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Uncaged Review – The Empress of Tempera by Alex Dolan

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

The Empress of Tempera
Alex Dolan
Mystery/Suspense

Good art can make a person cry; great art can make a person kill.

Paire Anjou came to New York to be an artist, but thus far has only achieved an artist boyfriend—the enfant terrible of the art world, Derek Rosewood. On her way to his show, where his controversial paintings will be on display, Paire sees an older man on the sidewalk, looking into the window of the Fern Gallery, gazing intently at a painting, and sobbing. As Paire approaches him, the man stabs himself in the chest.

The painting that inspired the suicide is a one-off for the gallery—the last-known surviving work of a dissident Chinese artist named Qi. An empress, dressed in red, sits imperiously and stares out at the viewer. Paire is but one of the people who stare back, joined by hundreds, from around the world, flocking to the Fern Gallery to observe and obsess over the Empress. The Empress inspires lust and panic, rage and greed. When Paire starts digging into the backstory of the painting, and its artist, she unravels a tale of profound betrayal and a vengeance that spans generations.

Uncaged Review: Paire Anjou gives herself a new name and look to study art in New York. She has the perfect job and is going out with an artist Derek Rosewood, whose paintings are getting shown at the Fern Gallery. There’s also another painting getting showcased called The Empress. This painting is unlike anything anybody has seen before. It turns people into murderers. Paire is obsessed like the others with this painting.

The storyline surrounding the painting and Paire Anjou background history, was very interesting to read. I would have liked to have seen a peek at this painting myself. But the characters in the book were very well thought out and interesting. The way one of the characters meets his end was a great way to have someone die.

I really enjoyed this book and it was a dramatic read. An art heist gone wrong meets murder with the criminally insane. What’s not to love in this book. Reviewed by Jennifer

(violence, murder, sexual activity)

5 Stars

Uncaged Review: Splatterpunk’s Not Dead by Various

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Splatterpunk’s Not Dead
Various
Horror Anthology

From the creator of Splatterpunk Zine comes Splatterpunk’s Not Dead, an anthology consisting of 8 horror stories, ranging from new upcoming writers to genre favourites, featuring new fiction by Jeff Strand, Adam Cesare, Shane McKenzie, Nathan Robinson, Robert Essig, Brendan Vidito, Saul Bailey and Paul Shrimpton.

Uncaged Review: A short booklet called Splatterpunk that is done so well. It’s built itself a loyal fan base which progressed into a bunch of writer’s coming together to make this book. For fans of splatters gore and horror.

We meet all sorts of crazy characters in this book, from people improving their cars to make them deadly with actual weapons, to a lonely old man finding a magical book behind his wall to having it all go wrong.

One story in itself deserves 5 stars is Beware the Beverage by Jeff Strand. With me being a big fan of energy drinks find this story really amusing. A new craze has people buying Rocket Ship energy drink by the truckload. Its key ingredient being Martian blood gives the drinker’s super energy that can do other humans harm. The population dwindles due to humans killing each other. They can’t even get the drink banned and the Martians have had enough. So they decide to come down to earth to teach the world a lesson. Even the end of the story is funny. Kinda puts you off energy drinks.

This is a real short book but it should have something in it for everybody to read. Reviewed by Jennifer

5 Stars

Uncaged Review: Love in Montana by Chance Carter

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Love in Montana
Chance Carter
New Adult/Coming of Age

When a girl loses her father early in life, it leaves a hole in her heart. It takes a special kind of man to come along and fill that hole. Sam Jones is riding a train through Montana when he meets the girl he thinks of as his she-wolf. The fierce look in her eyes reminds him of a wolf, and her ferocious nature in the bedroom proves him right. Now the only question is, can he tame her.

Uncaged Review: Chance Carter has lots of full novels out. But he is also writing a romance story every week. Featuring a American state each week and a man trying to find love. This is book seven in the list.

We meet Sam a boy who was featured in Chance Carter’s first ever book Bad Boy Daddy. Its Sam’s turn to shine as he’s all grown up now. Sam is on a busy train ride he notices a young beautiful women who he has nick named Shewolf. Although normally shy, he takes a chance and strikes up a conversation with her. This is the classic tale of boy meets girl.

