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Uncaged Review – Amour in Avignon by Jennifer Ivy Walker

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Amour in Avignon
Jennifer Ivy Walker
Contemporary Erotica

Adrift and lonely, Lily Greene travels to Provence to spend the summer with her aunt in the sunny south of France. In the vibrant city of Avignon, she meets Ludo and Auguste, two expert fencers who are also local actors performing in the upcoming Festival of Theater where they will present the classical tragedy, Cyrano de Bergerac.

When Lily joins their thespian troupe, portraying the lead female role, she discovers that real life mirrors the play they are rehearsing, for–just as Cyrano and Christian vie for Roxane– Ludo and Auguste become intense rivals for Lily.
Handsome as a Hollywood movie star, Auguste is used to women falling into his bed. But when Lily spurns his amorous advances, drawn instead to the enigmatic Ludo, jealousy drives Auguste to seek revenge.

Will tragedy strike with a cruel twist of fate? Or will love triumph with Amour in Avignon?

Uncaged Review: This novella was a quick read for me, and what I like about this author when she writes anything, including an erotica, she includes a nice storyline with it that is still well researched. Many times with erotica, I’ve found the storyline to be lackluster and it’s only about the sex, but this book has a good story behind it that includes a bit of drama along with the hot romance.

Lily goes to France to stay with her Aunt after a divorce and meets both Auguste and Ludo who are actors and construction workers. Auguste is a handsome creep, but Lily has an almost instant connection with Ludo, who is the nephew of the man that her Aunt is seeing.

This story brings in the sights and backdrop well of Avignon, and it’s a short hot read for whenever you need a bit of romance but don’t want to commit to a full length. Nice writing, characters that are easy to like, and a nice HEA in the end. Reviewed by Cyrene

4 Stars

Uncaged Review – You Made Me Love You by Cerise DeLand

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

You Made Me Love You
Cerise DeLand
Historical Regency

Love does not advertise.
Love extracts no price.

When a young widow wishes to marry again, will the man she grows to love ask more than she can give?

Mrs. Tynley Wallingford yearns for a quiet, comforting marriage to a man whom she can respect. She’ll go to any lengths to find the best candidate who can respect her, in turn. Even correspond with one fellow at length before she agrees that Kendryck Hollens is the man whose words awaken her desire for a husband she might grow to love.

Tynley takes a risk and sails to Wales with the best intentions. She finds in Kendryck a man with a noble ambition—and a family filled with age-old conflict and despair.

Kendryck Hollens returns home to Wales after fifteen years abroad, a stranger to his cantankerous family. He assumes his rightful title as baron of the legendary house of Strade and attempts to change the dastardly reputation of his ancestors, and put his siblings on the right path to a purposeful life.

Thrilled that Tynley has come to his home, he notices that her presence creates challenges among those in his family. But he feels assured she can help him obtain what he wants most in this world.

When a tragedy threatens to ruin his ambition and his family, he fears the price of endurance will ruin Tynley’s personal objective too—and drive her from him.

How much can one ask of one whom they love? Are any prices too high?

Uncaged Review: What a great story. Tynley is a widow and answers an ad in a paper that has a gentleman looking for a wife. She’s looking for a peaceful, easy gentleman to marry and she begins correspondence with Kendryck. Deciding to travel to his home in Wales on her own to meet him, not a safe thing to do for a woman who is alone. Kendryck has come home from being away for 15 years and wants to settle down with a wife. His stepmother and 2 half siblings are at residence in his home and are such spoiled people, they are almost unsavable. Tynley and Kendryck decide to take some time with her staying in his home to get to know each other, but there are a lot of obstacles to overcome.

In this story, we have a lot of suspense, family drama, romance, danger including a murder and a lot of challenges for the two to make it to their HEA. They start out as friends and they slowly find out how much each of them mean to each other. Tynley’s strength is just what Kendryck needs to become the man he wants to be and to shed his family’s past. I did not read the other books in this series, but because of this one, they are now on my radar. Reviewed by Cyrene

5 Stars

Uncaged Review – From Brick & Darkness

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

From Brick & Darkness
J.L. Sullivan
YA Fantasy

Bax always fantasized something remarkable would happen in his life. So when a decrepit man with glowing purple eyes offers him a ring intended for his estranged father, Bax accepts.

The ring speaks to Bax in a dream, tempting him with a vision of a powerful djinn. Desperate to make his fantasies a reality, Bax unleashes a creature called Ifrit, but soon learns this djinn isn’t what the ring led him to believe. Feeding off the depths of his subconscious, the sinister demon fulfills what he thinks Bax wants by manipulating, threatening, and murdering. With everyone he loves in danger and a trail of crimes pointing back at him, Bax must scramble to solve the puzzle that will banish Ifrit forever.

