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Uncaged Review: Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter by C.A. Verstraete

By
Cyrene Olson
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Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter
Horror
C.A. Verstraete

Every family has its secrets…

One hot August morning in 1892, Lizzie Borden picked up an axe and murdered her father and stepmother. Newspapers claim she did it for the oldest of reasons: family conflicts, jealousy and greed. But what if her parents were already dead? What if Lizzie slaughtered them because they’d become zombies?

Thrust into a horrific world where the walking dead are part of a shocking conspiracy to infect not only Fall River, Massachusetts, but also the world beyond, Lizzie battles to protect her sister, Emma, and her hometown from nightmarish ghouls and the evil forces controlling them.

Uncaged Review: 

Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter by C.A. Verstraete is an engaging horror story covering the axe murders of Lizzie Borden’s father and stepmother in 1892 and the consequent trial of Lizzie Borden, but with the sci-fi twist of adding zombies into the mix. When Lizzie finds first her step-mother, and then her father rotting on their feet, she is thrown into a tale of grief, danger and scandal, all the while attempting to hide the truth convincingly from the public eye. She suffers scrutiny and judgment by her peers as she wages war against the undead alongside her sister and a few allies belonging to a secretive organization called the Society.

C.A. Verstraete did a masterful job of portraying both the era within which the story takes place, and the characters themselves. It is easy to envision the setting given the details provided, and never is the reader overwhelmed with excessive adjectives or flowery prose. In fact, ‘flowery’ is possibly the worst possible descriptor for how the book is written, with its appropriately stomach-turning imagery and gritty atmosphere. It’s remarkably easy to allow yourself to be dragged into the pages and be wrapped up in the characters, who feel less like characters and more like people.

Lizzie, the main protagonist, has a good head on her shoulders. Given the time period and the fact that women were only just transitioning from less dominant roles as homemakers to breadwinners, Lizzie’s independence and strength of character are unexpected but refreshing. She’s very reasonable and takes an analytical approach to most things, refraining from petty or foolish behavior that would have most horror movie connoisseurs sighing in disappointment. At the same time, she is prone to bouts of grief and emotion, which makes her feel all the more believable and worthy of sympathy. The reader feels fear through the character as they go through the trials and tribulations she does, and it’s hard not to cheer for her. Her development is noticeable but Lizzie never becomes someone the reader wouldn’t recognize, which is a respectable feat of fiction as many authors tend to take it too far, or not far enough.

The story itself never feels stale, and it’s hard to gauge how the book will end until the reader is within a few pages of the conclusion. Something that can detract from a book like this is an overbearing romance arc, and while there is some romance explored within the pages of Lizzie Borden, it never distracts the reader from the real plot. It does occasionally distract the protagonist, but in an unobtrusive way that adds rather than takes away from the book as a whole. The conclusion itself is satisfying in that it doesn’t stray far from belief nor from the book’s genre. It isn’t a rosy happy-ever-after where the reader is all but guaranteed that nothing bad or challenging would ever happen to the good guys again, but the author wraps up the plot while leaving you with a taste of what could lay in Lizzie’s future.

All in all, Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter is a wonderfully-written piece and a delight to read. The editing is spot-on as there were no obvious spelling or grammatical errors to be seen, and the verbiage used was excellently-chosen and appropriate to the era. The setting is artfully portrayed and the plot covers its bases while wrapping up in a satisfying ending. The characters are consistent, and most importantly the protagonist is a likeable and believable heroine. If you are looking for a solid read, horror or otherwise, this is a book worth considering. Reviewed by Kaitlin

5stars-web

Uncaged Review – A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

As seen in Issue 4 of Uncaged Book Reviews.

A Shade of Vampire
Bella Forrest
Paranormal Romance/YA

On the evening of Sofia Claremont’s seventeenth birthday, she is sucked into a nightmare from which she cannot wake. A quiet evening walk along a beach brings her face to face with a dangerous pale creature that craves much more than her blood.

She is kidnapped to The Shade, an enchanted island where the sun is eternally forbidden to shine. An island uncharted by any map and ruled by the most powerful vampire coven on the planet. She wakes here as a slave, a captive in chains.
Sofia’s life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn when she is selected out of hundreds of girls to take up residence in the tree-top harem of Derek Novak, the dark royal prince.

