eyes.2c Reviews

The Jade Temptress - The Lotus Palace #2 by Jeannie Lin Pingkang li during the Tang Dynasty of 848 AD. An important general has been murdered, General Deng Zhi. The a Emperor wants answers. Courtesan Mingyu (Bright Jade) finds the body. With blood on her hands she goes to Wu Keifang, the policeman who was her nemesis, her torturer in a previous murder. Why? What is it that draws Mingyu back to him?                                                                      Once more, 'The Pingkang li, with its dual persona of sensual decadence and refinement becomes the place Lin explores the roles that women took on in society, investigates a murder and explores the nature of love. Front and centre is infamous Lotus Palace, home of the celebrated courtesans of the Pingkang li entertainment area and the backdrop ...

Secrets at Court (Royal Weddings) by Blythe Gifford  1361. A tale of princes, love and discarded husbands. Secrets skulk in high places, surrounding annulled marriages and ecclesiastical decisions. The story of Joan of Kent, and her irregular marriages is witnessed through the eyes of her constant companion Anne, the lame daughter of Joan's former companion.  Anne is the focus through which the fascinating woman who would become Prince Edward's wife is revealed. There is a deep mystery surrounding Joan of Kent, all tied up with ecclesiastical courts and this wilful woman intent on shaping her own destiny. Anne comes to know the force of that intent. Gifford's Afterward is interesting in locating the historical questions that surround Joan, The Fair Maid of Kent and Edward, The Black Prince.                                                    ...

Captured by the Pirate Laird (Highland Force #1 ) by Amy Jarecki   1559, Scotland in the time of Elizabeth I. Lady Anne Wriouthesley, daughter of Lord Southampton, sets sail to join her new husband, a man she's never met. She has been married by proxy to Lord Thomas Wharton, First Baron of Wharton. A man thirty-nine years older than her. A man with children older than she. Indeed, the impersonality of the marriage left Anne feeling like a chattel, like bartered goods. Anne however has been raised to carry out her duty to her family, a duty she is honour bound to transfer to her husband. Wharton is a ruthless man thoroughly hated by the Scots, who'd earned his title by joining the Earl of Northumberland raiding, killing and burning his way across Scotland, showing no quarter, in his endeavours to keep the Scots in check. Wharton is now Northumberland's sheriff for the region, 'the plundering bastard and his murdering sheriff,' as Calum describes him.      Enro...

Sworn To Secrecy: Courtlight #4 by Terah Edun Wow! From the first to last page, a suberbly crafted action packed read! Hardly an auspicious family reunion. Ciardis Weathervane no sooner finds her mother and brother than all are threatened. Inga the frost giantess and Kane are attacked at the Imperial ball, Ciardis is simultaneously threatened by both the Emperor and the shadow council. The Emperor  places Lillian Weathervane under house arrest and blackmails Ciardis with her mother's life into seeking the truth about the Ameles Forest and the Princess Heir. Dragons fight in the skies, and this is just the beginning. Twists and turns deepen, old enemies and old friends resurface, new enemies and new friends emerge as secrets are revealed in the desperate race to stop the Blutgott. Prince Sebastian and Daemoni Thanar join forces, well for a time, at Ciardis behest and all move forward.                          ...

Recovering Place: Reflections on Stone Hill (Religion, Culture, and Public Life) by Mark C. Taylor Stunning photography supports page after page of snapshots of thought provoking reflections. I was simultaneously arrested by the clarity and beauty of Taylor's photography and captivated by his soliloquies. Taylor's thoughts about 'globalization' and 'localization', about 'space' and 'place' are a simple yet stunning revelation, a truth that modern man in the hustle and bustle has forgotten. And that Taylor has reconnected with 'place' in his journey at Stone Hill. We vicariously connect through the beauty and insights Taylor presents. Taylor talks about working on a multiplicity of levels and of Hegel referencing disciplines as presenting the same truths in different ways. But Taylor goes beyond the static and leads us to the vividly alive window onto his world,  uncovering his recovering place. The place he shares with us throug...

