Nate Temple has an appointment in Hell. One he can’t reschedule…
After recent events, Nate took some much-deserved time off for a little rest and relaxation. But when he finally returns home to attend what should have been a celebration of love, he finds insidious fear infecting the streets of St. Louis.
Paranoia. Chaos. Anarchy. It seems every supernatural family in town is sick and tired of Nate and wants to put him in his place. The worst part…all his friends seem to agree.
With everyone else fighting to prevent war between the families, Nate takes two of his scariest friends on a walk down that famous path paved with good intentions—to those eternal pits of despair—so he can finally demand some real answers from his parents.
He definitely never thought his actions could make Hell any worse than it already was…
Uncaged Review: I’m not sure how Mr. Silvers keeps upping his game on these books, but I think this is one of my favorites so far, the ninth book into the series. This time, there is someone passing along discontent within the wolves, dragons and vampires. And they all want Nate to stand back from it all. Along with all the problems he’s facing with a potential war coming between shifters, Nate needs to go to Hell to question his parents. But making it out of Hell is going to be a lot harder than getting in…
This book has a great suspense surrounding it, and answers some questions that have been lingering for a few books now. Most of the supporting cast are here in top form, and Cassie from Kansas City (Feathers and Fire spin-off series) remains throughout the book. I’m even more hooked on the Nate Temple series than ever before. This series should be picked up for a show, as long as they do it justice. Reviewed by Cyrene
Stacy Macken has one goal in mind: saving her renowned history center from greedy creditors. Losing it would be a catastrophe—one she doesn’t know how she’ll avoid. Until Aaron Fielding arrives. To all human eyes, he is just like any man, but he reminds Stacy of one of the fae. He certainly enchants her like a fae lover would. But Stacy suspects there is more to this sexy fellow, with his tales of the Tuatha dé Danann, and magical warriors from Celtic legend who protect humanity from a wicked enemy seeking their destruction. Does his appearance mean the end of the world imminent?
Can she, a studious woman more intent on history books with no training in or love of war, possibly have anything to offer when a long-prophesied druidic battle explodes around her?
Uncaged Review: This was a very slow start for me, and I didn’t feel really engaged with the characters or even the story until a bit past the halfway point. It turns into a decent fantasy and suspense, but some of the dream sequences throws me off, since these are part of Stacy’s past lives. One of my gripes is almost every time that Aaron is around Stacy, we get the inner voices from both of them of how much they are attracted to each other, but won’t act on it. The romance is a bit repetitive and boring between the two, I never felt the urgency as a reader.
The pros of the book is that the book does get moving well and this has a lot of different things going on at the same time. The mythology and the fae are a great touch and it was an enjoyable read. Reviewed by Cyrene
Welcome to Uncaged! You will be releasing, A Springtime Scandal with Dragonblade Publishing. Can you tell us more about the book? Is this part of an ongoing series?
Thanks for having me! Yes, I’m so excited to release this book. It’s Book One in A Lord For All Seasons based around four sisters who each find love in spring, summer, autumn, and winter respectively. I absolutely loved writing this one and I think readers are going to love it, too!
What is the most difficult scene for you to write? What is the easiest?
The banter between my characters all comes easiest to me. I sort of just let them run with it – sometimes I surprise myself with where the dialogue takes me! I’d say the hardest scene in A Springtime Scandal was the first spicy one. In historical you have to be careful to keep things relatively realistic, so I need to think carefully about setting the tone and how the characters would react and interact afterwards.
Do you have a favorite character you’ve written? Has there been a character that’s been hard to write about?
I honestly think The Templeworth sisters from this new series are my favourite. I absolutely love their relationship with each other, and they have such distinct personalities that bounce well off each other. I have five sisters of my own so I definitely drew on some experience when writing their relationship – and their bickering!
How do you come up with the title to your books?
I have no idea lol! Usually, I’ll start a book by imagining one scene – one scenario that pops into my head and a whole story or series will come from that. It’s aways idea first then title to match.
For A Springtime Scandal, I knew I wanted to do a series about siblings, then the seasons felt like a really fun way to give them all their spotlight. So the titles came from there.
What behind-the-scenes tidbit in your life would probably surprise your readers the most?
