Thursday, May 2, 2024
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Uncaged Review: The Lovers by L.A. McGinnis

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

The Lovers
L.A. McGinnis
Fantasy Romance

Thief. Sinner. Saint.

Lilly Domenic has stolen from the rich. The Famous. The Unsuspecting.

This is her life, navigating her crime family’s dangerous world, hoping to survive another day. But when her brother gives her one final task to complete, Lilly finds herself in over her head.

Freyr, the God of Love, always lived a charmed life, until he was thrown headfirst into a war with the most powerful god in the universe. Determined to prove he takes the mission of the gods—protect the earth at all costs—seriously, his new goal becomes his calling. Little does he know he’s allowed a traitor into their midst. One who will jeopardize everything they’ve fought to safeguard.

Trapped between the immortal gods and a brother who is determined to have his revenge, Lilly risks everything to fight for the one thing she never thought she deserved.

Love.

Uncaged Review: As we hit the 5th book in this series, this book centers around Lilly and Freyr – but the main back story is continuing, and it’s ramping up in a crazy way. Lilly, coming from a crime family and pulling cons her entire life, has the perfect photographic memory and strategic mind. She can’t be trusted at first, but she does find her place – and along with the other strong women in this series, they all contribute something new and unfailingly helps the immortal warriors. But with the Orubus coming through, all Hell is about to break loose, literally.

I can stress the importance of reading this series in order. The main story arc in each book continues on after each other, and you may be a bit lost if you just pick up any of the series. But it’s well worth the time – this is a fantastic series, full of action, Norse Gods, hot scenes, and great dialog. This story has some great twists in it, especially in the back end of the book and will keep you guessing on the edge of your seat. What a fantastic series this would be on the small or large screen. Reviewed by Cyrene

5 Stars

Uncaged Review: What Would a Duke Do? by Collette Cameron

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

What Would a Duke Do?
Collette Cameron
Historical Regency

He’s bent on revenge. She’s his enemy’s granddaughter. He’ll marry her…willing or not.

Maxwell, the Duke of Pennington is a man focused on one thing: revenge. He’ll stop at nothing to achieve his goal, including marrying the beautiful, unpredictable granddaughter of the man he seeks reprisal against—whether Gabriella is willing or not. As Max inexplicably finds himself drawn to the spirited minx, unforeseen doubts and guilt arise.

Miss Gabriella Breckensole is astonished when the enigmatic Duke of Pennington turns his romantic attentions on her. Debonair and confident, he set her heart fluttering from their first meeting. Far beneath his station, Gabby never hoped to win his favor, and she soon risks losing her heart to the roguish lord.

Until she accidentally overhears Maxwell vowing to return her familial home to his dukedom and learns his courtship is a revenge-filled ploy. Even though he awakened feelings she never imagined possible, Gabriella now considers him an enemy. Can Max make the impossible choice between retribution or forever losing the only woman to ever touch his heart?

Uncaged Review: Ms. Cameron is a consistent author for me, whenever I open a book from her, I feel as though I’m going to enjoy and get lost in a new world. This book holds steady in that way, but it’s not my all-time favorite from this author. It was a bit slow in the beginning and there was a bit too much internalizing from the characters that went on a bit long, especially Gabriella. And even though Maxwell is a bit over bearing at first, he does work his way into the reader’s good graces. There is a really good twist that comes in near the end, and it’s a doozy.

The characters have great chemistry and there are times I love them both, and times I’d like to swat them both. But after the initial 20% of the book, the book finds it’s voice and the reader is carried into the story. Reviewed by Cyrene

4 Stars

Uncaged Review: Dragon’s Ground by Shannon Mayer

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Dragon’s Ground
Shannon Mayer
Urban Fantasy

Dragons and danger and magic collide.
And its only Monday.

Once more Zamira must test her mettle against a world bent on breaking her, proving she is more than she seems.

We survived the land of the Witch’s Reign, that much is true. But our arrival home is far from welcome.

My idiot brother has taken it upon himself to ride off in search of a mythical healer, someone who might help him walk again. Assuming she doesn’t eat him first. Because said healer is a dragon and happens to reside in the deepest reaches of the Dragon’s Ground. Like I said, idiot.

