Sunday, November 17, 2024
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Uncaged Review: Slayer by Cyndi Friberg

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Slayer
Cyndi Friberg
SciFi Romance

General Malik Xett doesn’t have time for romance. His one and only concern is curtailing the power and influence of the ruthless Sarronti elite. Still, the human female working with him lingers in his mind and fuels his imagination.

Though Kara O’Leary has been attracted to Malik since they first met, she never dreamed he returned her feelings. One kiss ignites a hunger neither can deny, but the timing couldn’t be worse. Hostilities rapidly escalate and new threats are revealed. How can Malik and Kara bring freedom to the “world below” when all they can think about is each other?

Uncaged Review: The character building and world
building in this novel are top notch, and the descriptions
have this world leaping off the pages. This is the
first book in a series and the first book I’ve read by
this author and I will be looking forward to reading
more from her. This is a complete novel, and does not
end on a cliffhanger, but I still believe reading any
series in order will enhance each story. With that said,
there is a lot going on in this book, and the romance
between Kara and Malik brews perfectly. Sarronti
males are paired with human women through a mate
locator. If there are more than one mate available, the
women can choose the one they prefer. There is one
that Kara is matched to, that she declines – and he
won’t take no for an answer, until Malik steps in.

There is a lot of action going on this book, and some
of the descriptions weigh the book down a bit, but
when it comes to scifi, it’s not always an easy task to
convey the world in the author’s mind to paper and
have others believe it. This book left a lot of unanswered
questions, but I believed this story and felt
what the characters were feeling, and for me, that
makes this an easily recommended book. Reviewed
by Cyrene

4 Stars

Uncaged Review: A Marquess for Miss Marigold by Maggie Dallen & Katherine Ann Madison

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

A Marquess for Miss Marigold
Maggie Dallen & Katherine Ann Madison
Historical Regency

All this wounded marquess wants is solitude. Instead, he stumbles across a wallflower…literally.

It wasn’t as though Marigold was hiding, she was just…lying low. In an abandon shed. Admidst a houseparty where both her best friends had managed to become engaged.

In a few days she can escape to her quiet life a solitude and books. Alone. Forever. But then the prodigal son returns to the manor and charges into her life with the military precision one might expect from a war hero. Even more terrifying, he refuses to ignore her like the rest of society. Of course, he doesn’t.

The irritating man seems to have made it his life’s mission to drag her out of the shadows and into the light. And while she has wish to be seen by the rest of them, his attention is starting to feel…nice. Better than that, even.

But he’s a marquess and a war hero. His interest is purely an act of kindness. Nothing more.

Unfortunately, her heart refuses to listen to reason. Which means…it’s bound to be broken.

Uncaged Review: Mary wants nothing more than to
steal away to the country and have a quiet life. During
a house party she hides away in a shed, but she’s
not the only one trying to get away from a party. Until
Max, a returning war hero and Marquess – finds her
and drags her back out to the party. Mary believes
he’s only doing this to be nice to her, but is he?

This is a shorter story, pretty easy to read in one sitting
and it’s a sweet, feel-good romance that has wonderful
characters. The two authors have done a terrific
job of writing together and even though this is part of
a series, you can easily read this as a standalone.
Reviewed by Cyrene

4 Stars

Changes to Uncaged Book Reviews for 2021

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Hello all,
I wanted to take some time and let you know that Uncaged Book Reviews will be converted to a bi-monthly magazine for the remainder of the year. June will go as planned, and then the releases will be July/August, September/October and November/December. I will re-evaluate after that to see if and when it may go back to monthly. There are several reasons for this, but the main reason is a time issue. In the summer months, especially this year, there is a lot of work on this small farm and with the barn roof collapsing last January, we have a lot of work to clean it up and repurpose the barn since there will be no help from insurance. Uncaged takes at least 60+ hours each month just to put the magazine together (this does not count for the website at all) and there is not a “team” of designers, it’s only me. I have the great help from Melanie, Myra and Amy from a content point of view which I’m always grateful. 

