eyes.2c Reviews

About a Rogue (Desperately Seeking Duke #1) by Caroline Linden         The heir to the Duke of Carlyle, his younger son is dead. His heir, his eldest son is brain damaged and unable to take up the dukedom reins. Now the hunt for who might succeed is on. The Duchess of Carlyle's agent has found three men who are eligible due to their family ranking. They are as the Duchess laments to herself, “an army man, a cardsharp, or a Frenchman. ” She's plainly not enamoured with any of them. Still she decides to give the first two men some support to ensure that if they did inherit they'd have some knowledge of their responsibilities. The Frenchman is not to be considered.( Hmm! That bodes well for an interesting development in the future!) As for the cardsharp and the captain, "either of them is preferable to a Frenchman, of all people...The gambler is most likely a hopeless case. Once a gamester, always a gamester. It’s like an infection in the blood. As for the French...

To Catch an Earl (Bow Street Bachelors #2) by Kate Bateman        Bow Street Inquiry agent Alex Harland, the Earl of Melton, is struck by a perfume he can never forget. I must admit this idea of a perfume being the secret to the identity of a thief is not new. This of course I s a huge flaw in an otherwise successful thief's armour. (And really even though this is the hook for unravelling the mystery from Alex's viewpoint, I just felt Emmy's determination to wear a distinctive perfume just doesn't sit well over against the clever woman she is supposed to be. I guess I wasn't buying the premise.) 'Emmeline Louise d’Anvers, the daughter of Europe’s most elusive jewel thief', aka as Nightjar, herself a notorious jewel thief is fulfilling a family commitment 'to recover the French crown jewels and store them until the Bourbon monarchy can claim them. The stolen jewels that have all been broken from the stolen crown one by one and refashioned into other...

Daring and the Duke (Bareknuckle Bastards #3) by Sarah MacLean          Another fantastic addition to the series that has had us all howling for more. What's not to love! My heart was in my mouth time and again as the story of Ewan and Grace played out. Oh, I knew it was going to be an HEA but the getting there is magnificent. For years Ewan the ‘Mad’ Duke of Marwick has been punishing Devil and Whit (Beast) because they didn't keep Grace safe. She’d died. Except she hadn't. Her brothers-in-arms (make that bastard-brothers-in-arms) were protecting her. Now, Ewan is the one who might need protection because he'd almost killed Whit’s wife, and had killed men they protected in his mad desire, nay focused commitment to  punsihing them. When we last saw the group, Grace Condry or rather Dahlia had taken Ewan captive, as part of a vow the three had made to take revenge on Ewan for nearly killing them and forcing them to flee so many years ago to the life...

A Duke, the Lady, and a Baby (Rogues and Remarkable Women #1) by Vanessa Riley         Wow! I just loved this Regency romance! Sterling storyline, with mysterious and humorous twists. Scenes with Busick Strathmore, the Duke of Repington relating with baby Lionel were a joy with real endearing moments. In fact, for me, those scenes almost stole the show. Widowed West Indian heiress Patience Jordan's ducal husband has committed suicide, her newborn son Lionel has been whisked away by her husband's guardian, the odious Markham, and Markham had Patience committed to Bedlam. With the help of a secret organization, The Widow's Grace, Patience escapes. The Widow's Grace is a 'secret society of avengers, women of all sizes, all shape,' looking to help mistreated women. We first meet Patience when she's disguised herself as a footman and stolen back into Hamlin Hall just to see her darling baby boy. Unfortunately, at that very moment Busick Strathmore,  her hu...

The Art of Deception (The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes Mysteries #4) by Leonard Goldberg          Valuable art works being slashed and damaged has Joanna and husband John along with Watson (and young son Johnny) searching for the culprit. The plot becomes complicated, involving art dealers, restorers and art collections reaching into rarified circles. As fitting, the mystery is multi-layered. Joanna Blalock-Watson is the picture of aloof intellect, removed from others, as her brain makes connections. That is softened a couple of times when Joanna's concern for her family group is evident. Son Johnny and the mention of cholera has her taking charge immediately. Loved the health regimes instituted and the social distancing. It means more at this current time. Still I find Joanna a mostly distant figure. The actual mystery the Holmes/Watsons are involved in didn't lose my interest, but for some reason I found myself dropping in and out of reading this novel. ...