The Wives of Los Alamos: A Novel by TaraShea Nesbit Told in the first person plural, this work holds in tension the distancing that reflects a time in history that was simply put, awful. The story of place and persons beyond the unleashing of the atom bomb that must always to some degree be shrouded. The story of the families and women at Los Alamos, is in many ways the story of their internment, shrouded in the unknowing. The women know nothing of what their husbands are doing, and the scientists know little about what they are unleashing. We now know the significance of the mention of red faces after tests, looking back as we are, after the fact.   The day to day struggles of making do in a government run place, neither feast nor fowl, not scientists and not army, again emphasizes the degrees of separation, the shroud of silence that surrounds this community. Even the gossip is told at a distance. And that is the curious thing, how the writing style emphasizes the distanc...

The Trouble with Honor  by Julia London  Honor, Honor, Honor! What are you up to? It all began with a game of cards! Then there was the bonnet affair. This certainly blew the lid off  the childhood angst between Honor  Cabot and her step brother's fiancé, Monica Hargrove. Then there was George Easton himself, illegitimate son of a Duke and nephew of a Prince. As Honor was won't to say She was a swashbuckler at heart, as was George. So when these two meet, the odds against conformity escalate. Indeed, that first meeting is most memorable!    And now Honor's mother is showing signs of slipping into madness and Monica is encouraging the idea of Honor and her sisters into marriages or seclusion. After all, does Monica really want her life cluttered up with all these women. Or at least that's what Monica's mother intimates. Just what is Honor to do? Why, a mad start of an idea of course! and after all, George Easton does owe her. And this idea will ...

Honor's Knight (Paradox series #2 ) by Rachel Bach  Once again Rachel Bach doesn't disappoint! Honor's Knight is a space opera with heart and Devi is the source of that heart. Devi has lost her memory, but is still seeing glowing bugs that no-one else sees, the tips of her fingers occasionally appear to be stained black, she is pursued by the xith'cal and then the lelgis (or phantoms as Devi calls them). Who is Brian Caldswell really, what is the mystery of the daughters (Ren) and why are there gaps in Devi's memory?                       Who is the cook and why is Devi gut wrenchingly nauseous every time she looks at him? Not only is Devi is a woman with heart, but that heart leads with fortitude and compassion and garnishes her own brand of glory. Her attachment to her Verdemont suit of armour is a quirky touch, yet at totally understandable. After all this is her survival apparatus. Of course she names her weapons. ...

A Wicked Pursuit: A Breconridge Brothers Novel (The Breconridge Brothers ) by Isabella Bradford   I just really enjoyed A Wicked Pursuit. I found myself smiling at some little absurdity and outright chuckling at others.  Of course my heart was wounded when Gus's (that's Miss Augusta Wetherby) heart was wounded, and at moments both cross and understanding of Harry (Charles Neville Fitzroy, fourth Earl of Hargreave).   Harry is actually pursuing Gus's more beautiful half sister, Miss Julia Wetherby. When Harry is badly injured in a riding accident at the Wetherby's country home, and sister Julia hies off to London unable to face the thought of the dashing Harry an invalid, Gus is the one who nurses Harry through this traumatic time. Actually Julia can't bear the possibility of being saddled with a cripple. Harry is such a petulant roguish character with the heart of gold and Gus is the level headed enchanting Cinderella who comes to believe in them and hersel...

When the Rogue Returns (The Duke's Men) by Sabrina Jeffries  ____unless your counting the villain and and the other ducal Manton investigators. Talented maker of  artificial gems, Isabella is caught up in a plot to steal a betrothal diamonds necklace belonging to Dutch Royalty. Masterminded by her brother-in-law, Gerhart, and sister Jacoba, Isabella is devastated to learn that her husband Victor Cale was part of the heist. Not only that, but he has deserted her. Broken hearted she changes her identity and flees to Edinburg where she becomes a successful jeweller and business woman.   Of course we find out that the truth is far from what she thought. Her husband Victor, has also had a change fortunes. Once a soldier without family connections, he has since found out that he's a cousin to a Duke and has been welcomed back into the fold. His new family runs an inquiry agency near Bow Street, Manton's Investigations. He undertakes to go to Edinburg to follow up a c...