Uncaged Review: A great story with a great message. Bax is from a single parent home, his mother working a lot of hours to keep them going. A sophomore in school, Bax only has a couple of friends, his best friend Jason, and his neighbor Ashley. When coming home one evening, there is a creepy man sitting on the steps to his apartment building, who gives him a ring, telling him it’s for his long lost father, Greg. Bax takes the ring and the man disappears. Bax has always wanted a better life, for him and his mother, and for his father to be back in his life. But be careful what you wish for….when Bax rubs the gemstone on the top of the ring, he summons a djinn named Janni. Janni is a low level djinn, (or genie for those that don’t read heavily in the fantasy world) but can only do minor tricks. When Janni says there is a more powerful djinn nearby, Bax convinces his friends that a more powerful djinn can make their lives better. Little do they know, he’s a monster of a djinn.

This book has a good message to everyone, and it’s a little creepy for the really young, but older teens and adults will enjoy this one. Be happy with the life you have, and don’t go wishing for riches….Reviewed by Cyrene

4.5 Stars

Uncaged Review – Demon on Deck by Deborah Wilde

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Demon on Deck
Deborah Wilde
Urban Fantasy

When Aviva lands a baffling murder investigation, she discovers that the key to solving the crime lies in the last place she expects—a deadly magic gaming hall aboard a freaking yacht. Because why solve a supernatural murder on nice solid ground?

While she navigates this high-stakes inquiry on the high-seas, she’s also hunting a mysterious artifact. Should it fall into the wrong hands, it’s game over for any half-demons—like her.

No pressure.

But here’s the real storm on the horizon. Her ex-lover and partner-in-crime, Ezra, is still in the picture. Sparks are flying, and not the good kind. Well, not always. Old wounds and smoldering desires have resurfaced, and she’s not sure if she’ll sink or swim.

Bon voyage.

Featuring a smart, funny heroine and a banter-fueled vampire romance, this wickedly addictive urban fantasy will keep you reading way past bedtime.

Dive in now for a fiendishly good time!

Uncaged Review: The second book in this series has Ezra joining the team once again, but this time Darsh is the lead. Trying to find out what happened to Calista, who besides Ezra, is a Prime vampire (meaning they were born vampire, not turned) and not too many Primes exist, if any. Aviva finds herself on the wrong side of a master Demon, Delacroix, and to keep herself from being wiped out, she will have to do his bidding along with still maintaining her secret of being half demon.

There is still a lot of snark and sarcasm and the funny moments this author is known for.

There are some great action scenes and some moments where I thought Aviva and Ezra would come back together, but what I am really struggling with is how the author is keeping these two enemies for so long. They have a few good moments, but then it’s back to enemies. I’ll continue on with the next book because I’m invested in the characters at this point, but it will be up to book 3 to see if I’ll finish this series out. Reviewed by Cyrene

4 Stars

Uncaged Review – Big Demon Energy by Deborah Wilde

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Big Demon Energy
Deborah Wilde
Urban Fantasy

She’s just a demon, standing in front of a vampire, trying not to punch him.

Aviva Fleischer hides a dangerous secret. She’s carefully concealing her infernal heritage, a.k.a. Cherry Bomb. Maybe it’s weird naming her demon side and referring to her in the third person, but guys do the same with their junk, and unlike most of them, Avi isn’t deluded about Cherry’s prowess.

Avi’s been working her ass off, climbing the ranks of a supernatural policing organization to enact change and empower those like her forced to hide their true nature. Sure, she’s bent the rules now and then, but her arrest record speaks for itself. Her promotion is in the bag.

Instead, the director strikes a deal with Avi: spy on the operative sent in to work a rash of bizarre murders and prove she can be a team player, or kiss that new rank goodbye.

Uncaged Review: A great start to a new series and all the sarcastic snark and humor that is known from this author is back. Aviva is a half demon, half human operative for the supernatural investigators for the Bureau known as Maccabees. She’s level 2 and to get the promotion to Level 3, one of the highest she can go, she’ll need to work with a group that is tracking down a serial killer. On top of it all, she’ll have to work with the man that tore her heart in two, a Prime vampire named Ezra. In this world, vampires are known but policed differently. Aviva’s half demon side is a huge secret, as most people believe that the demons are pure evil. Keeping her demon (Cherry Bomb she’s been named) hidden is a protection she must use. Only 2 people know of her demon side, her mother who is the head of the Bureau and her ex, Ezra.