A remarkable thing about Uncaged is the readership is steady, even as summer comes around. Each issue is uploaded for at least 2 years, and I went and looked yesterday, and even year old issues are still getting monthly reads, which makes advertising even more of a bargain, considering the ads will be seen for a long time. The ad promo of buy 2 get 1 free will remain in effect.

Secondly, June is the last month for eligibility for the Raven Awards. The voting will begin in July and there will be a LIVE Facebook event for the awards probably in August like last year. All nominees and authors will be invited to join in the party and have their own giveaways in between award announcements. More of that to come.

Also, if you are an author and would like to contribute an article to Uncaged on a per issue basis, I will gladly give a free Premium placement ad. I would consider two columns per issue and as long as it relates to books, genres, or anything in the book industry, and a minimum of 1500 words, there would be no other limitations.

So please, if you have any questions, please feel free to email me and please pass this info along to your authors as I can’t possibly email them all… and everyone, have a great summer.

xxxx Cyrene

Uncaged Review: A Lord for Miss Lily by Maggie Dallen and Katherine Ann Madison

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

A Lord for Miss Lily
Maggie Dallen & Katherine Ann Madison
Historical Romance

Lily’s lord is her long lost friend. He’s also her worst enemy.

Lord Merrick is perfectly handsome and charming…but this lord is a complete traitor. Lily knows this for a fact as she is the very person he turned his back on. Now she’s determined to avoid him at the house party she’s been trapped at with her former friend.

The only problem? Lord Merrick is like the plague… he just keeps cropping up.

And when he saves her from a social embarrassment, she’s tempted to spill all her darkest secrets. But how could she ever trust him like that again?

Even if they could recapture the friendship that once filled her life with happiness what would she do about all the feelings that hint she wants to be far more than his friend?

There is only one thing left to do.

Allow him to kiss her under the moonlight.

Uncaged Review: A friends-to-sweet romance
book that has all the feels. Lily and Merrick were
great childhood friends but each seemed to go
their separate ways for different reasons. Now
stuck at a house party together, they banter back
and forth. Lily believes she can’t trust Merrick
any more, and Merrick is in the dark as to why.
This is a clean, sweet romance that has wonderful
characters and is an easy read. Falling for these
wallflowers is easy and the writing duo of Dallen
& Madison is outstanding.

The books can easily be read as standalones and
come with their own HEA. No cliffhangers here,
just a reader looking forward to the next book in
the series.

4 Stars

Uncaged Review: Earl of Sin by Tammy Andresen

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Earl of Sin
Tammy Andresen
Historical Regency

He’s a man of sin and she’s tempting beyond belief…

The Earl of Sinclair is a man returning from the brink. Raising a daughter on his own and only just skirting financial disaster, he’ll be the first to admit he needs help. But a beautiful tutor who whisks into house and begins making changes. He’s not certain this was a good idea. It’s one thing that his daughter loves her, but his own heart is in jeopardy.

Miss Mary Chase has been a burden on her family long enough. Tutor for an earl is the perfect opportunity to prove she can have a successful life as a spinster. But she didn’t count on the earl being so handsome. Nor did she realize he’d need as much help as his daughter.

The question now, is she the woman to heal his broken heart?

Uncaged Review: Mary, who lost her own family
and fiancé in the past, decides to interview to
be a tutor for Cole, the Earl of Sinclair who lost
his wife in childbirth a few years ago, and feels he
is failing his own daughter, Anne. Anne had been
kidnapped by Abernathy and Mary may be just
what Anne needs, but is she also able to heal the
heart of the Earl, and at the same time, her very
own?
I’ve read the other books in this series, and the
characters from the past books are returning, which
is one of my favorite things in series. This is a fast
read and a fast romance. There is no fat in this
book, and it hums along quickly and this is one of
those books that I wish was a bit longer. But with
the series continuing on, it reads like one longer
story. Great addition to this series.

4 Stars

Uncaged Review: Baron of Bad by Tammy Andresen

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Baron of Bad
Tammy Andresen
Historical Regency

He’s bad to the bone… and she looks oh so good.

