eyes.2c Reviews

The Kimchi Chronicles: Korean Cooking for an American Kitchen   by  Marja Vongerichten                            'Kimchi is very personal and it's all about your particular preferences' A great comment by Vongerichten that goes to the heart of things. Whilst many readers of Korean heritage noted that  Kimchi Chronicle s is not sufficiently pure enough for them (some have likened it to the BigMac approach to Korean foods), as a European, trying to discover how to make some of the tasty Korean dishes I have so enjoyed both in Korea and in North American Korean restaurants this is a reasonable cookbook addition to my collection, particularly the Kimchi chapter. Mind you with the addition of cheese, Coca Cola and other ingredients, including Mexican, some of the recipes are really more fusion Korean. I liked Vongerichten explanation for these inclusions that so...

The Den Of Iniquity (Bastards of London, #1)   by  Anabelle Bryant 1st in a new series with strong possibilities.  The central characters are vigorous although switching between happenings is occasionally disjointed. Bereaved Vivienne Beaumont has a heart of gold, is virtuous and has the looks to slay armies. Max Sinclair (Sin), bastard son of a lord, has attitude, great sorrow, a vengeful heart and the ability to slay armies. Max is one of three owners of the Underground, a notorious gaming club for the wealthy in London's darker side. Max and Vivienne meet in an out of the way London churchyard where Max is viewing the grave of one of his enemies. Max's mother was brutally killed and abused when he was a young boy. Max is actively seeking the perpetrators to take his revenge. Vivienne is contemplating what charitable works of her mother's she will continue to support, including the nuns who tend the gardens here. Vivienne thinks that Max's dog ...

A Perilous Undertaking (Veronica Speedwell #2)   by Deanna Raybourn                               Lady Veronica Speedwell ( lepidopterist and adventurer)  and Stoker ( ‘the Honourable Revelstoke Templeton-Vane, third son of the sixth Viscount Templeton-Vane’) a natural historian,  are drawn into the hunt for a murderer at the request of one who 'cannot be named.' Its 1887 London and a bohemian artist who moves in semi exalted circles has had her throat slashed. Her lover Lord Miles Ramsforth was declared guilty and is to hang--all too quickly it seems. At least that's what Lady Sunbridge, who tasks Lady Veronica to find the truth, believes. As Veronica and Stoker delve further into the matter they see behind the veil into the decadent sensual antics of some of the the upper class in an underground grotto within the grounds of Ramsforth's estate. The motive for  Artemisia's mu...

The Ripper's Shadow: A Victorian Mystery  (Victorian Mysteries #1)   by  Laura Joh Rowland First up I need to declare that I am a huge fan of Laura Joh Rowland. I have read all of her  Sano Ichiro Novel's and loved them. But this work is a far departure from those detective novels set in feudal Japan. Yet it contains the distinctive Rowland stamp of complex mystery and chilling intrigue. The thing about Rowland is that she approaches a topic slightly out of left field. I was wondering how she was going to write another 'yawn' Jack the Ripper novel about prostitutes being gutted in the Whitechapel area of the East End in 1888. Well there's no yawn about Rowland's  Ripper's Shadow;  rather we are treated to an intelligent, thoughtful and completely unique look at events through the eyes of a lonely spinster photographer. Not only that, but it seems it is the spinster's risqué boudoir photographs of the victims might be the key that l...

The Heretic's Creed (An Ursula Blanchard Elizabethan Mystery #14)   by  Fiona Buckley                                                             An eerily haunting opening had me wondering for a while if I was venturing into a medieval horror novel. I wasn't! The prelude fittingly sets the scene for what is to come.  It's February, 1577. As winter still encloses Northern England and Scotland, Ursula Blanchard is sent on another mission by Sir William Cecil for the Crown. Her quest is two fold--to deliver missives to James Douglas, Earl of Morton, at Holyrood in Edinburgh concerning Queen Mary and conspiracies surrounding her; and to purchase an illuminated book, heretical in nature for Queen Eliazabeth's magician, Doctor Dee. The relic is at Stonemoor House, an unofficial convent in the wilds of ...