This book was a fun easy read. Being a fan of Chance Carter books it was nice finding out what happened to a boy who was just a child in Chance Carter’s first ever book so long ago. For readers who are new to this author’s work, The American Boyfriend Series can be read in any order. Reviewed by Jennifer

5 Stars

Uncaged Reviews: Food for Thought Series, 1 & 2 by Nancy DeRosa with Excerpt!

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

To read an interview with Nancy DeRosa, please see the April edition of Uncaged Book Reviews.

Both books Top Reads for April.

Food for Thought, First Course
Nancy DeRosa
Romantic Comedy

Emma Craven’s four single friends join her at the table in their quest to find love, self-respect, and, above all, great food. Emma and Murry’s Grill chef Gary Parker have much in common. He loves to cook, she loves to eat—a match made in heaven. Or so Emma thinks at the onset until trouble arrives. Gary’s former girlfriend comes back on the scene, reed thin and confident, and wanting him back. Gary’s rejection shakes Emma’s belief in herself, making her question what she has to offer in a relationship. Determined not to become a bitter and disillusioned harpy like her boss’s wife, Emma decides to get over Gary and move on with her life. But that’s easier said than done, especially since every new man she meets and every bite of food she eats reminds her how much she misses the handsome, charismatic chef.

Uncaged Review:  Normally, I am an action-loving reader. Edge of my seat, taking me out of my own world and into a new and exciting, even a fantastical one is my happy place. Character and dialog driven books are normally harder to pull off for me. But I have to hand it to the author, a tale of friends and family, and love and heartbreak, really grabbed a hold of me. Five women, whose friendships are what we all want in life, whom meet every Saturday night for dinner and drinks, keeping up with each other’s lives and a bond that keeps them together. We center around Emma, who can’t remember the last date she’d been on, has an okay job, great friends and a family she loves. When she meets a chef, Gary, she begins to see a chance for love, until his ex fiancé enters the picture.

A charming story, with likeable and realistic characters that you easily get attached to. Toss in some laugh out loud moments and some quirky moments that will keep you smiling with the hit and miss romances and you have a great recipe for a story that will stay with you for a while. My only complaint is with all the food that is served in this book, I was hungry constantly. I’m already mapping out new restaurants. Reviewed by Cyrene

5 Stars

Food for Thought, Second Course
Nancy DeRosa
Romantic Comedy

Emma Craven’s excitement over marrying a chef is dimmed when her fiancé, Gary Parker, decides to open up a new restaurant. Against her better judgement, Emma soon finds herself the manager of The Green Spruce Grill. Her grades for her teaching-degree courses plummet. Her wedding plans are fraught with complications. And she now finds herself trying to please her family, friends, and Gary—all the while putting her own desires on the back burner. Making matters worse, Gary’s family shuns her, no matter what she does to try and win them over. Her dreams are slowly fading away, and she feels powerless to stop it. Desperate to halt the avalanche her life has become, she struggles to stand up for what she really wants. But her journey of self-discovery is more like an obstacle course—and if she can’t find the courage to stay true to herself, Emma risks losing not only the man she loves, but her self-respect and everything important to her as well…