This is touted as an enemies-to-lovers book, but there isn’t much in the line of romance in this book but there is plenty of action and danger, and a good suspense running. The side characters are amazing, and I’m looking forward to book 2.
Reviewed by Cyrene

4 Stars

Uncaged Review – Ember by Paula Quinn

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Ember
Paula Quinn
Fantasy Romance

Millionaire Garion Gold is the last Drakkon alive on earth, but he doesn’t have to be. His blood holds the power to transform at will or alter any descendant of the ancients. He doesn’t have to live his life alone, hiding from those who seek his blood, secluded in a villa in the mountains of Norway. He can rule the sky with his kind, but the cost to humans is too high. So he remains a man, alone in the clouds, giving up flight and fire for a nobler purpose. He’s suspended in both worlds, belonging to neither, an outcast with a price on his head that has cost others their lives.

Never again.

Helen White will never forget the Gold Drakkon that burned her family to ashes and set her path toward a purpose. To find and kill him before he turns any more Drakkon. But he isn’t the monster she’d prepared herself for. He’s six feet five inches of pure, golden muscle and built like he could lift that hammer from the ground with a tug. He’s mystery and radiance draped in sunshine or starlight. A man whose kiss sets music to the stars and whose truest heart is revealed in his gentleness with the most delicate of creatures; his cat. What will losing her heart to her sworn enemy cost her? And when a life-altering truth is revealed, what will stop her from killing him?

Uncaged Review: Helena watched her family be torched by a Gold Drakkon, and all her life she’s been training as part The Bane, the group of people wanting to kill the last remaining Drakkon, but the reasons are not as they seem. When Helena finally finds him, he’s nothing like she thought he would be and resisting him will be hard. When the truth comes out of what happened and why The Bane want the Gold Drakkon, Garion, is not as she’s been led to believe her whole life. Her brother Jacob and her will be in grave danger.

There was a lot of action, romance, murder and mystery in this book, and the book goes at a good pace. I did feel a little let down at the end, it seemed like a strange place to end the book. I felt it should have had one more chapter or an epilogue, but it sort of left me hanging. Not a cliffhanger by any means, but maybe I just wanted things tied up with a nice bow. This is a great read in the fantasy romance genre.
Reviewed by Cyrene

4.5 Stars

Uncaged Review – Red Wolf’s Prize by Regan Walker

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Red Wolf’s Prize
Regan Walker
Medieval Romance

“…an exciting tale and a passionate love story that brings to life England after the Conquest—medieval romance at its best!” ~ Virginia Henley New York Times Bestselling Author

HE WOULD NOT BE DENIED HIS PRIZE Sir Renaud de Pierrepont, the Norman knight known as the Red Wolf for the beast he slayed with his bare hands, hoped to gain lands with his sword. A year after the Conquest, King William rewards his favored knight with Talisand, the lands of an English thegn slain at Hastings, and orders him to wed Lady Serena, the heiress that goes with them.

SHE WOULD LOVE HIM AGAINST HER WILL Serena wants nothing to do with the fierce warrior to whom she has been unwillingly given, the knight who may have killed her father. When she learns the Red Wolf is coming to claim her, she dyes her flaxen hair brown and flees, disguised as a servant, determined to one day regain her lands. But her escape goes awry and she is brought back to live among her people, though not unnoticed by the new Norman lord. Deprived of his promised bride, the Red Wolf turns his attention to the comely servant girl hoping to woo her to his bed. But the wench resists, claiming she hates all Normans. As the passion between them rises, Serena wonders, can she deny the Norman her body? Or her heart?

Uncaged Review: Renaud aka the Red Wolf, is granted not only the lands of Talisand, but also Lady Serena, the daughter of the thegn who was killed in battle for him to wed. But Lady Serena only wants to escape from the Norman warriors who are going to take over her beloved home. Unfortunately she is caught and has to go in disguise as a servant to hide from her fate as a bride to this warrior.

This is so well written and the research has been outstanding that is a trademark of this author. I can’t tell you how many times I had to touch on a word for the Kindle library to give me the meaning. Serena is a fierce advocate for her people, and there is plenty of action and romance, so this enemies-to-lovers trope works well. I always appreciate the epilogue at the end, and I actually had to switch Kindles to keep reading (way past my bedtime mind you) as I drained the first one. The author also gives us a real history lesson in the back of the book about this time and how she worked her magic on this story.
Reviewed by Cyrene

5 Stars

Uncaged Review – Murder Under Redwood Moon by Sherri L. Dodd

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Murder Under Redwood Moon
Sherri L. Dodd
Occult Mystery

At the age of eight, Arista Kelly was frantically swept up by her parents and whisked off to an isolated town in the California redwoods. Two days later, her parents were gone.

Now at the age of twenty-three, she has settled quite nicely into an eclectic lifestyle, much like her great aunt, and guardian since childhood, Bethie. She enjoys the use of herbs and crystals to help her commune with the energy and nature around her and finds pleasure in the company of her beloved pet, Royal. Usually quite satisfied with her mundane life high in the Santa Cruz Mountains, life becomes unsettling when a new recurring vision of an ominous tattoo as well as increased activity from the ghostly presence within her own cottage invade her once-harmonious existence.

