Svetlana's Reads and Views

Name of Book: The Captive Queen Author: Danny Saunders ISBN:  9781497462434 Publisher: Self published Year it was published: 2014 Summary: Political schemes, religious partisanship and unbridled love shake the Royal Court of Scotland at the end of the Stuart dynasty. Witness to sordid murders, spy for Her Majesty among the Protestants of the infamous preacher John Knox, forced to give up her one true love, thrown out onto the streets then ruthlessly attacked by a drunkard, Charlotte Gray will do everything in her power to remain the sovereign’s lady-in-waiting. As for the Queen of Scots, she faces turmoil of a completely different kind: prisoner in a castle under the command of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England, Mary Stuart learns that she is the victim of a vast conspiracy and that her English counterpart has ordered her imminent execution. Despite their hardships, Mary and Charlotte will keep their dignity throughout the storm. The two women will fi...

Name of Book: Beyond the Storm Author: Joseph Pittman ISBN: 978-0-7582-7698-8 Publisher: Kensington Year it was published: 2013 Summary: They chose their own roads, but they couldn't change their destination. . . Twenty years ago, Vanessa Massey couldn't wait to graduate from high school and make her small hometown of Danton Hill a distant memory--despite an indelible friendship she'd recently forged. But life has largely ignored her plans, and time has summoned her back to the shores of Lake Ontario for a school reunion that could change everything. After four years as Danton Hill High's resident outcast, Adam Blackburn went on to a successful career in New York City. Yet now he's drawn homeward for a reunion he's surprisingly curious to attend--if he and his car survive the fierce summer storm that's hit. Adam always hated storms and their destruction. And sure enough, he soon collides with another vehicle in the blinding rain. But it...

Name of Book: The Laws of Gravity Author: Liz Rosenberg ISBN: 9781611099546 Publisher: Amazon publishing Year it was published: 2013 Summary: An exquisite tour de force, The Laws of Gravity is a testament to what it means to be a family, what it takes to save a life, and the lengths we will go to to protect the ones we love. Two families, bound by blood, hear terrible news. One decision holds the key to survival--but at a devastating cost. Nicole, auburn-haired, airy, and beautiful, discovers her body is betraying her. She turns to cousin and childhood best friend Ari for the cord blood he's been banking for his own children. Ari stands firm, bringing them before the scales of justice. Solomon Richter, a state Supreme Court judge on the brink of retirement, is touched by this legal battle like no other. His blood case, he calls it. A case that calls into question the very things we live for: the enduring bonds of family, and the love that lasts a lifetime. It...

Name of Book: Teller of Tales Author: Ray Dacolias ISBN: 978098881772 Publisher: Self published Year it was published:  2012 Summary: “Janitor” is a story about a man whose skin pigments happen to be predominantly black, who exists in Southern society before the advent of a kinder and gentler America. Although he is not treated with respect at his custodial job or in town, he is the embodiment of affability and graciousness. One day, something dramatic happens to alter the shameful attitude of his fellow citizens toward him. “Love” is about the inviolate affection between a father and his daughter. As she lies dying on a hospital bed, he faithfully attends to her every need; it is here that we see their special bond, and the deep sorrow that compels him to desperate measures. “The Whispering Bells” is a tale about tiny creatures that seek adventure and excitement as they soar throughout the galaxies. Sometimes, they form long lines and watch young Bells catch ...

Name of Book:  Clotho's Loom: A Novel of Literary Romance and Realism Author:  Shawn StJean ISBN:  9781479271528 Publisher:  Glas Daggre Publishing Year it was published: 2012 Summary: CL has gone to the second round of the 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, and has been awarded the IndiePENdents Seal of Good Writing. William Wyrd, an introverted history professor at long remove from his youthful days as a marine sniper, is drafted to serve overseas in the U.S. military at age thirty-nine. Already in a relationship made tenuous by the demands of dual professional careers and their own dearth of interpersonal experience, he and his wife are completely estranged by the blunder on the part of the government. But is this merely human error at work, a bad mix of circumstances—or tangling of the skein of Fate? In the tradition of Robert Ludlum's Bourne Identity and follow-up novels, this literary action-adventure tale tests whether one's present choices...

