eyes.2c Reviews

Shaman Rises (The Walker Papers #9) by C.E. Murphy The sound of Gary's voice, a little shaky reaches out to Joanne Walker (Siobhan Grainne MacNamarra Walkingstick) across the miles from Seattle, "It's Annie, Jo. It's my wife.  She's alive." The last words of Book 8, Mountain Echoes, resound across time and space and you just know something huge is about to go down.     And it does! Armageddon in Seattle? One shudders. Who would have imagined the twists the Walker papers would encounter, that the story would end where it all began, and the pathway that Joanne Walker and her friends would travel,  as we delved into the pages of that very first book. A truly amazing journey, where gods, shamans, spirit animals and ordinary humans battle the darkness and destruction. Some surprising revelations, some heartfelt losses. Joanne in her white leather hero coat, her wry sense of humour, the love of her life, her car Petite and the other love of her life, her ...

The Hatmaker's Heart: A Nove l by Carla Stewart A lovely story, gently told. Nellie March and her stammer, her dedication and her enjoyment of her craft grabbed me from the beginning. Her determination to follow her heart and dare to dream is inspiring. Her joy, her trials and tribulations as a hat designer, a milliner, sweeps us from New York to London and back to New York, from 1922-1923. This is a charming, and at times hard look at those competitive days of haute couture (as they are today), and the life and excitement surrounding the marriage of the Queen mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. The forays into speakeasies, cloche hats and flappers.  I can see and touch those exquisite hats that Nell crafts. The bead work and colours come alive.  Then there's the hidden family secrets alongside the giddiness of those young things in high society. All is fascinating; as is a look at the life of employees behind the scenes, and the relentlessness of entering and the high fashio...

Asian Pickles: Sweet, Sour, Salty, Cured, and Fermented Preserves from Korea, Japan, China, India, and Beyond by Karen Solomon I have collected several books that give recipes for Asian pickles. Apart from the varieties of kim chi that I adore, one of my favourite pickles has always been Chinese lemon and lime pickles. I use the lemon pickle with a very tasty Charmaine Solomon   (who is my major go to resource and is listed in the bibliography) Sri Lankan Beef Smoore recipe. I have made those pickles and given them away as presents to people who appreciate such things, including my butcher who is constantly experimenting. Karen Solomon's recipe is slightly different to the one I have used and I am interested in how it will turn out and how I like this different approach from the one I normally use. How will it taste? Roll on enough time for the steeping process. What I like about this book is Solomon's commitment to using 'all the pots and pans in your cupboard...

Engaging the Earl (Accidental Peers #4) by Diana Quincy   Edward Stanhope, a second son, a talented musician, having been refused Kat's hand in marriage, determines to join the army, make his fortune and return home to marry his true love.  Kitty (Kat), Lady Katherine Granville, 16 years old, knowing whom and what she wants, tries to persuade Edward to flee to Gretna Green. Honestly, I wasn't sure here whether to applaud her here or see her a a spoilt young lady determined to have her way. Edward, honourable and focused goes to war instead. Kat, seething with anger and hurt remains behind to become the toast of the ton.     Six years pass and just as Kitty or rather it seems now Kat, has deigned to marry Laurie, Viscount Lawrence Sinclair, 'Sin' to his friends, Rand returns! Now a decorated war hero, a survivor of Talavera, and having been given an earldom by the King, Kat first sights the man she has never forgotten on the occassion of her engagement to Sin...

Nihal of the Land of the Wind (Chronicles of the Overworld, 1) by Licia Troisi  This novel shows flashes of brilliance leavened with somewhat flat prose, as one reviewer has already said. Perhaps it's the translation. The rhythm of reading, of the language flow, seems to move in cycles from riveting and focused to uncertain and unengaging.    Many incidences in the novel are fascinating such as Nihal's  trial to be judged as worthy to learn magic. Even so that event seems to be a thinly veiled ecological appreciation of the expanse and joining of all things of creation. However, this meditative quality that Nihal experiences is strongly portrayed. Juxtaposed against this is the picture of lands after being conquered by the tyrant. Lands bellowing smoke and strange things, noise and loud music bursting from taverns. No space for silence, peace and the healing of the green spaces. I kept thing of Blake's poetry and his rail against the pervasive effects of th...

Twelfth Night (A Lady Julia Mystery #6.5) by Deanna Raybourn It's Christmas time and a baby has been left in the stables at Bellmont Abbey. Lady Julia is determined to solve the mystery. Julia's family is together for the annual Twelfth Night Revels performance and annual event for the villagers of Blessingstoke Hamlet. Julia's siblings and spouses are all there. Some glowering, some frenetic, others resigned. As always everything is in an uproar. We are treated to the usual eccentricity from her family, and hints of dark evilness from Brisbane's. Benedick's children play a part in solving the mystery of the abandoned baby and a further mystery of the poisoned oysters.  Oh those children! So knowing! I loved it when they talked about Aunt Hermia's home for reformed prostitutes. Perdita is a quaint, intelligently serious child. As Brisbane said, she is a perfectly exceptional child, probably like Julia when Julia was of that age. We meet Quentin Harkness, ...

Cherringham - Mystery at the Manor: A Cosy Crime Series ( Cherringham ENG)  by Matthew Costello and Neil Richards  Sarah and Jack are back on the trail. An elderly man dies in a house fire at a manor near the village. This time an old friend of Sarah's enlist the aid of Sarah and her 'yank' detective friend to investigate the death of her patient. The despicable heirs are definitely on the suspect list. The trail however leads to strange places. Another sleepy village mystery that only takes a commute to read. The storyline and characters never faltered. I am hooked! (copy kindly provided by the publisher for an honest review)

The Sea of Time (Chronicles of the Kencyrath) by P.C. Hodgell  I could hardly wait to read the latest episode in the Chronicles of the Kencyrath. I have loved this series from the beginning, when I fell across the first novel of the  Godstalker Chronicles, Godstalk.   I notice that the dedication in Hodgell's latest novel is in memory of Diana Wynne Jones, another of my favourite writers. I love seeing where my interests and an author's converge. Once more in The Sea of Time, Jame, that is Jamethiel Priest's Bane--sister of Torisen Black Lord, is being tested as a senior cadet. Jame has been sent to the Southern Host at Kothifir. It is here her brother was captured and tortured. Once more the hazing continues. With cadets from senior years playing dangerous games. Journeys and wars are only part of the story. Deserts are crossed and under the earth pathways traversed. Time plays tricks and as always the gods are once more enmeshed.. As always, confusing the situ...