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Uncaged Review – Rebirth of Ruby’s Ranch by Rhonda Frankhouser

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Rebirth of Ruby’s Ranch
Rhonda Frankhouser
Ghost Paranormal Romance

After centuries of mystery and torment, Emma is chosen to fulfill the family legacy. When she’s called home to Ruby’s Ranch to care for her ailing mother, she’s torn between an undeniable romantic connection and a spiritual journey that requires heartbreaking sacrifice.

Matthew is a combo of charisma, confidence and honeyed heat. No longer the shy, gawky kid who sneaked hopeful glances, he’s a full-grown, passionate man determined to win Emma’s affections. When destiny deals her an unthinkable ultimatum, Matthew stands between her and the spiritual forces threatening to whisk her away.

Shona’s otherworldly presence vibrates with comfort and light when Emma finds him chanting over her mother’s sick bed. His healing energy instantly draws her in, encouraging her to accept her fate and leave her family and friends behind.

Will Emma relinquish her destiny to stay with her dedicated cowboy or be drawn into a new world by her mystical visitor?

Uncaged Review: With the final installment of this series, it comes to a satisfying ending. For some reason, I didn’t like the Matthew and Emma insta-love, even though Matthew had been pining for Emma almost his whole life. Emma returns to the ranch to help take care of her mother who has Covid. Being a nurse on the front lines, she’s exhausted, but with Ruby pregnant, she steps up. Then all the strangeness of Ruby’s ranch begins to start. The spirits of Augie and Shona start appearing more often, and Emma and the readers will finally have answers to the mysteries of the family. But Emma will have to make a hard decision to save her family.

This is an entertaining read, and really picks up the pace at the halfway point. The ending seemed a bit quick, but it answers a lot of questions and will have an ending befitting of this series. I was glad to read in the author’s notes at the end, is she plans to revisit this world with other characters, and I’m up for the ride. Reviewed by Cyrene

5 Stars

Uncaged Review – Savage is My Kingdom by L.A. McGinnis

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Savage is My Kingdom
L.A. McGinnis
Dark Fantasy Romance

Two ruthless kings at war.
A princess with a terrible power.
Four broken warriors sworn to protect her.

When I was dragged from my home by the Fae King’s vicious enforcer, I left my old life as a slave behind to become a pawn in an ancient game between two powerful brothers, possessing a stolen magic that could break apart kingdoms. Or forge a new one.

But I have a secret.

I can make this power mine, by sacrificing my most precious possession.

My innocence.

While ruthless males go to war over this terrible magic I never asked for, there is only one future for me. Claim the power, take the throne, become the queen this realm deserves. The closer I grow to my beautiful warriors, I discover I have more to lose than ever before.

Some say love conquers all, but our dark bond could leave this wicked realm in ruin.

Uncaged Review: This book is very aptly titled. This story is so layered, that the twists and turns in the road it takes is quite a ride. And it can be a brutal – with vivid descriptions of battles and the Fae in this world are vicious and cruel. Anaria was raised as a slave, to the Descendants, which are just the upscale of the Fae. Anaria never knew her parents or her background, only the beatings and torture delivered by her tormentors if she did the slightest thing wrong. Anaria is very young and naïve in the start of this story and we see her growth and coming into her own by the time you finish. Four males have come into her life, all vastly different, and all tasked with kidnapping Anaria and taking her to the Shadow King to keep her from the High Fae King.

I really got absorbed in this new world by this author. I have to admit there was so much going on that you have to pay attention, or you may have to back track. This is setting up to be a reverse harem, although there is some serious sex scenes, it’s only with one couple. But I expect that to change in the coming books. Reviewed by Cyrene

4.5 Stars

Uncaged Review – A Spell for a Duke by Amy Quinton

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

A Spell for a Duke
Amy Quinton
Historical Fantasy

Josie Bell is all about her job…
Miss Josephine Bell, witch, is tasked with apprehending a rogue demon before he obliterates London. But the Lycan assigned to assist her isn’t, strictly speaking, available…since she just arrested him.

Worse? Said incarcerated Lycan believes she’s his mate and isn’t exactly delighted by that unfortunate turn of events.
Her foolproof plan? Break Lycan out of gaol. Capture demon. Return Lycan to gaol.
Also: Don’t get caught. Fend off wolfie Mating Instinct. Ignore the man’s indecent smile.

But that kiss…

The MacKeane is all about his clan…
Lachlan Connor Daire MacKeane, The MacKeane, 7th Duke of Skye, and involuntary guest of Marshalsea Gaol has been arrested for murder. If he hadn’t been hoodwinked by a saucy witch, he’d be prowling the streets, hunting the real assassin.

Worse? Said impertinent witch is his mate, a more unsuitable lover he cannot conceive. She isn’t Lycan. A female wolf would never be so… devious.