Okay, this was a LONG time ago but I used to be a belly dancer! I did gigs, shows and everything. Sadly, I absolutely do not have it anymore but it was definitely fun while it lasted!
Which comes first, the plot or the characters in the planning stages?
It depends on what I’m writing. So in Highway Revenge, I knew I wanted to flip the script so to speak, and have a female highway robber so the plot came first. But it developed into a series so the second and third books were definitely more character centric.
In my Royals of Aldonia series, the focus was very much character first. In that I knew I was writing about sibling royals and their plots came secondary to that.
Read the rest of the interview in Uncaged Book Reviews, linked below.
Nadine Millard is an international best-selling author hailing from Dublin, Ireland. Having studied and then worked in law for a number of years, Nadine began to live her dream of writing when she had the third of her three children.
She released her debut novel in 2014 and has been writing ever since.
When she’s not writing she can be found reading anything she can get her hands on, ferrying her three children to school and clubs, spoiling her cat, her dog, and snatching time with her long-suffering husband!
Elodie Templeworth has always been the good sister. The well-behaved sister. The sister on whose shoulders the fate of their family rested.
With three incorrigible younger siblings, Elodie has always made sure she was perfect, above reproach with not a hint of scandal attached to her name. And she was doing a wonderful job of it, too. Until him.
Christian Harrison, Viscount of Brentford could think of little worse than being stuck in some small, country hamlet with nobody and nothing to entertain him. The beautiful Elodie Templeworth had caught his eye. But after a short time in her company he realized that even beauty couldn’t make up for boring, pious purity.
An unfortunate misunderstanding leads to a potential scandal for Elodie and Christian leading Christian to discover that all is not so innocent and demure with the fiery Miss Templeworth. And he’s more than a little intrigued by the passion lurking beneath her rigid composure. Not enough to help her out of a sticky situation though.
He’s ready to wash his hands of Elodie, her family, and the madcap town they all live in. But Elodie has different ideas. With little options left available to her, she decides the viscount is going to help her escape her village, and the consequences of their actions, with or without his knowledge.
Their forced proximity isn’t what either of them wanted, but as time goes on, and attraction grows, perhaps it’s not so bad after all.
Excerpt
“Sh-should we eat?” she asked trying and failing to sound nonchalant.
“Should we eat?”
Had he yelled, Elodie would have felt rather miffed. But his voice was low and deathly quiet, and infinitely more intimidating because of it.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
He stared at her, a scowl darkening his usually bright blue eyes.
“Miss Templeworth, have you completely taken leave of your senses?”
“No, I just –“
“You just endangered yourself. That’s what you just did. Do you have any idea what might have befallen you if –“
“If what?” she asked when he drew to a sudden stop.
“If I were less than gentlemanly, Miss Templeworth.” Elodie could only imagine that she looked as sceptical as she felt for his frown deepened further still.
“You do not agree that I have acted the gentleman?” he asked and seemed genuinely astounded. Perhaps a little hurt.
“Well, it’s just that you aren’t making this very easy or pleasant frankly. And –“
“Easy?” he spluttered. “Pleasant? What would you have me do, Elodie? Fall to my knees and thank the gods that I have a runaway madwoman for company?”
“That’s not very gentlemanlike,” she chided and then wondered if someone’s head might actually explode in anger, for the viscount looked as though that were a real possibility right now.
She listened, grudgingly impressed that he seemed to know so many curses in so many languages. At least, she assumed he was cursing based on the English ones that she understood and most certainly did not approve of.
Swearing in the company of a lady was definitely not gentlemanly though it seemed prudent not to mention that at the moment.
After an age, he calmed. Throwing his head back and whispering what sounded like a another prayer for patience, he finally levelled her once more with his ice-cold stare.
“You have no idea the depths of ungentlemanly behaviour to which men can sink, Miss Templeworth. If you did, you never would have taken such a foolish risk.”
Elodie felt a shiver of fear at his words.
She wasn’t quite so naïve as he seemed to think, but she was aware that she’d lived a rather sheltered life, too.
Nevertheless, no matter what he thought of her sense and intelligence, she wouldn’t have gotten into just anyone’s carriage.
Read the rest of the excerpt and the interview in the issue below.
A spunky private investigator faces off against a corrupt government when she’s framed for murder and forced to run to New York City, where her own secrets might just get her killed.
