Nothing says romance like spending a long weekend at a haunted inn famed for sending its guests to the ER with scratches, bites, and fractures. Or so Linus thinks when he books a trip for Grier and himself to Oliphant House. As far as honeymoons go, the choice is nontraditional, but then, so is his bride.
Haunted history is one of Grier’s great loves, and she’s thrilled to discover Linus has given her a mystery to solve. Forget walks on moonlit beaches and sipping fruity drinks, Grier would much rather unravel the curse that’s plagued the Oliphant family for generations than pick sand from between her toes.
The resident spooks, however, aren’t happy with the newlyweds sticking their noses where they don’t belong. Between the missing persons, the dead bodies, and the secrets lurking in the basement, Linus and Grier start to wonder if they’ll survive their honeymoon.
Uncaged Review: When this series was finished, the author added 3 longer novellas as “epilogues” to the ending. Each of these have a story within and just adds to the whole story of Grier and Linus. This time they are going on their honeymoon, of sorts, more of a long weekend away and Linus has chosen a haunted inn because of Grier’s love off all the things that go bump in the night, thinking solving a mystery would be a fun getaway. Well, this haunted fun turns deadly…of course.
I enjoyed the extra time with this group, but I have the same feelings as Linus, I wanted to be selfish and see more time with just Linus and Grier. But it was still a fun time with enough of the twists and turns this series is known for. I’ve put these books off reading for a while, drawing the series out longer. I really am bummed that there is one book left in the epilogues. Reviewed by Cyrene
The world has gone to ***, and the zombie apocalypse is now responsible for wiping out humanity. One girl believes she’s all alone and the world’s last hope for survival . . . but is she the key, a threat, or something else entirely?
Sawyer is a Marine. His loyalty, purpose, and mission are the only objective until he meets the feisty girl who changes everything. What will it take to survive among the dead? Is humanity doomed or is there hope in a world plunged into total chaos?
From the series – A GROUP OF SURVIVORS …must find a way to live together when a terrible virus turns deadly. Two different strands determine what type of zombie is unleashed upon those lucky enough to escape the initial outbreak. Survival is the only objective until the mutations begin to change and humanity becomes the scariest monster of all.
Leave it to this author to make me fall for a zombie book, and one way she did it is by throwing in romance, not too many of the zombie books will venture into that area. In this world, the zombie virus was man-made, trying to get the best soldier, the best weapon, then trying to wipe out low income areas by putting the virus in the water bottles. But it all went to hell. Bailee has been surviving on her own for the last year, and doesn’t believe there are any other survivors until she meets a group of marines, who are actually looking for her. Bailee is the niece of a scientist and it’s believed that her blood may hold the key to a cure – since her Uncle shot her up with a drug before he died.
Sawyer, the leader of the survivor group, begins to have feelings for Bailee after finding and saving her and bringing her into the group, a bad idea in a zombie apocalypse. In this world, there are zombie runners. These are the ones that are just newly turned, with speed, some intelligence and strength, so the author turns the notch on scary.
There is some gore, graphic violence, language and sex – so if any of those things bother you, this may not be a great read for you. For me? After that ending – I am gladly running on to book 2. Reviewed by Cyrene 5 Stars
The Earl of Goldthwaite had spent his entire adult life accumulating wealth. It was his life’s goal to never end up as his father had, penniless and rotting in some debtor’s prison. He has no time for such silly notions as love or romance. When he eventually marries, he’ll find a nice heiress to increase his holdings. But when Miss Penny Walters waltzes into his life, he knows she’s all wrong for him. As poor as her name implies, she’s nothing that he wanted. Just another woman attempting to part him from his gold. So why can’t he look away?
Who needed gold when her heart was rich with love?
Penny’s life had been charmed, at least she’d always believed so until the age of twelve. Though her parents had little assets, they’d had enough to be comfortable and their home had been rich with affection. After their death, she’s determined to live the rest of her life the way they taught her. With her whole heart. Her first task was to open an orphanage in a poor London neighborhood. One that would give back to the community. The problem? She needed a loan to make her dream come true. And the one man she might be able to ask for such a sum was…
The miserly Earl of Gold.
