Issue 3, October 2016

51eoshyctel-_sy346_Ancient Magic
Linsey Hall
Paranormal/New Adult

Cass Clereaux is good at two things: finding treasure and killing demons. Lying low is a close third—but not because she wants to be good at hiding. Cass is a FireSoul, one of the unlucky few to inherit a piece of the dragon’s soul. On the surface, the perks are sweet—she has the power to find and steal any type of magical treasure, including the powers of other supernaturals.

But it doesn’t come without a price—stealing powers requires that she kill, and others would destroy her if they discover what she is. In a world full of magic, hiding her powers is the only way to survive. Finding magical artifacts is the only ways to pay the bills. But it’s a dangerous job when you can’t use your magic.

When Aidan Merrick, the most powerful shifter in the city, hires her to find an ancient scroll, she doesn’t want to take the job. His immense amount of power reminds her of too much of murky memories from a past she can’t remember. But she has no choice. The scroll will reveal what she is. And if anyone finds out, she’s dead.

Uncaged Review: One of the hyped up series of the paranormal world, I had to see if it was as good as it’s been cracked up to be, and the answer is a resounding YES. This book is magic. No pun intended. Three young women, have been thrown together, know nothing of their past before they were 15 years old, and are known as Firesouls, ones that share a part of a Dragon’s Soul. But the organizations who keep control of magical people, and keep the magic from humans, will lock up Firesouls, because of their ability to steal magic from other wielders. So Cass, Nix and Del, have kept their magic hidden. And they’ve opened up a shop in the magic neighborhood known as Magic Bend. Cass hunts ancient magic items for whoever can pay. The shop has done well in the five years they’ve been running it, and along comes Aidan, The Origin shifter – gorgeous, talented with different magic including shifting into any animal, including an awesome Griffon. Aidan hires Cass to find a scroll, an ancient magic scroll that lists all of the major magic users. Cass needs to find the scroll also, to make sure no one else finds out about the Firesoul magic.

Lots of action, a lot of very original magic, and a fantastic storyline, makes this a must read for paranormal/fantasy lovers. There are 5 books planned for this series, 4 are out now and the last should release by the time this magazine is published. I’m looking forward to the rest. Reviewed by Cyrene

5stars-web

51xqbteeuwl-_sy346_Fallen Death
RB Austin
Fantasy Romance

Hurt. Maim. Kill.

An explosive, volatile demon lives inside Sarid.
The monster seeks murder and destruction. The man seeks peace; or a silence that can only be found in death.

Until he meets her.

But his secret could ruin everything.
Trust her instincts.
Asjhone will do anything to keep her son safe. She conceals her terror during the day, but when the sun goes down, it’s locks, chains, and nightmares.

Until she meets him.

Sarid is everything she’s dreamed of. He adores her son, is kind, and would never hurt her.
But her secret could ruin everything.
Life is made up of choices.

Lose his life or lose his love? Run from her past or stand up and fight?

They must confront their pasts together, and fight for their future against a demon determined to win.

Uncaged Review: This is a the third book in a series, and I had not read the first two, and the book stood up well as a standalone, but you will want to read the rest after reading one. The writing is superb, the characters are well flushed out, and the original story pulls you right in. And I like the fact that the author gives you a dictionary in the front of the book, to help understand all the new words and their meanings.

The warriors in this book are known as Behnshma, created to protect the Followers (humans) from the Fallen (dead beings created by Apollyon) that consume the souls of Followers to survive. Each of the Behnshma has their own strengths and powers. This story is about Sarid, who shares his soul with an Other (demon). Hearing the demon’s voice in his head, and at times losing control of him, puts everyone, including his warrior brothers at risk. Sarid has decided it was time to end his life, for the safety of everyone around him. Enter Asjhone and her son Keandre. Both with a brutal past, who seems to calm both Sarid and his demon.

This is well written, and the demon you will hate, and then love – is hell for Sarid, trying to control the demon from getting loose – as he destroys everything in his path with no regard once he breaks free. Sarid’s torture, Asjhone’s bitter past, and the witty banter from his achs (brothers) will have you turning the pages faster and reading way too long. You will laugh out loud at the boys, and ache for Asjhone and Keandra. The ending of this one is a satisfying one, and I’ll make time to continue on with this series. Reviewed by Cyrene

5stars-web

51i4u8sigcl-_sy346_The Night Man Cometh
Tony-Paul de Vissage
Horror

Limousin, France, 1249: In one night, Damien La Croix loses his life and his soul, as he willingly choses Undeath rather than perish of the Plague. Once risen as a vampire, he takes his betrothed into the dark with him, but something goes wrong and Antoinette perishes. Now, Damien begins a solitary walk through the corridors of time searching for that one person to take his beloved’s place.