Despite his addiction to power and obsessive thirst for her blood, Sofia soon realizes that the safest place on the island is within his quarters, and she must do all within her power to win him over if she is to survive even one more night.

Will she succeed? Or is she destined to the same fate that all other girls have met at the hands of the Novaks?

Uncaged Review:  This is a very strong series and sitting at 35 books strong already. I, of course, had to see what all the fuss is about with over 8K reviews on Amazon.

I’ve read the first three books in the series (thank goodness for KindleUnlimited) and the series is young adult oriented (so far) and the storyline is original – but it does have it’s issues.

Sofia is kidnapped on her 17th birthday and taken to an island that is shielded from the world by the magic of a witch, and it’s always night for the vampires. The humans that live on the island are either in a harem with a vampire, or they are living in the caves, and can be taken at anytime for food for the vampires. Some people were even born at the island. In the meantime, Derek Novak, the royal prince vampire has awoken from a long sleep and he takes Sofia into his harem. And from here a romance between Sofia and Derek brews slowly. But there is a lot of danger, as another coven wants to find and defeat this coven.

What’s wrong? When Derek wakes up from his long sleep, he’s very violent and has a hard time with control. He even backhands his sister, which I don’t think sends a good message at all since he isn’t punished at all for it. He even almost kills one of the other girls at his tree-top haven, and it’s brushed off by everyone but Sofia.

I am going to give strong caution to young adults on this one, at least to older teens because of some of the violence and abuse. It’s not rife throughout the book, but it’s enough to take notice. Reviewed by Cyrene

4 Stars

Uncaged Review – Fire and Midnight by Sandra Renee Appet with Excerpt!

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

As seen in Issue 4 of Uncaged Book Reviews. To read the interview with Sandra, please see the issue.

Fire and Midnight
Sandra Renee Appet
Contemporary Romance

With a glass of wine in hand, Jane Keegan’s finger is poised to delete the account her pushy BFF created for her on “The Cowboys” escort service website. Sure, she’s lonely, but not desperate. Then an image of sky-blue eyes and warm, tanned muscles jumps off the screen. And she finds herself hitting the “Book Now” button.

After all, why not? She’s a free, divorced woman on business in San Antonio. There’s nothing to lose…except her nerve. Especially when Mr. Tall Dark And Incredibly Sexy meets her at a River Walk bar—and his only-for-you smile turns her insides into a quivering mass of second thoughts.

Ryan Zeigler is enduring one last escort assignment as a favor before hanging up his Cowboys hat to run his own restaurant. Yet there’s something about the pretty New Yorker’s vulnerable grin and I’ve-got-baggage eyes that halts his usual dating M.O. in its tracks.

When Ryan sweetens the deal—no strings, no payment expected—Jane the good girl takes the bold step of letting her vixen out to play. But when it’s time to go home, her heart is at a crossroads. Is Ryan the real deal? Or is she letting yet another man take her heart for a ride?

Excerpt

Ryan eased her body against his car. Warmth from the metal of the door seeped through her thin skirt, doing nothing to cool down her heated skin. “You’re sexy, intelligent, and a hell of a lot of fun, and it’s taking every ounce of self-control for me to not kiss you, right here and now,” he said, his voice low and silky.
The air slipped from Jane’s lungs. She searched his face, wondering if he meant the words as a joke. She tried to look away, but his body was so close to hers that he dominated her field of vision, from the white shirt stretched over his broad shoulder, with a smattering of dark hair peeking from his unbuttoned collar, to his stubbled jaw and his full lips.
God, those lips.
She needed him to kiss her more than she needed to draw a fresh breath of air into her lungs. But what if she wasn’t good at it? She hadn’t kissed any man other than Nick in … how long? Almost twenty years?
“Querida.” He hooked his thumb under her chin, challenging her to meet his gaze.
“I love when you say that,” she whispered.
“Querida,” he repeated slower and trailed his fingers up her cheek and threaded them through her hair to the nape of her neck, pulling her closer.
She froze.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, capturing her stare.
“It’s just…” Truth seemed to be her only option. “This is embarrassing to admit, but I haven’t kissed anyone else in a very long time.”
“It’s just like riding a bicycle.”
“That’s easy for you to say.”
“And it’ll be easy for you to do, especially with those lips.” The palm of his free hand cupped her face, and he traced her bottom lip with his thumb. “Like I said, I’ve wanted to kiss you all night. Actually, all day and all night.”
Everything became dark as Ryan leaned in closer. His intoxicating scent overpowered Jane’s senses as his lips brushed hers, feather-soft, as if he was testing her. She opened her mouth just a little as a slow heat blanketed her body.
“Just like a bicycle,” he repeated and reclaimed her lips.
As if they knew exactly where to go, her hands snaked around his back, locking her body into his embrace. She whimpered into his mouth as his tongue began a leisurely exploration of her mouth.
Holy crap. Not only had it been a long time since she kissed someone else, it had been a very long time, maybe never, since someone had kissed her like that.
After a minute, Ryan pulled away but kept his hand on her chin. “Well, was it?” he murmured.
Jane’s eyes were still closed as she savored the kiss. “Was it what?” she asked, wishing time would stop so that they could remain leaning against his car on this quiet street forever.
“Was it just like riding a bike?”
She smiled. “I’m not sure. I think you’d better try it again so I can take off the training wheels.”

