eyes.2c Reviews

A Scoundrel of Her Own (Sinful Wallflowers #3) by Stacy Reid  ⭐️⭐️⭐️ As individuals I enjoyed the characters of Devlin Byrne and Lady Ophelia Darby. I loved the prologue, mysterious and haunting. Children saving children. But the putting together of these two as a couple didn’t quite work as it should have for me. In the end I felt Ophelia was grappling with too much unresolved baggage. Her torn loyalties between her parents and the one who couldn’t be named, her parents and Devlin, their attitudes and hers became too complicated. Ophelia’s search for her beginnings is all consuming. Ophelia’s cousin Effie ended up being all that Ophelia was fighting against. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed the story but the essence of who Ophelia and Devon are was constantly in danger of being watered down by their inner reflections. Sure there were some delicious moments. The way Devlin kept sending simple yet outrageous requests and Ophelia’s responses. The way she accepted the challenges delighted m

A Most Unusual Duke (Shapeshifters of the Beau Monde #2) by Susanna Allen ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Two of my fav genres combine—Regency romance and shapeshifters. Bliss! Arthur Humphries, Duke of Osborn, the hereditary leader of a ‘sleuth’ (a group of shape shifters or versipellis) is doing all he can to have the clan he’s the Alpha of, cease to be. The consequence of a childhood trauma that’s haunted his every action down through the years. The very human Beatrice, Marchioness of Castleton, aka Lady Frost, had been married to a cruel Marquess and shapeshifter leader who’d died. She is feisty, passionate and supremely capable behind her mask. One that descended every day of the marriage, a shield of ice, her armour against the world, and against her despicable husband. Beatrice knows the secrets of the versipellis and as an unaligned female is a danger to the them as pointed out to her by His Royal Highness, the Prince Regent George IV, the supreme leader of the versipellis who imbues an awesome po

Painting the Light by Sally Cabot Gunning     ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I was somewhat tentative about Ida Pease’s story at the start. By the time I reached the last page I was utterly enthralled, at moments aghast, although rarely relieved. Set in Martha’s Vineyard in the early twentieth century, Ida is a gifted portrait painter who before her forlorn marriage had gained a place at the Museum of Fine Arts School, Boston. Ida’s painting time slides away after she marries Ezra. During her marriage she’s devolved into a much put upon wife, a sheep farmer and unpaid worker, an unappreciated daughter-in-law, and finally a widow. Widowhood brings about both ownership rights problems and economic struggles. Ida discovers the scam artist her dead husband was. Her mother-in-law is a rigid tyrant. Idea grows into herself, a woman who seeks to find her voice in a society against women’s rights, and a cyclist—a gift bringing newly appreciated freedom, which includes a repositioned passion for painting. As Ida

Cast in Conflict (Chronicles of Elantra #17) by Michelle Sagara         ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ There’s an empty tower in the middle of the Elantra fiefs, formally captained by Candallar. That equates to a place where the Shadow can gain a foothold. Kaylin’s Barani misfit Lords want it and it seems so does her friend the Dragon Bellusdeo. Surprise, surprise! The dragon court of course wants Kaylin to keep an eye on Bellusdeo’s movements. They “would like to know where Bellusdeo has been going in the past two weeks.” To Kaylin, “It was clear that the gold Dragon was doing something with her day—something that Kaylin couldn’t see.” The dragon emperor has ordered Corporal Kaylin Neya to accompany Bellusdeo. Severn is sent to support(moderate?) Kaylin. Bellusdeo has troubled me since the beginning. Why? Because she’s fiercely independent and yet carries the weight of being the last female dragon in Elantra. She arrived from the somewhere Other fleeing the Shadow, and now in Elantra, the continuation o