I’d go after him myself, but his leave-taking is not the only problem I face. My mentor has yet again forbidden me to leave the safety of the Stockyards. Her reasoning?

That I am too weak to weather the coming storms.

With my pride wounded in more ways than one, I must gather the few allies’ I have left. My ex-husband’s new girlfriend at the top of the list and a goat bleating, oversexed Satyr.

FML.

If I’m lucky I’ll find a small dragon and a Jinn whose blue eyes still haunt my dreams along the way.

Buckle up, buttercup, this ride is about to take a seriously unforeseen twist.

Uncaged Review: I read the first book in this series a few months ago, and even though I liked it and liked the direction it was going, I didn’t love it. That all changed with this second book in the series. So many questions from the first book are answered, but still many more remain. But this book turned this series into a must read for me, it was full of action, twists and turns and allies coming from the most unusual places. There are new allies and new enemies, and Zam along with Maks, Lila and Balder will be in the thick of it again.

World building and character development is much stronger and the action scenes were non-stop. The author has tossed in a few twists that I didn’t see coming. If you didn’t fall in love with this trio in the first book, you may fall in this one. I can honestly say that I laughed, screamed (OK, not loud) and cried in this book and I can guarantee it won’t take me a few months to read book three.

5 Stars

Uncaged Review – Wild Side by Shayne Silvers

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Wild Side
Shane Silvers
Urban Fantasy

To become a Godkiller you have to awaken the monster inside you…

Almost a year has passed since Nate’s ex-fiancée woke up a Greek god intent on world domination and war. The problem? He doesn’t know which god. And the promised war hasn’t started yet.

With the Four Horsemen refusing to help, and an army of monsters living on his lawn, Nate resorts to the one thing he’s best at—pissing off demigods and Greek Heroes in hopes of jump-starting the war.

But then he receives an ominous invitation that he literally cannot refuse. A dark, deadly place where nightmares roam free demands an audience. The Land of the Fae.

He must forget every story he’s heard about the Fae. They’re nothing like he imagined, nothing like he’s been told… Because to kill a god, he needs to learn how to become a monster.

Uncaged Review: I was actually on the fence with this book, especially the first half as it was a tad on the confusing side when Nate gets an invitation to the Land of the Fae, which this dark land changes everybody in the group – Nate, Tory, Ashley and Sir Muffle Paws, and not so much Carl. It went far out there, even for the Temple universe. Not many people survive this land, and Nate steals back a mortal child that had been switched with a changeling fae child, that had been killed. Each person will find their wild side…and either come together with it and embrace it, or be lost forever. There are a few twists that I never really guessed, but that happens often in this series.

The second half of this book is where all the action really kicks up a notch. I was also glad to see Callie Penrose from the Feathers and Fire series back in this book. I like this match up much better than the one with Indie, many books ago. Whether the author takes it in that direction is not known yet. This book will bring some endings, and some new problems. And I almost want to run over and grab book eight right away and remain in Nate’s world, but I think I need time to absorb everything first. Reviewed by Cyrene

5 Stars

Uncaged Review – A Love Not Deceased by Eric Kapitan

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

A Love Not Deceased
Eric Kapitan
Horror

Maggie knows how to grieve. She’s done it so often, but now after so many losses, she’s ready for a happily ever after. Unfortunately for her, what she wants and what life has in store for her are two very different scenarios.
Follow this dark, twisty romance that will make your toes curl and your heart stop! Discover where the lines blur between love, loss, and lust.
She loves him. She loves him not. She loves him so much; she can’t let go.

Uncaged Review: I have to wonder where authors of horror books are at in life and what they dream and fantasize about. I think the sensitive might be needing some extra therapy after spending some time in a mind like this author. And this author does creepy very well. This is a novella length book, so I can’t get into any major details, but imagine BDSM – I mean kind of creepy sex, obsession, horror and a twist at the end that has you shaking your head and wondering what the hell just happened, and put all this into a blender and you will have some semblance of this book. This is under KindleUnlimited, so if you like horror, and have that subscription service, give this book a shot. It’s fast, it will only take an hour or so, and see if you have the creepy sort of fun this author dishes out. Reviewed by Cyrene

4 Stars

Uncaged Review – A Fair Trade by Laylah Abrams

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

A Fair Trade
Laylah Abrams
Western Historical

Raised by his fur trapper father and uncles, Jack Briggs makes do with little more than a knife and flask. Alone now, he searches for a place to call home. And refined and beautiful Penelope Findley may be the person who can help him find it as he leads the Findleys’ wagon to Oregon.