Uncaged Review:  When you get a book, that has descriptions so well, that you feel like you are right there with the characters instead of reading the book, you have a solid, engaging read, and this describes this book very well. After a bad break-up and divorce from her husband, Jane is not ready for any type of relationship, happy on her own in her own home. But when her BFF decides she needs to let loose and have some fun, she makes an account for Jane on an escort service called “The Cowboys” so she can have a bit of fun on her business trip to San Antonio. Jane almost deletes the account, until she sees one of the men, whose blue eyes captivate her. Figuring she has nothing to lose, she decides to go ahead with the first meeting with him afterall.

There is not much to dislike about this book. The descriptions of San Antonio takes you right to the River Walk. The romance between Jane and Ryan sets a nice pace, and there is a couple moments I wanted to smack some sense into Jane, but she does manage to come to her senses without my interference. I got so hooked on this story, that I ended up staying up half the night to finish it, and that means I was completely engaged. If you like romance, this book won’t disappoint. Reviewed by Cyrene

5 Stars

Uncaged Review – Jacq of Spades by Patricia Loofbourrow with Excerpt!

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

As seen in Issue 4 of Uncaged Book Reviews. To read the interview and review of the 2nd book in The Red Dog Conspiracy series – Queen of Diamonds, please see the issue.

The Jacq of Spades
Patricia Loofbourrow
Steampunk Noir

Kidnapping. Murder. Betrayal.

Would you put your life at risk for a child you barely know?

In a far future US, the once-beautiful domed neo-Victorian city of Bridges is now split between four crime families in an uneasy cease-fire. Social disparity increasing and its steam-driven infrastructure failing, a new faction is on the rise: the Red Dogs.

22 year old Jacqueline Spadros was kidnapped from her mother’s brothel and sold to the Spadros syndicate ten years ago. The murder of her best friend Air as he tried to save her from them haunts her nightmares. Now unwillingly married to one of the city’s biggest drug lords, she finds moments of freedom in a small-time private eye business, which she hides in fear of her sadistic father-in-law.

Air’s little brother disappears off his back porch and the Red Dogs are framed for it. With the help of a mysterious gentleman investigator hired by the Red Dogs to learn the truth, Jacqui pushes her abilities to their limits in hope of rescuing the child before the kidnapper disposes of him.

Dark, gritty, multi-layered Victorian-inspired detective neo-noir that keeps the reader guessing to the very end.