It filled her with sick dread but what choice did she have? What she never expected was to find herself drawn to such a man. He’s nothing that she ever wanted and everything she wished to stand against. But the longer she knows him, the more she wonders: is there a soft heart under that hard-shiny veneer of gold?
Uncaged Review: The 7th book in the Lords of Scandal series, and this is my favorite so far. This book yanked me in right away and had me wanting to get back to it whenever I put it down. When an author can take a character that is as unlikeable as Logan, and turn him into a character you love and root for, then the author has done a great job. Penny is the perfect foil for him, to give him back his heart, and Penny’s cause of saving orphans is a winner. The author even manages to weave the Wicked Earl’s Club and connects that world and characters to this one. The nice thing about this series, is you do normally meet past characters in the books, or even characters that will have their own story in the near future. And I really enjoyed the epilogue in this one.
And at the end, you know there is a story with Clarissa coming – with the Earl of Baxter. I’m looking forward to it. Reviewed by Cyrene 5 Stars
Even the craftiest pirate can’t outrun the curse of the sea witch.
Known on the high seas as the Fog Queen, Morianna Swift never imagined her life as a pirate. But after her father and brother’s deaths, she has no choice; she’ll be damned if she’ll stand by and watch as the family fortune is taken by the murderous thieves at the East India Company. While fleeing her previous life as a high-born lady, Morianna is cursed with a powerful hex that imprisons her forever upon the waves.
Unable to master the magic to free herself, Morianna seeks the one being powerful enough to remedy her curse. Everyone knows that a deal with the sea witch seals your fate as sure as succumbing to the siren’s song, but Morianna rolls the bones anyway and puts her fate in the hands of the sorceress. Locked in an unbreakable promise that threatens not only her soul, but the souls of those she loves, Morianna refuses to accept that there’s no way out.
All of this while the East India Company continues their quest to dominate the ports, the city, and the sea—at all costs. Caught in the current of two opposing forces, Morianna finds herself in the middle of a maelstrom that threatens to destroy everything she’s fought so hard to protect.
She’s never relied on fair winds or following seas; the Fog Queen makes her own luck.
Uncaged Review: I’ve always been a huge fan of pirates and books on the seas, and when you combine that with my first love of fantasy, then it of course grabs my attention. This book did that, and more. Morianna’s husband, brother and father were all killed on the seas and the family’s company being stolen by the East India Company, who sells goods at prices few can afford. Morianna takes over, raiding the ships and selling the goods at reasonable costs. When a witch puts a hex on Morianna, she’ll need to bargain with the powerful Sea Witch to get rid of the hex, but bargaining with her is dangerous…
This book has a lot going for it. Plenty of action and the world building is original and fast paced. A few twists and a group of characters that I look forward to getting to know more. The book did not end on a hard cliffhanger, the overall arc is still ongoing, but the last part of the book actually surprised me, which is not that easy to do. Looking forward to the next book in the series. Reviewed by Cyrene 5 Stars
The five Asters, brothers and sisters in magic, battle an unknown Dark King to ensure their new Queen ascends to the throne, in this debut YA fantasy prequel series. Together with Affinites, who have no magic but unique affinities for specific skills, the Asters have been protecting humans from the Dark Kings’ reigns of terror for generations; even since their first and, until now, only Queen bestowed six Affinites each with one of her own magic powers 500 years ago. The one unique magic that the original Queen didn’t pass on would only return if there was a dire need of it: to bring balance back into the world. Now, 500 years later, her reincarnation predicts a threat to the peaceful existence that generations of Asters had created and protected.Up until her eighteenth birthday the new Queen was brought up as human in a secret location, with no knowledge of the crown she will be expected to wear or the rare magic she possesses. She will join the Asters, and she will become the most powerful creature to ever live. But a Dark King knows of her upcoming accession, and will do whatever it takes to stop it. He starts abducting Affinites in the hopes that one of them might know the Queen’s secret location. He wants to steal her magic before she learns how to use it against him. It is up to the five Asters to make sure that he doesn’t.SKY can fly and shimmer to anywhere in the world.NATHAN can control the nature around him.SOPHIE can heal the worst of injuries.MATU can break through the most solid of walls.LIAN can shut out any feeling of pain until his dying breath.It is the greatest challenge of their lives. And up against a King they know nothing about, time is not on their side.