Name of Book:  13 Years in America;  One woman's pursuit of an American Dream Author:  Melanie Steele ISBN: Createspace Publisher:  9781475215663 Year it was published: 2012 Summary: 13 Years in America is a story of hope, sacrifice, and the modern search for happiness that is at once a moving personal journey and a sharp, hard look at the American Dream. After moving to the United States from Canada, a free-spirited young woman rejects the status quo and embarks on a journey to discover what it means to be truly happy and fulfilled in the Land of Opportunity. Her 13-year search spans half a dozen states, a bunch of fearless adventures, and ever-increasing crises, divisions, turmoil, and discontent. Through it all, she holds on to her fearless pursuit of happiness and fulfillment against ever-decreasing odds. Read free ebook by clicking "read book" or purchase a paperback copy to support the author. Opinion: From the pages I have read ...

Name of Book:  Fumie's Teacup Author:  Richard McGowan ISBN:  9780738850849 Publisher: Smashed-Rat-on-Press Year it was published: 2011 Summary: Junichi is a young fashion designer; his after-hours obsession is with the paintings of Renoir. Kazue, a woman adrift, toils by day in an office, devoting her spare time to doll houses and night life. In the vast urban sprawl of Tokyo, they meet as the prospective partners in an arranged marriage. After the relationship falls apart, their influence on one another continues, catalyzed by the juxtaposition of traditional and modern forces around them. Junichi comes under the influence of Fumie's teacup and soon their separate lives begin to change in unanticipated ways. This is the best available edition to date, and the least expensive. It replaces the Spectrum (electronic) edition of 1995 and the XLibris edition of 2001; and contains author's corrections. Opinion: I do admit that the story and the book do so...

Name of Book: Lucid Nightmares Author:  Daniel Xiao Wang ISBN/ASIN: B00C266IX8 Publisher: Createspace Year it was published: 2013 Summary: Open your eyes! Recognize everything you've known to be real is nothing but a mere deception of your mind, the daily mundane all too swiftly contorting and twisting into the harrowing. Prepare to see the world around you in whole new light. Welcome to your Lucid Nightmares. Opinion: I have to say that although I read the first story, I was a bit confused about how is it supposed to be scary? It was more confusing than scary, and very little was explained on the relationships between the characters and so forth. Verdict: I don't think I'll be reading it 3 out of 5 (0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)

Name of Book: The Lady in the Castle Author: Iny Lorentz ISBN: 978-1477826720 Publisher: AmazonCrossing Year it was published: 2005 Summary: Marie lives happily in Sobernburg Castle with her beloved husband, Michel Adler, a tremendous achievement for a woman who was once the "Wandering Harlot." The happy couple longs for a family, but when Michel is called to battle against the rebellious Hussites, they have to put those dreams on hold until- if they're lucky, Michel returns home. Soon after his departure, Marie is thrilled to find she is already with child, but this bright news is quickly tarnished by anxiety for her husband's return. News of him trickles in: first that he's been knighted for his exemplary courage in battle . . . and then that he disappeared without a trace during a grisly massacre and is presumed dead. Pregnant and alone, Marie's place in the world is once again precarious. Unwilling to abandon the hope that her husband ...

Name of Book:  Turkey: A Short History Author:  Norman Stone ISBN: 978-00-500-29038-5 Publisher: Thames and Hudson Year it was published: 2014 Summary: A virtuoso performance by historian Norman Stone, who has lived and worked in the country since 1997, this concise survey of Turkeys relations with its immediate neighbours and the wider world from the 11th century to the present day. Stone deftly conducts the reader through this story, from the arrival of the Seljuks in Anatolia in the eleventh century to the modern republic applying for EU membership in the twenty-first. It is an historical account of epic proportions, featuring rapacious leaders such as Genghis Khan and Tamerlane through the glories of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent to Kemal Atatürk, the reforming genius and founder of modern Turkey. At its height, the Ottoman Empire was a superpower that brought Islam to the gates of Vienna. Stone examines the reasons for the empires long decline and shows ...