Through Mankind’s long centuries, many women and one man cross his path, respond to his enticements, and are forced to make the choice. None survive to become his companion in the darkness, and so many are lost, now even Damien begins to ask himself the question: Is there no one for me to love…in spite of what I am?

…for when the Night Man Cometh, Death is never far behind…

Uncaged Review: This is the first of a kind for me. This book doesn’t merely span years or even decades, it spans more than a millennia in the life and death and undeath of Damian laCroix. We begin in 1249, France, where the plague is ravaging the village of Limousin. Damian is the son of the Marquix, and a selfish man, but also vulnerable at the same time. His only wish is to live and marry his love, Antoinette, but the plague has taken a hold of her. Desperate and inconsolable, Damian wanders into the forest, and to the large pit that has been dug to throw in the bodies of the villagers who have passed on. Here he meets LeMaitre, a sansmort, or vampire. In his desperation to not catch the plague, Damian makes a deal to be Turned with LeMaitre. When he is Turned, he goes to his Antoinette, to be able to “save” her, by turning her as she’s near death from the plague, so they can be together forever.

I can’t go into the full story, but there is betrayal, and over the course of the book, you see the creature that he is along with the humanity that still exists within him. The only thing that Damian is looking for – a woman that he can love forever.

This book is not a vampire romance, nor is it a nosferatu, with the vampire only a monster. It lies somewhere in the middle, as it chronicles this very long unlife of Damian. This book has a very dark tone, but the ending surprised me. Well worth the read for vampire fiction, and highly recommended, although not for the faint of heart.Reviewed by Cyrene

5stars-web

51taseaoqkl-_sy346_Dark Heart of the Sun
S.K. Ryder
Paranormal Romance

She is determined to live life on her own terms. Destiny has other plans.

Rookie journalist Cassidy Chandler wakes to an ugly bruise on her neck, a hole in her memory, and a fiancé who seems to know more about what happened than he’s telling. It’s enough to make Cassidy call off the engagement and move out, even if that means trading a posh South Florida mansion for a dilapidated beach house. Unfortunately, she also trades one devious man for another questionable character in her unexpected new roommate: the darkly enigmatic and exasperatingly French Dominic Marchant.

For Dominic Marchant secrecy is a matter of survival. As a newborn vampire with dangerous enemies, he’s sure the headstrong young woman invading his lair with an unknown vampire’s mark on her throat is about to get him killed. But the charming Cassidy resists his every effort to make her leave and even embroils him in her own tumultuous life. Before he knows it, she has stolen his heart and helps him rediscover his lost humanity. Now he’s fighting to protect her not only from the ancient vampires hunting him, but also from his own deadly desire for her.

But her secretive ex isn’t done with her yet, and neither is the dark prophecy Cassidy and Dominic’s unlikely relationship has set in motion. Together they are swept up in a battle where nothing is as it seems, love and deception are the weapons of choice, and the only way to survive is to risk everything—for each other.

Uncaged Review:

Cassidy is trying to make her way as a journalist, and right away in the beginning, she is breaking up with her very wealthy finance, Jackson – and moving out on her own. Which is hard to do with her very unhealthy bank account. She ends up renting a cottage in shambles near the beach. Little does she know, that the lower bedroom is already occupied, and by a very hot guy, Dominic. Little does Cassidy know, but she’s about to be thrown into a world she never knew existed.

This was fast-paced read, with plenty of action, romance and witty dialog. Dominic is at times, the monster he has become, and other times the most romantic and endearing character. The characters are well flushed out, and there is plenty of drama and action. A couple twists in the story makes it a great read. Looking forward to this story continuing.

Reviewed by Cyrene

5stars-web

61hbcfswbbl-_sy346_Drop Dead Gorgeous
Donald Allen Kirch
Horror/SciFi

“Would you like to hear a story?”

The man couldn’t help himself. His captor was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her powerful eyes held his attention and made him forget that she had him confined in a basement; his hands and feet bound with duct tape. His heart raced as he meekly nodded his head ‘yes’ to the question.

After getting past the terror and discomfort, he reasoned that there was nothing to worry about. He would be missed. He had loved ones who would call the police. All he had to do was wait. Letting this woman tell him a story was as good a stall as any.

The mysterious woman weaved a tale of betrayed love and unwanted, unnatural experiments placed upon her. Of a loving wife, working on a top secret government program. Of a husband searching for love in all the wrong places. The prisoner couldn’t believe what he was being told. A descent into insanity, fueled by a jealous rage, ended with using the tools of science for torture and revenge.