Uncaged Review: I’m a heavy reader in both historical and fantasy genres, so this is a great way to spend an afternoon, with both of those genres together. For the beginning, this started a bit slow because of so many different characters and backgrounds that are involved and the two main characters in this book don’t truly meet until you are over 25% into the book, and then it’s in a fighting ring. In this world, Spellmaidens are the ones tasked with bringing in the supernaturals that have committed crimes and Josie is one of the best, although she doesn’t always follow the rules. And when she is tasked with bringing in a lycan name Lachlan, the trouble has only just begun.

After the two meet in the fighting ring, this story really gets going. Lycans and Spellmaidens are not supposed to mix, but the two will have a hard time remembering that. There is a lot of humor and both main characters are easy to like. This has plenty of action, romance and hot sex scenes and if you like the two different genres, this may be a great book to read.
Reviewed by Cyrene

4 Stars

Uncaged Review – Winter Solstice in the Crystal Castle by Jennifer Ivy Walker

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Winter Solstice in the Winter Castle
Jennifer Ivy Walker
Medieval Fantasy Romance

Gabrielle is a flame haired, fire hearted French princess who dreams of becoming a Valkyrie warrior queen like her Viking ancestors from Normandy. Sent to Paris to learn the proper etiquette for a future French queen, she is called home to le Château de Beaufort for a forced marriage to a man she loathes when her father the king’s precarious health takes a sudden turn for the worse.
Chivalrous, solitary knight Sir Bastien de Landuc suffers an impossible love for Gabrielle, the unattainable princess he can never have. Without a title of nobility, he is ineligible to compete in the tournament for her hand in marriage, despite his unparalleled equestrian skills and inimitable swordsmanship.
Yet, Yuletide wishes for a wondrous winter solstice in the glorious Crystal Castle might make impossible dreams come true.
Can the valiant knight win the coveted hand of his Viking Valkyrie?

Uncaged Review: This is a great winter story with a mix of myth, lore, fantasy and unrequited love. Gabrielle is a French princess and her ailing father wants to marry her off before he passes away to make sure she is taken care of. The man that is the likely candidate is a horrible man who mainly wants the lands and kingdom from Gabrielle’s inheritance that would help his pirate business by opening seaports to his illegal shipping. Sir Bastien has loved Gabrielle all his life, from teaching her to ride and fight from a very young age. Assigned as her personal guardian, Bastien loves what he can’t have. The King decides on a competition joust, and the winner will take Gabriel’s hand and Bastien finds he’s able to compete.

There is danger, action and a cast of great secondary characters that make up this story, Sir Lancelot of the Round Table makes an appearance with a special gift for a young lad. Full of action, this is a story that keep you glued to the pages.
Reviewed by Cyrene

5 Stars

Uncaged Review – Threads of Fate by M.C. Waring

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Threads of Fate
M.C. Waring
YA Paranormal

She wields the power to change fate. And it absolutely terrifies her.

When her sister is abducted by supernatural forces, Upstate New York high schooler Tasia is thrust into an ongoing shadow war between vampires and reapers, and awakens an incredible magical power within herself.

Too bad she’s too afraid to use it. The excruciating side effects don’t help things, either.

To find her sister, Tasia will need to team up with Ace–a handsome and mysterious vampire who steals her breath away (but hopefully not her blood). They’ll have to battle ghosts, vampires, reapers, and even werewolves as they navigate through two hostile worlds at war.

Uncaged Review: This is a good start to a series, and it’s original in a crowded genre. Tasia is tossed into the supernatural world, a world she never knew existed. She meets Ace and Sunny, brothers and vampire/reaper hybrids when she’s attacked on her way home from her job one night. That’s when she finds out that Remnants exist and that she has her own strange powers. This book has a great pace, and we learn a lot in this world with the excellent world building, but there are a lot of unanswered questions that may be answered in the following books in this series. One of my big questions is what is Tasia? Supposedly a human with reaper powers, we don’t get any clue as to what she could be. When she sees golden “threads” in her vision, she will need to learn what they are and how she can use them to save her sister.

There is a romance, it’s between Ace and Tasia, but reapers are not supposed to interact with humans. This is a clean romance and has good action scenes and a buzzing plot. It was enough to propel me toward book two. Reviewed by Cyrene

4 Stars

Uncaged Review – Accidental Magic by Nicole Hall

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Accidental Magic
Nicole Hall
Paranormal Romance

Magic is real, fairies are obnoxious, and everyone knew the truth but me…

Sera Allen needs a change. The family house she inherits is the perfect place for a fresh start, except for the sexy neighbor she’d ditched years before and the surprise fairies living across the street. Before long, she’s neck-deep in magic, Fae, and zombie bunnies, and her tenuous connection to her powers relies on the one man she wants to avoid.