Uncaged Review: This is the first book in a trilogy of what the author is calling, “prequel novellas.” It is the length of a longer novella, but I’m not sure what the prequel part is, unless there is a full-fledged series coming in after these prequels are completed. Time will tell.
In this book, the Asters are the magic keepers and warriors. Each warrior has a special magic and skill set. The Asters protect the human population from the Dark Kings of the Underworld. The Asters haven’t had a Queen in 500 years – but she’s been reborn and scheduled to return to the hidden and protected lands where the Asters are.
Some of this is a bit hard to explain, but the author does a pretty good job with it so the reader is in the loop the whole time. There is plenty of action and the fight sequences are pretty good. I’d like to see more world building, as you only get a taste of it here. The ending was a trip, but I won’t give anything away. This is a good start but I would also make sure it’s cautioned against very young teens as the fight scenes can be quite graphic. Reviewed by Cyrene 4 Stars
Welcome to Uncaged! Your newest book, Lady Mary’s Dangerous Encounter will release August 10, and is the first book in a series. Can you tell readers more about the book and what will tie this series together?
I am so excited about my new The Beresford Adventure series. In recent years my books have taken a turn to not only be romantic Regencies but also to be lighthearted mysteries. The Beresford family was introduced in an earlier, six-book series of mine, Brazen Brides, the first book published by Kensington in 2005, and the most recent released in 2020. The heroine of my lighthearted 2016 book, Oh, What a (Wedding) Night, is Sophia Beresford, and also in that book we met her brother, Lord Devere (hero of the second Beresford Adventures). Oh, and a lot of Americans have trouble pronouncing Beresford. It’s bare-is-ferd!
Now, the other Beresfords get their stories told in The Beresford Adventures. Impetuous Lady Mary Beresford is the heroine of the new series’ first book, Lady Mary’s Dangerous Encounter. I had so much fun writing this. It’s a Regency-era take on an Ethel Lina White book immortalized in the Hitchcock Film, The Lady Vanishes.
Defying her guardian brother, Lord Devere, Mary rushes off across the Continent—alone—to meet her sister, Sophia, in Vienna. Worried, but unable to follow his sister because of a broken leg, Devere asks his friend, a diplomat who’s a duke’s son, Stephen Stanhope, who’s traveling to the Congress of Vienna, to watch out for his sister.
In the White/Hitchcock tale, the heroine is on a train. Because there were no trains in the Regency, I had my heroine get snowed in at an Alpine chalet, and this is where Stephen catches up with her.
An elderly lady who Mary had befriended during the journey has gone missing, and all her fellow travelers are in a conspiracy to deny the old woman’s existence. Mary refuses to continue traveling until the elderly woman is located. With everyone against her, Mary delights in Stephen’s arrival, as he become her champion.
Stephen thinks she’s spoiled and daft. Until there’s an attempt upon her life. To keep her safe, he proposes she stay in his room at the inn …
What are you working on next that you can tell us about?
The Beresford Adventures trilogy has consumed me this year and the latter part of 2020, so I’m a bit brain dead as to what I’m going to write next. As the author of eight series, I get a lot of fan mail asking for more stories in my most popular series. Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of requests for more Cheryl Bolen Regencies: A Mystery and Match. But I haven’t made up my mind.
Truthfully, after spending one year not leaving the house and writing thousands of pages, I may give myself a much-needed break for a bit. I’ve been publishing for 23 years.
Lady Mary’s traveling companion has disappeared and only one man believes she ever existed.
Welcome to book 1 in the adventurous new series from USA Today Bestselling author Cheryl Bolen!
Lord Stephen Stanhope, a duke’s diplomat son who’s traveling to the Congress of Vienna, agrees to protect his friend’s wayward sister on Stephen’s journey to Austria. Lady Mary Beresford has impetuously set off on her own for Vienna. Vexed with the headstrong woman he’s yet to meet, Stephen despairs of ever catching up with the maddening lady. They eventually meet at an inn in the Alps, where the guests’ progress has been impeded by two matters: a blizzard—and Lady Mary’s refusal to leave until she’s found an elderly fellow traveler who has disappeared.
Mary’s infuriated that everyone at the inn is in a conspiracy to deny the woman ever existed and to imply Mary invented her. Just when every person at the inn is against her, the handsome Lord Stephen arrives and becomes her champion.
