eyes.2c Reviews

The Sunset Warrior (The Sunset Warrior Cycle, 1) by Eric Van Lustbader  'Ronin was dying.' The opening lines. Perhaps not Ronin himself but certainly the way of life in Freehold is in its death throes. The code is under attack. War is coming and with it a breakdown of the old traditions and a replacing with new. Factions are jockeying into key positions. Who is the enemy? Science and a reason versus mages and magic as Ronin, an unaligned Bladesman is drawn into the secrets of Freehold, its post apocalyptic beginnings and it's failing, the secrets of its beginnings and the consequences for its future. The descriptive aspects of Freehold and the outside are fulsome and alive. Unfortunately the storyline itself just did not pull me in as I wanted it to. A NetGalley ARC

What a Hero Dares (The Redgraves #4) by Kasey Michaels  In this volume the search for the leader of the secret hellfire club continues. All our favourite Redgrave characters are here. The threat of a Bonaparte inspired invasion is still present. The family's investigation into its duplicitous, treasonous and debauched past continues. They continue the search for the journals, the records of the society's members and plans.    Trixie and the faithful Richard Borders, now married, are once more entrenched in the action as is Kate. Our interest is focused from the viewpoint of another member of the Redgrave cohort, soldier and spy Maximillien Redgrave. Devastated by the betrayal of his lover and companion Zoe Charbonneau, now recognized as a double agent Max has infiltrated a smuggling ring. En route to England Max is astounded to discover Zoe on his ship. Questions intersect each other. Who was the traitor in France, who is the leader of the revived society, what ...

After the Scandal (The Reckless Brides #4) by Elizabeth Essex   Wow! Tanner and Claire! Wonderful stuff!  Foolishly going for a stroll on the terrace, Lady Claire Jellicoe is attacked by her escort, Lord Peter Rosing. Tanner Evans, ninth Duke of Fenmore, rescues Claire from the would-be rapist. Together they escape the frightening reality of the situation and Tanner takes her by punt along the Thames to relax. Only they discover a body. It is the lady's maid, Maisy Carter that Claire had used at Tanner's grandmother's house party. Claire doesn't want to return to the party and Tanner wants her safe. Even before he met her he'd been 'devoted to this exquisite orchid of a young woman.' He'd loved her from afar, madly and secretly. Tanner and Claire continue their trip to Chelsea to try to uncover more information about the dead maid. This is only the beginning. As the story progresses we see the vulnerability of Tanner and the strength beneath t...

Death on Blackheath: A Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Novel by Anne Perry Blood and hair and broken glass on stone steps, a disappeared lady's maid in a household near Greenwich. Special Branch Commander Pitt is called in because Owner Dudley Kynaston is 'deeply involved in matters of naval defense.'      Rosalind Kynaston is puzzled, but all Ailsa, Mrs. Bennett Kynaston, the Dudley's widowed sister-in-law, and uncharitable piece of work can say is, how dare maid,  Kitty Ryder, meet someone unsuitable so close to the house and if she does return she should be dismissed. Was the hair and blood evident of an argument, or something more dire? That's what Pitt and the stalwart Stoker have to ascertain. We learn more about who Stoker is in this volume. One's heart warms to this man! There are other high up persons and offices interested in what's going on. Edam Talbot for one. Things spiral out in concentric rings from here to a surprising end. I sympathized ...

In the Courtyard of the Kabbalist by Ruchama King Feuerman  Souls are searched, feelings exposed and motives uncovered in this fascinating novel. A tale of dreams lost and new directions found--however unexpected. Forty year old Isaac Markowitz left his haberdashery shop in the Lower East Side and came to Israel. He has been assisting a Kabbalist, an unimposing, gentle rabbe who along with his wife dispenses wisdom to the neighbourhood and to those who seek answers. Mustafa, a Muslim works on the Temple Mount as a custodian. His neck has been damaged since birth with his head turned looking over his right side. He cannot turn his neck straight on. All his life he has been disparaged, rejected and dismissed as of no worth because of this difference. I must admit I too found it hard to look at Mustafa in our first encounters.   Then his humanness took over, his longing to be worthy, his actions of endeavouring to be the best kohein, his desire for friendship and acceptanc...