Jake Thomas is happy in his mundane life. Magic is for other people. Until the girl who’d broken his heart moves back home and he finds himself drawn into the world of the Fae. She needs his help, but can he trust her to stick around this time when things get rough?

With a dark force threatening the town, they’ll have to face their pasts and overcome their distrust to have any chance at a future. Together they can make magic, but will it be enough?

Uncaged Review: This book is a good start to a series, and there is a lot going on. A lot of truths will be revealed and some of the mystery I guessed, some I didn’t. There was quite a bit of action and humor and it didn’t slow down too much. There was some repetitive explanations that could have been omitted, but all in all, it wasn’t hard to overlook. I think the ending was a bit rushed, and there wasn’t really a wrap up a couple side stories in the book, but maybe they will be addressed in later volumes.

The secondary characters were interesting, and reading ahead, I see that some of them are getting their own stories, which is intriguing. Nice start to a series. Reviewed by Cyrene

4 Stars

Uncaged Review – Star-Crossed Negotiations by Tessa McFionn

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Star-Crossed Negotiations
Tessa McFionn
SciFi Romance

In the Nexxus system, water is a scarce commodity. Vice Ambassador Kieran Phaetal has been given the monumental task to broker peace and heal the century’s old wound between the water planet of Westran Alpha and the savage denizens of Hexaka. As he boards the first available transport vessel, his thoughts focused on the future only to have his past rise up and kick him right in the gut.

It had been six years since Vanysha Kureen had seen the man who abandoned their love and destroyed her life. Six long years of climbing up from slavery as one of the Unsought, disowned and discarded, to become navigator and owner of The Royal Janstar. When an impromptu flight through the bloodiest quadrant of the Nexxus system drops into her lap, she finds her luck turning for the worst as she discovers Kieran is their passenger moments before her ship is shot down, crashing onto Hexaka in flames. With the rest of her crew injured or dead, it’s up to Vanysha and Kieran to search for help on the hostile desert planet.

Forced together by enemy fire, they must move beyond the anger and passion swirling between them to bring an end to the hostilities. With the fate of the Nexxus system at stake as well as her own happiness, can Vanysha dare to trust Kieran with her scarred and shattered heart or will his mission destroy their chance at forever?

Uncaged Review: This is one of those scifi books that doesn’t leave you hanging on complicated technology that it leaves you scratching your head. The technology is easy to grab hold of and suits the story well. This was a great scifi romance, and it grabbed my attention within the first couple of chapters and it was one of those books I was looking forward to getting back to.

Kieran is an ambassador, hiring passage to a remote hostile planet of Hexaka. Unknown to him, he hires Vanysha’s transport ship. Both have a history and both will need to come to terms with their pasts if they want to have a future. There is a good suspense in with this scifi romance and everything is not as it seems, and the characters are well developed. Vanysha is strong and stubborn and a survivor with a violent past as being sold on the slave auction by her parents. Kieran has been groomed for his role in politics and when they meet again 10 years later, much has changed for both. The secondary characters are a perfect foil, and this is a non-stop story that never lets off the gas. Here’s hoping the author has more up her sleeve in this world. Reviewed by Cyrene

5 Stars

Uncaged Review – Bound by Honor by Regan Walker

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Bound by Honor
Regan Walker
Scottish Historical

The friendship that changed the destiny of a nation…

In the waning years of the thirteenth century, two young noblemen form a bond that forever changes their destiny and that of Scotland’s. Their shared pledge of honor would endure for a lifetime to secure power in the Isles for Angus Og Macdonald and a crown for Robert Bruce. This is the story of their friendship, their times and the battle that secured their future.

Standing beside them would be two women from Ireland, Áine O’Cahan, the dark-haired beauty from Ulster, who captured the heart of the Lord of the Isles, and Elizabeth de Burgh, the fair Norman heiress who stood by her man, King Robert Bruce, though it would cost her dearly.

Enter the world of medieval Scotland and live the adventure!

Uncaged Review: This is a sweeping tale that encompasses the friendship and loyalty of 2 men, and the history around medieval Scotland when Robert the Bruce was reigning, and with battles for the freedom from England. Angus and Robert form an unbreakable bond after meeting when there is a meeting called for many families to discuss the future of Scotland. There is love interests in this book, and even though they are crucial to the story, this isn’t a historical romance in that respect. What this is, is a epic journey with real historical facts, there is so much research that had to go into this saga, that it boggles the mind. This is a bit longer of a book, but it really does bring you to medieval Scotland with descriptions that never slow the book down. This story is based on a lot of facts from the author’s own ancestry and she does them proud. Start from the first book and you may be surprised at the time you spend reading. Reviewed by Cyrene

5 Stars

Uncaged Review – Tempting the Sheriff by Anna Lowe

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Tempting the Sheriff
Anna Lowe
Medieval Fantasy Romance

Don’t believe what they tell you about Robin Hood, outlaw of Sherwood Forest. There never was such a man. But there is a woman…

That’s me, Robynne: fox shifter, master archer, and jaded outlaw with a fierce desire to avoid trouble. But when my impulsive brother and his merry band of misfits rob a passing carriage, they set off a chain of events that changes my destiny forever. Too late to stop them, I settle for the next best thing: taking from the rich and giving to the poor.

