eyes.2c Reviews

Lola in the Mirro r: A Novel by Trent Dalton          ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Lola in the mirror is controversial. Some say Dalton’s romanticising domestic abuse, others see it treading the recognition of the Tyrannosaurus Waltz, the dance between mothers and their monsters! Some say Dalton’s looking down on the homeless (The girl with no name, the artist figures she’s not of that elk. She’s houseless. There’s a difference! She lives in Brisbane’s West end near the river, in a scrapyard, in a Toyota van without wheels.) Her mother’s running away from a crime she committed. Hence her daughter without a name. Because no one can trace them. When the artist turns eighteen her mother’s going to turn herself in. That’s two months away. A lot can happen in that time. The artist has dreams of becoming another Picasso, of hanging work in the MET! Quirky, fascinating, bringing the underbelly of Brisbane’s forgotten to the fore, this is Dalton at his universal best. Another gritty, ma...

A Tainted Heart Bleeds  (House of Croft #2) by Sophie Barnes       ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️    Trained assassin and agent Samantha Carmichael has married Adrian Croft but things are not going smoothly.  Just after their marriage Adrian discovers Samantha is more than she seems.  That problem is a challenge for their relationship. Samantha realizes that Dorian Harlowe,  England’s premier spymaster, sees her only as an asset. He and his wife had, along with other young girls  taken her out of  an  orphanage and become their guardians.  Where will she land? On the side of her husband or her master? Added to this a vicious murder has taken place. The Earl of Orendel’s daughter has been horrifically killed. Lady Eleanor will only be the first. A pattern is emerging, yet prior to their marriage Adrian and Samantha had caught the killer of young women. What’s happening?  Orendel wants Croft to look into it.  Meanwhile, Chief Constab...

Princess Sophie and the Christmas Elixir by Mike Martin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Charming Christmas story about the young princess Sophie who wants to put the magical feeling of Christmas back. There’s been something missing this year. She ends up asking a magician for help. I do like Lady Ariana’s (the magician) outfit. With some help from Sophia and her rabbit they produce an elixir for the whole village to sip from! Of course the magic works, a magic that strengthens the unasked for gifts that are sharing and caring, of love for their fellows. After Christmas they’re encouraged to continue to show love to others. Very scriptural notions of love and giving. Share the love! A fitting message at any time but the Christmas season is an occasion when it’s brought home, revitalised by the communal aspect of support. A lovely story for younger children, accompanied by delightful illustrations. An Mezzo ARC  from the author                      ...

The Elgin Conspiracy   (Regency Secrets #2 ) by Julia Golding     ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This tale moves smartly along. A fascinating look at these times in London and an interesting plot yet for some reason I dragged my feet reading this. If I’d read the first in series parts of the story might have been more enlightening. It seems some of the marbles are not as genuine as they’re thought to be. Investigative partners actress Dora have been Fitz-Pennington and former army doctor Jacob Sandys have been hired by Lord Elgin to find out who murdered his assistant Richard Brookings, an expert in marbles. Their task becomes more complicated by Greek nationalists fighting for the return of the marbles, Napoleon having designs on them, and the prospect of some of the marbles being frauds. Lord Byron is in the mix, as are others of the aristocracy. Trouble surely follows! The Elgin marbles! 200 years or more later and Greece is still trying to repatriate them. British high handed imperialism h...

A St Ives Christmas Mystery  by Deborah Fowler    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Merrin McKenzie remembers the day her husband Adam died. It was an ordinary  morning beginning with toast and coffee. Then the telephone call! Her beloved husband has been killed, slain by an efficiently wielded knife attack. Months later and Merrin has sold their family home in Oxford and moved back to the lovely village she grew up in, St Ives. Helping out her friend Clara, Merrin who doesn’t clean’, has been persuaded to help out with the ‘changeover’ cleaning for a couple of Bed and Breakfasts Cara owns. Only one contains the body of a young man laid out peacefully on the bed. Bizarre! Next there’s police involvement, and a somewhat tenuous clue of her daughter’s land lady’s nephew being missing!  The tale flowed along at just the right pace. An enjoyable read. An  Allison & Busby  ARC via NetGalley.                         ...