Honor-bound by her marriage vows, Penelope snubs the handsome wagon leader whenever he shows an interest in her. When she is widowed following a river crossing accident, Jack tempts her with the means to remain independent: protection in a temporary marriage and payment in exchange for helping him obtain the free acreage allotted to married settlers in Oregon.

What Penelope doesn’t realize is that Jack wants more than the land. He wants her. But can he overlook her disreputable past? And will she be able to give up the freedom he promised?

Uncaged Review: For a debut novel, the author does a great job with this book that sets up on the Oregon Trail. The characters are easy to like, with a bit of suspense and humor. When Penelope’s husband dies in an accident, Jack offers her safety with a marriage telling her about the free land available to married couples. Both of them have hurdles to jump to get to a HEA, and Penelope’s is a bit tedious at times and a bit too drawn out. But all in all, this is a really good debut novel and I’m looking forward to what this author brings out in the future. Reviewed by Cyrene

4 Stars

Uncaged Review – Jungle Salvation by M.A. Jewell

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Jungle Salvation
M.A. Jewell
Paranormal Romance/Shifter

Well-meaning friends drag archaic jaguar shifter Matteo D’Cruz back into the human world. Almost trapped in cat form, the recalcitrant male narrowly dodges execution as a feral. Even so, his final end doesn’t concern him overmuch—until he meets the thrill-seeking Dakota Gorman, a latent shifter female.

Matteo helps trigger her first transformation into a magnificent jaguar, and in turn, she schools him on the twenty-first-century woman. Hopeful for the first time in decades, Matteo embraces a possible future with the formidable jaguar queen. Tragically, their intimacy nearly forces him back into cat form, which would put him on death row.

Unwilling to selfishly ask Dakota to wait for him, a desolate Matteo resigns himself to torture and watching her mate another. Instead, in a vicious plot to weaponize shifter DNA, a rogue military faction snatches her, carving Matteo’s heart from his chest. He will bring her home—but at what cost?

Uncaged Review: If you’ve been out of the shifter worlds lately and looking for a book to jump back in with, or if you’ve never read a good shifter book, this is a great place to start. The characters are well developed and likable, and the plot is intense, suspenseful and well written.

Matteo is a tortured character, and having been living in his jaguar form before shifting back to human has made it dangerous to shift back to jaguar, or he may never be able to come back from that. When Dakota is kidnapped to be used to be a rogue military weapon, Matteo will work to bring her home, but will he jeopardize himself for love?

Action, steam, great world building put this book on the map to being a must read series. Reviewed by Cyrene

5 Stars

Uncaged Review: Rangers of the Rift, Season 1: Episodes 1–4 by River K. Scott

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Rangers of the Rift
River K. Scott
Fantasy/Occult/YA

I didn’t choose this life. But I sure as hell choose who I fight for.

For fans of The Mortal Instruments, Ninth House, and Slayer comes an unputdownable contemporary fantasy, the first book in an epic, three-season series, about a world threatened by forgotten magic and a girl forged by dark power; her memories hold the key to not only her own survival, but the fate of all the living and the dead.

Emily Mars has one duty: ferry lost souls trapped in purgatory to whatever lies beyond. If that means falling behind at school, loving a boy she can’t have, and watching friends go to college while she stays behind, then so be it.

Because being a Ranger also means that when all hell breaks loose—like actual hell, actually coming through, with demons and ghosts and everything creepy—it’s her job to stop it.

But the shatter hits without warning, releasing fire and fiend. And with the shatter comes a curse and a kidnapping, and soon Emily must harness all her strength, risk everything she holds dear and break every oath, to save the boy she loves.