Prayers for the Stole n by Jennifer Clement  I had been watching the U.S.-Mexican version of the series, The Tunnel, so when I saw this title I vaguely thought it might have something to do with disappeared young women in Mexico. It does! Really, anything one might say seems trite in the face of the grim truths related.  It is a bleak comment on the fate of young girls and women in areas of Mexico.  The story is set in the hillside area of Guerrero, an hour from Acapulco. An area that drug lords and dealers have ravaged. A place where the village men might be taken to work drug crops, or where they cross the Border into the U.S. to make a simple living. In the beginning they send money home. Then that dwindles into a trickle and into nothing as the men establish other families, U..S families, as part of their new lives. They women and families in Mexico are left behind, not widows or fatherless, just discarded. They are abandoned and powerless. They fall prey to the ...

A Dangerous Invitation (The Rookery Rogues) by Erica Monroe  Not your usual regency romance! No sashaying Ladies and rakish Dukes! Instead the desperation of life on the wrong side of the tracks! Here in the dark underbelly of London, in the depths of rookery we meet those who do what they must to survive. Life in the most sordid of Dicksonian conditions.  Kate grew up in and out of her fathers shipping company in the docks of London. Daniel worked his way up in the company to become her father's assistant. The two were engaged. A man, Tommy Dalton, was murdered and Daniel, drunk on gin, was accused. A friend helped Daniel escape and now three years later He has returned to the Rookery to try and prove his innocence, and to find the woman he's never stopped loving.  Kate's life is very far from what he had imagined. Her father's business failed, and with his death, she was left destitute on the streets. Deserted by her friends, she was a woman alone in the most d...

Paris Letters by Janice MacLeod   I enjoyed 'Paris Letters' immensely. The story of one woman's walk, well flight really, to redefinition. Janice MacLeod of 'Clan MacLeod' and 'the Highander' (a recurring joke), a successful advertising writer, one day took a deep breathe and decided to try for a new direction. Her mission, to see what the world could offer her and what she could offer the world. Her aim, two years travel in Europe with Rome and Paris on the top of the list. Her goal was to save a $100 a day. Her savings plan is brilliant. (I could learn a bit, although I'm already practising some of her savings ideas. I do cook and chop my own vegetables. I loved her beginning place, 'My first trip to Paris began in my underwear drawer.' A great line! Her message is that de-cluttering is the place to start. This chapter was thought provoking. Her pared down wardrobe she sees as giving her, 'a certain freedom in not having so many choic...

The Sun and Other Stars: A Novel by Brigid Pasulka  Life in an Italian village like San Benedetto has inoculated Etto against joining the chatter about leaving, against being a 'big talker in a long line.' It seems that those who do talk the talk or walk the talk either never leave or can't help but eventually return. Hence Etto's reluctance to contemplate sketching big dreams. This is one of the truths that this 22 year old contemplates. There are as we discover other reasons. Revolving around soccer or calcio as it known in Italy, 'The Sun and Other Stars' is a tale of the experience of being lost, of disassociation after loss. And of finding yourself, of returning to life, of letting the small things and larger things of life, of rediscovered and new loves, warm you and restore you as surely as the sun does bringing warmth into your very bones. A story of hope, beautifully crafted by Pasulka.       How Etto, and subsequently his papa find life again aft...

