eyes.2c Reviews

Sinful Scottish Laird (The Highland Grooms #2)   by Julia London                             1742. Daisy Bristol, Lady Chatwick, has a problem. Widowed for over two years she finds herself in an alarming position. Her husband's will declared that she must marry within three years of his demise or else forfeit her son's inheritance. Not only that but his friend Bishop Craig must approve the union. Unfortunately, the rather unworldly Bishop has taken that to mean that he is to take a hand in bringing forward suitable suitors. However, all she's been presented with thus far are hardened rakes needing money and elderly bachelor gentlemen. Besides Daisy wants to enjoy her freedom and marry with her heart this time, not be governed by any man's will. It seems her dead husband has reached from beyond the grave to order her life. Men! A letter from her first love, Robert Spivey, now an English naval capta...

Penric and the Shaman (Penric & Desdemona #2) (Hardcover)  by  Lois McMaster Bujold                   Ok, I'm officially in love with Penric! He exhibits that combination of humour, compassion, thoughtfulness and gentleness wrapped up in a wryness that's wonderfully humane. In this world of the Five Gods, Lord Penric, is now a divine and sorcerer of the Bastard's Order, a depository for the demon combinations he's named  Desdemona, a conglomerate  of twelve. In this second novella, Penric is called on to seek out an escaped murderer, but what he finds is so much more! Along with the Senior Locator, Penric is sent to track down a renegade shaman Inglis, accused of murder. As usual Penric confounds all as he investigates this case. Oswyl, the Locator (of the Father's Order) is frequently confounded by Penric. That Penric by his very youth and laid back appearance is frequently underrated by all he m...

No Other Highlander (The McKennas #2)   by   Adrienne Basso                               Lady Joan Armstrong Fraser and Sir Malcolm McKenna's story is one of building trust.  1334. Joan has fled her abusive marriage to  Laird Archibald Fraser.  W ith her small son she'd  returned to her home at Armstrong Castle.  She'd married Archibald 'with blind naïveté, unaware of his true character.' Joan's place in her father's home is tenuous and she knows that should her father marry the Lady Agnes that place will be even more so. Meanwhile Malcolm has been accused of fathering a child on the daughter of Laird of the MacPhearson. Indeed, 'the MacPhearson laird is not only claiming that his daughter was seduced, but that she was promised marriage.' Malcom is shocked.  He has no recollection of any such encounter. A meet between the McKenna and MacPh...

If the Duke Demands  (Capturing the Carlisles #1)   by  Anna Harrington Smitten by her childhood friend, Miranda Hodgkins determines that she will do all she can to entice Robert Carlisle into marrying her. Unfortunately she finds that her planned seduction is off kilter when she ends up in the bedroom of Robert's brother, Sebastian, the Duke of Trent. Startled to find that the beautiful masked woman 'Rose' reclining seductively across his bed is little Miranda, the determined playmate of his youth, Sebastian promises to do all he can to help Miranda win Robert's heart ... and along the way Sebastian loses his!  But that gives no joy. Sebastian is the Duke and must marry someone who can be his duchess. Certainly not the 'harum scarum' hoyden Miranda. No, what Sebastian needs is someone born to the task. Meanwhile, Miranda must face the truth--that Robert's heart is given to someone else. And where is her's now residing? A charming ...

Passion Favors the Bold (Royal Rewards #2)   by  Theresa Romain     Georgette Frost is a delightful force of nature.   Lord Hugo Starling thinks he's rescuing her from a hare brained plot to try to find the gold sovereigns stolen from the Royal Mint. What he's doing is miring himself even more deeply in her scheme. Georgette's world turns upside down when she reaches twenty-one, which is very soon. She plans to find her brother Benedict and the gold and start a new and glorious life. Benedict we met in Fortune Favors the Wicked.  Boarding a coach disguised as a boy is quite in order.  As an avid reader Georgette knows that, ' Many the blue-blooded heroine of a conte de fée had disguised herself to escape the cruel predations of a wicked relative'. Not that Georgette had wicked relatives, perhaps more unthinking. And now here is  Hugo annoyingly overturning her plans. However, never daunted, Georgette leads the way, despite the Bow ...