A Lark's Releas e (Verity Lark Mysteries #4) by Lynn Messina          ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️  Verity Lark’s busy mind leaves me astounded. She’s a master of disguise’s balancing them with aplomb and always ready to search out the odds and make the best decision she can, even when sorely tested, under fire as it is. Having just been released from Newgate, she’s now being accused of stealing an artefact from the British Museum.  Her neighbour is poisoned with a treat meant for Verity. Both Delphine and Verity feel a bit queasy by the closeness of the call. Verity continues to investigate the death using her Mr Twaddle-Thum persona. R elations with Hardwick go from intense, to cordial, to downright aggravated on Verity’s side, back to intense. After all how can Verity handle a man who has the decency to treat her as a partner? Verity’s definitely thrown. To see the unvocalized behavior between the two in their investigative processes is a thing of beauty. Why is Ver...

Much Ado About Margaret  by Madeleine Roux        ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Margaret Arden had been encouraged by her father all her life to write. Now he’s dead, Margaret, her mother, and her sisters are living off the charity of her mother’s sister, Aunt Eliza. There seems to be a strained atmosphere between her aunts and her mother. Margaret plans to save the family through her writing endeavours. She needs to have her novel published  Only when she takes it to a friend of a friend's publisher, Bridger Darrow he scorns her, belittles her, and tosses her out. Mind you Darrow had been having a bad day. He’s just discovered his brother Pimm has been taking money from the business. Of course Margaret and Bridger meet again at her friend Lane Richmond’s wedding house party to Ann Graddock. Not happy! The dour aunts are there too. Margaret is being pressured to marry for wealth like they did. Her mother had married for love. Now look at her! They are threatening to cut off the...

Murder in Highbury  (Emma Knightley Mystery #1) by Vanessa Kelly       ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Gentle, ironic rendering makes this new mystery spin-off from  the Austen novel, Emma just so endearing. The tone Kelly sets melds so well with Austen’s classic work. A cosy regency mystery set in the sleepy English village of Highbury. Emma is now happily married to George Knightly. Her husband, her lifetime friends and her father are her immediate horizon. Into this Eden slithers the destructive serpent of murder sowing seeds of mischief, fear, and distrust fed by gossip and rumor. Emma and her young friend Harriet Martin are visiting the church and shockingly discover the lifeless body of Mrs Elton, the supercilious wife of the vicar. Mr. Elton had proposed to Emma previously, but that’s another story. Emma miss that Highbury won’t be the same again. Never noted for her restraint, the indomitable Emma of course forges ahead to try to discover the identity of the murderer. Georg...

The Secret War of Julia Child  by Diana  R. Chambers     ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ So Julia Child is one of my fav people. Ever since I saw the film of her cooking omelettes for 100 plus people on a couple of spirit stoves at the Smithsonian Institute in D.C. I’ve been intrigued. Intrigued by her ‘can do’ attitude, her indomitable spirit, her zest for life. That has been fuelled further by various movies and TV series that have added to her legend over the years. Of her previous life with the Office of Espionage Services there has been little mention. That’s part of what makes this novel so interesting. Julia’s forays into the far east as head of the Registry of OSS brings to life the people she meets and trusts. There’s Julia’s observations of the situation as the Japanese edge closer to unoccupied countries —through Sri Lanka, northern provinces of China, Burma, eventually down into Malaya. The people she meets, including nationalists leader Chiang Kai-Shek and Madam Chiang Kai-S...

Murder at the Foundling Hospital  (Tate and Bell Mystery #3)   by Irina Shapiro     ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The body of a young girl is found in the laundry of the Foundling Hospital where Gemma Tate works as a nurse. The hospital is a place reserved for the illegitimate children of ‘deserving’ mothers. Detective Inspector Sebastian Bell is summoned. The matron, Matron Holcombe is effected by the child’s death but highly antagonistic towards Sebastian’s investigations. She and the Board of Directors want the murder swept under the carpet. Any scandal could  affect  the hospital’s all important donor support. Sebastian has Gemma help him, albeit quietly. Eventually the clues that are revealed are puzzling. It’s only after Gemma is almost killed that the murderer is unmasked The tale however is complex and murky.  Sebastian is facing pressures from work, as is Gemma. The Tate and Bell mysteries continue to intrigue as does the developing relationship between the two....

If I Stopped Haunting You  by Colby Wilkens      ⭐️⭐️ An intriguing concept but it just didn’t engage my interest. Two writers who dislike each other at a supposedly haunted castle as part of a writing week. They’ve both lost their writing mojo and hope for the opportunity to find it. Pen’s major problem with Neil Storm is that he’s sold out his writings for success. His novels don’t do their First Nation’s heritage justice. Fascinating! So that premise alone holds so much promise. This was a great springboard. That, along with the enemies to lovers trope should have sparkled, but I just wasn’t on board. I finished the title, skimming mostly. Not what I wanted or intended to do.  A St. Martin’s Press ARC via NetGalley.                                               Many thanks to the author and publisher.