eyes.2c Reviews

One Night of Temptation (Wicked Dukes Club #6) by Darcy Burke     Cinderella in reverse? Not the scullery maid but the downtrodden daughter of a marquess who's family has ensured here engagement to a rancid roue, the Earl of Findon, old enough to be her grandfather. Careful planning has Lady Penelope Wakefield, daughter of the Marquess of Bramber, sneaking away from her dreadful companion whilst at the British Museum. Her plan is to be supposedly kidnapped, have the news published in the Times, setting her beyond the pale, compromised and therefore having the Earl refuse to marry her. Of course things don't go to plan and that's when Rector Hugh Tarleton rescues Pen. Cupid's arrow does the rest and the story continues with Pen's predicament not resolving as she'd hoped and Hugh trying to think of a plan. Hugh is certainly a most unexpected rector, but then his parish is in the heart of the rookeries, and so I guess we must allow him his humanness, becaus...

Rogue Most Wanted (The Cavensham Heriresses #5)   by Janna MacGregor  Elderly ladies masquerading as fairy god mothers, a happy family, a handsome son thwarted in love and a young countess besieged on all sides with her title and lands under threat, a wicked cousin making our heroine's life hell and a gossip newspaper publishing scurrilous tidbits for the ton to titter about. What more could you want in a lighthearted romance. Well written with our hero coming to understand what real love looks like. When her grandfather, the Duke of Ferr-Colby and the Earl of Eanruig dies, Lady Theodora Worth inherits the Earldom of Eanruig, unusual but true and due to Scottish inheritance laws. When her nefarious cousin, the new Duke of Ferr-Colby, challenges her right of succession she looks for an answer. Maybe a husband (in name only) would be the answer? Lord William Cavensham doesn't want a wife but he does agree for his aunt's sake, who's presenting Thea, to help Thea m...

Project Duchess (Duke Dynasty #1) by Sabrina Jeffries    This new series is premised upon a Duchess whose been widowed three times.  All  three husbands were dukes. The now Dowager Duchess has five children and three of her sons have inherited Dukedoms. In the first of the series Fletcher “Grey” Pryde, 5th Duke of Greycourt meets Beatrice Wolfe when she manages his stepfather's funeral. Beatrice is a cousin and she and her brother Joshua have depended on the generosity of the Duke of Armitage. Beatrice is a feisty, single minded young woman who is not a all threatened by Grey. Grey's mother, the Dowager Duchess decides that she will present Beatrice in the upcoming season and seeks his assistance in readying Beatrice for her debut. This project is important to the Duchess, giving her something to do as she grieves the loss of her husband. Of course there's an attraction between Grey and Bea, but neither wants to acknowledge it, until they do. Meanwhile Grey...

Kingdom of Exiles (The Beast Charmer #1) by Maxym Martineau        This brings together all those things I love in a fantasy saga. The woman wronged yet fighting to continue her life her way. Charmer Leena Edenfrell is compassionate, feisty and all woman. The assassin leader Noc takes on a hit that's not only a paying job but one that might exorcise a curse that has followed him throughout his life and beyond. Noc has a history that is hinted at throughout. We know that this is only the beginning for him. Of course the target is Leena! A Charmer of magical beasts who was wrongly exiled form her fellows for exploiting her gifts. Only it wasn't Leena, and the proving of that becomes a fight for survival, and for love. Noc cannot love. The curse falls on  those he loves. They die. He wants to break the curse, and using a powerful magical creature might help him. Be careful what you wish for. There will be a cost! And now there's a shadowy figure or figures...

Say No to the Duke (The Wildes of Lindow Castle #4) by Eloisa James         Those Wildes!  I just adore them and their very human, very idiosyncratic behaviour. This time add in Lord Jeremy Roden, stalwart damaged warrior with wonderful sense of humor and so real. I adored this story of young woman who resolved early on never to display the passion her mother had. From her early days at school Lady Boadicea 'Betsy' Wilde had learned that society was very unforgiving for the daughter of a woman who'd borne children to different men and run off to Prussia with her lover. After all 'blood would out". Betsy determined to be above reproach, even as she squashed the frightening passionate and excitable side of her nature. Lady Betsy would give society nothing to gossip about. She would be an example of all that the ton required of a young woman. Hence a path strewn with marriage refusals as Betsy battled her internal demons. Only Jeremy, the damaged hero wa...