All well and good, except that puts the new sheriff of Nottingham hot on my trail. Operative word: hot, because unlike his predecessor, Daniel is a muscle- and duty-bound knight/dragon shifter freshly back from the Crusades. One who inspires all kinds of new desires…

As outlaw and sheriff, we’re sworn enemies, though we want the same things: justice for the downtrodden, the return of our rightful king, Richard…and a chance to indulge our wildest, most sizzling fantasies.

But that’s not so simple for us star-crossed lovers. The year is 1193 — an era of scheming princes, greedy warlords, and ruthless shifters. To earn our happily-ever-after, Daniel and I must rely on cunning, fierce fighting, and love that burns hotter than dragon fire.

I’ve never let rules, expectations, or impossible odds stop me…but I have to admit, this will be one hell of a challenge.

(And if you hear a canine growling, that’s my fox side. Challenge accepted.)

Uncaged Review: This is a master retelling of the Robin Hood tale, with a well rounded cast of shifters, which this author is known for. The outlaw of Nottingham is none other than Robynne, a crafty fox shifter who is talented with a bow and arrow. Her group of Merry Men include her brother Robert – a wolf shifter who needs a better education, Little John – a bear shifter and a few other shifters. Daniel, a dragon shifter and Robynne’s true mate, has returned from the Crusades and is given the post of acting sheriff of Nottingham. But sometimes him and Robynne are on the wrong side of each other with the law and when Robert gets captured and found guilty and sentenced to hanging, it will take all the Robynne, the clan and Daniel to save him.

This is a great book that had me hooked right away and so different from what I’ve read from this author. Plenty of action, romance and suspense. I’ve read several different Robin Hood retellings, and this is by far my favorite. This is a trilogy and I’ll be first in line to get the next one. Reviewed by Cyrene

5 Stars

Uncaged Review – Portrait of a Duke by Alexa Aston

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Portrait of a Duke
Alexa Aston
Historical Regency

A fun-loving man who has become a staid duke . . .

An independent lady who wishes to pursue her artistic bent . . .

A long-ago meeting which left a lasting impression on them both . . .

Daniel Judson, the Duke of Westfield, changed from a carefree young rogue into a sober duke once faced with a mountain of responsibilities after he assumed his grandfather’s title. After seeing both his sisters wed, Daniel knows it is finally time for him to take a wife in order to provide the necessary ducal heir.

Lady Margaret Townsend’s come-out was delayed by the ill health and subsequent deaths of her parents. Now an ancient four and twenty, she makes her debut into Polite Society—not to find a husband—but to secure important social connections within the ton in order to acquire commissions to paint their portraits, a dream she has long held.

Sparks surfaced during their initial encounter ten years ago. Their second introduction at the inaugural ball of the Season leaves Daniel certain he has found his duchess, while Margaret is confused by the never-known feelings stirring within her.

Will the duke convince this lady she can have both marriage and her art—or will her stubbornness to follow a chosen path have her miss out on love?

Uncaged Review: Lady Margaret has always placed 2nd fiddle to her beautiful sister. Her sister was doted on by their mother and when it came time for a match, they schemed to find her the best match with the most value and the best title. As Lady Margaret took care of her ailing mother and father, her debut wasn’t until she was 24 yrs old, much later than most debutantes. Having to live with her sister and her husband, Lady Margaret is thrust into the Polite Society to find her match and to move her out from her living situation by her sister Dolley. But Lady Margaret is an artist, inheriting the talent from her late Grandmama.

Daniel, the newly minted Duke, has finally agreed to find a wife. Daniel had met Lady Margaret during Dolley’s coming out when Lady Margaret was not quite 15 yrs old. He never forgot the spitfire and when he saw her again, he knew he’d found his match. But Lady Margaret has no intention of getting married, and Daniel will need to work for it.

This is a nice historical that is a great page turner. I was pulled into the pages almost immediately, and loved the characters and the original story. I liked that Daniel knew what he wanted, and that Lady Margaret was an independent planning on making a living on her paintings. An engaging, original storyline that is smart and addicting. Reviewed by Cyrene

4.5 Stars

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