This book by River K. Scott encompasses the first season which are 4 episodes of the series, Rangers of the Rift. Each book is considered one episode, and this book contains the first four. This is well executed series, with an intricate storyline and the action and tension builds on each episode. The first two episodes are more novella length, but they work well here. These stories have enough twists to keep you guessing and the storyline is an intricate dance of suspense, danger and even straddles the occult/horror line. Emily is a Ranger, who needs to ferry souls to cross over before they become dark and violent.

A bit of caution, the second episode contains a school shooting, and the author does not bail out on the violence and each episode gets better and better as the story ramps up. You will see growth in Emily and Tad. This box set features all of season one, and wraps up season one nicely. Plan on continuing to season two, it’s hard to put down. Reviewed by Cyrene

5 Stars




Uncaged Review: How to Save an Undead Life by Hailey Edwards

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

How to Save an Undead Life
Hailey Edwards
Paranormal/Fantasy

Grier Woolworth spends her nights weaving spooky tales of lost souls and tragedies for tourists on the streets of downtown Savannah. Hoop skirt and parasol aside, it’s not a bad gig. The pay is crap, but the tips keep the lights on in her personal haunted mansion and her pantry stocked with ramen.

Life is about as normal as it gets for an ex-necromancer hiding among humans. Until the society that excommunicated Grier offers her a second chance at being more than ordinary. Too bad no one warned her the trouble with being extraordinary is it can get you killed.

Uncaged Review: Grier is a necromancer that is released from a magical prison that stripped her of her heritage, standing and inheritance and left her with PTSD, a sentient house and struggles to keep food in the house with her tour guide job at night. Now she is just trying to blend in with the human world and stay away from the supernatural. Too bad they won’t stay away from her.

Interesting parts of the book – it has a very original concept, which I do like. Grier herself interests me also, there are some twists in the back part of the book that is intriguing, and it’s hooked my interest. Four characters have my interest, Grier, Woolly (the house), Keets (the undead parakeet) and Linus who we meet in the last pages of the book.

And the not-so-interesting – the world building needs some tightening up. It was confusing on some aspects all the way through the book. Hopefully it comes together better in the series. Her best friends, Boaz and Amelie. Dull. I liked them fine, but they were lackluster. And even though this has marketing as a “romance,” there is zero romance in this book, from my standpoint.

Overall, I’m going to continue this series, for now. The pros have grabbed my attention, and I’m up for the next book. Reviewed by Cyrene

4 Stars

Uncaged Review: Marquess of Malice by Tammy Andresen

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Marquess of Malice
Tammy Andresen
Historical Regency

He’s known as the Marquess of Malice…can one little lady warm his dark heart?

Malice, as his friends and fellow gaming hell owners call him, doesn’t have room in his life for love. He’ll take a quiet bride, make an heir, and ship her off to the country. He’s picked the perfect little mouse for the job. The problem? When Malice asks her to marry him, Lady Cordelia refuses. Has she no sense? Any debutante would be happy to catch a marquess. But then again, he’s broken inside. Perhaps Cordelia is the most sensible woman of them all…

Lady Cordelia Chase has no intention of marrying the oafish, overbearing marquess. Lord Malicorn is rude, surly, and entirely unsuitable. Never mind that he’s the only man to ask. Quiet and shy, she’s been overlooked most of her life. When she marries, it will be for love and not just as a breeding cow. The only problem is that when Lord Malicorn isn’t talking, well, he’s rather strong and terribly handsome. And when he holds her in his arms, she could almost swear her heart skips a beat. If this isn’t love…what the devil is it?

Uncaged Review: A great addition to the series, this one brings us Chad and Cordelia, and Cordelia has always been in the shadows of her beautiful sisters, believing them to be more beautiful as she wears spectacles. Malice (Chad) has been the one assigned to watch over her to make sure she doesn’t tell on their ownership of the gaming hell. But Malice has difficulty getting through his past.

I really enjoyed this couple, and was rooting for them the whole way. I liked this one as much as the first book in the series, but it felt a bit rushed in places. The twist near the end is a bit confusing because of the book before, but I won’t give away any spoilers. This series is very easy to follow along with and I think the author has a great cast of characters to choose from. It was fun to watch Chad fall in love with Cordelia despite himself thinking he could never love anyone, and the epilogue was a nice wrap up. Reviewed by Cyrene

4 Stars
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