The Jasmine Wife: A sweeping epic historical romance novel for women   by Jane Coverdale     "Sara Archer, a good plain name for a good plain girl, though with her unusual colouring and high cheekbones she should have been a beauty." Magical story of a young English woman, born in India during the time of the British Raj, and sent to family in England when her parents died. A free thinker and member of a Female Emancipation group, Sara decides to marry Charles Fitzroy and return to India to the warmth she remembers, physically and psychologically. Her return to India is put off for months as her aunt falls seriously ill. Unfortunately in India Sara finds herself in the middle of very uptight, narrow minded compatriots and having to "fit in" to a hidebound society she wants freedom from, who see the Indians and their culture as inferior and barbaric. This flies in the face of her memories and her emancipation thoughts. Upon her arrival in Sara she meets the ...

The Spies of Shilling Lane by Jennifer Ryan Set during World War II, this is a rather extraordinary story with ordinary people called to do their best and in impeccable British tradition draw themselves up by their boot strings and sally forth, umbrellas at the ready (metaphorically speaking). Mrs. Braithwaite, a self important village doyenne, finds herself drummed out as head of the local Women’s Voluntary Service, and takes herself to London to find her daughter Betty. Betty though has disappeared and Mrs. Braithwaite will let nothing stop her pursuit of her daughter. She even evangels her daughter's timid landlord, Mr Norris to help her. Their quest turns up all sorts from black marketeers to nazi sympathizers. Mrs Braithwaite throws her energies into the search for Betty like an avenging Miss Marples with a healthy dose of Hyacinth Bucket, or maybe Boedica, and Mr. Norris comes into his own. These two gutsy eccentric characters find their mojo, rescue the missing Be...

How to Best a Marquess (Raven Club #2) by Tina Gabrielle              Lady Ellie Swift and Hugh Vere, Marquess of Deveril are at sword point over who will take over her brother's gambling and boxing establishment, the Raven Club.  (... and of course these two have a HISTORY!) Unfortunately I'm a tad over women wanting to take over gambling dens of late, even if their reasons are commendable. I found the story somewhat hackneyed. Harsh I know but nothing much new and exciting jumped out at me. Mainly my stars are for Ellie's efforts in helping battered wives, a laudable reason for wanting the club. However, Whatever happened to Violet Lasher, the courtesan, Violet Lasher? Where did she disappear to? Maybe she's the subject of a future novel? Awful Hugh on his high horse, and Ellie's on again off again attitude drove me crazy. The rounding out of the story was torturous, despite having all the tropes in place to make this brilliant. I s...

Ayesha At Last by Uzma Jalaluddin             Wonderful look at traditional practices informing life. When Ayesha Shamsi covers for her cousin Hafsa, at firstly an arranged marriage interview, and then organizing a Muslim youth concert,  she comes in contact with Khalid Mirza a conservative Muslim man who has agreed to his mother's suggestions for using a marriage broker. The fact that Ayesha finds herself attracted to such a conservative man is somewhat troubling to her. Ayesha is smart, a poet and a young woman struggling to find her destiny, interrupted as it is by her having to pay off her debts to a wealthy uncle. Roughly following a pride and prejudice type trope this story is full of heart, laughter and love with a healthy dose of reality. I was right there with Ayesha in her journey. So present! I really enjoyed this most unusual and throughly captivating novel from Canadian author Uzma Jalaluddin. I must say I love the cover. A ...

Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune by Roselle Lim             Loved this contemporary novel with a touch of magic realism set in San Francisco's Chinatown. Am I reading the Chinese version of The Road Less Travelled or Chicken Soup for the Soul? What we have is an expose on the healing properties of food all mixed into a fanciful story bringing life back to a neighborhood. Natalie Tan returns home after her mother's death, to find the neighborhood run down and herself the owner of a boarded up restaurant (her grandmother's) in the downstairs of her building. Natalie had left to follow her dream of becoming a chef. When the local seer gives her the secret for restoring the neighborhood and her dreams, she reluctantly takes up the challenge. I loved the description of the tea lady's night garden, the help from the somewhat clairvoyant cat, and the wonderful recipes interspersed throughout the story. Tension in the hood, romance and resolution ...