Yesterday I made a terrible mistake. I trusted the wrong people for the right reasons. Now my mentor’s dead and I’m a wanted felon, running to the one place I can’t go—New York City.
I have secrets there I’ve never told anyone.
The only way out of this mess is to infiltrate the most infamous prison in the world and rescue a wealthy Elemental. Easy-peasy, right?
There’s just one problem. I’ve partnered up with Gabriel Vanguard, and the longer we work together, the harder it is to keep my past hidden.
New York is heating up. I just hope we don’t burn it down.
Uncaged Review: This is an author that I’ve enjoyed in the past, and this book is the first in a different series. A cosmic event called the Surge, ended up turning a third of the population with magical abilities, or Elementals and in order to keep tabs on them, they have to register with the government and if they don’t and get caught, they can be sentenced to Devilton, a magical lock up prison. Andy has been keeping her secrets for a long time, and hiding as a private investigator. Soon things will turn upside down and Andy will go on the run, and it gets more complicated as it goes.
I like the premise of this, and the world that is building, but I hated how this hit a major cliffhanger at the end. A lot of things will begin to make sense in the last third of the book, and it has my interest enough to go on. There are some very questionable things going on, some things were answered, and some garnered more questions. But I’ll move on to book two to see how this ends up. Reviewed by Cyrene
Welcome to Uncaged! You will be releasing, Highland Soul in March. Can you tell us more about this book and this new series for Dragonblade Publishing?
Thank you for having me, it is an honor to be here. To answer your question, Highland Soul is book 1 of my new Scottish romance series called Highland Outcasts. From heroes to outcasts in the blink of an eye, these four men need to find redemption in order to be welcomed back into the clan. What did they do to be considered outcasts? All they did was to break a few tavern rules at the Horn and Hoof, owned by old Callum MacKeefe – the crazy grandfather of their chieftain.
What is the most difficult scene for you to write? What is the easiest?
Since the four books of the Highland Outcasts include other characters of my MacKeefe clan from some of my other series, the most difficult part is to tie it all in and make it work. I’m not one for keeping good records of things like age of characters, hair and eye color, siblings or children, or even names of castles, etc. Therefore, I have to go back and look up all the answers in my past books and that tends to be very time-consuming. The easiest part to write for me, is dialogue. I LOVE dialogue and use it heavily. Actually, I guess you could say I can hear the voices of my characters in my head, and just kind of take dictation and write down what they are saying to each other. Easy!
Do you have a favorite character you’ve written? Has there been a character that’s been hard to write about?
One of my favorite characters from when I first created the MacKeefe clan is that rugged warrior Highlander, Storm MacKeefe. His story can be found in Lady Renegade – Book 2 of my Legacy of the Blade Series. He eventually is chieftain, and shows up in many more of my following series as well. As for the character that is hard to write . . . I’d have to say it is the one that won’t do what I want him or her to do, and who goes off in a direction all their own. Yes, I let my characters get away with it, and I can’t control them no matter how hard I try. A lot of times they surprise me with what they come up with regarding their backgrounds and plot advancement, or in what they say or do. There will be times when I get to the end of a chapter and wonder what the heck is going to happen next, because I honestly have NO idea.
How do you come up with the title to your books?
For me, the title of my book is always decided before I even start writing, and is also the last words of the book. Highland Soul came about because I wanted to tie in the fact that my heroine was the daughter of a cordwainer – shoemaker. (Sole – soul, get it? Plus, my hero has lots of soul.) Highland Flame – Book 2 of my Highland Outcasts Series incorporates the fact that the heroine is the widow of a chandler – candlemaker. (The flame is for the candle and also the attraction between the hero and heroine.) The rest of the series that will release this year consists of two more books. Highland Sky – where my hero needs to help the heroine and her clan repair thatched roofs, since he caught the roof of the tavern on fire. And the last book is Highland Silver. In this story, a silver chalice plays a big part of the plot. The hero has lost the chieftain’s chalice, and the heroine ends up having it. She’s reluctant to give it up and wears it connected to a chain around her waist.
Read the rest of the interview in the issue linked below.
