eyes.2c Reviews

The Last Gamble (Bastards of London #3)   by Anabelle Bryant   Lucius Reese, we are told is, ' a man of many titles, none of them revered by the peerage: rakehell, philanderer, and bastard most of all.' Luke,  one of the partners of the gambling palace, the Underworld, is a man in pain. His son Nate has been kidnapped by his  half-brother, Viscount Dursley. Lady Georgina Harwood has fled her family situation and comfortable home in Mayfair to a cottage in Coventry and is currently employed by a local peer as a governess.  (Mind you I find the whole cooking episode a bit like Marie Antoinette playing at being a dairymaid) Luke and Georgina meet because Luke discovers that Georgina the governess can prove that Nate was in Dursley's hands. There are lovely moments of whimsy in Luke and Georgina's interactions .  Such as Georgina and Luke's individual reflections about each other at the inn. Luke is in room four and Georgina in room three, across th...

Into The Hall Of Vice (Bastards of London #2)   by Anabelle Bryant                                        Lady Gemma Amberson knows there's a mystery surrounding her father's death. That's why she spends her time at polite society gambling parties in an attempt to learn something, anything! Lord Winton, he of the slimey snake charmer abilities, drops hints to her that a visit to a certain Miss Devonshire in Charing Cross might help her enquiries. Of course that hint comes with a demand for payment of the more personal kind. That's where Cole Hewitt one of the owners of the Underworld, a gambling hall of note, finds her when he visits as his alter ego Mr. Goodworth. Cole is smitten but he knows the gap between them is real and not even possible. Cole and Gemma's story had great potential but to my mind it just wasn't pulled off with the same riviting quality that Den of I...

The Den Of Iniquity (Bastards of London, #1)   by  Anabelle Bryant 1st in a new series with strong possibilities.  The central characters are vigorous although switching between happenings is occasionally disjointed. Bereaved Vivienne Beaumont has a heart of gold, is virtuous and has the looks to slay armies. Max Sinclair (Sin), bastard son of a lord, has attitude, great sorrow, a vengeful heart and the ability to slay armies. Max is one of three owners of the Underground, a notorious gaming club for the wealthy in London's darker side. Max and Vivienne meet in an out of the way London churchyard where Max is viewing the grave of one of his enemies. Max's mother was brutally killed and abused when he was a young boy. Max is actively seeking the perpetrators to take his revenge. Vivienne is contemplating what charitable works of her mother's she will continue to support, including the nuns who tend the gardens here. Vivienne thinks that Max's dog ...

The Midnight Rake   by Anabelle Bryant  Charming story about a young woman who sets about to right a wrong, find the cad who'd stolen her inheritance. Along the way she is captivated by, and captures the attention of, a charming young viscount. Phineas Betcham, Viscount Fenhurst, is determined not to marry. His maman has determined otherwise.  Penelope Rosebery has no interest in marriage. She's on a quest. I am still puzzling over how two young women rescued from the highway by a delightfully generous dowager end up in said rescuer's home having an entire wardrobe provided for them, and even dancing lessons for younger lady, Miss Aubry. Bit of a stretch, even through Phineas ' maman is a tad eccentric, or maybe she plays a deeper game than at first glance. The continual by play between maman's parrot and the butler. Is amusing. Certainly the novel has a couple of endearing idiosyncrasies despite my quandary. A NetGalley ARC