eyes.2c Reviews

The House at the End of the Moor by Michelle Griep       One can't help but detect the Jane Eyre melody that hums in the background of this story. Nor would I have been surprised to hear the refrains of Kate Bush singing "Wuthering Heights". At the very least the Hounds of the Baskervilles should have been howling their way across the inhospitable moors. This gothic type story by Griep is both atmospheric and gripping, creating a wealth of intricate responses and reflections from the various characters . This is a prodigal son story with a twist. It's 1861 and Oliver Ward has been incarcerated at the legendary Dartmoor Prison in Devon. It's a Dickensian penal institution with brutal guards. One being Constable Sebastian Barrow, a merciless officer, a man's whose faith is rigid and unforgiving. Oliver, formerly a minister of the crown has been accused of stealing a ruby necklace. Son to a prominent solicitor, he has never reconciled that his father did ...

The Making of a Marquess (The Society for Single Ladies #2) by Lynne Connolly            Requisite amounts of the dramatics for a good read. A high society lady detective Dorothea Rowland is investigating on behalf of Childers Bank wishes the security of existing loans made to Louis Thorpe and whether he has the security to increase his loan debt. Dorothea had been on the brink of having marriage settlements drawn up with Ben, until he fell under the spell of Lady Honoria Holt. Is Ben the friend she once knew, or an imposter.? The heir Benedict Thorpe, Lord Brocklebank, the Marquess of Belstead, is seeking the truth about his inheritance before returning to America. Due to the law surrounding duals he'd been secretly hustled out of the country after a dual over implied slurs to his fiancé Lady Honoria by his cousin Louis, whom he thought he'd fatally injured. All presumed he was dead. Now the time of seven years is nearly up and his cousin Louis who'd ...

Highland Sword (Royal Highlander #3) by May McGoldrick           Spirited Morrigan Drummond had secrets. Secrets that eat into her soul. Whilst in Inverness she overhears men speaking, revealing that her hated uncle, Robert Wemys, the 'Sparrow', who'd  betrayed her was close by. She trails the two men to his location, ready to take his life. She's prevented by Aidan Grant, a solicitor who needs Wemys to be a witness for clients being brought into court on a trumped up charge. In the frackou Aiden and Morrigan fight. Both end up bruised and cut. Later Morrigan's profoundly disturbed to find her uncle's been taken to Dalmigavie Castle to be hidden until the court case. (Her absolute surprise and reaction is a great piece of writing. I felt like I was really frozen with the same unthinkable torment Morrigan was.) Through all this Morrigan works out where the person creating outrageous caricatures against Cinaed Mackintosh (the grandson of Teàrlach, the...

The Most Eligible Lord in London (The Lords of London #1)   by Ella Quinn            I rather enjoyed this despite the fact that our heroine' Adeline drove me crazy with her definition of a rake which "Frederick, Lord Littleton—Frits to his mother and grandmother"—just didn't seem to be. (To my mind anyway.) Of course Lady Adeline Wivenly's views have been colored by a rather stern young woman Frits had been dazzled by last season. Someone he'd courted assiduously until he decided they were very different people. He'd wrongly fled back to his beloved country estate without explaining to Lady Dorcus Calthor--Dorie, the reasons why, or at least allowing her dissolve the relationship. (We first met Dorie in "The Marquis She'd Been Waiting For".)  I knew that scene at the lake was as familiar. Here it is seen from a different viewpoint. I really enjoyed the background inclusion of some of the people already met in "The Marriage Game...

Grown-Up Pose by Sonya Lalli          Traditional life expectations run into conflict for Anu Desai. A good girl who followed her family's strictures, and married the first serious boyfriend she had. The problem is that now she feels trapped. In effect she's painted herself into a corner and is kept there by her own and others expectations. Throughout this navel gazing Anu and her husband are growing away from each other. You could feel Anu's to some extent, self imposed cultural standards resulting from her traditional upbringing, causing her inner dissatisfaction.  So here she is with a husband, a young daughter and doting, traditional parents, reclaiming her friendships, and making a run for it. Anu forges ahead, aided by her girlfriends, to claim her freedom and of course finding disappointment on the relationship level. There's a rather funny scene when she discovers her new interest wining and dining someone else. I applauded. Her decision to...

The Earl Not Taken (The Wallflowers of West Lane #1)   by A.S. Fenichel              Four wallflowers, who'd been "hell-bent on embarrassing [their] families", school friends who'd met when they'd been sent to school in Lucerne to have their behaviour moderated, band together to discover the hidden characters of prospective partners their families might fling them at. One of their number, Lady Faith Landon, is to be married to an unknown duke. Their union having been arranged via letters between her mother and the Duke. Well!! The wallflowers aren't going to take this lying down. After one of their member, Aurora's abusive marriage, the husband now fortunately demised, the sensible plan is to discover all they can about the Duke. Lady Penelope Arrington decides to consult Aurora's brother and longtime family friend for his insights on the proposed bridegroom. The non romance between wallflower Poppy and rake Rhys Draper, Earl of Marsden shoul...