Elizabeth Rose is the bestselling, award-winning author of nearly 100 books! She writes medieval, paranormal, small town contemporary and western romance. Elizabeth has been writing romance for over twenty-five years, her first book being published in 2000. She lives in the suburbs of Chicago and can be found in her ‘writing hammock’ in her secret garden during the summer months, creating her latest novel.
Can a Highlander and a cordwainer’s daughter surrender to love, heart and soul?
Welcome to book one in the adventurous new series Highland Outcasts from bestselling author Elizabeth Rose!
From admired warriors to outcasts in a blink of an eye, these rugged Highlanders are out to find redemption.
Gluttony, lust, pride, and greed, might sound like deadly sins. However, they are nothing compared to the wrath of Old Callum MacKeefe if you break his rules while drinking in his tavern!
The Accused: Highlander, Gavin MacKeefe. He’s been called gluttonous because of his never-ending love of food and drink.
The Crime: Gavin foolishly breaks some of Old Callum MacKeefe’s tavern rules and ends up as an outcast of the clan. His biggest offense is breaking rule number one: Never waste Old Callum’s precious, homemade Mountain Magic whisky. His second mistake was breaking rule number nine: Never step on, or soil Callum’s Cordovan leather boots.
The Punishment: Gavin is sent to town to help the cordwainer’s daughter since her father was attacked and left for dead. He also needs to help construct and bring back a pair of Cordovan leather boots for Callum. If not, he’ll never be welcomed back into the clan. The cordwainer’s daughter takes him under her wing, but he discovers she needs his help with her family matters even more than he needs her.
The Cordwainer’s Daughter: Davita is the cordwainer’s daughter, trying to save their shoe business in her father’s absence. She’s asked for help from the castle. To her dismay, they’ve sent her the Highlander, Gavin MacKeefe. She’s seen this man more than once drinking too much in the town’s tavern. In a desperate deal with the MacKeefes, she promises to keep him away from whisky and to help him construct a pair of Cordovan leather boots. It should be a simple task, but when he turns out to be her savior, she has a hard time letting him go.
Two people from different walks of life find that they need each other more than they think. But can a Highlander and a cordwainer’s daughter find happiness together? One of them will have to give up everything they love if they are to make this work. Love acts in strange ways. Sometimes, it steals one’s heart and soul.
Enjoy an excerpt from Highland Soul
“Open the bluidy cell door and let us out,” shouted Gavin, his deep voice echoing off the cold, stone walls of the dungeon of Hermitage Castle. His long fingers wrapped around the rusty iron bars and he shook the locked door with angry fists. If his teeth hadn’t been clenched, he was sure they would have rattled in his head from the jolting movement.
“It’s no use, Gavin, give it up,” complained his good friend, Cam, sitting on the dirty floor with his back propped up against the wall. The dungeon was attached to catacombs that snaked around underground, with tunnels leading deep and far, and even all the way to the other side of the border. It was a nasty place, and feared by all.
Cam pulled his blond hair back into a queue, tying it with a leather band. Next, he pulled off one boot and rubbed his foot. Spotting a rat sneaking through the bars, he quickly hurled his boot at it. Missing the rat, the boot ended up hitting North instead.
“Och, what was that for, ye fool?” North rubbed his knee. “I’m no’ the one makin’ all the ruckus. Ye should have thrown it at Gavin instead.”
“Arrrrg!” bellowed Gavin, kicking at the locked door of the cell, and then cursing. “We’ve got to make noise if we’re ever goin’ to get out of here. We’ve been locked up for three days now. This is insane.” “Ye heard Ian tell us that they are waitin’ for Storm to return.” Nash stood in the shadows. He used an object to clean under his nails. “By the way, I agree with Cam, Gavin. Ye’re makin’ so much noise ye’re goin’ to wake the dead.” He cleaned off the object against his green and purple plaid – the colors that depicted they were from the MacKeefe Clan.
“We’ve got to get out of here.” Gavin paced back and forth like a caged lion. “It’s just no’ right that we’ve been imprisoned in our own castle when we really didna do anythin’ wrong. We are heroes, no’ outcasts!” “I agree,” remarked Cam from the floor. “However, we’re in here, and that crazy old man is out there, decidin’ our fates.”
Clan MacKeefe was from the Highlands. They had a camp in the Grampian Mountains near Oban. However, they also had holdings in the Lowlands, near the border. Years ago, they managed to secure Hermitage Castle, taking it back from the English. That’s where they were now.