The Woman in the Green Dress by Tea Cooper           I fairly raced through this tale, although I hesitated. I felt it was going to be complex. I was right. Atmospheric, at times oppressive, this is a dynamic historical read with mysterious overtones. Unknown to us the story is woven around the supposed discovery of the first opal in Australia. To my mind that takes a secondary place, and yet it bubbles along under the surface almost as a raison d'être. Stefan von Richter journeys to 1853 Sydney to trace the opal and have its authenticity verified for his former mentor. The action shifts between 1853 and 1920's Sydney and the Hawksbury region. (I am reminded that the marvellous Kate Grenville writes historical fiction centered around this region) Della Atterton spends her time on the family property at Mogo Creek out beyond Wisemans Ferry and St Albans in the Upper Hawksbury region of New South Wales, practicing her taxidermist craft. Living on land impo...

The Lost Pianos of Siberia by Sophy Roberts           So OK, I decided to read this purely on the romantic view I had in my head. The title just grabbed me. I envisioned a swathe of wonderful pianos populating Dr Zhivago like scenes, sweeping across vast snowy tracts and expansive steppes, deep in dark forests, draped in interesting places, hinting at lost pasts. Maybe some one slightly referencing Kate Busch dancing across and around in a Cathy Come Home sort of way. But this book turned out to be not my dream. This is Sophy Roberts searching out the importance of music to the Russian soul, the lost masterfully made pianos left over from before the Revolution are the focus of her pilgrimage into knowing Russia and its music, her obsession. As she states, "There is a covert charm to Siberia." That charm draws her in. Roberts is, "captivated by how marvellous it would be to find one of Siberia’s lost pianos in a country such as this. What if I could track...

Black Knight (Gentleman of Knights #2) by Elizabeth Johns         Deciding to take his overbearing brother the Duke of Knighton's strictures to marry, Lord Heath Knight does, in a way guaranteed to grate on his brother's sensibilities. Cecilia Dudley's father, a wealthy cit, contrives a wiley scheme to have his daughter married despite her wishes. A marriage by proxy to Heath "the infamous Black Knight." (Proxy! There's an interesting explanation about how that might have been valid in these times. Apparently "England recognizes marriages by proxy when they are legal in other countries.") The deal is that Cecilia will stay in town by herself building her independent life. Heath hies off to his property to bring it up to scratch. He's made to realize that in thinking about himself, he's cast his new wife upon the cutting tongues of the ton. He repairs to town. Cecilia is shocked, flustered and totally out of her depth when her husband c...

Spy, Spy Again (Valdemar: Family Spies #3) by Mercedes Lackey     Interesting connections with Herald Mags have us learning more about his relatives amongst the assasin Nation, the Sleepgivers. Mags' son Tory and Prince Kyril—Kee, (quite a way down the line to throne of Valdemar) are sent into Ruven to investigate the disappearance of a cousin. Tory has been understudy to his father Mags who is in charge of the King’s intelligence network, working as an agent since he was small. His best friend Kee and he strove to improve their many skills. Mags had been the "heir to the Banner Bearer of the Nation" of the Sleepgivers. But that's a whole nother story, that impinges on this one. Tory 's relation, Siratai, a talented sleepgiver finds herself captured by Karsite Demons and taken to the "demon-summoning priests of Vkandis, a minority of the priests of the Karsites." Sira is held in a fortified tower and is trying to seem harmless and nothing more tha...