Not Just Any Earl (Games Earl’s Play #1) by  Anna Bradley    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A Cinderella remix / mashup with the glass slipper being replaced by a ribbon redundant with a subtle yet heady scent of roses. Emmaline Templeton is one of five daughters whose scandalous mother Alice ran off to the continent with her Marquis lover years before. (Members of the Ton find that hard to forgive!) Their father died a year later. The young women are trying to make ends meet. Emmaline is trying to work out the elements constituting her father’s most perfect perfume. He never wrote the components down. The search is her passion. Lady Fosberry (fairy godmother figure) descends on the family to whisk Lady Juliet away to spend the season with her. Emmaline will join them but stay in the background. Her desire is to search out the missing ingredient for her botanist father’s rose perfume.  What Emmaline didn’t expect,  during a ball at Lady Fosberry’s house ,  when she crept downstairs into the darkened librar

Buried Secrets  (Sgt. Windflower Mystery #11) by Mike Martin          ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Sergeant Winston Windflower (RCMP) of Newfoundland and his wonderful family are once again swept up in murder and discord. I just adore the Windflower family, their rituals, the play between them all, and the lovely attention to food as a centralising theme for friends and community. When the Minister of a Grand Bank church is murdered Windflower is redeployed to assist. Questions come to light about the parish hierarchy and how it operates.  At the same time, one of the girls in the pilot program designed to help those forced into the sex trade transition into a new life, has vanished. Solving crime takes on new momentum as Windflower turns to his spiritual practices to help focus his thoughts, and his Spiritual guides for growth. Reading a Windflower story, his particular insights around the solving of crime, coupled with watching his family grow, is a joy.  Windflower is also questioning his future. Now

Dark Queen Watching  (Margaret Beaufort Mystery #3) by Paul Doherty     ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Plots and counterplots swirl around Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond, and her son Henry Tudor. I love Doherty’s comment in the Author’s Note about Margaret. “ In the end she proved to be the dark nemesis of the House of York.” (With that comment Doherty’s title slots in seamlessly), A nerve racking read filled with the desperation of the age, the evil of men, and all matters pertaining to the lust for power and kingship. We have Edward of York endeavoring to be rid of a claimant to the English throne; Margaret’s sworn man Christopher Urswicke’s father, Sir Thomas, Recorder of London, plotting and planning, spinning his web far and wide; a hidden group of feared Castilian assassins, the Garduna; and a secret French chapter loyal to the French king, just for starters. Third in this series of  enthralling historical novels, we’re once again presented with a riveting portrayal of these violent mediev

Make Your Own Silver Jewellery by Monica Weber-Butler         The first chapters of this guide are devoted to Safety, Materials and Tools which impart valuable information. Then onto Metal Clay. I found this interesting. I haven’t worked with Metal Clay before. I’d certainly like to explore this component further but I don’t learn well from books. I need a face to face workshop, which just may not be possible at the present. Still I putting that on my ‘to do’ list.  Beyond this the areas covered include making earnings, adding color, turning to nature for inspiration, and other focuses. I liked the use of using a visual journal for creating ideas.  Nicely presented and would be a useful addition to any collection. A Pen & Sword ARC via NetGalley 

Sharpe's Assassin  (Sharpe #22) by Bernard Cornwell           ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I’m a huge Richard Sharpe fan. Helped along by first meeting Sharpe as a tv program years ago. The rifleman from the dregs of society who took the kings shilling and went off “over the hills and far away” to fight Napoleon from one end of the European peninsula to the other, “  ‘From Portugal to the heart of France,”  and now onto Paris. It’s 1815 and post Waterloo. Sharpe has been tasked as he so laconically puts it, to “ ‘ Get first into France, capture a fortress, release some prisoners, and then rejoin the army.’ “  And that’s just the beginning of Sharpe’s current enterprise. Cornwell is just so descriptive! I was in the thick of battles, I came into Paris, held my anger in and honed it, as I channeled Richard Sharpe. And the old friends well met…even the memories evoked. Sharpe is tasked to hunt down an organization La Fraternité bent on assassinating Wellington, under the cover of restoring stolen pain