Desperately Seeking Suzanna (Tricks of the Ton #2) by Elizabeth Michels Sue Green is a complicated young woman. Artistic and intelligent, she is ignored because of her sisters' beauty, condemned by her harpy of a mother as unattractive and not worth worrying about. No wonder her rebellious streak rises from time to time. Persuaded by her sisters to crash a masquerade ball, Sue becomes Suzanna for one reckless night of laughter and hanky panky in the library with a reknown rake, Lord Holden Ellis. Holden has his own set of secrets. That one night with Sue has him hankering to track down the mysterious cousin of the Fairly sisters. And here's where it goes awry. Just as the prince never saw Cinderella amongst the cinders, so does Holden never truly see Sue amongst her sisters. As awareness comes, other matters vie for his attention. I'm afraid Holden is quite dense and insulting to Sue in more ways than one. He does indeed break her heart.   A regency romp with a di...

The Golden Apple by Michelle Diener   Witches, kings with secrets, a princess with a hidden talent, dark magic, wild magic, evil sorcerers, giant cats--the list goes on and the telling of these happenings enrich every page. Princess Kayla of Gaynor is placed by her father in a gilded chair atop a glass mountain. Whomever reaches her and 'plucks' the golden apple from her lap will have won her hand in marriage and become heir to the kingdom. ...'if [Kayla] had been clamped naked into the stocks she could not have felt more exposed, more vulnerable. more disrespected.' The Princess however has not submitted to this indignity entirely. She has taken some matters into her own hands prior to this mortifying contest. She makes further choices now. Her father wore gloves when he placed the apple into her lap with instructions not to touch the apple. Kayla decides otherwise! She recognizes that what the contenders want is power. What she wants is not considered. Ran...

The Weaver Takes a Wife (Weaver #1) by Sheri Cobb South   What can you do when cupid's arrow strikes and leaves you dazzled by a veritable princess (well in this case a daughter of a Duke)...and you a self made man of 'Trade', a 'cit?' Well if your determined like Mr Ethan Bundy you forge ahead despite all. After all a cat can look at a Queen.  The love story of Lady Helen Radney and Ethan is absolutely delightful, leavened throughout with a wry humour. 'elen' as Bundy calls his wife Helen is a wilful shrew who finds her way to love. Ethan Bundy, a man of strong inner character and wonderful gentleness, is the mill owner who dares to love above his station. A man without subterfuge, honest and worthy. A man whose strengths slowly dawn on his wife. A man who as Helen says, 'took Almack's by storm.' In this case of pursuing true love it's fortunate that the lady in question's father, the Duke of Reddington, is an inveterate gamble...

The Lascar's Dagger: The Forsaken Lands by Glenda Larke    Oh, I enjoyed this! All the necessary aspects are present to coalesce into a sparkling work with a brilliant plot.  Vividly descriptive, the writing ensured my interest was held from beginning to end.  Kings, evil prelates, a princess who in battling to order her own life never counts the cost to others, witchery and old magic, guile and truth, miracles and more. Oh! and an investigator of the order of the Va-Faith maligned and nullified, left to die naked and chained to a tree in the coldest hours of the night. Saker Rampion is an Ardronese witan, a spy for the Pontifect of Va-Faith, sent to the Kingdom of Lowmeer, not once but twice. The first time is to find out if the merchants of Lowmeer have found the Spicerie (the source of spices), the second as a spiritual tutor for Prince Ryce and the Princess, the Lady Matilda of Lowmeer.  An unlikely hero! Sorrel Redwing has the gift of glamoury. Through...

An accidental Affair  (The Distinguished Rogues #4)  by Heather Boyd Finding true love is no easy thing. Widowed Arabella Lawson, Lady Farnsworth, 'not the type of woman to incite great passion in the gentlemen', comes to town to chaperone her niece, and with a personal 'mission'--to take a lover. The thing is she was married off to a much older man and before she returns to a quiet country life she decides to live just a little, to find out the truth and hopefully the joy of a brief romance. Stolen kisses in the library seem a start--or an ending. Merrick Bishop, the Earl of Rothwell needs an heir.       Some quiet biddable debutante seems the very thing. This restless rake is determined to be a faithful husband once married. He has his reasons! But those stolen kisses had rather more of an effect on him than he cares to admit. Merrick is suffering the burden of his dead father's rampant casual affairs. The consequences have prompted Merrick to actions ...

The Fell Sword (The Traitor Son Cycle #2) by Miles Cameron   Miles Cameron continues to maintain the tension in this next volume of his highly addictive Traitor Son series.    Heroic fantasy complete with heart-stopping, exhausting battles, palace intrigues, geo-political manoeuvres and the occasional romance all mixed up with knights, mercenaries, magisters and creatures of the Wild in this medieval referencing landscape. Oh and did I mention boggles, trolls and irks. Renegade sorcerer and aether handler Thorn develops new and more powerful magics. The Red Knight has his hands full! Magister Harmodius still shares his body, and that's a whole 'nother story.  The Emperor has been seized, there are spies in the palace, the Red Knight's men are being poisoned, his horses have been killed and assassins  are  in place. Of course all our favourites are present; Bad Tom, Mags, Sauce, Ser Michael, and Kaitlin to name a few. Fast paced and compelling. A fitt...