But life in this mountain sanctuary takes an even darker turn when the body of Arista’s former classmate is found in the nearby river. As other young women fall prey to a suspected serial killer, Arista realizes that the terror is coming to her.

Uncaged Review: This is good cozy mystery dealing with witches, both the witches that practice “no harm to others” and the ones that are practicing dark magic. Arista is living a quiet life working with her herbs and crystals, happy with being close to nature. As she starts having a recurring vision, things start to go a bit dangerous. When young women are turning up dead, Arista feels the danger may be coming after her.

This is a good suspense, and you will see Arista coming into her own in this book and she will learn the secrets about herself and her life as we go. The suspense is very twisted and hard to pin down if you’re like me and try to guess, and the blending of the mystery with the supernatural is well done. There is a nice glossary in the back to help with any of the witch lingo you may not get right away. A bit slow to start, but it does get moving when you get halfway in.
Reviewed by Cyrene

4 Stars

Uncaged Review – Her Wicked Rogue by Scarlett Scott

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Her Wicked Rogue
Scarlett Scott
Historical Regency

Archer Tierney has devoted his life to becoming one of the most powerful men in London. He’s cutthroat and merciless to anyone who crosses him and ruthless in his determination to always maintain the upper hand over friends and foes alike. There’s no situation he can’t control, no battle he can’t win. Until one fierce woman enters his carefully guarded world, leaving danger and desire in her wake, and bringing Archer to his knees.

Princess Anastasia St. George has lived beneath the tyrannical influence of her villainous uncle for ten long years. Her quest to find her exiled brother, the rightful heir to the throne, leads her directly to Archer Tierney. He’s cold, he’s calculating, he’s handsome as the devil. And there’s something about him she just can’t resist.

When the desperate princess offers him priceless crown jewels in exchange for his help to find her long-lost brother, Archer accepts. It’s her second, far-more-sinful proposition and its infinitely appealing reward, however, that tempts him most. But Anastasia is about to enter an arranged marriage, and a future between a wicked rogue and a royal princess is impossible. Even if Archer’s foolishly stubborn heart tells him otherwise…

Uncaged Review: . I hadn’t read any other book in this series, and I didn’t have a problem with following along. I may have been better attached to Archer if I had, but I grew to like him well enough. As for Stasia, I thought she was a little too high-brow for Archer in the first part of the book. It took awhile for me to warm up to her and only after reading her sacrifices, but she never really got over her “stiffness” to me.. This is a very original storyline, and in this book, there is sizzling romance, danger, deception and secrecy. Stasia will sacrifice almost everything for her people, including an arranged marriage and risking her life to find her exiled brother.

During this book, I felt both characters grew and the reader can feel the love they had for each other. I did feel that the ending was a bit rushed, and it could have been a bit more fleshed out, but overall, this was a nice read. I’m very interested in the secondary characters, so I’ll be hunting down a couple more of this series.
Reviewed by Cyrene

4 Stars

Uncaged Review – A Deal with a Duke by Tammy Andresen

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

A Deal with a Duke
Tammy Andresen
Historical Regency

He’s a surly duke.
She’s a sensitive artist.

The two should never mix except he’s also…her brother’s best friend.

Which is the ONLY reason the Duke of Upton agrees to take Anna Smith away from London to protect the fragile beauty. If she had any idea the darkness he holds in his cold black heart, she’d surely run screaming from his country estate.

And that can’t happen because he’s not the biggest bad in the North of England. When the very villain who forced her to flee London finds her, Rath, beast of a man that he is, is the only one who can protect her.

To truly keep her safe, he has to keep her close. And soon it’s not fear that has her trembling in his arms, and his need to protect her has nothing to do with duty.

But his past is as much a danger as hers and soon he realizes that she isn’t just his
greatest temptation and his most important job.

She’s also….

His one weakness.

Uncaged Review: When we first meet these characters, they couldn’t be more opposite than they are. Rath is very unlikeable, and Anna is a creative artist, but very meek. When her brother wants Rath to take her out to his country estate, because of the danger of some mob-like people trying to get to the family because of their gaming hells, Anna and Rath are not happy about it.

What I really loved about this book, is we watch the transformation of not just Rath, but also of Anna. The anger and pain of Rath’s past will begin to lighten, and Anna will finally come into her own as we watch the love slowly blossom between these two. Anna shows Rath there is hope in the future and Rath shows Anna how to be braver and bolder. There is danger, romance and laughter along the way, and this easily sits high on my list of loved books from this author.
Reviewed by Cyrene

5 Stars

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