Riviera Gold (Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes #16) by Laurie R. King          Before my eyes Mary Russell, investigator, intellectual/prodigy, wife and partner to Sherlocke Holmes, a derring do sailor (despite her dislike of sailing), art critic and avenging angel sails into Monte Carlo without Holmes. Of course she's never sure when, or if, Holmes will join her. Is already there, or off somewhere else? Mary sails off from Venice with the Hon. Terry and gang, and after twenty-two days of hard work and avoiding sea sickness she arrives in Monte Carlo. Mrs Hudson, now Clara not Clarissa, has left the Holmes abode. The last Mary heard (whilst in Venice) was that she'd been seen in Monte Carlo. When Mary does see her, Mrs. Hudson is at a beach party with some of Mary's new and reasonably wealthy, avant garde friends, she's lending a hand minding the children. All I can say to King is, "What did you do with Mrs Hudson?" Last I saw of her was in "The ...

In the Dark with the Duke (Lost Lords #2) by Christi Caldwell      I am so caught up in the Lost Lord series. I love it. This latest novel is another winner. Here we have I am so caught up in the Lost Lord series. I love it. This latest novel is another winner. Here we have Hugh Savage, the Savage Gentleman, a ferocious bare knuckled fighter involved in these vicious matches from childhood, starting on the road to salvation. Not through being a reinstated kidnapped child of the peerage, but through the actions of a woman, Lady Lila March, a recluse of eight years, living in the shadows of night, an agoraphobic, who turns to him to help free herself from her fears. Her's has been a stolen life! I love this trope, the flawed hero, and the damaged heroine, coming together and in the process, despite setbacks, being the agent of healing for each other. And Caldwell has so upend the dramatic ante! Sigh! Savage, the Savage Gentleman, a ferocious bare knuckled fighter in...

The Marriage Game by Sara Desai An enjoyable read, with food once more framing the background. After her relationship falls apart Layla Patel, a recruitment consultant, finds refuge above the family Indian restaurant, using the premises as an office for a new startup. Unfortunately her father forgot to tell her that: a) he'd rented the premises to Sam Mehta whose business is the complete opposite to Layla's. He assists companies to downsize. Code for firing employees. b) he'd posted online, "the marriage résumé of [his] beloved daughter, Layla Patel, age twenty-six, who is in immediate need of a husband." These two factors add an intriguing level of interplay, both dramatic and comic to Layla and Sam's interactions. Of course there's a bunch of aunts and other relations that add energy to the story. That online resume enables some spectacular points of interest to the storyline. Beyond Sam's reasons for setting up business above the resta...

Hold Your Breath, China (Inspector Chen Cao #10)   by Qiu Xiaolong       A serial murderer and extreme air pollution activists in China are the focus of Shanghai Chief Inspector Chen and Detective Yu Guangming, with of course, the requisite People's Party attendant. Chen however is diverted away from the murders and directed by Zhao, "Comrade Secretary Zhao, the retired first secretary of the Party Central Discipline Committee," to investigate a group of activists researching and filming about the pollution levels in the country. The figure of Zhao whom for Chen, "had been something of a political patron, having entrusted [Chen]with several high-profile cases and backed him up on a number of occasions. Chen could have long been crushed by his adversaries, as whispered in the inner circle, but for Zhao’s speaking out for him at the top." Complex and intriguing developments are set against the modern Chinese background. I must admit that I have long puzzled...

Winter of Solace (The Executioner Knight #5)   by Kathryn Le Veque           I love these Medieval Knight tropes. You know, where the dangerous and committed knight is dealt a double whammy when his eyes set upon the feisty, woman who's fighting to keep her loved ones from harm. The knight is Caius d'Avignon, aka the Britannia Viper, one of the powerful William Marshall's premier Knights who is sent by his powerful commander, to investigate and help as needed a relative by marriage, Covington de Wrenville, who is married to The Marshall's niece. (A woman given a dreadful name, Ugly Alice. A strong woman we discover, worthy of her uncle.) Covey is readying to attack a neighboring lord. Already the feeling that something is off has intuitively been filtered by Marshall. The cause of the dispute is Covington's accusation that Rupert de Thorington of Hawkstone Castle, is in league with the French over against King John. Marshall senses he is being played ...