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Uncaged Review: Hidden Gypsy Magic by Tena Stetler

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Hidden Gypsy Magic
Tena Stetler
Paranormal Romance

The Salem Wildlife Sanctuary is Gwen Taylor’s life work. Her Irish Gypsy heritage provides a hidden talent she uses to help the creatures under her care. But even her magical skills can’t help new rescues in dire need of veterinary care.
The opportunity of signing on as the vet for Gwen’s sanctuary dropped into Brock Scutter’s lap after he expanded his practice to include wildlife. The personal attraction he and Gwen experience is undeniable the more their professional and personal lives collide.
Touring the only “non-haunted” house in Salem they both feel a spark of magic. A trip to his family’s cabin uncovers a heritage he didn’t know existed. If they want a future together, it means facing the consequences of awakening hidden Gypsy magic and a race against the clock to correct past wrongs.

Uncaged Review: The third book in this series is
an enchanting story of love, laughter, magic and
family and my favorite so far. Some of the characters
from previous books are back, which is
always fun and holds the continuity of the series,
and the romance between Brock and Gwen is fun,
believable and sexy.
One of the things I love about this series, is that
the magic is not overdone as you see in so many
books. The magic is understated and the reader
can almost believe it’s true.
This author has a way of making her characters
realistic and likable, and you almost feel as if you
are there with them, or at least wanting to escape
into their world.

5 Stars

Uncaged Review: A Widow’s Guide to Scandal by Hallie Alexander

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

A Widow’s Guide to Scandal
Hallie Alexander
Historical Romance/Colonial

Henrietta Smith was fifteen when she stole a kiss from Marcus Hardwicke. Over a decade later, she’s still waiting to be kissed back …

Henrietta learned the hard way that when you get what you pay for you might end up with a British soldier quartering in your home threatening your friends, an enormous dog tracking mud through your house and stealing the chickens, and Marcus Hardwicke disrupting your uncomplicated life by trying to improve it. And to think she just wanted her roof fixed.

Marcus, wickedly handsome carpenter and rebel rogue, fell off Henrietta’s leaking roof. He can’t leave until his broken ankle heals, giving him plenty of time to consider his past mistakes, including Henrietta’s indelible kiss from a lifetime ago. But Henrietta could lose more than her home if she doesn’t encrypt British secrets, and the latest puts Marcus in the crosshairs.

Uncaged Review: This is a very enjoyable story
for a debut author, and I’m looking forward to
more of her work. Henrietta is a widow, who lost
not only her husband (not a great loss) but she
also lost her daughter to sickness. Able to stay in
the home she shared with her husband, only on
the good graces of her horrible Uncle-in-law who
is always threatening to toss her out without a
penny. Marcus, a man she knew from her childhood
(and her first crush), comes back into her
life – in a fun way. When he falls off her roof and
breaks an ankle, Hen will put him up in the attic.
All kinds of fun ensues.

This is a fun read, with some laughter, steam and
romance. This author is definitely one to watch
and the secondary characters were almost as
interesting as the main characters.

4 Stars

Uncaged Review: A Tracker’s Tale by Karen Avizur

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

A Tracker’s Tale
Karen Avizur
Paranormal Suspense

Welcome to the strange and perilous world of Katherine Colebrook: FBI special agent, Los Angeles… Trackers Division.

In Katherine’s world, werewolves, vampires, púcas, and other parasapien species – forced for centuries by human fear and prejudice to live at the fringes of society – have finally come out of hiding to demand their rightful place alongside us. Within the FBI’s unit that handles parasapien cases, the Trackers division, Katherine Colebrook is one of the best. Her psychic abilities made her a natural, allowing her to move between the parasapien and human worlds in ways that no other agent could. But Katherine’s calling hasn’t come without struggle and losses along the way.

As a single mother, she must contend with her teenage daughter, Alexandra, who not only shares Katherine’s psychic abilities, but seems determined to follow the same dangerous path as her mother. And so, when Katherine’s latest assignment threatens to bring that danger too close home, she finds herself faced with the toughest challenge of her career: Can she protect her daughter’s life, while battling a ruthless adversary who’ll stop at nothing to destroy her?

Uncaged Review: This book is a slow builder, and
it will get to the point where it’s hard to put down,
but the first part of the book is building the world and
introducing the characters. In this world, all types of
supernaturals exist and live among the human world
and an agent like Katherine, is a psychic who tracks
the cases that the human world can’t. Katherine’s
abilities give her an unique and rare gift to be able
to see what the people are thinking and seeing the
immediate future of their actions at times. Katherine
also is one of the few with the license to kill parasapiens
when needed.
There is not a large main arc running in this book,
it’s about a week or so in Katherine’s life, both with
her daughter and her foster child, and her work at the
agency. There is not any romance in this book, but it
didn’t need it here. One thing that is a bit confusing is
how the point of views are written, since it switches
off, sometimes I had to take a second to figure out
which character was narrating. Looking forward to
the next book.