The Baron of Baderness is too dark, too dangerous for any clear minded lady to consider. And Lady Grace has her choice of men. So why can’t she stop thinking about the one man she shouldn’t want?

Lady Grace isn’t his type of woman at all. She’s too beautiful and far too perfect to ever be with a man such as himself. All she knows is drawing rooms and pretty gowns, while he has fought his way from the dregs of society. He shouldn’t want her and yet every time she passes by, he can’t look away.

Uncaged Review: This book started out with a
bang, a kidnapping, a carriage chase and a shooting,
all in the first pages! Lady Grace is kidnapped
by Abernathy, and while she is supposed to be under
the watchful eye of The Baron of Baderness, Ben.
When the chase ends, the love story begins. Ben
never thought he was good enough for someone like
Lady Grace, but she will batter down his walls and
it’s a sweet story and I’ve read the other books in this
series, and is a good addition. It was fun to see the
characters return from the previous books, since they
are all co-owners of a gaming hell.

This may be my favorite of the series so far, with a
not-so-perfect hero, who is transformed into the man
he always should have been with the help of a strong
heroine in Lady Grace.

4 Stars

Uncaged Review: Lady Constantine and the Sins of Lord Kilgore by Julie Johnstone

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Lady Constantine and the Sins of Lord Kilgore
Julie Johnstone
Historical Regency Romance

In the game of love, even a rogue can come undone by his own wicked wager.

Callum, the Marquess of Kilgore, long ago accepted that he was no saint. So when he’s offered a shameful bet—to seduce the lady some have dubbed the “Ice Queen” and recover the land he foolishly gambled away—he agrees. Yet, as he comes to know Lady Constantine, he realizes this kind and pure woman deserves far better than a reprobate like himself. Now, he would do anything to protect her from the scandal he helped create, even ruthlessly pushing her away. It seems he hasn’t fallen quite as far into sin as he thought…

But a brush with death and an unexpected offer of a marriage of convenience from Constantine provides an opportunity he never anticipated: recoup his squandered fortune and win back the woman he loves. But before Callum can launch his new plan, a heinous plot rips him away, snatching his freedom and destroying any trace of the man who wanted to open his heart.

Constantine hasn’t a clue what to do when the man she loved, hated, and mourned returns from the dead. Though she is still legally his wife, she certainly doesn’t know him anymore—if she ever did. The seemingly unrepentant rogue appears focused solely on revenge, no matter the destruction it may cause—a far cry from the complex man of honor she once believed him to be. Yet, despite the pain of the past and the demons of the present, Callum still holds the power to inexorably fill her with a yearning and a hope she can hardly control. Suddenly, Constantine wants to risk her heart again for the one thing she has always longed for from the only man she ever cared for—exquisite, unconquerable love.

Uncaged Review: I had a feeling, when reading this
series, that Lord Kilgore’s story was going to be complicated,
even more so than the first books in the series.
He is a rogue who had my interest the first time I
met him in earlier books. Soon after they are married,
Callum is kidnapped and thrown in an asylum. The
torture is almost unbearable, but so is Callum’s will to
live. He will need to prove himself before he can be
with Constantine, to prove he is the man she can truly
love. But Constantine is no wilting flower, and she is
the perfect match for Kilgore.

This book was heartbreaking, romantic, steamy and a
true page turner. I liked that the book included an epilogue,
but I was a bit bummed about the abrupt ending.
It still deserves five stars, but I would like to see
the ending a bit more, and see if a couple questions
that were never answered could have been resolved.
Good edition to this series.

5 Stars

Uncaged Review: Kiss Me Deadly by Jessie Thomas

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Kiss Me Deadly
Jessie Thomas
Paranormal Romance

A necromancer and a vampire walk into a cemetery…and if you’re wondering how this joke ends, that makes two of us.

I’m Seraphina Mason, Buffalo’s only resident necromancer. While other people are on normal sleep schedules doing regular human things, I spend my nights conjuring spirits, resurrecting the dead, and sometimes a bit of poltergeist removal, if you need it.

But I’m not even the most dangerous nocturnal creature lurking around the cemeteries.