Excerpt

Mrs. Jacqueline Spadros, wife to the Spadros crime family heir, is secretly a private investigator. While in disguise, she’s been called to a shop in the slums …

~~~
“This is a recent picture?”
Mrs. Bryce nodded. “Yes, mum, taken before Yuletide. Maybe three weeks ago? Right after we moved here.”
“And you’re sure he didn’t run off?”
Mrs. Bryce’s brown eyes filled with tears. “No, mum, I swear. David was a good boy, in the midst of his chore-work. ‘Off to sweep the stair,’ he said, ‘I’ll be right back.’ He never came in.”
Thunder pealed. Harsh light illuminated the barren room.
I called myself an investigator, but I investigated minor matters: a missing dog, renters who moved without paying. So this case violated rules I laid for myself. I avoided police affairs …
“I can’t pay you …” Mrs. Bryce said.
… and I didn’t do a case without payment in advance. Not even this one.
“… but I’ll do whatever you like, anything, if you’ll help me.”
I never liked Eleanora. She never liked me. When she realized who I was ….
“Please, mum, I know how it looks. The police said he run off, but I know he was taken and they all ignore me.”
This woman lived most of her life a dozen blocks from this very point, well on the other side of that spiked wrought-iron fence encircling the Pot. Why would she expect the police to help an out-of-town widow with no Family connections and no bribe money? Had she really forgotten?
My borrowed corset pinched at the hips; it chafed with every move. I wanted to change into my own clothes, get away from this room full of bad memories and guilt.
I regarded the portrait, feeling melancholy: David looked just like him. “Show me where you last saw the boy.”
The Bryce’s back stair appeared much like any two blocks from the Pot: rickety wooden steps with rusty metal banisters leading down to a rat-infested alley.
Clouds loomed dark across the sky. The only real light came from an oil lamp far down the alley to our right. We took refuge from the downpour under the eaves, out of the wind.
A dark figure moved in the shadows twenty yards to our left. Something about him frightened me. I hoped the rain would hide our words and send him away.
“When your boy disappeared, did you find anything amiss?”
“Nothing at all. Everything was as it should be, except I found his little broom on the ground,” her voice broke, “and him gone.”
I surveyed the alley. It appeared normal … except …
I crossed towards a red spot on the far wall, near waist level. “Was this here before he went missing?”
“No, mum, at least, I don’t think so.”
I leaned over to examine the spot, Tenni’s corset stabbing at my midsection. A solid red silhouette of a dog, ink-stamped onto the wall.
The tower clock chimed three. The man began walking towards us.

————–

Uncaged Review:  This book is marketed as a futuristic post-apocalyptic, steampunk but for me personally, it reads more like an older Victorian-Gothic time. It doesn’t really give me a real sense of steampunk, only in small doses, like a domed city and inventors. Nor does it really give me a sense of a futuristic world, as after whatever catastrophe hit the planet – which I never learned, the people seemed to go backwards in their ways of life. I couldn’t actually believe that part of it so much, as what was learned in our day and age, would not have been lost, and here, it seems like people lost their knowledge of things like diabetes calling it the sugar disease.

Once you get past that issue, the storyline is very good. Very suspenseful, and the author truly digs out a well thought out world that is intricate and consistent. In this domed city of Bridges, the city is divided into four sections, each controlled by a crime family. Each of these quadrants have the family’s rich estates, and slum areas that are protected by the family they serve. In the middle, is the Pot, which is full of crime, brothels and the poorest of the poor. Jacquie – the voice of this story – is taken from the Pot as a young girl, set up to marry Tony, the son of the crime boss in one of the areas, and that’s where this story is set, after she is already 22 yrs. old and married to Tony. Jacqueline fancies herself a private investigator of sorts, and when a small boy is kidnapped, she goes to great lengths to find out what happened and to get the boy back to his mother. This is a dangerous mission, and could cost her the reputation of her Family and her life.

This is where the very intricate story shines. The work that she does, and the secrecy in what she does, from disguises and working with people she doesn’t even know if she can trust, turns this into a very good mystery. It does tend to get a bit confusing, as there are a lot of characters to keep track of, but the author helps out by giving you a rundown in the back of the book, a sort of who’s who.

It’s easy to read, with a good storyline and very nicely descriptive places. The ending didn’t really give a perfect answer to the mystery of the story, only a partial. You’ll have to wait to find out more in the next book, but it’s definitely worth the read for those who love a good mystery.

4 Stars