The Second Time Around (The Worthingtons #2.5)   by  Ella Quinn                               An engaging story based on the premise of the laws pertaining to guardianship in the Regency era. As Quinn explains in her Author's Note, ' Very few women were given sole guardianship of their own children, and almost never if one of the children happened to be a boy or an heir. ... Once a mother remarried, she could not have guardianship of her children at all ... married women were not legally allowed to have guardianship. ...  Once she lost even partial guardianship, she could be barred from seeing her children.' So, what is Patience the Dowager Countess of Worthington to do when widowed, unable to be guardian to her own children, re-meets the man she'd loved forever, Viscount Richard Wolverton. The man who'd left her heartbroken to travel thus having her lot cast by her father--wedding...

Turner’s Modern and Ancient Ports: Passages through Time    ( Hardcover)  by  Susan Grace Galassi ,  Ian Warrell ,  Joanna Sheers Seidenstein,  Gillian Forrester,  Rebecca Hellen , and  Eloise Owens                          This catalogue is an  excellent  production supporting the exciting exhibition at the Frick Gallery, running from  February 23, 2017  to  May 14, 2017.  Featuring paintings, drawings and a collection of essays by the curators involved with the exhibition, provide further food for thought about  Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) , his works and artistic  development. I was captivated by the intriguing tile of one of the essays, ' Shifting Currents: Turner's Depictions of Coasts, Rivers, Harbors and Ports in the 1820's  by Ian Warrell. It plays brilliantly to the idea of the exhibition....

Only a Duke Will Do (To Marry a Rogue #2)   by Tamara Gill                                    The scene's set. It's the night before the big day when finally Lady Isolde Worthingham is going to say 'I do' and marry the man who holds her heart,  Merrick Mountshaw, the Duke of Moore . But when Isolde witnesses her fiancé in bed with her so called best friend her heart breaks into a thousand pieces. And her best friend--nothing less than a scheming cat who goes to scandalous lengths to bag a Duke! The marriage between Merrick and Leonora Hart is doomed to failure from the beginning. Isolde hives off to Scotland for five years to try to mend her broken heart. After that time she is at last was persuaded to return to London. Because society is society, Isolde finds herself back in the arena of all that is fashionable--including Moore and his Duchess. Lenora is even worse ...

Highland Vixen (Highland Weddings #2)   by  Mary Wine                               It's 1572 in Scotland. Mary Stuart is imprisoned and the Earl of Morton is the Regent with his own agenda. The clash between Highlander  Marcus MacPherson and English woman Helen Grant is a thing of beauty. Helen is not to be taken for granted as she soon shows the recalcitrant Marcus. The tension between the two, sparked by the chemistry they're both trying to deny is nicely wrought. I was looking forward to War Chief's Marcus' story. It has some very unexpected elements. Marcus offering Helen Grant to his men as a bride. Helen escaping. Then Helen rescuing Marcus from the Regent, the  Earl of Morton's  diabolical plans by a necessary deceit, only leads to Helen find herself in further hot water and tied more firmly to this hulking highlander. An annoying man who sets her blood thrumming ...

The Women of the Souk: A mystery set in pre-World War I Egypt (A Mamur Zapt Mystery #19)   by  Michael Pearce                                Fascinating story set in the Cairo souk, 1913. A young girl from from a prominent family  Marie Kewfik,  is kidnapped. A man from the  Kewfik stables, was  stabbed. They seemingly are not linked. When a young girl, Layla, from the exclusive modern girls school,  Khedivial Girls’ School,  comes to the Mamur Zapt ( Gareth Cadwallader Owen) ,  the Head of Special Branch,  to ask for his assistance, he finds himself drawn into an unusual political arena. A talented 'nay' player is involved. A wise old woman of the souk encourages  Mamur Zap  to follow the music. Owen is married to the highly regarded modern woman,  Zeinab. I was struck by their relationship. A startling look at Egyptia...