“There’s nothin’ we can do about it until Storm returns,” continued Cam with a yawn, crossing his arms over his chest. “Ye ken we’ll rot here until Callum cools off.”
“Aye,” agreed North, rubbing a weary hand through his long brown hair. He and Nash looked very similar, but were not identical twins. They both had long brown hair, but Nash was a little shorter, and his face was more rounded than North’s. Nash’s eyes were also hazel, while North’s were silver. Their mannerisms were quite different as well. “I now regret drinkin’ so much of Old Callum’s Mountain Magic. If I had kent he was goin’ to shove his silly rules in our faces, I never would have done it.”
“Me, too,” agreed Nash. “But Callum has never done anythin’ like this before,” he pointed out. He continued to clean his nails.
“I think he’s been upset about somethin’ lately,” said North.
“He does seem more ornery than usual.” Cam nodded in agreement.
“I think our chieftain, Ian, is ailin’,” said Gavin. “He looked ill and in pain to me.”
“That would make sense,” said Nash with a nod. “Callum is worried about his son.”
Gavin stopped in his tracks and looked over at Nash, surveying what he was doing. “What’s that?” he asked.
“I said that would make sense.”
“Nay! I mean . . . what’s that in yer hand, Nash?” Gavin couldn’t believe his eyes. He hurried over to him and gripped Nash’s wrist, holding it up for the others to see. “I dinna believe it.” A dirk reflected in the dim glow from the light of the torch burning outside the cell. Gavin’s jaw ticked in aggravation and he tried not to explode. “Ye have a bluidy dirk,” he said through his teeth. “Ye’ve had it all along.”
“Aye,” Nash answered. “It’s the one I always hide in my boot. Ye ken that.”
“He has a dirk?” asked North from the front of the cell.
“Aye, he has a dirk,” Gavin repeated, his fingers gripping tighter around his friend’s wrist now. “Yet, he didna think to mention it to us three days ago.
“What?” This news actually got Cam off his arse. He jumped up and headed over to them. North watched from over by the door. “Brathair, we could have used yer blade to pick the lock and get the hell out of here by now. I canna believe they missed yer blade when they removed all of our weapons before throwin’ us in here.”
“Leave me alone. All of ye.” Nash pushed Gavin, and pulled his hand back, still clenching the small blade. “It doesna matter. We’re outcasts now with nowhere to go. If we had used it, we’d be on the run for the rest of our lives.” Nash bent over to replace the dirk in his boot. But before he could stand back up, Gavin tackled him and brought him to the ground, punching Nash in the face.
“Blethers, Gavin, ye’re goin’ to hurt my brathair.” North dove atop the pile, struggling with both of them. A sea of green and purple plaid got tangled around their legs as they rolled over and over in a heated struggle, fighting for the blade.
“Stop it,” said Cam, but of course they didn’t listen. So, Cam put his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly to get their attention.
Read the rest of the excerpt in the March/April Issue of Uncaged Book Reviews
Imagine a secret, hidden City that gives a second chance at life for those selected to come: felons, deformed outcasts, those on the fringe of the Outside World. Everyone gets a job, a place to live; but you are bound to the City forever. You can never leave.
Its citizens are ruled by a monstrous figure called the “Man” who resembles a giant demented spider from the lifelike robotic limbs attached to his body. Everyone follows the Man blindly, working hard to make their Promised Land stronger, too scared to defy him and be discarded to the Empty Zones.
After ten years as an advertising executive, Graham Weatherend receives an order to test a new client, Pow! Sodas. After one sip of the orange flavor, he becomes addicted, the sodas causing wild mood swings that finally wake him up to the prison he calls reality.
Uncaged Review: This is a decent read, but it starts out pretty slowly for me. One thing that attaches me to a book, is back story. It doesn’t have to elaborate all the time, but I had really no idea how the world became as it is. I think a deeper dive into the back story of this world, and a bit more character development would have knocked this book out of the park. Once I got through the first part of the book, it was a bit hard to put down.
In this book, a hidden city is for those that are considered outcasts. All controlled by a monstrous spider type man who controls everything, so they are not tossed from the city. A couple characters of note are “E” who is recuiting for the City, and Graham, who as an advertising exec, is tasked with testing a new soda called Pow!, a soda that can control emotions depending on its flavor.