With every blink of her lovely eyes, licking of her full lips, and heaving of her perfect breasts, the captor entertained a story most bizarre. Of a woman bent on teaching her cheating husband a lesson.

The prisoner wondered….”Am I next?”

Uncaged Review: This has to be one of the weirdest, most twisted, and completely engaging books I never expected to read. A whole lot of horror, dashed with a bit of sci-fi, and a sprinkling of humor, and emotionally – you never know who to cheer for. Do you fall for cheating Ray, or cheating Steve? I never did decide.

So we start with Ray, who is kidnapped by Eve, and wakes up bound and tied in a basement with rotting corpses in a corner. And it’s only getting started. Wait until Ray is forced to listen to Eve’s story of how she came to be as she is. You will hate Ray, and then feel sorry for him. There is a roller coaster of emotions in your decisions to like/hate these characters and it doesn’t let up. And wait until you meet Steve and Annabelle. Dr. Frankenstein could learn something from these characters. Great read, very original storyline – worthy of its rating.

Reviewed by Cyrene

5stars-web

51z0ataa29l-_sy346_Lost Son
Marcus Abshire
Fantasy/Atlantean

 

When Atlantis rises from the ocean floor, will humanity live to see the next sunrise? Ever since Jack was a child his only friend was his dog, Neal, an Atlantean SENTINEL, made to counsel, guide, and protect him. Now as a man, he and Neal use their unique abilities to save missing children. When a woman walks through his door, desperate to find her daughter, Jack does what he does best and is soon swept up in a plot to bring about a new age of Atlantis at the cost of millions of human lives. Can Jack and Neal stop Warlord Karakatos, or will he usher in a new age of Atlantean rule on the bodies of humanity?

Uncaged Review: This is the best book I’ve read about Atlantis in a very long time. Jack is an Atlantean, who finds kids that have gone missing, along with his Sentinel who looks like a black Labrador, Neil – who has been with him for his whole life and they communicate through their mind. The author does a great job with this task, and it never gets confusing. Jack is faster and stronger than normal humans, and is content with what he does in his life. When Jack goes after a young girl, and finds out she is also Atlantean, all hell breaks loose, and someone is now out to get him too. When the young girl, Kim, and another Atlantean woman who came to Jack for help are kidnapped, Jack will need to travel back to the sunken city to rescue them, and in the process, learn the truth about his heritage and the city.

A lot of great action scenes, with a Warlord trying to take control of both Atlantis and raise it back to the surface and take control of the world in the process, has Jack scrambling to stop him. The author also introduces werewolves and vampires, and how they came to be is very original and creative way. There was a lot of humor, violence, and great fight scenes and the author gives us terrific character and world building. The ending ties up the storyline well, but leaves it open for sequels.

Reviewed by Cyrene

5stars-web

51owetpykrl-_sy346_Faerie Blood
Emma L. Adams
Urban Fantasy

 

I’m Ivy Lane, and if I never see another faerie again, it’ll be too soon.

Twenty years after the faeries came and destroyed the world as we knew it, I use my specialist skills to keep rogue faeries in line and ensure humans and their magically gifted neighbours can coexist (relatively) peacefully.

Nobody knows those skills came from the darkest corner of Faerie itself.

When a human child disappears, replaced with a faerie changeling, I have to choose between taking the safe road or exposing my own history with the faeries to the seductively dangerous head of the Mage Lords. He’s the exact kind of distraction I don’t need, but it’s work with him or lose my chance to save the victims. It’ll take all my skills to catch the kidnappers and stop Faerie’s dark denizens overrunning the city — but if the faerie lords find out about the magic I stole last time I went into their realm, running won’t save me this time…

Uncaged Review: This is the start of a series, that is 4 books in so far, and it’s a good one. Non-stop action, a heroine you can root for, and a gorgeous mage sets up this wonderfully told story of Ivy, a mortal woman, who escaped from the faerie realm ten years ago alive, something no one else has ever done. Working as a freelancer to a man whose clients are supernaturals, Ivy risks her life over and over, but she gets the job done. Having some faerie power of her own sure doesn’t hurt. But when some teenage kids go missing, and it seems like the faeries and necromancers are involved, Lord Colton – the head mage, partners (much to Ivy’s dismay) with her to solve the case. The case becomes so much more than missing children.

There is only a hint of romance in this book, but it does set up nicely for the next book. This is great new series to the urban fantasy genre, and I’m looking forward to the next book. Reviewed by Cyrene

Reviewed by Cyrene

5stars-web