Stephen doesn’t tell her he’s been sent by her brother, nor does he actually believe her preposterous story. Until there’s an attempt on her life.
Excerpt
He came and put a reassuring arm around her and spoke softly. “Now, tell me what’s happened.”
“Someone . . .” She burst into a fresh round of tears that wracked her whole body.
He drew her closer, patting her shoulders. Then it occurred to him that someone must have come into her bedchamber as she slept. “Dear God, did someone enter your chamber?” He held her at arm’s length and peered at her.
Her eyes were red, and her face was slick with the tears that flowed as if from a spigot. She nodded. “He tried to kill me.”
He closed his eyes from revulsion. “I failed you. We knew they had a key to your room. I should have done something.”
“It’s not your fault.”
But he could have prevented this. She could be dead right now. He was furious with himself. He should at least have given her his locks. He was far better equipped to fend off a would-be killer than this slightly built female. But who would ever have thought someone would try to kill her? “Tell me everything that happened.”
She collapsed against him and clung like heated wax until her crying eventually tapered off. “I awakened to find someone pushing a pillow into my face.”
It sickened him to think that this could have happened—and right next to his chamber. She would not have been able to see anything, nor could she even scream to summon him. Thank God she had survived. “How were you able to fight off such an attack?”
“I owe my survival to Devere.”
His brows lowered. “How is that possible?”
“He instructed his sisters of a particular thrust he said would disable any attacker, and he proved to be right.
Read the rest of the excerpt in the issue below
Since her first book (A Duke Deceived) was published to acclaim in 1998, Cheryl Bolen has written more than three dozen Regency-set historical romances. Several of her books have won Best Historical awards, and she’s a New York Times and USA Today bestseller as well as an Amazon All Star whose books have been translated into nine languages. She’s also been penning articles about Regency England and giving workshops on the era for more than twenty years.
In previous lives, she was a journalist and an English teacher. She’s married to a recently retired college professor, and they’re the parents of two grown sons, both of whom she says are brilliant and handsome! All four Bolens (and their new daughter-in-law) love to travel to England, and Cheryl loves college football and basketball and adores
Homework on top of a life sentence for murder? You’ve got to be kidding me!
“One minute, I’m your average high school student. The next, I find myself at a magical academy against my will. All because I killed a few people.
Let me clear up some points: first of all, I didn’t even know I had magic when my powers went out of control. Second, I object to being here. Third, I don’t like the other students. My one roommate is okay, but the other is a total bitch. Plus I miss my parents. Badly.
The only upside is the crusty alley cat that follows me everywhere. And the three cute boys vying for my attention. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had boyfriends before. But never more than one. Seems like the magical world has its own rules.
Now, if I could only convince them to break out with me, I’d be a lot happier. Because there are people who want to drain my lightning power. And that would be a pity, after what I went through to get it…”
Uncaged Review: Another first book in a series, and this one is a bit different. There are two types of magical people in this world, the ones born with magic, and the ones that became magical when there was a fallout, our main character in this book is of the latter. Amber’s magic manifests and without any control, Amber ends up killing three people with her lightning magic. She’s then shipped off to a school that will teach her all about her magic and how to control it. At first this book was a bit annoyingly high schoolish. As it went along it got a little better, although the main character completely lacks interest in things that are told to her, like her life is in danger in the school. She’s put into a dorm room with two roommates and along with Amber, there is not a good backstory with the two girls, just the typical nice one and the typical bitchy one.
This book is moving toward a reverse harem, and I’ve read several and some are pretty good, but I didn’t feel the connection with Amber and Kiernan – and she seemed to fall in love with by talking to him once. As for the other boy, Julian, I felt more of a connection with him and Amber, although it all seemed a bit fast. I’m going to move to the second book, as I thought it did OK in some aspects and I really am curious about Slug. We’ll see where he fits in. Reviewed by Cyrene 4 Stars
Everson Croft, professor of mythology and behind-the-scenes wizard
Show me an amateur conjurer, and I’ll stop him before he gets himself killed.
That’s the idea, anyway. But New York City isn’t what it used to be, and I don’t mean the recent crash.
Amateur casters are calling up creatures they shouldn’t be able to. And there’s been a murder at the city’s most hallowed cathedral, a message in blood on the victim’s back the NYPD wants me to interpret, like yesterday.