This is a very interesting concept, and with a bit more development, I would have rated it higher. Great concept and very original. Reviewed by Cyrene
There is an evil awakening. At the Lost Souls academy, students aren’t your typical everyday alumni. Rejects from clans, packs, and covens walk these halls, but there’s something more sinister haunting the academy. A resident ghost has new student, Zarya, on the fight to banish it. Will her actions cause more enemies at her new school than friends?
‘I’m coming for you.’ A message from beyond has Zarya fearful. Her skills are underdeveloped, but as a ghost hunter, she must stand and fight this new evil.
Can Zarya grow to be the ghost hunter she’s destined to be or will forces overpower her and bring chaos and destruction to the Lost Souls academy?
Uncaged Review: This is a shorter read that introduces us to the members of the Lost Souls Academy. This is a school that has students that have been discarded from their people, because they are different. Zarya is a witch, but also a ghost hunter and fighter, so she was shunned by the Coven. She’s barely making it in the world until Avery, a powerful witch invites her to the academy that she started in a magical library. Here she will meet the other students, but also attracts the attention of a powerful ghosts that wants her dead. This didn’t really leave off on a bad cliffhanger at all, but the overall arc of the story does continue on.
I like Zarya and the other students, and will more than likely continue on with the series to see how it all develops. Nice read. Reviewed by Cyrene
Welcome to Uncaged! You’re here to tell us about Love and the Shameless Lady, a book in yourScandalous Kisses series. Can you tell us more about this book, and what you may have coming in the near future?
Love and the Shameless Lady is one of my favorite books for two reasons: first, because the heroine, Daisy Warren, is way out of her normal environment. She’s a disgraced lady who lives in a tumbledown inn. She bakes in the kitchen, serves ale to the sailors and smugglers, and plays the piano and sings rude songs for them. The second reason is because Daisy is also a writer. In her spare time, she writes romantic adventure stories with intrepid heroines who make their own happy endings. It’s often said to write what you know. I don’t quite agree with this (I’ve never lived in Regency England, nor have I served ale to smugglers, nor do I sing worth beans, etc.), but it is fun to write about writing, one aspect of life that I do know quite well.
My upcoming book, The Infidelity Curse, will come out in late spring or early summer. The hero comes from a long line of Earls who were cursed with unfaithful wives. He tries his best not to fall in love with a lady touched by scandalous accusations. Of course, he doesn’t succeed—luckily, because the lady is just what he needs.
What is the most difficult scene for you to write? What is the easiest?
The most difficult scenes are always the ones where I don’t quite know what should happen next. Sometimes I ponder for days. Other times I just start writing and see what happens, then go back and revise until I know what’s going on. The easiest scene is the first one in a new book. I adore new beginnings, and the first scene is always clear in my mind when I start.
Do you have a favorite character you’ve written?
I rarely have a favorite anything—there are too many lovely characters, books, foods, people, etc., in the world. However, I guess I would say Daisy Warren (mentioned above) is one of my favorites, as is Bridget O’Shaughnessy Black, who falls in love with Daisy’s brother Colin in The Rake’s Irish Lady. Also, I’m very fond of Noelle de Vallon, the daring Frenchwoman in The Smuggler’s Escape, because she’s the first historical heroine I wrote.
Read the rest of the interview in the issue with the link below
USA Today bestselling author Barbara Monajem wrote her first story at eight years old about apple tree gnomes. After publishing a middle-grade fantasy, she settled on historical mysteries and romances with intrepid heroines and long-suffering heroes (or vice versa). Often there’s bit of fantasy mixed in, because she wants to avoid reality as much as possible.
Barbara used to have two items on her bucket list: to make asparagus pudding and to succeed at knitting socks. She managed the first (don’t ask) but doubts she’ll ever accomplish the second. This is not a bid for immortality but merely the dismal truth. She lives near Atlanta with an ever-shifting population of relatives, friends, and feline strays.
Disgraced lady Daisy Warren serves ale in a tumbledown inn, sings crude songs for the smugglers, and writes romantic novels in her spare time. Shunned by her own class, she’s resigned to her lowly life—until someone tries to kill her.