4 Stars

Uncaged Review – Into the Streets by Charles Isaacs

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Into the Streets
Charles Isaacs
Political 20th Century Fiction

It’s the late 1960s. The Vietnam War, the Antiwar Movement and the Black Power Movement are rushing toward their explosive peaks. In the midst of this charged time, an inter-racial pair of young activists fall madly in love. Awaiting them are excitement, danger, heartache and redemption.

Into the Streets: An Antiwar Love Story chronicles those lovers’ challenging journey, their coming of age amidst an unpopular war; a racially polarized city; a hostile mayor and ever mounting threats, all while working through their own deep psychological issues. 1968 is marked by campus unrest, urban rebellions and assassinations, as well as political violence that thrusts the duo into clashes with Chicago’s police and the National Guard. The suspense builds breathlessly to a heartrending climax during the street protests surrounding that summer’s Democratic National Convention.

Uncaged Review: The late 60s was a time when I
was a very small child, so even though I did learn a
lot about the 60s later on, I was close enough to it that
it was a step back in time to read this book. Interracial
couples were frowned upon, being gay was a problem
that could be solved with the churches and therapy,
and it was also a time of violence, riots and protests
of the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights movement
along with the assassination of Martin Luther King,
Jr.
So the political times were tumultuous and divisive.
Funny how history repeats itself. This story is a
fictional love story between Steve and Cat, an interracial
couple within the authentic accounts of the real
history and their passion for their causes and for each
other. As our main characters navigate this political
turmoil, the reader will be drawn into the past on a
campus in Chicago – and all the unrest of the times,
deftly told by the author.

4 Stars

Uncaged Review: The Legend of Skinner Robeland by Rue Allyn

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

The Legend of Skinner Robeland
Rue Allyn
Historical Western

She’ll stop at nothing for revenge. He wants to save her from the gallows. When their past collides, will painful secrets end any chance for love?”

Elise Van Demer is determined on vengeance. Pampered and privileged then betrayed and disowned, she hides in plain sight and plots to kill the men who destroyed her life. She’s almost ready to spring her trap, when she encounters a man from her past. Boyd Alvarez could ruin everything, and the last thing she needs as a passion for a bull-headed, interfering man.

Because he failed to save his home and family from raiders, bounty hunter Boyd Alvarez’s closest companions are grief and guilt. Then an encounter with Elise has him thinking she’s determined to get herself killed. He must put aside his regrets in order to stop her.

Their reunion is as dangerous as it is passionate, but Elise can’t trust Boyd’s claim that he wants to help. To save her from certain disaster, Boyd travels with Elise, but he struggles to win her trust as she desperately tries to keep him off her trail.

A wandering man, a woman with secrets , , , enemies on all sides, can these two wounded souls stay alive long enough to learn to love?

Uncaged Review: This is the first book I’ve read
from this author, and I’m pretty sure it won’t be
the last. I like the way the author doesn’t gloss
over the wild west and over-romanticize it. The
true old west was brutal and dangerous and this
book plays out like a good film. After Elise is
betrayed and her ranch stolen from her which she
was meant to inherit, she plots revenge on those
that betrayed her. The only fly in this ointment is
Boyd, a bounty hunter that wants to protect her.
Elise finally lets Boyd help, but she makes it clear
that she doesn’t want or need his protection.

This is a good story, it starts a tad slow in the
beginning, but it’s not an overly long book, and
once you get past the first couple chapters, the
book picks up interest. I honestly could easily
see this play out well as a movie on one of the
streaming services. Boyd and Elise will need to
work together to win back Elise’s ranch, and just
maybe along the way, it will heal Boyd’s broken
heart.

4 Stars

Uncaged Review: License to Bite by Carrie Pulkinen

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

License to Bite
Carrie Pulkinen
Paranormal Romantic Comedy

It’s all fun and games….

…until someone wakes up dead.

Governor’s daughter Jane Anderson is used to getting what she wants. When a girls’ trip to Mardi Gras thrusts her into the arms—and fangs—of New Orleans’ hottest vampire, he gifts her with immortality, super strength, and a complexion to die for.

There’s only one tiny problem. Jane faints at the sight of blood.

When Ethan Devereaux meets Jane, his cold, lifeless heart learns to beat again. Convinced she’s his late fiancée reincarnated, he turns her, claiming her as his own. But when Jane wakes up dead in Ethan’s attic, she’s loud, sassy, and downright ornery. He doesn’t know if he should kiss her or stake her, but one thing’s for certain…

She is so not his long-lost love.