The Deadliest Sin (Crispin Guest Mystery #15) by  Jeri Westerson           ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️      I’ve been putting off reading this last Crispin Guest tale for weeks. Why? I can’t bear the fact that this is his last hooray. I first met Crispin in 2013 in “Veil of Lies” and hunted down the previous series titles published fervently.  I have waited breathlessly each subsequent year for the next stage in Crispin’s life, the next mysterious relic that will find its way to him for resolution. The next involvement that will prove dangerous and est the Tracker and his right hand assistant’s fortitude. Ive seen Crispin grow and strengthen despite his weaknesses. And don’t let me get started on Jack Tucker. An amazing character and a great foil to Crispin’s shortcomings. As a youngster to watch him grow was a pleasure. As a father and the Tracker’s assistant he’s a pleasure. Now he provides for Crispin balance and family—belonging. In some ways he’s been the squire that Crispin could never have. The

With a Little Help from my Lord (Beresford Adventures #3) by  Cheryl Bolen      ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Lady Harriet Beresford somehow interferes in a secretly dropped message about a group plotting against the regent. A dead man on her doorstep has Alex Muir, Baron Rockingham rushing to see to the safety of the sister of his closest friend. Although sceptical at first Alex realises that Harriet is at risk and that he must protect her. After all his friend Devere had specifically asked Alex to keep an eye on her. Intrigue and romance blend together nicely in this latest Beresford adventure from Cheryl Boleyn. A Dragonblade ARC via NetGalley 

Someone Perfect (Westcott #9) by Mary Balogh  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ So I finished reading this with a soppy smile on my face, exhausted from trying to remember all the various members of the involved families. And that’s what this story is about. Families, loss, hurt, misunderstandings, forgiveness and gain. A mystery threads throughout covered with lies and revealed with truth. Justin Wiley, Earl of Brandon was banished from home at twenty-two. Years later, without reconciliation to the father he adored, he finds himself the Earl of a place he doesn’t feel comfortable in. Too many memories! His half-sister and his step-mother have repaired to another property, Prospect Hill in East Sussex, after his father’s death. His stepmother (a piece of work!) was ill and eventually died. His half sister Maria has been living with her governess turned companion. It’s  well past her time of mourning.  As Maria’s companion is under thirty she’s regarded as unchaperoned. Justin decides that it’s time for Mari

A Counterfeit Suitor  (Rosalind Mysteries #5)   by Darien Wilde          ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Rosalind Thorne , daughter of Sir Reginald Thorne, (habitual drinker, gambler and forger), is supporting herself by offering her services to those wanting the know how around running the gauntlet of polite society. Years before, Rosalind’s father, heavily in debt, had fled to Paris taking her sister Charlotte, leaving behind Rosalind and her mother. Returning to England years later, Charlotte,  now a highly sought after courtesan has  relocated their alcoholic father to Bath in the care of minders. He escapes with the help of one Russell Fullerton, an opportunist not above blackmailing others. Indeed he’s well known for being a blackguard. Fullerton has plans to ruin Rosalind. When Sir Reginald is found dead, other factors come into play. Currently Rosalind is helping a Mrs Walford throw a ball for charity. In reality she’s been hired to investigate a man the daughter of the house is being pursued by, a

The Postmistress of Paris by Meg Waite Clayton     ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️        Fascinating story inspired by American heiress Mary Jane Gold, Nanée is a wealthy young woman caught up in efforts to help artists and intellectuals to escape France during WWII. Nanée, whom many saw as an eccentric, is a pilot, a focused individual. She’s determined, a person who just rolls up her sleeves and gets on with the task. There’s the heady energy of various artistic and intellectual giants such as André Breton, as the Nazis march towards Paris. I loved the description of Nanée flying into Paris for a Surrealist exhibition, adding further to the illustration that Nanée is an original who charts her own path. I smiled at the image of her next to her plane with her dog Dagobert as she, “dug out a reliable old black Chanel dress and pulled it over her head, slipped her blouse off underneath, and let the silk fall into place over her leather flight pants. Better. Not warmer, but better. She added her flight jacke