Name of Book:  Geronimo; Leadership strategies of an American Warrior Author:  Mike Leach and Buddy Levy ISBN: 978-1-4767-3493-4 Publisher: Gallery Books Year it was published: 2014 Summary: Playing cowboys and Indians as a boy, legendary college football coach Mike Leach always chose to be the Indian—the underdog whose success turned on being a tough, resourceful, ingenious fighter. And the greatest Indian military leader of all was Geronimo, the Apache warrior whose name is so symbolic of courage that World War II paratroopers shouted it as they leaped from airplanes into battle. Told in the style of The 48 Laws of Power, Leach’s compelling and inspiring book examines Geronimo’s leadership approach and the timeless strategies, decisions, and personal qualities that made him a success. Raised in an unforgiving landscape, Geronimo and his band faced enemies better armed, better equipped, and more numerous than they were. But somehow they won victories agains...

Name of Book: The Liberty Flower Author: Kate Hanrahan ISBN: 978-0-9838195-6-1 Publisher: Newcastle Year it was published: 2014 Summary: Since the fall of Charles Town, Sarah Mahon has found success as a spy for the partisan militia, until Jack Ashford comes ashore. She soon learns that she cannot judge the enemy by the color of his uniform, because a willing man can be made to change his colors by the right woman. It is a discovery that her rebel father does not share. As she is courted by Lt. Jack Ashford of the Royal Navy, those she thinks are allies actively sabotage the relationship that would take Sarah away from the Low Country she longs to escape. A rash act of rebellion meant to cement an engagement will destroy her plans, but Jack is not so easily discouraged. Even after Sarah marries another to save face, the naval officer will not rest until he has claimed Sarah as his own...at any cost. Opinion: While interesting, and the fact it deals with late 18th ...

Name of Book: The Sun and Other Stars Author: Brigid Pasulka ISBN: 978-1-4516-6711-0 Publisher: Simon and Schuster Year it was published: 2013 Summary: Set in a seaside village on the Italian Riviera, this irresistible new novel by PEN/Hemingway Award-winner Brigid Pasulka tells the story of a widowed butcher and his son whose losses are transformed into love. After losing his brother and mother within a year, twenty-two-year-old Etto finds himself adrift in his hometown, where every man’s life revolves around soccer, except for his. Frustrated and lonely, Etto is faced with the seemingly impossible prospect of cobbling together the remaining pieces of his life, including his mostly nonexistent relationship with his father, the town butcher. Things begin to change for Etto when Yuri Fil, a scandal-ridden Ukrainian soccer star and his tough-love sister, Zhuki, arrive in town, and sweep him into their universe of soccer, celebrity, laughter, and fierce loyalty. Under...

Name of Book: Song of the Mountain Author: Michelle Isenhoff ISBN/ASIN:  B00A8V6DL6 Publisher:  Candle Star Press Year it was published: 2012 Summary: Mud and mire shall birth a tree, A sprout shall grow of ancient seed. The five unite to break the one, The curse of man shall be undone. But brothers rise ere dragon’s bane. The last shall smite the first again. Orphaned at a young age, thirteen-year-old Song Wei has grown up listening to his grandfather recite legends of the distant past. But it is his own history Song seeks to uncover to guide him toward the future, particularly the events surrounding his parents’ deaths. But that is a secret closely guarded by his grandfather. Then Song discovers an heirloom that links him to an ancient prophecy. His destiny lies within the old tales he has scorned. Song must follow the path that killed his father. Opinion: I do have to say that the story has a bit of a potential of turning out interesting, but I fe...

Name of Book: The Wicked Game Author: Olivia Fuller ISBN/ASIN:  B0072JRWW6 Publisher: Self published Year it was published: 2012 Summary: Book 1 of The Wicked Game Series: She is a Baron's only daughter, desperately trying to find love and freedom in a world where she has no control... He is a former bond servant struggling to come to terms with his new found independence... Neither expected to make a connection, especially not such an unlikely and wicked one... As the only daughter of a Baron and the only female born to her family in generations, the birth of Angela Bennett is seen as nothing short of a miracle. She becomes an instant sensation in society and has her choice of any man as a husband. Except that Angela doesn't want a husband, especially if he can't see past her social image to the woman she really is. All she truly wants is for someone to understand her feelings of captivity among the social masses... After lifelong servitude, And...