Gentleman spy Sir Julian Kerr noses out seditionists and traitors. When he visits the inn to investigate two suspicious Frenchmen, he meets the lovely but hostile Daisy. He doesn’t intend to get involved with her—but then he learns that someone is threatening her life.
He wants to find out more—it’s part of his investigation.
He wants to protect her—he’s a chivalrous man.
He wants her.
But will Daisy’s bitter past allow her to risk love again?
Excerpt
Daisy Warren set her pen down with a heartfelt sigh. The Lady’s Ruin was her best novel yet. The plot and characters were so outrageous she felt sure they resembled nothing and no one in real life.
Except perhaps Daisy herself, but she didn’t want to think about that just now. The novel was over and done with, and so was the smuggler who’d inspired it—dead, and richly he deserved it. Unfortunately, neither of these facts changed a thing about the life of a ruined lady.
She bundled the pages, wrapped and sealed them, and addressed them to her publisher. In the morning, she would have it sent on the mail coach to London. She set it aside, went down to the taproom of the ramshackle inn where she lived, and indulged in a celebratory brandy.
Tonight she would play the out-of-tune pianoforte and sing for the drunken patrons of the Diving Duck, while her mother turned in her grave. Tomorrow she would begin the sequel—The Lady’s Revenge.
~ ~ ~
Six months later…
“He’s a good-looking man,” Sally said, wiping three tankards and preparing to fill them. “And one of your sort, too.”
Daisy Warren glanced up from kneading the dough for the cottage loaves. “Not anymore.” She was a ruined woman, and therefore her ‘sort’—in other words, the gently bred—would have nothing to do with her. That didn’t stop her from taking a good long look at the newcomer, plainly visible through the doorway from the kitchen to the coffee room of the Diving Duck. Slouched in a chair, he was entirely at ease, his station in the world assured. A man would practically have to commit murder before being ostracized, whilst a woman had merely to—
She stopped that thought before it had a chance to grow into full-blown fury. Anger did no good at all. It changed nothing, except to make her feel ill.
Sally rolled her eyes. “The gentry can’t all be prigs.” With practiced ease, she operated the tap with one hand and held the three tankards in the other.
“Most of them are,” Daisy said, punching the dough hard. His fairish hair was a little too long, curling over his cravat. His other clothing was fashionable without being ostentatious, his only jewelry a ruby ring on his left hand. She thought his eyes were blue, but she couldn’t tell from this distance.
God only knew why she found him so interesting. Perhaps because he brought a little culture, a little education, a little worldliness into this godforsaken inn.
Mostly, Daisy was content with her life at the Diving Duck. The smugglers who frequented the place knew by now to treat her with friendly respect, and whenever she wanted to play a proper pianoforte or go for a bruising ride, her brother Colin’s estate wasn’t far away. She would never marry, never have children, but all in all—
Drat, the newcomer had noticed her watching him. She glared and returned to kneading the dough.
“Maybe this one ain’t so bad. I wonder why he’s here.” Sally headed for the coffee room.
“I don’t care.” Daisy was tempted to close the door so she couldn’t see him and therefore he couldn’t see her, but no, she wouldn’t let any man’s appraisal discomfit her. She no longer minded the bold stares of some of the smugglers. They meant nothing by it.
Daisy covered the dough with a cloth and set it aside to rise. The only true advantage to being ruined—and to leaving her brother’s home to live at a disreputable inn—was that she was learning how to cook and bake. A Warren doing menial labor! Her mother’s shroud must be twisted into knots by now. Sally returned with several empty tankards. “He’s on a riding tour, visiting Roman ruins.” “Is that so,” Daisy said flatly. A scholar, was he? Thanks to her late father, she had a soft spot for those studying the ancient world, but she knew better than to let nostalgia affect her. He might seem appealing, he might even be knowledgeable, but when it came right down to it, he was just another man. Sally never stopped moving. Already she was wiping the tankards preparatory to filling them again. A group of locals, most of whom were involved in smuggling to some degree, had come in for their customary darts and ale. “Finished with the dough, have you? Then if you don’t mind, Miss Daisy, I think those rock buns are about done.”
It had taken Sally months to get used to Daisy in her kitchen, and only recently she’d begun to ask for help rather than waiting for Daisy to volunteer. She would never have done so if Daisy hadn’t proposed writing a cookery book, and said she needed to learn how to do things herself, not just watch how they were done.