Uncaged Review – Joe’s Choice by Myra Nour

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

As seen in Issue 4 of Uncaged Book Reviews. A November Top Read.

Joe’s Choice
Myra Nour
Horror/Short Story

Waking from unconsciousness after being mugged, Joe staggers out of the alley toward the street. He finds chaos as he enters a zombie outbreak in progress. Scenes of gruesome horror make him want to run away, but Joe must quickly decide how he wants to handle a zombie apocalypse.

FREE READ!!

Uncaged Review: This is a great scene, that’s the best way to describe this short story, and what a ride! Joe wakes up in a garbage heap in an alleyway, having no idea how he got there, or even what his name is, except for a name tag on his shirt. As he finally gets up and starts to move toward the street, he hears sirens and screams. Thinking it’s an accident, Joe moves towards the street. What he sees, is people running and total chaos on the street, and several people lurching his way. As they get closer, Joe begins to believe he’s stumbled into seeing a film with zombies. But as Joe continues to watch, he realizes that it’s not a film. Joe is weak, and hurt and tries to follow the people that were running away.

This is a short story, and it’s described in such beautiful, gory detail, that you may lose your appetite (and I may have said that because I was very close to eating a meal when I read this story). Myra Nour is a master at endings that you don’t always expect, and this story is no different. This is a terrific short that could easily be a scene from a longer novel. Reviewed by Cyrene

5 Stars

Uncaged Review – Vampire’s Kiss by Ella Summers

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

As seen in Issue 4 of Uncaged Book Reviews. A November Top Read.

Vampire’s Kiss
Ella Summers
Urban Fantasy

Once you sip the Nectar of the gods, there’s no going back.

Leda Pierce is working as a paranormal bounty hunter on the Frontier, the dividing line between human civilization and the plains of monsters. Life is simple and the pay modest, but at least she has her family. That is, until a vampire hunt goes wrong and her brother goes missing, captured by the dark angels of hell.

With no magical powers of her own and no way to find him, Leda’s only option is to go to New York and join the Legion of Angels, an elite unit of supernatural soldiers with powers gifted to them by the gods themselves. If she can survive long enough to make it up the ranks, she will gain the magic she needs to find her brother.

But Leda soon finds herself on the wrong side of a conspiracy that will shake up the supernatural world—and at the mercy of a fiercely powerful and tempting angel.

Uncaged Review: This just made me mad. The book ended too soon! This world is a post-apocalyptic type world, after a battle between angels and demons. Demons are now outside the towns, behind a wall known as the Wastelands, and the angels have legions of soldiers trained to keep the peace. Leda, and her family are bounty hunters, bringing in the law-breaking individuals for the bounty. But having very little to no magical abilities, they focus on humans. But when one bounty goes south and it’s a vampire instead of a human, her brother Zane, who is telepathic is taken prisoner afterward by Dark Angels. Dark Angels are fallen angels, working with demons. Leda knows that the only way she can get the powers that will give her the ability to find her brother Zane, enrolls in the Legion of Angels. Here, the angel Nero, has taken a keen interest in her. She is trained until she is bloody and broken, healed, and trained again. But what they find out after a mission that turns into a trap, is that there is a lot more trouble going on that even the Legion didn’t know.

This book is all action, all with a kick-ass heroine with a sassy attitude and endears the reader to her pretty quickly. There wasn’t much romance in this book, but it is setting up and I am truly looking forward to this series continuing. Reviewed by Cyrene

5 Stars

UPDATE: The 2nd book in this series, Witch’s Cauldron released on November 4. And yes, it’s already on my Kindle. 

Uncaged Review – Prim and Proper Fate by Tami Lund

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

As seen in Issue 4 of Uncaged Book Reviews.

A top read for November.

Prim and Proper Fate
Tami Lund
Paranormal Romance

Brandon Haines hates Fates. As far as he’s concerned, they serve no good purpose.

Even Prim. She’s sex and candy walking, and he may not be able to get her out of his head, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to do anything about it.

Except now he needs her.

Because Gavin Rowan’s curse has been lifted, and Prim is the only one who can re-curse him. Otherwise, Brandon’s whole damn species will be annihilated.

