ago. To add to his frustrations, his hopes of a big breakthrough in the San Diego real estate market haven’t come to pass. He’s starting to wonder if his visions of success will ever come true when an investor offers to finance his dream project. Soon things start to fall into place for Andrew in bu...

Name of Book: The Undeground River Author: Martha Conway ISBN: 978-1-5011-6020-2 Publisher: Touchstone Type of book: 1838, sinking boat, Underground Railroad, Ohio River, map lines, North and south,  freedom, babies, acting, sewing, adventure. Year it was published: 2017 Summary: The New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice Set aboard a nineteenth century riverboat theater, this is the moving, page-turning story of a charmingly frank and naive seamstress who is blackmailed into saving runaways on the Underground Railroad, jeopardizing her freedom, her livelihood, and a new love. It’s 1838, and May Bedloe works as a seamstress for her cousin, the famous actress Comfort Vertue—until their steamboat sinks on the Ohio River. Though they both survive, both must find new employment. Comfort is hired to give lectures by noted abolitionist, Flora Howard, and May finds work on a small flatboat, Hugo and Helena’s Floating Theatre, as it cruises the border between th...

Name of Book:  The samurai of Seville Author:  John J Healey ISBN:   9781628727845 Publisher:  Arcade Year it was published: 2017 Summary: A sumptuous novel inspired by one of history’s most intriguing forgotten chapters—the arrival of Japanese Samurai on the shores of Europe. In 1614, twenty-two Samurai warriors and a group of tradesmen from Japan sailed to Spain, where they initiated one of the most intriguing cultural exchanges in history. They were received with pomp and circumstance, first by King Philip III and later by Pope Paul V. They were the first Japanese to visit Europe and they caused a sensation. They remained for two years and then most of the party returned to Japan; however, six of the Samurai stayed behind, settling in a small fishing village close to Sanlúcar de Barrameda, where their descendants live to this day. Healey imbues this tale of the meeting of East and West with uncommon emotional and intellectual intensity and ...

Title of the book:  Sass, Smarts and Stilettos; how Italian women make the ordinary, extraordinary Author:  Gabriella Contestabile Publisher: Sumisura Publications Publishing Date: 2017 ISBN: 978-0-9960585-2-0 Summary: How do Italian women turn the ordinary into extraordinary? Why do their lives seem less complicated, but more complete and alluring? Discover what's behind this seductive ethos of effortless chic, and how to live an extraordinary and stylish life, 'all' italiana'. Sass, Smarts, and Stilettos is not just a celebration of Italian women, but of all women; of their innate ability to think outside the box, to make magic from mayhem, and to have a wild good time doing it. Author Info: (From Italy Book Tours) Buy the Book: Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Chapters Indigo ~ Kobo Add to Goodreads Meet the Author: Gabriella Contestabile is the author of the novel, The Artisan’s Star, and owner of Su Misura (Made to Measure) Journeys; a bo...