In Bed with the Earl by Christi Caldwell           Ok, not a dry eye in the house as the curtain closed on this first Lost Lords tale! I do like the lost heir trope, and this has been one of the best I've read in a while. Original and refreshing. So all kudos to Ms Caldwell for her super addition to this genre.  I definitely am not going to be lurking in sewers anytime soon. These scenes are too realistic for me to be anything but thankful that I wasn't there. Talk about a heart in mouth scene. The clash between the determined reporter Verity Lovelace (loved illegitimate daughter of the deceased Earl of Wakefield) and Malcom North, lost heir to the Earl of Maxwell of course Hummed with energy. The back story is that North had been stolen from his family when young, managed to stay alive on the deplorable streets of the slums of London, and became o successful scavenger in the sewers of London. He was king of his patch and no-one with any sense chall...

The Small Crimes of Tiffany Templeton by Richard Fifield Tiffany Templeton (Tough Tiff) doesn't fit and yet she's in exactly the right space for being her. Having been sent to detention school for shoplifting we relive her past story via letters written to her Probation Officer. Her current situation is puzzling and it takes time for the past and present to combine. When it does she's on her way to becoming whole. Tiffany has secrets. Many. In some ways she's the secret keeper for the whole town, even if they don't know it. Tiffany's fractured, by her mother's attitude towards her, by her father's betrayal and death, by the love she had for him, by her brother Ronnie's weirdness (definitely a head case), and the larger community. Mind you she's also her own worst enemy. And she's faithful to the only real friendship she has with the flamboyant David who really has usurped Tiffany's relationship with her mother. This is one dysf...

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi         I found the background to this novel set in 1950's Jaipur fascinating. I knew nothing about henna work, well a few vague suppositions, but I was totally engaged by the art Lakshmi practised. I became immersed in her culture. I marvelled at how Lakshmi included henna motifs from other people she'd met, telling their stories. I was totally present as she combined her seemingly magical talent with traditional herbal medicine and her art. The Mindfulness of henna application comes to my thoughts. Lakshmi had fled an abusive husband. The shame brought upon her family meant she'd been repudiated by her parents. She didn't even know she had a younger sister. Imagine Lakshmi's shock when her husband Hari turns up with this unknown sister, Radha, a young girl of thirteen. Over the years Lakshmi has built up her business and is nearing her goal of building and owning her own house. Her wonderful assistant, a cocky, shrewd, street ...

A Murderous Relation (A Veronica Speedwell Mystery #5) by Deanna Raybourn          Oh My! That unresolved attraction between Veronica and Stoker. I can hardly bear the tension. Veronica shares that. Moments of seething awareness has appeared between them constantly, only to be shelved as something or someone rudely interrupts. Even here Veronica complains to herself at a key moment, "This was not the time for erotic pursuits, I told myself severely. We had a mystery to solve and would need all of our wits about us. There would be ample opportunity later for the amatory arts." By now Veronica Speedwell and Revelstoke Templeton-Vane, have become deeply involved in mysteries involving the ton, and the unacknowledged Veronica's royal relations. Veronica and Stoker are called to Lady Wellie's (Wellingtonia Beauclerk) as a pretext for a direct request from the Princess of Wales, wife to Veronica's father, to recover an ill advised jewellery item, a distinctive...

All You Need is a Duke  (The Duke Hunters Club  #1) by Bianca Blythe.        Well this had a five star promising start! Wallflower Margaret Carberry is deceived by her mother, tied to her host's bedposts and left there in a compromising position, with her desperate mother ready to shout foul! The prize-- a Duke for her daughter, and for herself a non too shabby son-in-law. A heady ascent to the ranks of the ton for a family that's made its wealth in "trade." Fortunately for Jasper Tierney, the Duke of Jevington, Margaret shows more integrity than her scheming mother. Margaret's gutsy escape from the Duke's bedroom was hilarious, frightening and awesome, with a special thanks to the Duke's thoughtful butler. Unfortunately from there on, although the situations as they developed had the bones to become hilarious or dangerous they mostly trailed of into insipidness. The fire of the first chapters was spent. The Duke is a well meaning soul, definitely...

When Life Gives You Lemons: The Hilarious Romantic Comedy  by Fiona Gibson         At first I thought this would be another hackneyed husband leaves wife, hard times ensue, wife makes recovery, The End, type of read. Ho hum ... But o! This was so much more--witty, real, and enormously enjoyable! Beginning with 'The Before,' where a menopausal Viv bemoaning the little extras this gift adds to life whilst husband Andy is being as helpful as an ostrich with its head in the sand, the scene is set for a whirlwind read. It doesn't take any keen insight to know the story for Viv was sashaying downhill. When she discovers that husband Andy has been having an affair, the downhill turns into a descent of avalanche type proportions. And so begins Viv's road to recovery. Sure it's an uphill struggle but it's littered with dabs of absolute hilarity, dashes of kindness and occasional doses of drunken reflection. Things at work (and work is whole other example of Viv...