Thursday, January 23, 2025
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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

Uncaged Review: Second Chance Summer by Allie Boniface

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Second Chance Summer
Allie Boniface
Contemporary Romance

She can’t remember her past. He’s on the run from his. Love may be their only hope.

Ten years after leaving home, the last thing Summer Thompson expects is to inherit a half-renovated mansion. And the last thing she wants is to face the memories of the night her brother died. Now living in San Francisco, she plans to stay east just long enough to settle the estate and get rid of the house.

Until she finds it occupied by a hunky handyman who’s strangely reluctant to talk about his past.

Damian Knight has been hiding his mother and sister from a violent ex, and Whispering Pines is the one place they’ve found peace and safety. He keeps to himself. He tells no one about his past. Yet when the lonely, haunted Summer steals his heart, he finds himself opening up to her in ways he should never risk.

As their attraction grows, the past begins to catch up with them. Summer’s mounting flashbacks leave her determined to uncover the truth about the night her brother died. But that truth will cross paths with the man Damian and his family have been avoiding for years.

Can new love help them defeat the pain of the past? Or are some scars too deep to ever heal?

Uncaged Review: Second chances to make things right and to fall in love. This sweet romance has a bit of mystery, suspense and even a bit of danger. When Summer returns to Whispering Pines to get the house ready that her dad willed to her after he died, Summer will find that it’s not that easy to walk away and sell the house as she thought. Being sent away after a car crash 10 yrs ago that killed her little brother, Summer feels that the heartache in the town will be too much. But she doesn’t remember what really happened that night, so to be able to put the past behind her, she will need to find out. And when she meets Damian and his family, things are no longer as clear cut as they were.

A nice story, even with a twist I didn’t see coming at all. This is a nice small town romance and you get to feel the emotional turmoil of Summer’s life, as well as Damian and his family. There is a HEA here, and it would have been nice to read an epilogue, since so much of Summer’s time in the book is confusion and sadness, it would have been nice to see a bit into the future of her being a bit more happy, but this is a charming story that shows you that you can go home again. Reviewed by Cyrene

4 Stars

Uncaged Review: Midnight Desire by Shari Nichols

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Midnight Desire
Shari Nichols
Paranormal Romance

When danger and desire collide, a witch with a sordid past and a special agent with nothing to lose must form an unlikely alliance.

While trying to escape her past, kick-ass witch Willow McCray dispenses her own brand of justice swiftly and without mercy, until she crosses paths with sexy Magickal Bureau of Investigations Agent, Alex Denopoulos.

Now, she must use her powers for good if she wants to stay out of the mage prison, Hellios. 

Alex will stop at nothing to catch a killer, including recruiting notorious felon, Willow McCray, to work for the agency. While under his guard, the lines between duty and passion become blurred with the red-haired beauty. 

His penchant for justice and deep-seated hatred of witches makes a future together seem impossible.

But he’s not ready to let her go. Now he’ll risk more than his badge to keep her alive.

If only Willow can vanquish the evil surrounding them and give Alex what he wants—before she loses her heart and even her very soul in the process.

Uncaged Review: This is a paranormal romance that doesn’t pull any punches on the danger and the gore, and it’s got plenty of action, magick and romance. Characters are well developed in this story and Willow is a tough witch with a heart of gold that has strong psychic powers. Alex is a mortal that works for the Magickal Bureau of Investigations and is paired with Willow as his partner when the Bureau gives Willow the option of spending the rest of her life in Hellios (a magickal prison) or becoming a part of the team. When her best friend is murdered, she is partnered with Alex, who detests witches. But the longer Alex and Willow are together – the more both of them will be able to resist the attraction. As more witches are murdered, Alex will stop at nothing to keep Willow safe.

I was very glad to see this is the first book in a series. It’s got my attention and the twists and turns in this suspenseful fantasy that kept me whipping the pages on my Kindle to see what happens next. I am fully in on this series. Reviewed by Cyrene

5 Stars

Uncaged Review: Must Keep You by Deborah Garland

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Must Keep You
Deborah Garland
Contemporary Romance

A casual fling turns serious when Carter’s no-strings hot co-worker winds up pregnant. He’s a man of honor and will do right by Lily. Then things start to go wrong…

She said no to his proposal! She wants to keep him from his baby. And now his father is trying to marry him off to someone else. So he makes all kinds of crazy promises if she’ll be his fake fiancé for one weekend to win his independence. Then things go spectacularly wrong…

Pretending to be in love is easy. To stop pretending…well, that’s damn hard.

