eyes.2c Reviews

The Riverwoman's Dragon (Owen Archer Mystery #13) by Candace Robb         ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ What can I say! Forever I’ve been fascinated by Magda Digby, the Riverwoman, her dedication, her wisdom, her insights. More than other characters she’s called to me. So fitting to have a story devoted to Magda, skilled healer, reliever of suffering, attuned to the impossible, and mentor to Owen Archer. Two of   my favourite medieval characters. Magda’s daughter Asa has returned to York. Impatient , greedy for knowledge, Asa has blamed Magda for her own shortcomings with her healing abilities. She has brought with her Einor, a cousin. One whom Magda sees possibilities for if he can overcome his greed. The mystic aspect of Magda is grounded in the forest and the river. She lives outside of York. Available to those who seek her, yet far enough away to be not too caught up in the action of those who believe her a witch. The ordinary folk watch over Magda. One must take a coracle to reach her. Magda’s

Isolate: A Novel in the Grand Illusion (Grand Illusion #1)  by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.             ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Entering a new Modesitt world always fills me with goose bumps of expectancy. What intriguing differences might this place hold? The opening events throw us right into the thick of things. And Yes, there’s that familiar cadence Modesitt brings to his works. Complex places without question. A troubled society, with different groups jockeying for power.  Political / social divisions that are out of kilter demanding change and justice. I sigh with relief as the prose wraps around me. I know this rhythm. There’s echos of tropes from other tales but given a wholly new and mesmerising sheen. Do I see a running commentary on todays society? Well commerce is King. Corporacions and councilors are all powerful. Goods are being made cheaper by slave labor in other countries and imported in unfair competition with the Artisan community. The press is hardly free and the landed class is giving w

A Christmas Legacy (Christmas Stories #19) by Anne Perry      ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ What a different and lovely addition to Perry’s looked for Christmas treats.  A simple tale that drew indignation, sympathy and peace. Gracie Tellman, formerly in service to the Pitts and married to Samuel Tellman, a policeman, now an Inspector with Bow Street, takes on an investigative role in a society household. A frightened young girl, a housemaid at Harcourt House asks for Gracie’s help. Millie Foster, now grown was a child Gracie knew from one of Samuel’s past cases. Millie  is worried. Something is amiss in the household where she’s employed. Food keeps going missing, chicken and cakes. Millie’s worried she and the other staff will be blamed. Gracie knows that staff can be dismissed for less. No wonder everyone’s apprehensive. Gracie promises her family that she’ll tackle the problem and be home by Christmas Eve. Samuels not that keen. As the truth gradually unfolds we have an insiders view about the relatio

Lost in Darkness (Of Monsters and Men) by Michelle Griep              ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Colin Balfour is a monstrous sight. Disfigured by a “disease that causes abnormal growth.”  His sister Amelia is a journalist and has just landed her dream assignment, a paid trip to Cairo to write a travel journal. Unusual for 1815. Strong minded and forthright, yet s he carries a black tipped ibis feather. A talisman?  A superstitious journalist it seems. At the same time as the Cairo trip news, she receives notice of her estranged father’s death and a letter from him charging her with the guardianship of her brother, seeing to the continuation of his treatment. Colin’s doctor “ Uriah Peckwood, [is] a prominent and—as some claimed—rather provocative surgeon.”  Graham Lambert, an ex naval surgeon and now Peacock’s partner, is troubled by Peacock’s treatment regime leading up to and including the operation.  A procedure set in motion by the Balfour’s unlovely father. Strange experimental hints and charlat

Once a Laird (Rogues Redeemed #6) by Mary Jo Putney     ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Kai Douglas Ramsay left the remote Thorsay Islands in Scotland when his sweetheart died. His life was one of danger and adventure and a restless pursuit of antiquities. When the tale begins Kai is with the British Embassy in Constantinople acting as the Under Secretary for Special Projects. Read spy and problem solver! Kai is one of five men held captive in a cellar in Portugal during the Napoleonic wars.  They were to be executed by one a French colonel as spies. They managed to escape and made a pact to meet after the war. Their stories move forward and this is Kai’s. Kai’s childhood friend and sister to his dead fiancé, Signy Matheson calls him back to the Islands, back home. His grandfather the Laird of Thorsay is dying. (BTW I’m inclined to think that how the fair Gisela died whilst true, was overacted.) I must say I enjoyed Kai’s story. Putney’s prose had me visualising the landscape, the various Viking artefacts K