A Web of Silk (An Ursula Blanchard Mystery #17)   by Fiona Buckley    August 1852. Once again Ursula Blanchard is thrust into a complex situation. I was caught up in the madness or intrepidness that is Ursula , half sister to Elizabeth I. It might have been less complex if Ursula had not heard the wild geese. Things seem to happen at once. Ill fatedness comes in threes! Brockley's son Philip is found dead with a cross bolt through his chest. A stained glass Judgement Window in the local church has been willfully smashed. (I found the idea of a Judgement Window, the depiction of Doomsday, fascinating BTW and I must admit to loving stained glass). A bridal dowry chest has been stolen. The local vicar, Dr Joynings had been talking to Ursula about the Judgement Window. He disliked it, "there’s too much blood and horror and it sometimes frightens young children …’" Ursula decides that now is the time to commission a new church window, particularly as she also foun...

Traitor's Codex (Crispin Guest Medieval Noir #12)   by Jeri Westerson              God's blood! A most favorite medieval oath in Crispin Guest novels. And oh my goodness, a sharp comment on this Crispin novel with surprises around every corner. I don't want to give anything away but the encounters dogging Crispin's progress are almost a catalogue of The Tracker's life until now. Miraculous really! So Crispin is having a drink at his favorite watering hole, the Boar's Tusk tavern when some unknown fellow leaves a parcel for him with the words, "You'll know what to do with it." The roughly wrapped bundle is an ancient leather bound book written in an unknown language, although our Crspin has some clue. However as he goes about trying to have this codex deciphered, death dogs those individuals he involves. Powerful enemies are abroad! This relic, shrouded in secrecy, is attracting those who would destroy all knowledge of it. Crispin fears fo...

Attracted to the Earl (Imperfect Lords #3) by Bronwen Evans             Guy Neville finds himself suddenly The Earl of Argyle, a happenstance he did not expect or want. His secret will come out. Guy cannot read or write. Abused by his father for this disability, Guy is wracked with shame and despair. How can he take his place in the House of Lords with this impairment? The situation's not helped by the fact that there's a dastardly cousin waiting in the wings to use any excuse to take over the Earldom. Guy fears exposure. And then there's Miss Abigail Pinehurst. An unusual woman, something of a bluestocking and a botanical artist who wants to use the Argyle Library and study a rare plant that's part of the estate. Of course these two will get together and put in place a plan to maintain the illusion of Guy being able to carry on as Earl. The getting to that place makes for a lively read. A Random House Loveswept ARC via NetGalley ****

One Night of Scandal (Wicked Dukes Club #4) by Darcy Burke            It's 1817. The attitudes of the times towards women were demoralizing. Really it just needed an enterprising woman  to circumnavigate the rules. At least that's what Viola Eversleigh does with such barriers when she becomes Tavistock, a male writer for a women's magazine. Two years of perfecting her disguise sees Tavistock comfortably ensconced at the Dukes Tavern seeking out information for his column. And that's where it all starts with Jack Barrat MP rescuing her as she's about to storm the Gentlemen's club Brooks late one night. It seems Jack's the only one who's penentrated her disguise early on in the experiment. Viola is Valentine Fairfax, Duke of Eastleigh's sister. Now that Val's married Viola's grandmama has decided her new focus is Viola marriage's--the quicker the better, with Viola's agreement or without it. Marriage is not on Viola's hori...

Death in Kew Gardens (Below Stairs Mystery #3)   by Jennifer Ashley           Following on from previous troubles and triumphs with Kat Holloway and her friend Daniel McAdam, this time they face the murder of a man renowned for his collection of Chinese artifacts and plants and neighbor to Kat's household. Kat surprisingly (or not!--is she prescient?) always seems to be in the right place at the right time. At the market Kat becomes the champion of a Chinese man, a man who later becomes embroiled in the happenings next door and is indeed a scholar, Li Bai Chang. Meanwhile a new housekeeper of a dubious nature is employed by the Mrs. Bywater  and Kat finds herself contending with issues on all sides. Daniel, Mr Thanos and Cynthia become involved in the solving of the murder and the cause. A lively and suspenseful read, as Kat and Daniel's relationship develops a wee bit of steam. A NetGalley ARC ****