Now grab the popcorn and watch to see who will cave first and admit they’ve been in love all along…

Uncaged Review: The great story of friends to lovers. It doesn’t always work out that way, and Lily and Carter are from very different worlds, and this story is a heartwarming and toe curling that will make you laugh at the same time. I liked the slow burn as it ramps up the intensity of who will crack first.

The characters are well rounded, and the plot line moves smoothly from scene-to-scene. This was an enjoyable read from start to finish and you will want to keep reading to see how this all ends. Reviewed by Cyrene

4 Stars

Uncaged Review: Ride or Die by Lily Wallis

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Ride or Die
Lily Wallis
Contemporary MC Romance

Ride or Die, the ultimate bond, the unconditional act of being there for someone, no questions asked, having someone’s back no matter if they fail or succeed. Is it possible? Is it plausible?

What if the person becomes unrecognizable, or you feel yourself die in the process? Is there an invisible fine line, and if so, where do you draw it?

Brooke
Hawk is unlike anyone I’ve ever dated. For one, he’s a biker, a member of the Gates of Hell MC…but I don’t care.

Hawk
The women around me know how to handle it, handle me. Brooke is different, and I think that is what draws me to her.

Uncaged Review: Ride or Die, the words that signify one of the most sacred bonds in the MC world. This is a pretty quick story, some of it felt a bit rushed especially at the end. The characters were a bit one dimensional and could have been flushed out better. I enjoyed the story, but the story switches from Brooke’s point-of-view to Hawk’s, and that can be confusing as it is mostly from chapter to chapter, but it’s not marked, so a couple times it threw me off. Brooke is the straight laced girl with a great family, and Hawk is the classic guy from the wrong side of the tracks that had the crappy childhood and his whole life was changed by the motorcycle club he belongs to, a club that gave him a family he never had.

All in all, this is an entertaining read, although it seems it may have been the debut book by this author, and I think this author will get better and better as the foundation is there. This is dialog driven story and it would have benefitted from better world building which is not as easy when you write in the first person narrative, but I would definitely be onboard to read more from this author. Reviewed by Cyrene

4 Stars

Uncaged Review: Curse Me Beautiful by Marie Bradford

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Curse Me Beautiful
Marie Bradford
Paranormal Romance

t’s The Great Drazin School Of Wizardry, where boys will be boys. Unless that is, they’re turned into a girl.

Me, Matt Hallows–king of the school, all-star athlete, and biggest guy on campus–is now a five foot nothing, blubbering mess of female hormones. All thanks to Alistar Crow, the academy’s golden boy genius and budding narcissist.

My life was scoring goals, bench presses, and fights. Now it’s complete misunderstandings, accidental humpings, and bondage?

Let’s not even talk about when Alistar kissed me in front of the entire school and I whimpered.

Will I ever get my body back? I hope so. It’s not easy being the only witch in a school for wizards.

Uncaged Review: When I first started reading this, I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy this book much, there was way too much testosterone flowing – with arrogant sports players in a wizard school. It was a bit strange, that there wasn’t a whole lot of magic in the book, and I never got a sense of what all the students of this boy’s school had an affinity with. I just knew that Matt was an all-star athlete, popular, arrogant with anger issues and his friends, and then there is Alistar, the resident genius – and enemy it seems to Matt. But all my trepidation for this story was tossed out the window as soon as Alistar curses Matt into being a girl. The hilarity and fun begins and it doesn’t slow down. There is quite a bit of swearing and a couple good hot sex scenes to top it all off.

But there are some good lessons in this book, and Matt, his/her friends and Alistar will all grow and learn. And believe it or not, it has a HEA. So if you like a book that’s different, can entertain you and make you laugh out loud, then this may be a good choice. Reviewed by Cyrene

5 Stars

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