eyes.2c Reviews

The Earl Next Door (First Comes Love #1) by Amelia Grey            I found that the opening scenes involving Adeline, Dowager Countess of Wake, Lord Lyonwood the rather delicious future Marquis of Marksworth, a case of a mistaken use of a house and a fabulous crimson corset were hilarious. The scene where Adeline is so annoyed by carriages blocking her doorstep, as it were, where she confronts Lord Lyonwood and his cronies adds further amusement. Adeline in full flight is brilliant. A definite five stars for these amusing interludes but to my mind the ending dwindled into predictability. After such a strong start this was a disappointment. A NetGalley ARC ***

Top 10 Tokyo (DK Eyewitness Travel Guide, 2019)         What can one say. Of course we all have our fav travel guides. The big ones that gave us places to stay, what to buy, what to see, maps etc. No self respecting backpacker leaves home without one or two. And yes I know the Internet knows all, but during my more mature years I've always bought the DK swag. Why? Because I love the color productions, the organization, the mini maps that you can carry unobtrusively and the lushness of them. I use them way long after any trip as reminders, travelogues of where I've been and occasionally as dreaming tools of where I might be next heading. This updated 2019 version of top 10 places to visit in Tokyo is informative and a pleasure to look through. Its organizational themes are helpful enabling you to approach your sightseeing by interests e.g. temples, galleries etc., or by areas. Once again a great DK production. A NetGalley ARC *****

The Wicked Viscount (The Campbell's #3) by Heather McCollum         This is my first read of a Campbell's series title. It won't be my last! 1865 and the vivacious, Catroina Campbell healer and a Highland Rose (a group of women schooled to not only serve tea but defend themselves and others) is called to London by Queen Catherine regarding the illness of her husband Charles I. Nathaniel Worthington, fifth Viscount of Lincolnshire, and the bane of Cats life at the moment, handsome, sleek and oh so much the warrior will escort her. The sexual tension between the two is palpable. That tension increases in the journey towards London. Cat in the palace is another thing. Here she has to contend with the put downs and intrigue of the court, and in the process will learn some trying secrets that come close to destroying her. A warrior woman, with a heart of gold and a temper that ignites and flames all within its reach, neither Cat nor Whitehall Palace are ready f...

One Night of Passion (Wicked Dukes Club #3) by Erica Ridley             We first met Thaddeus Middleton in the Duke of Colehaven's story. Then he was searching for a way to have his ward marry. Now Thaddeus is looking for a wife--one that will love him. I must say there is something so endearing about Thaddeus. I quite adore him. Miss Priscilla Weatherby is trying to avoid marriage. She wants to remain a spinster, inherit her ten thousand pounds, and set sail for grand adventures just like her father and grandfather. (Sadly, to me, it seems she is unimportant to them, but Priscilla is full of hope and determination.) She plans out her seasons like a general does a battle Her tactias are remarkable. The conditions of the inheritance are that she must remain single and no hint of scandal must be attached to her name. But she hadn't counted on Thaddeus! Quirky scenes reveal more of her. I love her interactions with her grey king parrot. I love even...

Blackberry and Wild Rose by Sonia Velton       A fascinating tale using as a backdrop the troubles faced by weavers in eighteenth-century Spitalfields, London, whose jobs are under threat as the market is flooded by cheap Indian calico. Two woman are the catalysts for much that happens. Master weaver Elia Thorel's wife Esther Thorel, is a gifted painter who wants to be involved in her husband's work.  The other woman is Esther's maid Sara Kemp, a young woman who ended up in the hands of a heartless procurer, a older woman who preys upon innocent country girls at the Coaching stop. Esther effects a rescue of Sara, a rescue that will have devastating effects on her household.   At the same time Esther's stern unbending husband Elias, a Huguenot silk master has taken on sponsorship of a talented journeyman, Bisby Lambert, with the promise of helping him to become a master weaver.  The story takes a different turn for all involved when Bisby teaches E...

How We Disappeared: A Novel by Jing-Jing Lee           I have read quite a few novels and attended at least one heart wrenching play over the past few years about Comfort Women. Basically women taken and forced to be sex slaves in brothels set up by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II to service their occupation troops. These women were treated as little more than animals. Their circumstances, their treatment and their violation was horrific. Disease and brutality with no quarter given marched hand in hand. The problem of reintegration was real for most of these women. The notion of someone from the younger generation, in this instance Kevin, discovering or questioning the life of an elder (parent, grandparent) is a frequently used trope. JIng-Jing Lee has used this method to advantage. Kevin becomes the agent for healing. The story of Wang Di, taken from her village at gun point on the Singapore Peninsula by Japanese invaders and interred as ...