The Revenant of Thraxton Hall: The Paranormal Casebooks of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle by Vaughn Entwistle                                  Riots, death threats, hate mail. All are gifts Conan Doyle receives when he kills off Sherlock Holmes. Doyle is tired, his wife is dying, Holmes stories are  mired in the banal and Doyle wants a change of pace. Not so his fans. They have turned into ravening hoards demanding their hero back. A humouress and lively read! A NetGalley ARC ****

The Scoundrel's Pleasure:(The MacNeil Legacy #2)   by  Jane Bonander                              The MacNeil Legacy, where the 1860's Highlands and the New World intersect continues with Fletcher's younger half brother Duncan MacNeil. Since his arrival at the Isle of Hedabarr, Duncan has been out of step; a misplaced, bored, half Commache lad who's as handsome as sin, and as ready to indulge in as much of that as the young women of the island will allow. A recipe for disaster! In the end Fletcher, Duke of Kintyre reluctantly allows Duncan to return to the land he's missing. Just before leaving Duncan spends a few hours after the village fair with a gullible young woman Isobel Dunbar. Alcohol and experimentation equal seduction. Personally I find the young Duncan to be a thoughtless scoundrel. Isobel falls pregnant from that unwise moment. A husband lost at sea is invented and all goes...

A Taste Of Fire   by  Hannah Howell                               Antonie Ramirez is a heady combination of innocence and insight, wrapped up in a dangerously delectable parcel. Welcome to deep, wide Texas where men are men and women are more than competent. Honouring her dead father's wishes to repay Royal Bancroft for saving their lives, Antonie Ramirez enters the world of the Bancroft's like a Texan whirlwind. Royal finds himself in danger from outlaws trying to take his land over and from a young woman who confounds and attracts him in equal measure. Sort of Zane Greyish with way more verve and romance, I really enjoyed this departure from the more typical western novel. A NetGalley ARC ****

The Green Mill Murder (Phryne Fisher Mysteries #5)   by  Kerry Greenwood                            Phryne is attending a dance marathon at a jazz club with 'a tedious but socially acceptable escort', Charles Freeman. Tintagel Stone the band leader leader and banjo player has a delectable pair of blue eyes. The last two marathon couples are exhausted but still dancing. One stumbles and falls--never to rise again. Phryne is flung headlong into murder, blackmail, missing persons, and a brief liaison--or two, although  lamenting from time to time her anarchist lover met in  Death at Victoria Dock. The story ranges from St Kilda to the Australian Alps. Flying with Phyrne in her Tiger Moth  through that area, up through Mansfield and on to Mount Howitt plains were highlights of the story. Having walked some of this area I was instantly transported back there, to the sights, smells a...

From London with Love (Rebellious Brides  #3)   by  Diana Quincy                             'He was no Prince Charming. More like Prince Misery and Disappointment.' Interesting if somewhat harsh words for someone who thinks they're saving your life! Jilted and left at the altar five years earlier, Emilia St. George is sure that this time her marriage to the grandson to a Duke, Honorable Edmund Worsely, will go without a hitch. That is until Emilia's former fiancée jiltee, Hamilton Sparrow turns up at the wedding and kidnaps her just as she's about to walk down the aisle. Sparrow, a former spy for the crown had spotted an assassin in the wedding crowd, and he appears to be tracking Emilia. Sparrow needs to get Emilia out of there, even if he does have to 'scoop her off her feet, and toss her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.' Mind you, Emilia has had the mantra, 'You ...

Death at Victoria Dock (Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries #4)   by  Kerry Greenwood                                  I have to say I love Phryne Fisher. I love her spirit of independence and savoie faire, a sleek fashionable woman, whose exterior hides a determined and compsionate heart. And The epitome of the cool flapper detective and thoroughly modern woman fresh from the horrors of the European war theatre where she drove ambulances. Now she is here in Melbourne flouting convention at every turn, during the time between the wars when lives were recovering from unspoken terrors and full of hope. And her two side kicks, archetypal ex-diggers Cec and Bert are fabulously under-spoken, laconic characters. Knowing the areas of Melbourne the story is set against, I enjoy figuratively walking down the streets that Phryne treads in her pursuits of information. In this case, a late night ...