From Every Bitter Thing: The Real Story of Guenevere and Lancelo t by Robert Rice Finally! A rendering that makes sense of the Guenevere and Lancelot story.   Not that of a faithless queen and a foresworn trusted knight, but a tale of cultural differences and understandings running counter to each other. Of old beliefs pitted against new and of  kingdom skirmishes and territorial grabs.     The story of Guenevere, a pict priestess and a King's daughter and Lancelot her mercenary champion, chosen from before her political marriage to Arthur. Their relationship set against pict women's rights and practices give rise to the many misunderstandings about the triangle of Guenevere, Arthur and Lancelot a different focus. But first there was Lancelot. Guenevere is a woman used and a woman betrayed. Arthur is the High King seeking a dream, it seems at any cost. Beyond that is a story of love and betrayal that had the power to bring this reader to tears. A NetGalley ...

David: Lord of Honor (Lonely Lords #9) by Grace Burrowes The opening has us sympathizing with David over his having inherited an elegant, expensive brothel. As we are told this should be every young gentleman's unbridled fantasy. David Worthington, fourth Viscount Fairly, bemoans the fact. Owning a brothel brings a myriad of problems. David's interest in Mrs Letticia Banks is due to her having been the mistress of his deceased brother-in-law, Lord Amery. David needs a Madame, Letticia needs employment. Certainly this looks like a way forward for both of them. Of course, nothing is that simple. As David and Letty are thrown together the attraction between them surfaces. And of course Letty's road to her current state has a sympathetic back story. Oh and yes, 'feet' feature once more in this masterful Lonely Lords addition.  As David and Letty embark on a fuller relationship David reflects, 'he'd touched her feet before, and it seemed a safe--and biblic...

Silence of the Wolf (Heart of the Wolf #13) by Terry Spear  This shapeshifting werewolf story with all the right ingredients, continues the saga of the inhabitants of Silver Town. Warm, sleek,half coyote, half wolf-gal meets sexy handsome wolf-guy. There's an attempted kidnapping, unsolved murders and mysterious strangers hanging around the town. Loner, Elizabeth Wildwood, turns up in grey wolf country ostensibly to do a story about skiing at a Colorado resort. She runs into Tom Silver, youngest brother of pack leader Darien. Sparks fly between them.       Elizabeth has connections to the neighbouring Bruin's pack through her father, although she had never been part of it. She's in Silver Town to contact North Redding, a wolf from her past, part of Bruin's pack, who says he has information about her parents' murderers.   As part of covering her story she heads up the ski slopes to take photos. Pausing on the edge of the trail to take random shots of the ...

Sapphires Are an Earl's Best Friend (Jewels of the Ton #3) by Shana Galen  Enter stage right smart, sassy, knows her business, Lillian Beatrice Dawson, the Duchess of Charm, a notorious courtesan and in a reality government spy. Lily is assigned to find the identity of Artemis the code name for an Englishman turned traitor who holds papers that would reveal the identities of English spies abroad. It is suspected that culprit is the Duke of Ravenscroft. Early on hints are thrown out that all might not have been as it seemed in the Ravenscroft household. Lily goes undercover as a guest at the Duke of Ravenscroft's house party.  In truth more an excuse for a raunchy time for lechers and various women of questionable morals who skirt the edge of tonnish circles. Her assignment is to beguile the Duke, gain access to his home  and search for the list. Enemy agent, Lucifer, making another appearance in the Jewels series, is after the same list. Unfortunately Andrew B...

Loving Lord Ash (Duchess of Love #3) by Sally MacKenzie   Being the son of Venus, the Duchess of Love produces it's own problems. Her sons head for the hill at the slightest hint that Mama is pursuing their interests with only one thing in mind, well two. Matrimony, and a Happy Marriage! Her eldest son, Kit, Marquis of Ashton, returns to Blackweith Manor to see his wife Jess, whom he hasn't seen for eight years. He needs an heir. They come to a agreement! Not without Ash completely jumping to all the wrong conclusions. There are no women at the manor but there are some very handsome footmen.  What a conundrum!  They decide  to avoid the pressure of Ash's mother, the Duchess, but run slap bang into her. Ho hum! There are some truly hilarious parts, such as when Jess looses the soap in the bath and she asks Kit to find it. I do enjoy the way a line from Venus graces the beginning of each chapter as a prelude to what comes.  A delightful read!    ...