Dead Man’s Grave (DS Max Craigie  #1) by Neil Lancaster              ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ DS Max Craigie, of the Serious Crimes Squad, ex military and suffering from PTSD, finds himself in the middle of the bizarre death of a Scottish Crime Lord. The mode of the gangster’s death links back into the 1890’s. That beginning leads Max to uncovering corruption that spreads to the heights of the Scottish Police force. From here on in violence and death spreads out like a festering sore. An exciting and very readable piece, complete with a couple of very interesting characters including his partner DC Janie Calder. I particularly liked his great aunt Elspeth, and his dog Nutmeg. A  HQ Harper Collins  ARC via NetGalley 

The Cartographer's Secret by Tea Cooper   ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Once more a richly interwoven story that spreads across the Australian landscape of the lushly appointed Hunter Valley region. Two women become immersed in their individual trajectories as family secrets are uncovered, and a deep historical mystery is given prominence—the disappearance of explorer Ludwig Leichhardt of the face of the continent. One of the greatest puzzles of Australian European history. Spanning the years of 1880, the story centres around Evie Maynard and her mapping  skills and is picked up in 1911 with Letitia Rawlings. Lettie’s family has been estranged from Great-Aunt Olivia Maynard. The whys are unknown. A family tragedy leaves the Maynards, particularly Lettie reeling. She  volunteers to inform their great aunt of events. Anything to get away.  The devastated Lettie travels to her great aunt’s home at Wollombi. It’s here the family mystery deepens. It’s here her Aunt Evie is revealed. As secrets unravel we’r

The God is Not Willing (Witness #1) by Steven Erikson     ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A return to the world of Malazan is truly a pleasure, exhausting and invigorating—all in the same breathe. Diving into Erickson’s complex and mind bending writing, reminds me again of how much I enjoy his work. I was hooked from the beginning with Gardens of the Moon and the roller coaster ride that is Malazan has never ceased to engage. Descriptive, poetic, bardic in scope. Just re-read the Preface. Amazing! T he cadence embedded in those few pages is a sample of what’s to come. TGINW is at times visceral. (Is it too far flung to think of Erickson’s works as an Odyssey? Not to me.) The Malazan arc is epic, a saga of heroic proportions, tragic with subtle humorous intent Set some years after the Crippled God, TGINW combines all this and more.  Unrest on its borders has the Malazan army on alert. A war chief with an agenda is stirring in Teblor. Gods, heroes, fighters, some we’ve met before, others who rise to new hei

The Singles Table (Marriage Game #3) by Sara Desai     ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ On the surface a light hearted story but with underlying depths, all wrapped up in Bollywood like hilarity. Indeed I can’t get several momentous moments out of my head (including the steamy bits) The oh so colorful Zara Patel shooting the committed game player and exponent, Jay Dayal, in the rear at her cousin’s bachelor-bachelorette paintball party, even as she ogled him. As her friend Parvati Chopra calls it,  the occasion is “alpha central” with all the male testosterone about. Ok, Zara is definitely catastrophe prone, even if she is a super smart lawyer. She just moves to the beat of a different drum, which is why the Cruz & Lovitt law firm, injury specialists, is such a great fit for Zara. There’s “ a partner who wears Yoda ski hats and carries a custom lightsaber? Another partner who wears bike shorts and Rollerblades around the office?”  Seriously terrifying images! The moments of Zara’s exuberance lifted spi

The Day of the Serpent (Brother Chandler Mystery #2) by  Cassandra Clark            ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Regicide, jealousy, heresy, all are present in this sequel to Hour of the Fox set in 1400.  Brother Rodric Chandler once more leaves us wondering if he’s an opportunist, a cynic, or a man who sees injustice and greed.  A friar and yet still a man. A man of secrets—his own and others. A man who can’t stop thinking about Geoffrey Chaucer’s servant, the maid Matilda.  And what game is Master Chaucer playing as King Richard II is imprisoned in Pontefract Castle, John of Gaunt’s Lancastrian hold in the North?  Chandler is under orders from his master Sir Thomas Swynford to oversee the starvation of Richard, hoping the lack of food will hurry along Richard’s demise. Meanwhile  Henry Bolingbroke, Richard’s cousin, now King, is tightening his grip on the people of England using heresy  to point away from the fate of his stepbrother Richard. Politically  Henry needs Richard gone.    If anything Chand