eyes.2c Reviews

The Earl's Christmas Colt (Entangled Flirts) by Rebecca Thomas Quite a lovely story about duty, love and marriage. Out of the blue, Lady Arabella Sutton is informed by her brother Will that she will have no second London season. She is to be married within a few days to Will's friend and future duke, Oliver Westwyck, the Earl of Marsdale. Arabella is never happier than being with her horses. Marriage is not part of that equation. In shock she flings herself onto her horse and rides off, despite a looming storm. Forced to take shelter at a local inn when her horse turns up lame, Arabella runs into a handsome, gentlemanly horse breeder at the inn's stables. Mr. Carrington undertakes to assist her with securing a room. Whilst he is about that Arabella overhears two serving maids discussing the guests. Apparently an Earl, Oliver Westwyck is staying here. Her erstwhile fiancé! Frantic lest her reputation suffer if he discovers her alone at an inn, a panicked Arabell...

The Temptation of Lady Serena (The Marriage Game) by Ella Quinn  The beginning of the story seemed a tad stilted but then maybe it just reflected the gauche innocence that is Serena. Out of her environment, stiff and unsure, Serena has been living a lonely life, managing the family's large estate whilst her brother's been part of Wellington's staff during the war. Said brother has returned with a wife who wastes no time in sending Serena off to London and out of her way.              A cousin to Phoebe (from The Seduction of Lady Phoebe fame), Serena meets Marcus' friend Viscount Robert Beaumont and promptly falls in love. Robert finally determines he might wed her on 'his terms.' 'Love was not right for Robert. Could he have her without it?' Her gentle demeanour hiding a firm will, Serena declares she will only marry him if he loves her. Well we spend some time with Robert chasing Serena across the channel, acting like a thwarted bear, an...

A Study in Ashes (The Baskerville Affair #3) by Emma Jane Holloway Evelina starts this episode with a bang. Blowing up the University of Camelin chemistry lab no less. Her world had narrowed to the university precincts bound as she is by the Gold King, Jasper Keating. Her price for allowing Nick to escape. All to no avail as he is dead.  Hauled before the University authorities she is for the moment confined to her quarters in the College of London. Who escorts her back to the College? None other than James Moriaty, the Blue King's man of business. We recognize the name for other reasons. Evelina is trapped by Keating, monitored by bracelets that create excruciating pain if she steps beyond her confines. Imogen has been unconscious for a year. Her twin dead sister Anna is involved. A realization that's nightmarish in its unfolding. Her sister Poppy engages Sherlock Holmes to look into Imogen's illness. And those dreadful Steam Barons. War lords run amok. The Scarlet Ba...

The Magic Path of Intuition by Florence Scovel Shinn I liked that opening chapter subheading. I'm still thinking about it. Intuition! So many of us ignore it, or feel guilty about it. Often our first response to a situation is intuitive, but how do we put that in words? So many 'if only' moments. This book is a chance to change that, a fascinating hitherto unpublished work by Shinn who died in 1940. Imagination and visualization, all form part of the journey. The affirmations in this quite beautiful production are a helpful guide to this growing process. The vivid colours, the photography, the welcoming words, the encompassing swirly lines underlining each heading on pages, all contrive to draw us into the text. I must admit the colours and production radiate a retro seventies 'get in touch with your inner self' feel about them. That's great because this is what the book is about, enhancing and recognizing your intuition as a powerful healing tool, ...

Mistress of the Wind by Michelle Diener Certainly a change of pace from my previous encounters with Diener's Tudor and other historical works. This work evidences her prodigious talent, the depths of her writing abilities shine. Beautifully crafted, this retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon, is a pleasure to read. Poetic in its descriptions, the relationship that develops between Astrid and the Bear/Prince unfolds with an unfaltering intensity. Sold to the Bear/Prince by her family, Astrid travels to his castle. She is to be held there for a year as his companion, not wife if you will, mistress if you won't. She is not to leave and can never see the prince as a man, although he visits her at night. The hurt of being sold is revisited at certain times in the novel. We hurt with Astrid.             Astrid's cleverness, the humour we see hidden in her request for an axe after she,  with great trepidation, enters the castle stronghold and...

Cross of Vengeance (A Burren Mystery) by Cora Harrison In Ireland in the Middle Ages (1519) a Brehon was the Gaelic equivalent of a judge. The statutes that governed daily life in medieval Ireland were called Brehon Law. Mara, Brehon of the kingdom of Burren, a magistrate and the professor (ollamh) at Cahermacnaghten law school, accompanied by her students, attends an important mass, the Feast of the Holy Cross, at Kilnaboy Church, home to a significant 'relic: a piece of the true cross...housed inside a gold shrine.' When the relic is destroyed or stolen the Brehon has a role to play. Insights into the ancient laws of Ireland meander in and out of the storyline. I like the way each chapter opens with a quote from a relevant law, setting the scene for what is to come. The punishments for various crimes or abuses against the law is fascinating.   Arson, theft, fanatics, heretics, pilgrims, dark passions, jealousy and avarice present. Attitudes to Indulgences and Spanish i...

The Scribe by Antonio Garrido, translated by Simon Bruni Having been taught to read and write by her father, all Theresa wants to do is be a scribe and parchment maker. Theresa is battling with the prejudice of a woman's place in society. Given that this tale takes place in medieval Würzburg of 799, at a time when women's roles were even more proscribed, we can hardly be surprised by the attitudes of those around her. Garrido's writing is vivid and brings home the sights, sounds and smells of the time, and the hardships of Theresa's occupation. (Thank you also translator Bruni) At this time the surrounding country is besieged by famine. Denizens of Würzburg are in desperate straits.         A talented parchment maker and scribe Theresa is treated to all sorts of indignities by her fellow workers and especially the master parchment maker, the despicable Korne.  When Theresa had to go into the deepest maceration pool to find her cow skin for her parchment mak...