A Rustle of Silk: A new forensic mystery series set in Stuart England (A Gabriel Taverner Mystery #1)   by  Alys Clare                                 An exciting new protagonist for solving murders and mysteries set in early Stuart England times of the 17th century! Dr Gabriel Taverner is a navy surgeon now turned doctor who hails from Devon. He is endeavouring to set up practice back near his childhood neighbourhood. The people we meet are fascinating. These are not surface figures. That these characters have a depth that will add to this and future stories is obvious from the get go. Black Carlotta, a wise woman and healer, midwife Judyth Penwarden, the coroner Theophilus Davey, and the local vicar Jonathan Carew are my special likes. A man has killed himself and the coroner Theophilus, fetches Gabriel to assist him. Something about the  unknown dead man troubles Gabriel, b...

Breath of Fire (The Kingmaker Chronicles #2)   by  Amanda Bouchet                                     Talk about clash of the titans!  This second in the Kingmaker Chronicles has it all. Greek gods and goddesses, a love story that keeps on giving, and monsters out of legends. Cat (Catalia Fisa), warrior and Kingmaker, is still fleeing from her destiny and as usual just ends up tumbling towards it at breakneck speed, despite her avowed reluctance (but then that seems to be Cat--she falls from one situation into another within the blink of an eyelid.) She's still fleeing from her mother and determined to stay with Griffin--after all she bound herself to him magically. Still being confronted magically by her mother and hurt every time--physically and emotionally. What with crossing the Ice Plains, confronting a Chaos Wizard, obtaining doubtful god given gifts (be careful ...

Wild Wicked Scot (The Highland Grooms #1)   by  Julia London                                                                   As a young girl, English Margot Armstrong romanticized marriage. She falls in love at a glance with Scottish chieftain, Arran McKenzie and heads off to the highlands for her dream HEA, only to discover that life is far different in the raw highlands to the English society she'd inhabited and grew up in. Fortunately Margot takes well to her wifely duties in the marriage bed. Outside of that she's like a fish out of water. Misunderstandings lead to Margot leaving her husband--to return three years later after being persuaded by her father that her husband Arran is a traitor and her father will be involved. Only Margot has the power to clear her family's name. Margot's fathe...

Death at St. Vedast (A Bianca Goddard Mystery #3)   by Mary Lawrence.  Another complex sixteenth century murder mystery with alchemist Bianca Goddard at the forefront. A pregnant woman flings herself from a church steeple, a wealthy widow suddenly becomes contorted and unable to control her limbs. The church at St. Verdast seems to have a malignant miasma surrounding it. Bianca's husband John has moved up in the world and needs to reside in London near St. Verdast John's friend, silversmith Boisvert who is to marry Odile, the wealthy widow of a prominent London goldsmith. When Odile dies at her wedding feast Boisvert is accused of poisoning her and Bianca and John race against time to find evidence of Boisvert's innocence. Bianca moves her alchemy equipment with some trepidation, but is never truly comfortable, frightened that the various smells and odours will lead to discovery by a less than forgiving population.  However very little time passes b...

Highland Sinner (Murray Family #16)   by  Hannah Howell.                              Apart from the opening horrific images I really enjoyed this. The g ory descriptions of butchered women threaded throughout are not for the faint of heart. Tormand appears to being pursued by a maddened killer trying to indite Tormand for the murders being committed. The fact that he wakes next to a horrifically butchered former lover doesn't argue well for him being held responsible. Morainn Ross is a wonderful heroine. Sir Tormand Murray is the bad boy who has played the cavalier lover for so long he seems to have reached the satiation point of unmeaningful liaisons. When he sees Morainn he is seized by the Murray blessing of finding his soul mate--not that he can even acknowledge that. He's an unbeliever until it slams him in the face. Even then he's a bit slow on the uptake. The tension ...

Lord Sebastian's Secret (The Duke's Sons #3)   by  Jane Ashford I have to say I really loved Sebastian Gresham's story. Tender yet troubled! For many reasons Sebastian reminded me of Freddy Standen in Georgette Heyer's 'Cotillion.' Whilst Sebastian's strengths are different to Freddy's, he nevertheless makes his fiancée Lady Georgina Stane feel protected. As Georgina says, 'he always knows what to do.' And that's exactly how Kitty Charing felt about Freddy. Sure it's reversed somewhat. Sebastian is good looking, dashing, and more at home on a horse than in discussion with his peers over some obscure point. Where Freddy was up to the latest rig and knew to a nicety how to steer a course through the social pitfalls that yawned for the unwary. Sebastian is acutely aware that he is not as clever as his siblings. He looks at the written word and all he sees is a string of letters running together in no recognizable pattern. So ...