Murder at Mallowan Hall (Phyllida Bright Mystery #1) by Colleen Cambridge             ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Fascinating beginning of a Cozy Mystery series where the sleuth is Agatha Christie’s housekeeper. Weaving in and of aspects of Christie’s personal life, her literary characters and books, this quirky use of Agatha Christie the person as the backdrop for a new suite of cozy mysteries is rather brilliant. A body is found in the Christie’s library, stabbed with a fountain pen. The house is fill of recently arrived guests and their various staff members for a house party at Mallowan Hall. The murderer could be anyone. When a second death occurs things are really shaken up. Phyllida Bright, Mallowan Hall’s housekeeper, realises she will have to take charge of finding the murderer, particularly as her friend and employer Agatha has asked it of her. (And the whys and wherefores of that friendship will be interesting!)  Of course there’s the requisite Inspector who’s maybe a tad like Pirot’s Inspect

The Wedding Wager   by Eva Devon         ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Derek Marcus Andrew Kent, the Duke of Chase,  can’t help but interfere when he sees  the Marquess of Halford  use his eldest daughter as collateral for a bet at a club with a known bouncer. One Halford should have wished to keep his daughter well away from. Chase knew he was going to regret interfering. On the other hand he might have just found a solution to his own pressing problem—a wife with no strings attached. Lady Victoria Kirby was acknowledged as different and difficult, known for using her tongue as a weapon. Without knowing her, Chase admired that.  All Victoria wanted to do was to excavate the ancient burial sites on the family property. Now her father’s actions have put that in doubt. Chase and Victoria relationship might not be one made in heaven, and they do have a long way to travel, but the getting there is quite interesting. I was concerned by a reference to life, lemons and lemonade, one that didn’t come into being unti

Upon a Midnight Dreary: A Halloween Anthology   by  Kathryn Le Veque, Chasity Bowlin, Hildie McQueen, Maggie Andersen, Mary Lancaster, Meara Platt, Violetta Rand, Alexa Aston, Anna Markland, Aubrey Wynne, Elizabeth Ellen Carter, Elizabeth Johns, Elizabeth Keysian, Emily E K Murdoch, Emily Royal, Heather McCollum, Anna St. Claire, Lynne Connolly, Maeve Greyson, Whitney Blake ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A feast of gothic type historical tales with a romantic twist by a host of our favorite authors. From Medieval times to Regency. All centered around British tales from places where the paranormal is no surprise. Here’s a few I enjoyed. “ Nevermore ” by  Kathryn Le Veque. This is a  medieval romance. The scene is near Whitby Abbey in  1295. A religious order  ruled by an intractable, brutally righteous Mother Abbess. Atreus de Norville a young knight has fallen in love with Mariana Prendwick de Allerston daughter of a noble house, banished to the Abbey for her involvement with a servant. Knight and postulant

The Defiant Daughter (Ashmead Heirs #2) by Caroline Warfield             ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Madelyn Tavernash, widowed Duchess of Glenmoor, is holding onto a gigantic secret. One that could destroy those she holds dear. Meanwhile she’s come out of semi solitude to attend her friend Lucy and her half-brother Sir Robert Benson’s wedding. Somewhat off kilter from her unexpected attraction for Rob’s friend Colonel Brynn Morgan, Maddy contemplates her life and the reasons for her retiring to Clarion Hall’s Dower House at Ashmead. Not that we really see much, only hints. The Colonel is part of the security company Rob works with for the foreign office. After the wedding Maddy consents reluctantly to journey to London staying with the family at her brother David Caulfield, the Earl’s home, Clarion House.  She’s needed to help guide the newly married Lucy through the pitfalls of society. Serendipityly the answers to many of Maddy’s questions are rudely awakened by the demands of an ill kempt American

  Child of Light by Terry Brooks ⭐️⭐️⭐️ A young woman escapes from a prison with fourteen others. A prison in the middle of a desert area where humans are enslaved by beings termed goblins. A place where humans can be killed and eaten by the guards, or sent to baby farms for forced reproduction, ensuring a continuing population for the goblins use. All totally grotesque. And that’s only the beginning.  I’m not a big fan of storylines with humans being eaten so that part grossed me out big time.  Nineteen years old Auris Acton Grieg manages to survive the escape and is rescued by a being Harrow, a Fae Watcher.  Transported across the water to the magical fae stronghold, Viridian Deep, in the middle of a lush mountainous jungle. These surroundings bring to mind the lushness of areas met in the Voyage of Jerle Shannara. The first fae city is a place of wonderment but not all fae are as welcoming as Harrow. His mother Ancrow is of that ilk. Auris begins a quest to reclaim her memory, to f