Name of Book: The Disappearance Author: T.V. LoCicero ISBN:  9780615681450 Publisher: TLC Media Year it was published: 2012 Summary: On leave from the University of Bologna, lovely Italian scholar Lina Lentini is staying with a friend in Geneva and soon finds herself caught up in the shadowy world of Swiss banking, sorting through mysteries that will link to cold-blooded betrayal, corruption and murder. At the villa of her octogenarian pal Cecile Eaton, an American philanthropist, Lina befriends Clara Marche, who works on Cecile’s account at the Banque Privee Morneau. Both Cecile and Lina are fascinated by Clara’s unlikely transatlantic romance with Marc White, her African-American lover—neither speaks the other’s language. The revelation of devious schemes begins one night when Clara discovers her manager at the bank has been looting Cecile’s charitable contributions. When Clara is further shaken by what she learns from the bank’s security chief, she flees to...

Name of Book: The Obsession Author: T.V. LoCicero ISBN:  9780615681351) Publisher: TLC Media Year it was published: 2012 Summary: At a conference in Italy’s lake district, American graduate student Stanford Lyle is enchanted with Lina Lentini, a lovely Italian professor of comparative lit. And when she lectures for a term at his mid-Michigan university, she considers a fling with Stan—until she meets John Martens, a professor, author and Stan’s mentor. In her passionate affair with John, Lina becomes Stan’s obsession, a hated nemesis for John’s troubled wife, and the object of a vicious series of attacks aimed at destroying her reputation. Lina loves the line from Keats, “Beauty is truth, truth beauty,” even as her life fills with duplicity. John is pledged to do the right thing with his wife but often does not. And Stan surprises himself with the depth of his own perversity. Forced back to her home in Bologna, Lina begins to reset her life. Then Stan appears ...

Name of Book:  Bristol House Author: Beverly Swerling ISBN: 978-0-670-02593-0 Publisher: Viking Year it was published: 2013 Summary: In the tradition of Kate Mosse, a swiftly-paced mystery that stretches from modern London to Tudor England In modern-day London, architectural historian and recovering alcoholic Annie Kendall hopes to turn her life around and restart her career by locating several long-missing pieces of ancient Judaica. Geoff Harris, an investigative reporter, is soon drawn into her quest, both by romantic interest and suspicions about the head of the Shalom Foundation, the organization sponsoring her work. He’s also a dead ringer for the ghost of a monk Annie believes she has seen at the flat she is subletting in Bristol House. In 1535, Tudor London is a very different city, one in which monks are being executed by Henry VIII and Jews are banished. In this treacherous environment of religious persecution, Dom Justin, a Carthusian monk, and a gold...

Name of Book:  The Short, Strange Life of Herschel Grynszpan: A Boy Avenger, a Nazi Diplomat, and a Murder in Paris Author: Jonathan Kirsch ISBN:  9780871404527 Publisher: Liveright publishing Year it was published: 2013 Summary: On the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht comes this untold story of a teenager whose act of defiance would have dire international consequences. On the morning of November 7, 1938, Herschel Grynszpan, a desperate seventeen-year-old Jewish refugee, walked into the German embassy in Paris and shot Ernst vom Rath, a Nazi diplomat. Two days later vom Rath lay dead, and the Third Reich exploited the murder to unleash Kristallnacht—its horrific campaign of terror against Germany’s Jewish citizens in a bizarre concatenation of events that would rapidly involve Ribbentrop, Goebbels, and Hitler himself. Bestselling author Jonathan Kirsch brings to light this wrenching story, reexamining the historical details and moral dimensions of one of Wor...

Name of Book: The Curtain Author: Patrick Ord ISBN: 9780615780115 Publisher: Henry Maddox Publishing Year it was published: 2013 Summary: THE CURTAIN – A NOVEL SYNOPSIS: Have you met Henry Maddox? He knows you — not personally of course… he really only knows your data. But from that data he actually may know you better than you think you know yourself. Henry knows where you’ve been and what you’ve bought. He knows all of your friends. Henry not only knows your behaviors, he understands your tendencies. And from those tendencies, he can predict what you’re going to do before you’ve actually done it. Who is Henry Maddox? He is a 21st century marketing consultant and he specializes in highly personal and irresistibly persuasive advertising. Henry’s strategies combine modern data mining (Big Data) techniques with other advanced and controversial marketing practices (Market Fragmentation, Cross Promotion, and Conglomerate Propagandizing) to the point where consumers don...