Excerpt

Emma had a bad taste in her mouth and she hadn’t even sat down with Gary’s family for their first holiday dinner. Was this a bad omen of things to come?
Many hours and more traffic jams later, they finally pulled up to Gary’s childhood home. It was beautiful, just the sort of house Emma always hoped to own someday. It was a traditional white colonial, classic center hall, with black shutters. The cobble pathway curved up to the front steps in a most inviting way. A big red sleigh and three reindeer wrapped in tiny white lights welcomed tem on the front law. Emma gave a squeal of delight.
“Gary, you didn’t tell me you had lied in such a charming home. I love it. I can’t wait to see inside. It’s so late they’re probably on dessert by now.” Emma felt panic stricken.
Gary Laughed. “Don’t worry, they wouldn’t eat without us.”
Emma grabbed her overnight bag and practically skipped up the pathway toward the front steps. She rang the doorbell and waited in happy anticipation.
A small women with light blonde hair answered the door. She looked at Emma with limpid wet eyes. She didn’t greet her, nor did she smile. Feeling uncomfortable, Emma turned around toward the street and waited for Gary to rescue her.
Gary greeted his mother buoyantly, “Merry Christmas, Mom.”
Gary’s mother’s face suddenly lit up. “hello Gary.”
Gary proceeded to pick her up, swinging her around. Emma smiled as she watched them. When he finally put her down,, she beckoned them in.
“Mom,” Gary said as he put his arm around Emma. “Meet your future daughter-in-law. Emma, this is Carol. Mom, this is Emma.” Gary stood between them, beaming.
Emma put her hand out to grasp hers. “It’s nice to meet you Carol.”
Carol’s eyes flickered for a brief moment. Emma could swear she saw something unpleasant in that flicker. Just as quickly, it was gone.
“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” Carol said as she let her hand slide limply out of Emma’s grasp. “Come in. Let’s have a drink before dinner. You must be freezing and weary after that long trip. A nice glass of wine will warm you.”
“Hello Emma, I’m Frank, Gary’s Dad,” Frank said in a friendly greeting. Walking up to Emma, he gave her a wet kiss on her cheek. Emma liked him immediately He had the same reddish gold hair as Gary and the same warm smile. Gary’s sister Julie and her husband Dennis were in the foyer with their young daughter. Julie was also small like her mother with the same cold distant look in her eyes. Emma suddenly had an uneasy feeling as they all awkwardly stood in the foyer.

Uncaged Review:  I want all these ladies as my friends. Every last one of them. Specially Emma. They are real, they have their own flaws and they mess up and then they own up to it. In the second installment, Emma and Gary are engaged, getting ready to open The Green Spruce Grill. Emma is trying her best to help with the opening of the restaurant and still going to school for her masters to be able to teach. The conflicts are tossed at Emma and she’s getting more and more overwhelmed and Gary seems to have tunnel vision for the restaurant to the point I wanted to club him or kick some sense into him.

Will it work out? You will have to read it. And you will love these books. The author takes you on a journey into some everyday lives with real emotions, some roadblocks that are obstacles everyday people will come up against, and how one group of friends and family deal with it through love, laughter and good food. But seriously, get yourself some carrot sticks and celery to munch on while reading these books. You’ll start hungering for foods and planning restaurant destinations. Reviewed by Cyrene

5 Stars

Uncaged Review – Blue Wicked by Alan Jones

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Blue Wicked
Alan Jones
Crime Suspense/Noir

The tortured corpses of young alcoholics and drug addicts are turning up in Glasgow and only Eddie Henderson seems to know why. When he tries to tell the police, his information is ridiculed and he’s told to stop wasting their time.
One officer, junior detective Catherine Douglas, believes him, and together they set out to discover why the dregs of Glasgow’s underbelly are being found, dead and mutilated.

Uncaged Review: A crime book set in various places of Scotland. Vet Eddie is investigating some horrible cat murders until he learns that the killer is also hunting down people with drugs or alcohol abuse problems. He teams up with a junior detective Catherine Douglas and to get to the truth they come across the method the killer is using which is to mix an ingredient with a bottle of Blue Wicked.

This is the first book I’ve read by the author. It is such a good storyline well written. Not just of the human side but of the animal side too. Being an animal lover myself it was hard to when he describes what happens to the poor cats. But this is a problem that people should be aware still exists animal cruelty. I think Alan Jones makes a good point with this book. Reviewed by Jennifer

5 Stars

Uncaged Review: Curfew by Philip Harris – FREE READ

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Curfew
Philip Harris
Dystopian/Fantasy
FREE READ

War has raged for over 160 years, the reasons for the conflict long since forgotten. Violent gangs roam the streets of a city in chaos, preying on the innocent and the careless. Friends die. Family die.
But there are worse things in the darkness. Worse things beyond the curfew.