But Ethan turned her, so he’s stuck with her. Jane has three weeks to learn the ways of the vampire and get her license, or she’ll be staked. If Ethan can’t help her overcome her aversion to blood, his undead life might also be on the line.

Uncaged Review: This is a fun book, and in
times like today, fun is a good escape. This book
reminds me a bit of the early books in the Lynsay
Sands Argeneau series. Jane and her BFF Sophie
are in New Orleans around Mardi Gras, as Jane
is a travel blogger, and the daughter of the Texas
governor. After drinking too much one night, they
meet Ethan and Gaston – unknown to them in their
drunkenness that they are vampires. But Ethan
and Gaston get them home safe and sound. The
next day, Jane and Sophie are out again, but as
Jane is out taking selfies near a cool New Orleans
cemetery, she is hit by a car. Ethan gets to her, and
changes her into a vampire before she dies. But
when she wakes up the next evening, he’s wondering
if that was a mistake.
This has some really hilarious moments, and it is
fun to see the author compare Ethan to Edward
Cullen and Gaston to Jack Sparrow, since Gaston
likes to bite the drunk people and get drunk
himself, and Ethan is a broody, unhappy vampire.
Jane’s aversion to seeing blood makes it even funnier.
There are a lot of fun moments, a whole lot
of sass and the storyline was not overly deep and
suspenseful, but it was a light hearted read that
was welcomed in these darker days of winter.

5 Stars

Uncaged Review: Into the Lyon’s Den by Jade Lee

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Into the Lyon’s Den
Jade Lee
Historical Regency

Intrigue makes for strange bedfellows…

Elliott, Lord Byrn, often found himself in strange places, but none is more bizarre than the infamous Lyon’s Den gaming house in a tony part of London. The gambling doesn’t surprise him, nor the salacious things rumored to happen in the upstairs rooms. What shocks him is a slip of a girl jeweler/fence who bargains with him over a missing brooch. He needs her to refashion the thing before anyone else realizes it is missing and she drives a hard bargain.

Harder than he can imagine…

Amber Gohar lives her days in the gray world of a gambling hell, but she dreams of escaping into the vibrant world of the ton. When the opportunity arises for her to spend just one night at a society ball, she grabs it with both hands, never expecting that she would also be taking hold of a man who set her heart on fire. But once she realizes what she’s done, she won’t let go. She can’t. Happily ever after doesn’t come easily, or for free, in the world of The Lyon’s Den.

Uncaged Review: Another entry into the Lyon’s Den
connected world, and this one is quite intriguing. The
connected world is the same gaming hell in London,
which is owned by a matchmaker, Mrs. Dove Lyon.
So all the books will share that in common.
This book starts out with Lord Byrn going to find a
brooch that was pawned for money – and he tracks
the brooch to the gaming hell and a jeweler within.
Much to his surprise, is the designer of the jewelry
is a young woman, and he will need her to remake it.
Along the way, she befriends Lord Bryn’s sister, Diana,
who helps to give her a season in society, as long
as people don’t find out where she came from.
All in all, this is a nice story, but it didn’t knock my
socks off. It was a little slow, and some of the descriptions
of people or places or events went on too
long and really didn’t advance the story. I like the
Lyon’s Den connected world and have read a few of
them now and can recommend.

4 Stars

Uncaged Review: Brides at Coconuts by Beth Carter

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Brides at Coconuts
Beth Carter
Contemporary Romance

Four best friends. A rushed proposal. A jilted bride. A shocking DNA test. Just another day at Coconuts.

Still a virgin at nearly 40, Hope can’t believe a man is interested in her, as in really interested. As nervous as her students before prom, she timidly navigates the choppy dating waters like an awkward teen. Smitten by the guy who seems determined to win her heart, will she allow him to break down her barriers after he drops a colossal bombshell?

Socialite Cheri Van Buren came clean—sort of—to a sweet cowboy who stole her heart. But she never had the chance to tell him about her pedigreed, high-society life before it was publicized internationally. Meanwhile, a food critic and arrogant chef attempt to destroy her catering business.

After an astonishing, almost-televised birth, Suzy juggles twins and exhaustion, while her beloved wedding planning business appears to be going up in tulle. Her distracted husband regrets allowing his daughter to move to Hollywood while Suzy welcomes newborns.

Bank marketer Alex is demoted and the one man who she always thought would be there for her appears to be going, going, gone. To complicate her convoluted relationship, her cop boyfriend gets an unlikely partner.

When one of the best friends receives a rushed engagement, after the surprise, the women rally to provide a quick wedding. But the inclement weather has other ideas. Will the winter wonderland ceremony take place or is a wedding sleepover their best bet?

As always, Coconuts, their beloved island-themed bar, is the only constant in the frenzied best friends’ lives. Or is it?