An Air of Treason: A Sir Robert Carey Mystery (Sir Robert Carey Series) by P F Chisholm Oxford, 1593, and courtier Sir Robert Carey, youngest son of The Lord Chamberlain, Baron Hunsdon,  still has not received his warrant from his cousin (on the legitimate and the illegitimate sides) Queen Elizabeth. Queen Elizabeth is progressing to Oxford which is frantically crowded and preparing for her much  anticipated visit. Carey is thinking of ways to present himself to the Queen, when she sends for him. When your Queen calls? What can you do but obey! When your Queen changes your plans and her promises what can you do but acquiesce. Elizabeth charges Carey with solving a thirty year old mystery--that of the death of the former wife of Dudley, the Earl of Leicester. Amy Dudley (nee Robsart) who appeared to have  fallen down stairs to her death. Carey is by himself in Oxford. Dodd is still down south and Carey is forced to hire a new serving man, Hughie Tyndale. He's ...

Carousel Sun (Carousel Tides Series) by Sharon Lee Welcome to Archers Beach, Maine. A small struggling tourist town with an amusement park featuring amongst other delights, an old fashioned wooden Carousel with a menagerie of fantasy animals that used to include a Batwing Horse. But that's another story. Archers Beach is place where Silkies, Guardians, dryads, sea witches, supernatural beings that use jikinap (magic), and various otherworldly creatures can be found, if you know about them, if you can see them. A place where Mid Summer's Eve is an amazing celebration that is vigorous and true, for those in the know. Kate Archer is a trenvay and temporary Guardian of the Land, whilst her grandmother the Guardian and a dryad, recovers from a daring rescue of her daughter Nessa, also Kate's mother, from another place, the Land of Flowers. Six worlds of the cosmology are bound together. Our world is the most unpredictable. Actually the Carousel is a prison, with a wild ga...

The MacGregor's Lady (MacGregor Series) by Grace Burrowes  I must admit that I was puzzled by the opening. I couldn't quite understand why Asher MacGregor, the newly titled ninth Earl of Balfour, was meeting two women from across the Atlantic and and escorting them to London for the season. What was the link? Who had asked him to meet them and why? Gradually a fuller picture emerges. Hannah Cooper, heiress, or 'Boston' as Asher calls her, is stubborn and single minded, enduring all for her family. As her tale emerges we become enraged on her behalf. She is entrapped by her times and her gender. Asher is the lost Earl, come at the eleventh hour back to the fold, tragedy at his back and in his heart. A tragedy that 'Boston' unknowingly helps keep at bay. Slowly we become privy to his story of conflict and loss.  These two compliment each other in so many ways. They are indeed sympatico.      Balfour is compassionate, insightful and yet afraid of love. Han...

Must Love Dukes (Tricks of the Ton)  by Elizabeth Michels   I must admit that I was intrigued by the slightly surreal opening of this novel. Devon, the Mad Duke of Thornwood, being stalked through the streets of London by a determined young woman into areas no respectable woman should wander! A desperate act indeed. So we are thrown into a situation that begs for further questions and  prompt enlightenment.  Which of course the rest of the story sets out to do. What is involved is a pocket watch and a young woman's purposefulness.   Lillian Whitby as it unfolds was that woman. At home she is the one that holds her family estate together whilst her brothers sell off all that's worthwhile with nary a thought for her. Two of her brothers, the Bad brothers, at the Baddest Brother's urging, decide that the only thing left of value to sell to the highest bidder is Lily. Certainly BB (Baddest Brother) Solomon makes the suggestion to bad brother, Joshia.  ...

Hild by Nicola Griffith Hild the child that would become Saint Hilda of Whitby. Griffith's novel illuminates the person Hild might have been in her earliest years. The known is cleverly interwoven into the storyline. Hild's father, Prince Hereric, was nephew to King Edwin of Northumbria. He was poisoned. Hild was brought up in the court of King Edwin. Hild's wyrd (personal destiny) is her path. She is 'Light of the World'. She carries a seax, a type of dagger, and she stands tall. Her sister Herewith's wyrd is different. She will be a queen. I found it hard to resolve the description of Hild in her very young years. She is marked as special from birth. A child heavy with her future wrapped around her. Even as young as three, Hild's clarity of thought and perception is prodigious, and later as still a child not yet come into her womanhood, her wisdom is more like that of a mature woman. After all wisdom is what Hilda of Whitby will become renowned for, ...