Devil's Fjord (A Faroe Islands Mystery #1) by David Hewson          A truly bleak story as tortured as the isolated area it describes. Hewson himself describes the book as, "gentle Scandi noir with a tough edge to it." There is nothing "gentle" about this novel. It's pure, gritty Nordic noir and I loved it! Bodies piles up, just as surely as the whale bodies do during the killing season, the "Grind" as its referred to. If you are repulsed by the garnishing of whales in what is portrayed as a traditional fisher folk activity, now rigorously governed by official regulations, then this is not the story for you. If you can move past that to seeing this as a descriptor that brings to light the harshness of this remote village life where these folk are living out the cycle of their cultural traditions, where the poverty of many of their lives becomes a background for the events that ensue, then this is a mystery for you. The folk from this commun...

The Almanack by Martine Bailey          The philosophy of time, destiny and the stars pervade this intricate historical mystery in which a young woman determines to avenge her mother’s death. 1752, Midsummer. Britain is changing from the Julian to the Georgian Calendar. Eleven days were cut from the calendar. A sense of confusion is abroad. Following a desperate summons from her mother, Tabitha Hart departs London for her home village of Netherlea – only to discover that her mother has drowned. Determined to discover the truth about the Widow Hart’s death, Tabitha consults her mother's almanack and uncovers a series of cryptic notes describing her mother’s terror of someone she names only as ‘D’. Teaming up with young writer Nat Starling, Tabitha begins a race against time to unmask ‘D’ before more deaths follow. But as the summer draws to a close and the snow sets in, cutting off Netherlea from the outside world, Tabitha and Nat are forced to face the da...

The Noble Guardian (The Bow Street Runners trilogy #3)   by Michelle Griep              I really enjoyed this storyline. Abigail Gilbert, daughter of a wealthy merchant from a previous marriage, spurned and bullied by her stepmother, is to begin a new life as the wife of a handsome Baron. Her dreams are finally coming true. Abby's head is full of the wonderful life she will have with her husband-to-be. After all, to offer for her hand after one meeting surely must mean the Baron is in love with her? Sigh! All her dreams will surely come true! The fact that her stepmother sends her off with no company but her maid and the driver, on a trip of many days through sparse and dangerous countryside did seem harsh, but Abigail was not to be deterred. A group of horse patrol Bow Street runners, under Captain Samuel Thatcher, have been pursuing a gang of cut throat highwaymen with a vicious leader, Shankhart Robbins, operating on Hounslow Heath. Sam...

One Night of Surrender (Wicked Dukes Club #2) by Darcy Burke Ten years earlier, when a student, Valentine Fairfax, Duke of Eastleigh had shared a night with Isabelle Highmore, the intelligent daughter of an Oxford College warden. "They’d stolen their one night together and knew it would have to last them forever." Now they've met again. Isabelle's a widow, Isabelle Cortland, and the governess for the children of a friend. Both have been married before, both marriages were untenable. Their meeting is a complete surprise. The attraction between them fairly lifts of the page. When Isabelle is discharged from her position (think jealousy, followed by unwanted attention by the children's father) she turns to seeking a job, any job, even as a barmaid at of all places The Wicked Duke, owned by, you've guessed it, Val and his friend the Duke of Colehaven. That idea doesn't sit happily with Val. He takes charge, or attempts to. What we see is the struggle...

A Murderous Malady (A Florence Nightingale Mystery2) by Christine Trent      Once again a captivating Florence Nightingale mystery, embedded around the happenings of the First Anglo-Afghanistan War Disaster of 1839-1842 and the cholera epidemic, the Broad Street Outbreak. in 1854. Florence's friend Liz à Court, wife of Sidney Herbert, the War Secretary and daughter to General Charles à Court-Repington has been shot at and her carriage driver killed whilst she and the General were on their way to the British museum. The question is who would want to harm Liz? For reasons not easily discernible, Sidney has chosen not to involve the police. Instead he asks Florence to find those responsible. The chase leads Florence from Sidney's home to the desperate slums in the notorious Seven Dials area. Florence investigations uncover a lady's maid obsessed with Liz's brother, a servant of Sidney's dying from cholera, a mad woman dying from the same disease and a mysteriou...

Highland Crown (Royal Highlander #1) by May McGoldrick The dramatic soliloquy in the introduction from no less than sir Walter Scott captured my attention first up, setting the initial steps for this sensational new series, 'Royal Highlander', set in Scotland, mostly in Inverness during the 1820's. I loved the stanza's from Scott's poetry as chapter headings! We have an intriguing rogue physician (female no less) pursuing her calling in firstly Edinburgh, without favor to any injured be they British troops or Rebel Scots. After a Weavers strike, where many were slaughtered by British troops she became a wanted woman. The English authorities (well one despicable representative in particular) furiously searching for her because she treated the wounded and dying strikers, and the Scottish rebels for her knowledge of their identities. Oh, did I mention her husband was sympathetic towards the Rebels? (or Independence fighters depending on your point of view). T...