Something tells me I’m in over my head. And that’s not just Chinatown’s newest mob boss, a scary-powerful vampire, or my possessed cat talking.
No matter how much magic I hurl, worse keeps chasing bad, and I’m amassing enemies like they’re aluminum cans.
Did I mention the end of the world might be nigh?
Damn. Maybe I’m the amateur here.
Uncaged Review: This is a pretty good start to a series and although it didn’t blow me away, it did hold my interest for the most part. I will more than likely go to the next book in the series now that a lot of the world building and characters are flushed out. I still think there are some things and back story that needs to be flushed out a bit more, but it started to come together pretty well at the back quarter of the book.
Everson is a wizard, but on the lower end of the wizard spectrum and is being watched by The Order, the magic law, if you will. In this book, there are some killings happening by amateur conjurers and bringing in demons that are causing havoc, and on top of all that, Everson always seems to be in trouble with the police and his job at the university is at stake. Although Croft seems to get himself in a lot of jams, at the same time it’s fun to see how he manages to get out of them.
There was some good action sequences, some good demons and some original magic and a fun and obnoxious oversized succubus cat called Tabitha. I’m going to keep going, but there is a prequel novella called Book of Souls that I would recommend reading first. Reviewed by Cyrene 4 Stars
Ash’s revenge plans for Chariot and Isaac Montefiore take a surreal turn when Isaac’s wife hires Ash to find an item that Isaac is obsessed with. Ash takes the job, but this quest throws her back into Levi’s path and puts Rafael in grave peril.
Meanwhile, Ash’s search for a rare type of magic once again pits her against the Queen of Hearts. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but too much might prove fatal.
To top it all off, Ash’s mother is being blackmailed by someone threatening to expose Ash as a Rogue unless Talia resigns from her political career for good. Talk about putting the “fun” in family dysfunction.
Uncaged Review: The fourth and final addition to this series goes off with a bang. Full of twists and turns, with plenty of action, with humor and great secondary characters that this author pulls off so well. The entire story arc comes together and answers all the questions and then some. Right when the story gets tense, the author tosses in some humor to break up the tension. Ash is in rare form and this is one of those books I carried around with me waiting for a chance to get in a few more pages.
You won’t just love the main characters, you will fall for most of the secondary ones also, a gift this author has and uses wisely. This is another book and series that will go on my to-be-read-again file. Reviewed by Cyrene 5 Stars
Welcome to Uncaged! Your newest book, Sleepless in Southhampton will release July 13 and is the fourth book in a series. Can you tell us more about the series and this book? What do all the books have in common?
The Hellion Club Series was born out of this snippet I read in some research material about gentlemen providing for their illegitimate children, but specifically their daughters so they might marry well. Part of that would obviously involve educating them in how to navigate society. I envisioned a school where this could take place, the domain of the illegitimate daughter of a duke, who has taken it upon herself to give these girls an option… to marry well, to become governesses or companions—a way to live their life on their own terms. In this era, where women were essentially the property of their fathers or their husbands, illegitimacy actually provided a kind of freedom that they would not have had otherwise.
You also write a more gothic style historical romance, can you tell readers more about those books?
I’ve always adored gothic romance. I’m a former paranormal investigator! I tell the story frequently that, as a kid, I would rush home from the school bus stop to get to my grandmother’s house where I could watch the last half hour of my favorite soap opera and the minute it went off, I would switch the channel to watch Scooby-Doo. So marrying my love of romance and of things that are more suspenseful or scary was just natural for me. Some of my books feature very earthly forms of villainy. Other books take a more supernatural view of the world. But above all, in every book I write, love always triumphs. I think putting characters in these situations of extreme danger, whether it’s from another human being or something more ephemeral, can heighten the emotion. Any time you up the stakes for them, it drives them closer together and to that moment where they must confront their feelings for one another.
What is the most difficult scene for you to write? What is the easiest?
That is one of those things that varies from book to book. Historically, I will say that the beginning of a book is usually smooth sailing. The end of the book feels like a race, like my fingers can’t type fast enough to keep up with what’s happening inside my head. But that middle part… oh, goodness. It’s like walking uphill in a blizzard at times. So slow and bogged down that you think the end will never come.