Uncaged Review: This is a second book in a series, and I had not read the first one, so I was cautious going into it, hoping I wouldn’t be too lost, but the author does a great job and I never felt like I missed much at all by starting at book two. This is a classic tale of Light vs. Dark, and Fates are assigned to Chala, the only beings that can give birth to more Light Ones, who protect humanity from the Rakshasa – the Dark Ones. Without the Light Ones keeping them in check, the Rakshasa would end all human life. The problem lies in that in the story, there is only one Chala left, Sydney, who is mated to a cursed Rakshasa. With no one left to bring more Light Ones to the world, they must do all they can to protect the one Chala. Prim, is a Fate that has protected and released (to their respective mates) Chalas for centuries, and is hiding a secret that could affect the Light Ones world in a huge way.

This is a very original take in the fantasy world, and it was a very enjoyable read. Some things were predictable for me, but could be because I’m a heavy reader of fantasy. Good storyline, it does wrap up its storyline and leaves on a satisfactory ending, but it also sets up the next in the series quite well. Reviewed by Cyrene

4 1/2 Stars

Uncaged Review – Descended from Dragons by Tricia Owens

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

As seen in Issue 4 of Uncaged Book Reviews.

Descended from Dragons
Tricia Owens
Fantasy/Mythology

To save Sin City, she must battle Hell. Too bad the odds are against her.

Beneath the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas lies another city. A secret city in plain sight, full of warlocks and demons, shapeshifters and golems. A city that feeds off the chance magick that is generated by gamblers and which is ruled by mysterious beings called the Oddsmakers.

It is in this strange underbelly of the occult that Anne Moody runs a cursed pawn shop for the desperate, the curious, and the magickally inclined. The job can be tricky, but it keeps her under the radar. None of her customers have any inkling that she is a dragon sorceress with a power that’s been feared throughout history. One day, a visitor to her shop pawns a stone statue that is more than it appears. The statue is a gargoyle named Vale, who is shrouded in mystery and secrets. When she learns that Vale is possessed, and that the person responsible for cursing him plans to take over Las Vegas with a horde of demons from Hell, Anne realizes it is up to her to defy the Oddsmakers and save the city, and possibly the world.

Uncaged Review: Anne Moody runs a pawn shop in the seedier side of Las Vegas, the magickal seedier side that is. When a customer drops off and pawns a gargoyle statue, nothing will be the same. For the gargoyle is a shifter, but he’s been possessed by a demon. If Anne can’t free the demon, the demon will destroy the man inside.

This book spans about 48 hrs, and it’s fast, action-packed with a lot of humor and characters who are very endearing. With the paranormal world shifting hard toward magic lately, this urban fantasy is a good addition to that world. The romance was a tad rushed, and I’m not sure what the draw to Vale (the gargoyle shifter) was, as it really didn’t push that forward. There was some loop holes that could use cleaning up, like what Anne’s powers really are besides being of dragon descent. She’s supposedly a sorcerer, but I saw very little of that in this book. Even with these grievances, I’ll look forward to see what happens in the next book
Review by Cyrene

4 Stars

 

Uncaged Review: Sealed with a Kiss from Letterbox Love Stories with Excerpt by Lynn Crain

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

As seen in Issue 4 of Uncaged Book Reviews. To read the Uncaged interview with Lynn, please see the issue.

Letterbox Love Stories
Anthology
Lynn Crain – and more
Contemporary Romance

Blurb for Sealed with a Kiss by Lynn Crain

In 2084, time travelling detective, Tandi Reynolds, tipped off by a letter, needs to stop an assassin before he kills a newly elected leader. When she finds him in 1874, Vienna, it’s clear a cold blooded killer is only one of her problems. Time is fleeting, so falling in love with her contact, the charismatic Count Leopold Radetzky von Radetz, is a bad idea, but keeping her feelings in check is not easy when she relies on him for her every need.

 

Excerpt

She couldn’t believe she was here, nor when here was. True time travel had always been theoretically possible, but…she stretched her neck, trying not to think about it…she had a job to do, then hopefully return to her well-ordered life.
Hell, who was she kidding? Once she got back, her life would be anything but well-ordered as she’d be unique, being someone who had successfully time-travelled. Unfortunately, that would all be kept within the confines of the Time Travel Bureau as the world could never know how they were kept safe from the Desmond Draeggers of the world. They’d even made her sign a non-disclosure document before MI6 would let her step inside their damn time travel device.
Let’s face it, the only reason she was sent back here was that the letter had come to her and it was a direct threat on the man who would lead the European Union. She tried to get her bearings as she looked around her. It took a moment before she could see the lush grounds attached to a Viennese Palace. The gentle noise from the running water calmed her nerves as she moved, a little unsteadily, toward it.