That’s where vampire Nathaniel Caligari waltzes in–all devastating eternal beauty and brooding charm, ready to ruin my life. He’d rather have a wooden stake shoved through his chest than ask for my help, yet here we are. Turns out the bloodsucker has something of a heart after all because he’s desperate, fearing his missing son is dead.

Neither of us are excited about this, but I could really use the paycheck. So, we’re just going to have to set aside our petty insults and work together before this city buries his kid.

If we don’t kill each other first.

Uncaged Review: This is a pretty good start to a
series, but you have to slog through to the halfway
point before it picks up speed. It’s a slow
mover, and there are a lot of things that are never
fully explained and some things that are overly
explained. There is always a fine line that authors
walk to give enough information but not so
much as to slow the story down. This book has
a tendency to do both at times, but all-in-all, I’m
seriously looking forward to the next book in the
series.

I like the characters, the plot is original and interesting,
and the slow burn romance is interesting. I
think the series will give us more of a back story
about Ellie, Rhys, Dev and even this entire paranormal
world. I will definitely move on to book
two when it’s available.

4 Stars

Uncaged Review: Knight of Runes by Ruth A. Casie

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Knight of Runes
Ruth A. Casie
Time Travel Historical

England, 1605. When Lord Arik, a druid knight, finds Rebeka Tyler wandering his lands without protection, he swears to keep her safe. But Rebeka can take care of herself. When Arik sees her clash with a group of attackers using a strange fighting style, he’s intrigued.

Rebeka is no ordinary 17th-century woman – she’s travelled back from the year 2011, and she desperately wants to return to her own time. She poses as a scholar sent by the king to find out what’s killing Arik’s land. But as she works to decode the ancient runes that are the key to solving this mystery and sending her home, she finds herself drawn to the charismatic and powerful Arik.

As Arik and Rebeka fall in love, someone in Arik’s household schemes to keep them apart, and a dark druid with a grudge prepares his revenge. Soon Rebeka will have to decide whether to return to the future or trust Arik with the secret of her time travel and her heart.

Uncaged Review: One of the things that are such
fun with time travel books, is that when a modern
character gets sucked into the past, and then have
to try and find a way of communicating without
the people from that time period think they are
crazy. Rebeka is tossed into the 17th century, and
as she works to solve the mystery of going home,
she falls in love with Arik. One of the not-so-fun
parts of time travel for me, is do they elect to stay
in the past with their love, or do they go home?
I’m always torn with this scenario.

This is a well written story, it does start off very
slow – at least until Rebeka meets Arik. The characters
are easy to like and even though the story
wasn’t fast and action packed, it still held my interest
and it was great seeing Rebeka and Arik fall in
love.

4 Stars

Uncaged Review: Hex, Love and Rock & Roll by Kat Turner

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Hex, Love and Rock & Roll
Kat Turner
Paranormal Romance

With a business skidding toward bankruptcy and bone-dry bank account, Helen Schrader is willing to do the unthinkable. But what will happen when she hires a witch to cast a money spell?

When the spell sets in motion her own latent magic and her inexperience causes her to accidentally hex her celebrity crush, rocker Brian Shepherd, all that good fortune she hoped for flies out of the window.

Now, Helen and Brian struggle to break the curse and tackle their growing feelings for each other. Problem is, the harder they fall for each other, the deadlier the curse becomes.

But as a dark magic cult with an unquenchable thirst for power closes in on them, the couple will have to face more than just their inconvenient desire. With time running out and danger mounting, can they beat the hex before Brian becomes its next victim?

Uncaged Review: Helen’s business is going belly up
and she hires a witch to cast a money spell. The witch
gives her small crystals, and she meets and gives a
crystal to her rock and roll crush, an aging rocker
named Brian. But what she didn’t know, is she is a
witch herself, and she accidently hexes Brian.

This is a good story with an original storyline with
some fun moments and some drama. But it’s well
mixed and the characters are easy to like to root for.
It’s not too often that this paranormal genre surprises
me these days, but this was fun and original.

5 Stars

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