Uncaged Review: This is a short story, and the reason I like short stories, is I can get a feel for the author’s writing, and to see if it’s something I want to read more of. This is set in a dystopian future, where a war has been raging for over a hundred years, and the reasons for the fighting are no longer remembered. We follow one man’s journey from childhood. It’s a dark world, and there may be more reasons than just the war for that curfew…

This is a good short story. I would like to read more about this world, if the author ever goes there. The scenes are well described and even in a short amount of space, you get a good feel for the character and the world. Reviewed by Cyrene

4 Stars

Uncaged Review: The Old Man and the Princess by Sean-Paul Thomas

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

The Old Man and the Princess
Sean-Paul Thomas
Cozy Mystery

Would you believe a strange old man if he kidnapped you off the streets and told you that you and your dead parents were from another planet?
Is the old man, really, who he says he is? And is he telling Sersha the truth about who she is and where she is truly from?

An eccentric old Irish man, who claims to be ‘not of this Earth,’ kidnaps Sersha, a young, headstrong, Irish foster girl, from the streets of Galway and tries to convince her that her life’s destiny is tied to a mystical cave in the Scottish highlands.

But with strange and suspicious, underworld figures, violently on their trail, Sersha, struggles back and forth with the old man’s real identity and his far fetched intentions to whether he truly is genuine in his wild and fantastical beliefs. Or is he really just some mad and demented, old fool, having a mental breakdown in his twilight years.

Uncaged Review: Warning: This book was written in the Irish vernacular. For US buyers, be prepared for the unusual spelling and lilting language of the Irish.

With that said, this was a book which kept you guessing as to who was telling the truth until the very last chapters. It opens with the old man dreaming, seeing a father and son on the beach where the father is reading to the son, but he is unable to remember the title of the book. When it comes time to leave, the boy runs away from the father to a spot where he can see this mysterious cave before going back to the real world.
The next scene has the old man believing his life has been too long. He is in a secluded log cabin on the shore, dress in a black flea market suit, smoking a cigar, an old dog lying in the corner. It takes him a few minutes to recognize the old dog as he muses on the expected person(s) to come for him.
An intruder makes a scuffling noise as he comes up behind to old man before raising a gun to the back of his head. The old man lets the intruder know he heard him and goes to take a last puff on his cigar. When the gun clicks, the old dog barks, then attacks. The intruder kills the dog, angering the old man who attacks the surprised young man, beating him unconscious. After burying his dog, he stuffs the assassin into the boot of his auto and takes off, aware he will never return to the cabin.
Sersha is a teenager who is attempting to get a spot on a dance team. She is living with a set of foster parents. She is street wise and comes across has brash and hard. When the old man kidnaps her, she verbally shows her anger, even when he calls her Princess. He tells her she is a Princess from another world and he is taking her there to be with her real parents where she will rule her kingdom.
This is a case where the Stockholm syndrome is shown by how Sersha comes to care for the old man as he convinces her of needing to go to Scotland to get her home to her kingdom.
With that said, I’ll not give you any of the other twists and turns of the plot of this book. You go from laughter to tears, to fear during their journey. You aren’t sure as to the truth for Sersha or the old man until the end of the book.
Once you get the cadence of the speech, you can’t put it down, wondering if this is sci-fi or reality with a twist. I’m not telling which it is, you’ll have to read the book. The only other warning is for the violence in the book. This book would not be suitable for tweens and younger. Most teens will have seen worse on TV and video games.

It is an enticing story and one I’d recommend for those who like suspense with a good twist.
Reviewed by Barbara

4 1/2 Stars

Uncaged Review – Tales of the Mysterious and Macabre by Simon Parker

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Tales of the Mysterious and Macabre
Simon Parker
Horror/Shorts
Delve into the mind of a serial killer, bathe in the darkness and solitude that is Hell, fight the undead and unleash the demons. Tales of the Mysterious and Macabre will rip its way into your subconscious and mess with your perceptions, taking your mind to places unexplored and showing you the roots of your fears.