Trusting Miss Trentham (Baleful Godmother Historical Romance #3)   by  Emily Larkin Icarus Reid is all the tormented hero that one could want. A battle scarred, dedicated officer searching for truth and justice. If you remember Icarus flew too close to the sun, his wings melted and he fell. Icarus Reid was certainly burnt--not by the sun (although he was an important satellite of General Wellesley), but by betrayal at the  Battle of Vimeiro. A betrayal that caused incredible trauma for him. All Icarus lives for is to find the traitor. Enter Letitia Trentham, an heiress who has the magical gift (yes true! compliments of a faerie godmother) of detecting when she is being lied to. Those who lie to her are perceived as a loud clanging bell. Unfortunately for Letty those clangers have been heard over the years by suitors seeking her fortune, not herself. Letty is becoming reconciled to a lonely life doing good works. Somehow Icarus learns that Letty seems able ...

The Turn: The Hollows Begins with Death  (Hollows #0.5)    by  Kim Harrison.                                  To Trisk, a dark elf, it seems she's  been fighting  her whole life for recognition. Her brilliance in the field of genetics goes largely unacknowledged. That's what burns her up. Her elf rival Kal will stop at nothing to interfere with her research.The fact that Kal cannot see beyond his driving ambition and blind jealousy to the damage that he will inflict on all species--human and paranormal plays to Kal's driven obsession. Plague sweeps the planet, and Kal is ensuring that Trisk is blamed. This is the world before Rachael Morgan. A world where paranormals are hidden, tweaking humanity's developments. There are some fascinating characters including the human scientist Daniel, Quen her elf friend who's a security wiz, and the pixie warrior Orchi...

To Tame a Wild Lady (Duke-Defying Daughters #2) by Ashlyn Macnamara                                                'It is a truth universally acknowledged that a daughter of a duke is raised to believe she can do as she dashed well pleases, which may lead her into all manner of difficulty.' (from  To Lure a Proper Lady ). These are words from Lady Elizabeth's pen, and so pertinent to the Duke of Sherrington's second daughter, Lady Caroline Wilde. Caroline refuses to ride side saddle, instead rides astride in a pair of men's breeches. Startling indeed! Indeed Adrian Crosby's introduction to Caro is on a rainswept day when he mistakes her for a youth attempting to help another youngster who's fallen from a horse. And yet Caro knows she can't do what she dash well pleases, even though she will give it her best shot. There is only so far she can...

The Duke (Victorian Rebels #4)   by  Kerrigan Byrne                                  'these young wolves, were on the hunt for trouble, only waiting—straining—to be unleashed by one affirmative gesture from their alpha. As dangerous as they might prove to be, she knew at once that the young soldiers, now fanning into an arc, hadn’t been the source of her internal alarm. Their leader had.' A coldly dangerous, heart-stopping, opening! Enough to make this reader realize that so much more was to come. By night Imogene Pritchard has been working off her dead father's debts at the notorious club The Bare Kitten as a server. By day she is a nurse in a London hospital. Only this night 'Ginny' as she is known finds herself I way over her head waters, charting unknown territory that would influence the rest of her life. When  Collin "Cole" Talmage, Duke of Trewyth ...

Between the Devil and the Duke (A Season for Scandal #3)  by Kelly Bowen.                                 Swept away! Yes, I was utterly swept away and caught up in the story of the Marble Maiden, Angelique Archer, doing what she can to save her family. An honest and brave woman, intelligent and gifted--in the way that sets this masterful historical romance in motion. Exclusive club owner Alexander Lavoie had noticed the masked woman who came to play, purchased a bottle of brandy, won at vingt a and left with her winnings in hand. When one of her opponents became too presumptive, he intervened--and was lost! Murder, mystery and mayhem along with fierce gathering emotions strew the pages like the fine diamonds Angelique will wear around her neck! Totally engrossing! I didn't lift my head from the moment I began reading. Some wonderful vignettes, humorous and yet so-o dangerous! I ...