Never Kiss a Notorious Marquess (Infamous Lords #3)   by Renee Ann Miller        What a treat! A feisty young lady who leads a secret life as a journalist. A lord accused by the salacious ton of murdering his wife. A shrewd dowager whose bark is worse than her bite. The lord's brother leading life as a tear away reprobate, but with a warm heart... and sundry others. James Trent, Lord Huntington, has been dubbed The Murdering Marquess by the unkind of the ton. He has retired to his Essex estates with his younger siblings. Caroline Lawrence has been pursuing a hidden career as a journalist writing articles intended to raise social awareness about women. When Caroline is injured at a suffragette meeting she finds herself recovering at Trent Hall under Huntington's watch. Put together it all adds up to a sparkling read! A NetGalley ARC *****

The Alchemist of Lost Souls (A Bianca Goddard Mystery #4)   by Mary Lawrence         I must admit to finding this Bianca Goddard novel puzzling even though I've read previous books. It's 1544. Bianca, a disgraced alchemist's daughter who combines some aspects of alchemy with her herbal remedies has been leading a quieter life in a less salubrious part of Tudor London. Events however are escalating for Bianca. She is pregnant. John had failed to practice his archery which means he's been conscripted into the army as a pikesman. He is being sent to the Scottish border. Everyone knows that these foot troops suffer the worst losses in battle. Albern Goddard discovered a powerful new element to do with fire and light that has been stolen from him. Albern wants Bianca to discover the thief. Unfortunately, the substance has attracted unwonted interest. This seems to have a direct correlation to the bodies piling up. Reportedly some of those bodies have an eerie...

The Pursuits of Lord Kit Cavanaugh (The Cavanaughs #2) by Stephanie Laurens              Lord Christopher “Kit” Cavanaugh has a dream. To establish an exclusive top of the range yacht building business in Bristol. Miss Sylvia Buckleberry has a dream. To establish a school for the poorer children of Bristol, particularly those whose parents are employed (or unemployed) on and around the wharves of Bristol. That these two dreams clashed goes without saying! But the redoubtable Kit managed to bring about a satisfactory solution for both dreams. His hiring tactics are masterful. Unfortunately others are not so easily persuaded. I must say though it was the young boys of the school who stole my heart. Their protectiveness towards Sylvia is brilliantly portrayed.  Kit's easy interaction with them is delightful. All in all,  true love, a couple of mysterious incidents, a chase and a loving resolution made this a pleasing read. A HARLEQUI...

A Pack of Blood and Lies (The Boulder Wolves #1)   by Olivia Wildenstein     I haven't read any shifter romances for eons. I've become somewhat fatigued by the "same old same old." I went into reading A Pack of Blood and Lies hoping it would give a fresh take on a well loved, but sadly tired, theme. And I have to say I really quite enjoyed this story with the determined wolf shifter Ness, who with her mother had fled the Boulder Pack and its messiness (cruelty) six years prior. Ness was  a female shifter in an all male pack. That was a source of trouble, and still is. Times haven't changed that much. The Boulder Pack crew did not have female shifters. They were an anathema to the pack. Any "accidents" didn't survive. The other problem is Liam Kolane, son of the dictatorial, brutal alpha leader, Heath. When Heath dies it's time for a new leader to rise. No-one challenges Liam--except Ness. She throws her hat into the ring. That action acts...

The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters: A Novel by Balli Kaur Jaswal      A journey undertaken by the British Punjabi sisters Rajni, Jezmeen, and Shirnia to scatter their mothers ashes in India becomes a pilgrimage towards love, understanding and acceptance, and a reworking of the bond that threads sisters together. Three Sikh sisters reunite to meet their mother last request and in doing so uncover so much more. A stunning story of family, that also uncovers practices and prevalent attitudes towards women, touching on inheritance, the bias against female babies, along with tenets of faith and devotion, and the tension these attributes bring for the more modern woman. Jezmeen, the actress who seems to go on free-for-all binges and rants that have her worst moments captured on YouTube. Rajni, the eldest sister who is responsible, uptight and disapproving. Shirnia, who hides a secret that will be exposed, and in that exposure finds the support and accept...

Lord Bredon and the Bachelor’s Bible (House of Lovell #2)   by Mia Marlowe               It comes to light in this second of the series in the Lovell family, the reasons behind Teddy Bredon's continental tour, when he'd met Lawrence Sinclair. Teddy is now an Earl, Edward Lovell, Lord Chatham. Unfortunately, it seems the Lovell estate is in financial trouble. The way out is to find an heiress. That's where the Bachelor's sheet from Whites comes in handy. This is a handy "pamphlet entitled A Register of Ladies of Means, or The Bachelor’s Bible." It lists the current crop of debutante heiresses and their worth. To address his financial problems Edward has decided to pay court to Miss Martha Finch, daughter of a newly inducted baron.  All he has to do is satisfy Miss Finch's sponsor. Except that sponsor is Lady Anne Howard, who was the love of his life, and the reason he was sent away from England on that tour. A further complicatio...