A Duke by Scot  (MacGalloway’s #1) by Amy Jarecki                         ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really enjoyed Jarecki’s portrayal of a desperate and daring young woman,  Lady Julia St. Vincent,  being employed as Jules Smallwood, male secretary to Martin  MacGalloway the  Duke of Dunscaby.  Of course this a situation rife with all sorts of comic possibilities. Hilarity follows quite naturally when Jules’ employer the Duke decides his rather effete young secretary needs toughening up. He’d noticed when they first met, “The man wasn’t only the size of a jockey, he had to be the bonniest fellow Martin had ever seen. Even his hands seemed inordinately small, well-manicured, and feminine.”  Don’t even get me started on the boxing lesson! All efforts add deliciously to the tension. I was exhausted by Julia’s deft footwork needed as she swept from one charged situation to another. Couple that with the need to occasionally revert to female! Well! When the Duke walks in on Jules / Julia in the bath we

Once Upon a Devastatingly Sweet Kiss (The Whickertons in Love #4) by Bree Wolf      ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Lady Harriet Beaumont, the Earl of Whickerton’s youngest daughter, wants to forge her own way. Not for her being some man’s possession, to be toted around and sent wherever her owner (that is, her husband) would send her! This young hellion, who’s full of surprises yearns for freedom. Freedom to be an independent spirit! Bradley Jackson, Duke of Clements, has discovered there’s a codicil to his mothers will. He must marry by thirty to inherit her manor house. Only a tiny portion of his properties, but for him a place of love. So what does our duke do? He enlists the help of his aunt to introduce him to suitable young women to find a match that suffices. Since childhood Bradley has pushed down the idea of love. That way madness lies. He only needs to look to his own father to understand that. Bradley will marry someone to provide him with heirs. Someone who knows what is expected in a polite

My Lord Protector (Beresford Adventures #2) by Cheryl Bolen              ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 Murder, a young woman’s rapid flight from the scene, intrigue and romance! Oh, and a handsome, generous Earl, who though proper, is stymied by his sister’s new companion. Henry Beresford, the Sixth Earl of Devere,  hires Caroline Rutherford, really  Charlotte Robinson,  to guide his rather wilful sister through the traps of society.  Lady Harriett  doesn’t quite understand the ramifications when she bends the rules. Charlotte had been the companion of a kindly woman, Mrs Betsy Wyndham, in the remote parts of Devon. Disturbed one night by a strange noise, Charlotte finds her employer lying on the floor dead. Charlotte opens a box containing written instructions about what to do if anything should happen to her employer. What Charlotte  doesn’t know is that Mrs Wyndham had in reality been a famous courtesan. The box she’d handed over to Charlotte  included damning information about a nobleman. Now Charlott

Vespertin e (Vespertine #1) by Margaret Rogerson               ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A novel replete with all those tropes that make for a riveting fantasy read. There’s evil crouched and waiting in the unliving, a chosen one, Artemisia of Naimes—a novice in a convent dedicated to the Gray Lady, and articles of power. All set in a believable medieval type fantastical world. Loraille is a land where ancient spirits have been bound and contained, where the relics of saints have been placed in reliquaries. These are weapons the revenants, the higher order spirits want to destroy. The spirits or revenants are trying to control humans. The imagery of young Artemisia, fighting the revenant that attempted to take her over is primordial. But Artemisia has well and truly grown up in the School of Hard Knocks. To say the least the revenant is surprised. This battle reminded me of Bujold’s Penric. I loved the way the drama and interplay of characters build. Then there’s Confessor Leander who tries to bend

God Rest Ye, Royal Gentlemen (Her Royal Spyness #15) by Rhys Bowen             ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Newly married Lady Georgina (Georgie) suddenly realised she had Christmas type responsibilities and started off planning a family Christmas. This evolved further into Georgie, her husband Darcy O’Mara (something to do with the Foreign Office) and their guests bounding off to Sandringham to stay with Darcy’s rather eccentric aunt Lady Ermintrude Aysgarth. She paints rather weird works. Turns out this sudden House Party is a cover for Georgie’s cousin, David the Prince of Wales, to park his friend Wallis Simpson nearby for the holiday season. Let’s just say Wallis is not impressed! The sudden death of the the Prince of Wale’s equerry whilst hunting the last year had set tongues wagging. People keep muttering about “the curse!” Especially after an accident at Wymondham Hall. Apparently the curse came about when the property, which is near to Sandringham, was purchased during Queen Victoria’s time. “Th