Uncaged Review: From a jilted bride, a drunk wedding at Coconuts – to an almost baby delivery in an elevator, the fun continues in the fifth book of this series. You can read these all as standalones, but this is a group of friends that you should start at the beginning with Thursdays at Coconuts to be able to get the full effect and back story. These stories are getting better and better with each book, and I laughed, smiled and was completely engaged from beginning to end. I was thrilled to see Hope get a lot of the spotlight in this book, and I still think Alex needs to dump the cop. The chemistry is long gone with those two, and Cheri and Cole couldn’t be a better fit. Talk about opposites.

I know the author will not go on with this series forever, and she probably has a lot of stories rumbling around in her head, but this series always feels like a comfortable pair of slippers each time a new book comes out and I miss Coconuts and these friends like they were my own when the book is over.
Reviewed by Cyrene

5 Stars

Uncaged Review: Warwolfe by Kathryn Le Veque

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Warwolfe
Kathryn Le Veque
Medieval Historical

1066 A.D. – Discover the origins of the original de Wolfe pack, led by the man known as WARWOLFE. Before the Duke of Normandy conquered England, a legend arose. A man so fierce, so brave, and so noble, that the mere whisper of his name could strike both fear and admiration into the hearts of all men.

That name is Warwolfe.

Gaetan de Wolfe is this man. A legend from a family of legends, the greatest de Wolfe warrior arises as William the Conqueror sets foot in England to claim what he believes is his birthright. Gaetan brings with him nine of the fiercest knights the realm has ever seen, plowing their way into the English countryside, forging their legacies at the Battle of Hastings. But when one of Gaetan’s men is kidnapped by the rogue brother of the Earl of Mercia, Gaetan refuses to let his man go. His loyalty to his men is above all.

A rescue mission of epic proportions begins.

Guiding the original de Wolfe Pack on this task into deadly enemy territory is a lady warrior known as Ghislaine of Mercia. The sister of the man who kidnapped Gaetan’s knight, her loyalties are torn. Wary of the big Norman knight with the fierce manner, her attraction to Gaetan is nonetheless undeniable. There is a spark between them that refuses to die. Together, Gaetan and Ghislaine embark on a dangerous adventure where myths are revealed, loyalties are tested, and where a growing passion between them becomes all-consuming.

Live the legend.

Uncaged Review: I didn’t like this book, I loved it. I have to admit, I wasn’t too fond of Gatean at
first. But one of the reasons is this is not a normal romance book from this author. But what this
book does do is to give the reader a better background on many of the names that will come up
in later books. De Russe, de Lohr, du Reims, de Lara and even gives you the background on how
de Shera began. These names will be linked in future novels and the ancestry that this author has
developed over her series of medieval novels and how they are all interconnected is mind boggling.

So even though there is some romance here, it is a smaller part of this book. This book is more about
the amazing Knights and their true loyalty to each other – a true band of brothers not seen in modern
times. As I said, Gatean took time to grow on me, but he did, with Ghislaine’s help. A great origin
story that will give the readers of this author a better background and understanding on many
books that follow. Reviewed by Cyrene

5 Stars

Uncaged Review: Watcher Untethered by J.L. Madore

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Watcher Untethered
JL Madore
Paranormal Romance/Occult

An 8-Book Dark Angels Completed Series.

Duty. Honor. His brothers. That’s all he has.

Wounded in battle, Zander wakes in a daemon feeding ground, bound to a human female. The origins of the restraints are unknown and the woman, a risk for Otherworld exposure. In the midst of the violence of his world, and with relationships punishable by death, Austin tempts a part of him he fought to lock down his entire, miserable existence.

Kidnapped and handcuffed to a dangerously sexy man, Austin is helpless to fight the attraction to her savior. The darkness of his world terrifies her, yet the rich timbre of his voice triggers a bizarre form of synesthesia. After a decade of being blind, what Austin sees when she’s with Zander, threatens to destroy them both…

Uncaged Review: There is a lot of comparison to the Black Dagger Brotherhood in this series, and yes, I can see the similarities – but they are not the same stories. People could have said the same about the Midnight Breed series also. I can say, if you liked the BDB or the Midnight Breed series, you may like this one too. In my copy, I didn’t see a lot of grammar issues, so it seems the book has been edited since those reviews in 2018. I really enjoyed this band of brothers, in this group we have the Nephilim, and even the Archangels show up at times. This group of men are a blast. Be aware, the author does not shy away from danger, gore and the horror of protecting the human race from demonkind – and it is an erotic tale with some hard hitting sex scenes. If you are a person that is easily offended by language and cussing, this isn’t the book for you.

But if you like a unit of warriors that kick ass and love even harder, then this may be a good book to grab onto. The nice thing is that this is an eight book series, and all are out now. I’ll definitely be moving on to the next one. Reviewed by Cyrene

4 1/2 Stars

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