She soon found herself at the edge of a magnificent fountain, complete with cherubs and horses and…what were those things? She leaned over, cupped her hands and pulled the cool water over her face. It did little to dissipate the nausea she felt welling up. She now realized she should not have eaten the huge pastrami sandwich the night before she left and heaved the contents of her stomach into the fountain.
The sharp intake of breath behind her, made her turn and sink to the ground with a slight moan. The handsome man with dark hair and blue eyes was talking to her but Tandi couldn’t understand a word he said even though she knew it was German. Any other time and she’d be drooling over how attractive the man was. Through her sickness haze, she reached up and pushed the small button behind her ear. To most, it would look like a mole but to her it would be a lifesaver as it would prompt her understanding of a language she wasn’t proficient in. And the tone of the man couldn’t be more clear.
“Tell me you didn’t just puke in my fountain?” He gave a disgusted click of his tongue and frowned at her before moving to her side. His hand went to her head. “You’re clammy. Guess time travel is rough going, huh?” He questioned, switching to English. Hauling her to her feet, he then swept her up in his arms when her knees buckled. “I guess you’re the great Tandi Reynolds, the woman sent to save the world.”

Uncaged Review:  This was the first time travel story I’ve read in quite a while, and even though it’s part of an anthology and was a short story, it was detailed enough to get a grasp on the characters and the time period, and that in itself is not an easy accomplishment.

The time we start out at, is the future, in 2084. Tandi, a detective – is sent a letter, that was sent to her from the past and tips her off to an assassination. When she takes the letter in, she finds that time travel is possible, and must head back to the time and era to meet with the Lord who sent the letter and stop the assassination attempt. She meets someone from the past that she never believed possible.

Since this is a short story, I won’t go into more details, as it will give too much away. This is well written, engaging, and an original storyline that had me completely invested and engaged. Perfect amount of suspense and very substantial for the length of the story. Reviewed by Cyrene

5stars-web

Uncaged Review – Victoria at Sea by M. Kate Quinn

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

As seen in Issue 4 of Uncaged Book Reviews. One of November’s Top Reads.

Victoria at Sea
M. Kate Quinn
Contemporary Romance

‘Why?’ has no place in what the heart knows for sure.

On the eve of their wedding, Victoria Gliden and fiancé, Owen Walker, call it quits. He accuses her of not being able to get over her deadbeat father’s vanishing act when she was a child and she and her cold feet run and don’t look back.

Victoria, an interior designer, has an important meeting on Cancun that could garner her a promotion and the plan had been to incorporate her presentation with the honeymoon cruise that’s journeying to the island. Since she’s sure Owen is on his way to Portland to escape the aftermath of their ruined wedding, Victoria takes the honeymoon cruise anyway. Only Owen has the same idea and they’re stuck with each other for six days, five nights.

When Tony Gliden, Victoria’s father, dies in a freak accident, he is sent back to Earth disguised as a crotchety old man with the mission to convince his daughter to believe in love. So, he, too boards the ship.

At sea, destiny takes a detour when Victoria befriends the quirky old man with kind eyes and together they join forces with a quartet of unabashed women in their fifties who drink pink martinis and flirt with the waitstaff but are wiser than they look. While trying to dodge Owen, Victoria’s new acquaintances help her face old wounds and confront new fears.

By journey’s end, will two broken hearts get their answer?

Uncaged Review: Such a charming story. Victoria breaks up with her fiancé, Owen, and takes the cruise ship trip they had planned for their honeymoon, to get away and since she has a meeting in Cancun with potential clients for the company she works for in New York, it will be the answer, or so she thinks. Owen also decides to take the same trip, before he leaves to move to Portland, Oregon to take over his father’s business. But neither of them counted on Gil….

The fun of this story is Tony, who is the lost and estranged father of Victoria. After he is killed, he wakes up in a place, that to decide his everlasting fate, he must prove himself. So the powers that be, send him to the ship, disguised as Gil, a charming, older gentleman and his duty is to help his daughter. Within six days. A lot of fun ensues. I have to admit, I wanted to slap Victoria many times and throw Shawna overboard, but the characters are memorable, fun and I would consider it a fun rainy day read. Reviewed by Cyrene

4 1/2 Stars

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