Daisy opened the oven and shoveled the little cakes out. They were likely to cool as hard as their names indicated, but tasty all the same.
“They don’t look bad,” Sally said, “but what we really need is that recipe from Mr. Warren’s cook.” At least they weren’t burned, which they would have been if Sally hadn’t prompted her. Yet another reason why Daisy shouldn’t dwell on handsome men. The real reason, though—the most important one—was that if she let her thoughts wander in that direction, she might consider dallying with one of them again.
No, she wasn’t that much of a fool. Once was enough.
“Haven’t really tried, have you?”
Daisy started. “Tried . . .?” She certainly had tried, and . . . Oh, Sally was still talking about rock buns. “Yes, I did my best to pry the recipe from my brother’s cook, but she says she’s never written it down. She won’t want me in her kitchen watching her make them.”
“Tell her she has no choice,” Sally said. “If I was gentry-born, it would be do as I say, or else.”
“I daresay, but she’s not my cook, and she’s been with the family for eons, so I couldn’t sack her even if I wanted to. Which I don’t. We’ll find a recipe elsewhere, or we’ll adjust yours until we get them just right.” Nothing like a nice, safe conversation about food to take one’s mind off a man.
How could she be interested in men after what she’d gone through? It made no sense at all, and yet she kept on noticing them—their teasing grins, their powerful arms and thighs . . .
She must be mad, but she couldn’t help it.
“He’s not staying at the inn,” Sally said, “so you needn’t worry he’ll try tiptoeing to your bedchamber at midnight.”
“I’m not worried about that,” Daisy scoffed. “The way he’s eyeing you, maybe you should be,” Sally said. ~ ~ ~
Amari has a perfect life. She’s a successful food critic, and is marrying a high flying human rights lawyer. But the day before her wedding, a stranger, Caspar, tries to solicit her help. She sends him away, but can’t shake the feeling that she knows him.
When Amari’s new husband has to leave the country before their honeymoon, Amari tells Caspar she’ll help him. But Amari and Caspar are attacked by an assassin, forcing them into hiding at the London headquarters of the Pagan Nation. Here, she discovers she’s an ancient and powerful demon, someone who reincarnates, and that Caspar is her soulmate.
As she’s drawn into Caspar’s world of standing stones and feuding nations, Amari can’t deny the deep connection that pulses between them. But she can’t remember her past, she has a husband, and finds herself torn between two irreconcilable lives. And not only that, but the Pagans have secrets they refuse to reveal: Why did Amari avoid Caspar for a hundred years? And what happened between Amari and the leader of a rival nation in the past? To determine if she can trust Caspar, if she should help him, she must wake her demon soul, and bring back her memories. For one thing is certain: when that happens, the tables will turn.
Uncaged Review: Amari and Caspar are demons who have lived many lives, but when Amari reincarnates, she never remembers her past. Caspar is her soulmate, and each lifetime, Caspar must get to her for her to remember who they are. This time, there are assassins trying to get to them and they need to find out why. Many mysteries need to be unraveled in this book, and it’s a very intricate and intriguing storyline. It did end on a bit of a cliffhanger – the author claims that the third and final book in the main series will be out in March 2022 – so at least it’s not that big of a wait.
There is a lot to like about this book, Pagans and demons, past lives and new discoveries, a lot of details that I find myself scratching my head as to how the author keeps it all straight, make this easy to recommend. Reviewed by Cyrene
The Eidola Project travels to Petersburg, Virginia, to investigate a series of murders in the Black community—rumored to be caused by a werewolf. Once there, danger comes from all quarters. Not only do they face threats from the supernatural, the KKK objects to the team’s activities, and the group is falling apart. Can they overcome their human frailties to defeat the evil that surrounds them?
Uncaged Review: This is not a typical werewolf book, like you might think looking at the cover. This is a historical horror book and is not for the easily offended by racism or the Klu-Klux-Klan, or the asylums. This is a book that is hard to put down, and a lot of things happen that I never saw coming. This is better than book one in this series, and I’d recommend reading the first book, The Eidola Project first to get a good background.
This author seems to be a new welcome voice in the gothic horror world, and I look forward to reading more. Reviewed by Cyrene