Uncaged Review: A collection of short stories of horror, the paranormal and some hauntings. Simon Parker isn’t your typical horror writer. He likes to write about a mixture of different things, from people selling there souls to the devil for a best-selling book, or a younger man trying to survive his family-handed business before it goes down the toilet.
One story that stayed with me should it ever happen in real life is Pet. The world turns upside down after a fever hits the world, turning people into zombies – one man struggles to continuing living. There’s all sorts of cool things in this story such as people wanting to buy zombies as pets, or buying zombies as cage fighters.

Simon isn’t just a talented writer. He is an artist with his own business in horror art and collectibles. He’s a family man at heart and has been lucky to have his paper mentioned in the local paper. For fans of anything mysterious and creepy this book is for you. Reviewed by Jennifer

5 Stars

 

 

Uncaged Review: Hidden Legacy by Christine Rees with Giveaway!

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

To read an interview with Christine and a preview of Hidden Legacy, please see the April issue of Uncaged Book Reviews.

The Hidden Legacy
Christine Rees
Young Adult/Paranormal

The curse of premonition follows Faye Lithyer, forcing her to witness death—over and over again.

When Faye moves in with her grandmother in Astoria, Oregon, her visions grow stronger. Faye watches a new friend fall victim to a murder in the not-so-distant future and becomes obsessed with preventing it from happening. However, Faye’s insecurity has her undecided whether she should tell her friend about their impending death or hunt down the murderer before it’s too late.

Faye will be faced with an epic choice that threatens to expose her abilities. Will she choose to save her friend from a monster or risk becoming one herself?

Uncaged Review: Faye is an outcast at her school, and after her father dies, her stepmother takes her to live with her grandmother. Plagued by the gift (or curse) of premonition, Faye feels like she’ll never fit in anywhere. Having visions of people that she’s never met dying will not really draw people to you. But when she gets to her new school, and begins to make friends – and then finds out that she’s not the only one with abilities. But the abilities that draws these kids together, could be what rips them apart too. Her latest vision is seeing her new friend Rachel, dying. For the first time she knows the person and they are still alive. But she needs to get to the bottom of it to save Rachel’s life, and she’ll need all the help she can get.

I’m not giving anything away, but this book is a home-run on all fronts. It started a tad slow, but when it picked up, it really picked up. I had a hard time putting this one down. The characters are likable, and the mystery and the twists that the book takes, surprises both the reader and the characters. I only predicted a couple things that happened in the book, and the pace was never let up. Great start to a series and I’m looking forward to the next one. Write Ms. Rees, write. Reviewed by Cyrene

5 Stars

Enter to win a signed copy of The Hidden Legacy in
paperback format, with a bookmark!

Between April 2 – June 11, 2017

Two winners!

Goodreads giveaway, HERE.

Uncaged Review: The Council by Kayla Krantz

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

The Council
Kayla Krantz
Epic Fantasy

The Council is the governing Coven over the Land of Five, a region entirely inhabited—and split apart—by witches with varying powers. Lilith Lace, a witch thought to be born powerless, happily resides in Ignis, the Coven of Fire, until she suddenly develops telekinesis, an ability only seen in some witches born in Mentis, the Coven of the Mind. When The Council finds out about her odd development, she’s taken under their wing and is finally told the truth—everything she’s learned about the Land of Five, herself included, have been nothing but lies.

Uncaged Review: Lilith is a witch who at first thoughts you believe to be powerless, until on her graduation day at the arcane ceremony. Iris White turns up creating havoc. She is one out of a lot of witches who call themselves the elementals, a group of witches who use black magic. Lilith is unsure about her life after speaking to Iris who tells her that what she’s been led to believe by her coven and her parents is all lies. Lilith must find out once and for all who she really is. If she can piece together what really happened. To her as a child that left her living the life of a cripple. She will find out the truth.
This is only book one in what I believe is to be a series of books. So we are really just learning who everyone is in this book and their stories. It was an enjoyable read and the subject of the storyline being witches. I only hope book two holds a lot more action in it between the good witches and the bad ones. Reviewed by Jennifer

3 Stars

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