Every touch brings with it a world of temptation. Eventually, there is a point of no return.
Miss Sophia Upchurch is not having a good day. Her employer is dead, she’s been robbed, she’s now stranded in a strange city and the handsome man she’d met on the stage, the man she’d flirted with, is no longer simply Mr. Henry Meredith, a possible suitor. He turns out to be Lord Henry Meredith, Viscount Marchwood, and so far above her reach there can’t possibly be any hope even as he heroically secured a position for her as companion to his cousin. But that position is beset with complications and Sophie fears the young woman’s life is in danger.
When Sophie informs Henry of her suspicions, he’s dubious at best. But the more he looks into the matter the more convinced he becomes that she is correct. And that means not only is his cousin in danger but so is a woman he is coming to care for very deeply…possibly even a woman he loves.
Can they get to the bottom of it before his cousin succumbs to the plot? And assuming they survive to have a future, can he convince Sophie to share it with him?
PROLOGUE
Lord Henry Meredith, Viscount Marchwood, stared at the broken wheel of his carriage and uttered a mild curse. They were not even fully out of London yet. He could still see the heavy cloud of soot that marked the city behind them as it hovered just above the tree line. Not that he’d had any great desire to go to London anyway. He detested being in town and was far more content at his country estate. But alas, prior to his jaunt to Hampshire, he’d been summoned by his cousin who was having some issues with his eldest progeny and gambling. In fact, his younger cousin had been sent down from University and rather than returning to the family fold, had fled to Hampshire himself.
Recalling the conversation with his cousin, Horace, and Horace’s pleading look as he’d stated, “But you’re going to Southampton anyway. Surely it won’t be too much of a bother to have a word with him, will it?” It would, actually. But as always, Henry felt he didn’t have the luxury of saying no. He never refused them anything and that was part of his frustration now. He had a limited amount of time and a new task added to his schedule. Glancing at the coachman who appeared far less concerned about the matter than he should, Henry demanded, “I asked you to have that wheel replaced a week ago. Not just repaired—again—but replaced.” Was it his lot in life to be so “nice” that even his own servants had no fear of reprisal for blatantly disobeying his edicts? Of course, it was hardly an edict when he always phrased it as a request.
“Aye, m’lord. But it were so expensive to replace when patching it would do,” the driver protested in his heavy brogue. Henry blinked at the man in disbelief. Was he truly so lacking in spine that even his servants felt disobeying direct instructions was without consequence? “Clearly just patching it did not do. If it had, I wouldn’t be standing on the side of the road four miles out of London.” The coachman had the grace to look somewhat sheepish. “I can have a new one made and have it on by the morning.” Henry sighed. It wouldn’t work. He’d promised his aunt that he would be in Southampton by the following day. There was much to do in advance of his uncle’s birthday. After all, the Duke of Thornhill’s fiftieth birthday was not an occasion to be missed. The entire family was gathering at the seaside to spend several weeks together at the family’s estate there. Southampton had become their gathering place of choice given poor Philippa’s deteriorating condition. The resort town with access to many spas and sites for sea bathing made it a good destination for them. The less strenuous and active social whirl, as compared to Brighton and Bath—or heaven forbid, London—made it perfect for them. Of course, it wasn’t just his uncle’s birthday which made time of the essence. There was the other matter for his cousin. If he was to catch the boy still at the Duke of Wellington Inn in Southampton, he’d need to move quickly. Indeed, if someone didn’t step in and take the reins, young Julian could find himself in a world of trouble. Julian was getting into a great deal of trouble and a great deal of debt that his branch of the family had no means of correcting.
Read the restof the excerpt in the issue below
Chasity Bowlin lives in Kentucky with her husband and their collection of dogs and cats. She loves writing, traveling and enjoys incorporating tidbits of her actual vacations into her books. She is an avid Anglophile, loving all things British, but specifically all things Regency.
Growing up in Tennessee, spending as much time as possible with her doting grandparents, soap operas were a part of her daily existence, followed by back to back episodes of Scooby Doo. Her path to becoming a romance novelist was set when, rather than simply have her Barbie dolls cruise around in a pink convertible, they time traveled, hosted lavish dinner parties and one even had an evil twin locked in the attic.
