Tuesday, November 19, 2024
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Uncaged Review – The Scandalous Inheritance by Nancy Smith Gibson

By
Cyrene Olson
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The Scandalous Inheritance
Nancy Smith Gibson
Historical Romance/20th Century

It’s 1919 and the Great War is over. Soldiers are returning home and want their jobs back. When Alise is replaced by a returning soldier, the letter from an attorney in Texas comes at an opportune time. She is sole heir to her aunt’s estate: a house, business, and money.

Hoping the house is suitable to open a bakery, Alise takes the next train to claim her inheritance, but it isn’t at all what she expected.

Returning home from the war, Owen’s wounds aren’t just physical. His brusque attitude causes him to rebuff Alise on the train to Texas, and he offends her at every turn once they’ve arrived in Rock Springs.

Secrets and misunderstandings stand between them, until passion pulls them together. Can forgiveness allow them to forge a future together?

Uncaged Review: Miss Alise Rose Taylor loses her job in St. Louis at the end of WWI when the soldiers return from the war. She is careful to hide her real last name of Scheider which is German for tailor. There was much prejudice against the Germans due to the war regardless of how long they had been in the country or if they came here because they disagreed with the policies in Germany.
Miss Taylor ends up inheriting a house of ill repute from her Aunt Rose Alise Threadgill. The story revolves around how she handles the inheritance (she doesn’t keep the house) and the man Owen Gomance who she meets on the train to Rock Springs Texas to get her inheritance. She ends up getting involved with Owen, but there is much that happens before then.
This tale was well told, kept to historical facts and was quite believable. It kept you turning the pages to see what would happen next with Alise, how was this woman you want to root for and Owen who you know has to change from being the surly rude man you first see on the train. The cast of characters become like your friends as you learn more about each one, which to me, the best a book can be. It is a tale which holds a lot of truths for today about prejudices, differences, kindness, caring and love.
I gave this book 5 stars for the wonderful characters you meet in it and the lessons we all can learn through a well-written book which pulls you into the story with a good ending. Reviewed by Barbara

5 Stars

Uncaged Promotional Swap Group for Authors

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

If you are an author or an assistant looking for contest/giveaway swaps, Facebook party time slots or newsletter swaps, this group may be what you are looking for. No advertising in this group, but you may post newsletter swaps, giveaway/contest swaps or even if you are needing authors to fill in a time slot for a Facebook party. Join today! No cost!

Uncaged Review – Scottish Devil by Tammy Andresen

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Scottish Devil
Tammy Andresen
Historical Regency/Scottish

He was the one man she shouldn’t want…

Known as the devil, Stone Sinclair, Earl of Alban, is carved of rock, hard and uncompromising. He bends for no man. A fiery lass with golden hair and a will as strong as his own? Surrender has never sounded sweeter.

Eliza McLaren detests all lairds. They are selfish, self-serving, arrogant men who only care for themselves and build their fortunes on the backs of their people. And Lord Stone Alban is the worst of the lot. When her father attempts to make a match between them, Eliza pledges to never give herself to a man like Stone, no matter how tempting his lips or how strong his arms. He isn’t the only one carved of stone.

But as passion ignites between them, how long can she deny that fire and brimstone are forever burned together?

This is book one in the Brethren of Stone series:

One family united by loss, driven to find love…

After the death of their parents, six siblings unite around their eldest brother, Stone. They consider blood a binding oath and vow to protect one another. They all must face their own demons as they find love and their places in the world. 

Uncaged Review: A great book for the lesson of don’t judge people by rumors and hearsay. Stone and his family lost their parents in a mine collapse. Stone has inherited the Earl-ship as the oldest, and because of his fierce features, he’s known as the “devil.”
Eliza’s father who has been the solicitor for the Sinclair family, comes on an extended stay to help transition Stone into his new role. He brings along his daughter, since his wife had passed on a month ago. Eliza is filled with anger as in her province, the laird is a greedy man, who doesn’t care for his people – and in her time of need for her mother, there was no help to be found. With this as her only experience, she believes the rumors of Stone and is unhappy to have to travel to his lands.
But when she does arrive, every action she sees Stone take, she starts to question the rumors.
A nice story, with a good character development and secondary characters are fun and interesting. It kept a nice pace and I’m really looking forward to reading about the next Sinclair. Reviewed by Cyrene

4.5 Stars

Uncaged Review – Blood is Thicker by Orlando A. Sanchez

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Blood is Thicker
Orlando A. Sanchez
Urban Fantasy

A Broken Pact. An Ancient Enemy. A Bitter Betrayal.

What does a vampire fear more than sunlight? The Cazadoras Sangrientas-Blood Hunters.

Michiko Nakatomi has led the Dark Council for over a century, maintaining the uneasy truce between humanity and the supernatural. But when an ancient enemy returns the delicate balance is shattered and vampires start dying. 
Now, Michiko must fight for her life and the survival of the Council. She has no one to trust. Her inner circle is destroyed, the Council is on the verge of collapse, and her only hope lies with Simon and Tristan.
Join the Montague and Strong Detective Agency as they face off against the Blood Hunters to prevent them from destroying the Dark Council and plunging humanity to its doom.

Uncaged Review: You would think, that as you get further into a series, storylines will start overlapping, things won’t be fresh and exciting, but that’s not the case of this series. If anything, it just gets better and better. The brilliant action scenes, some of the best dialog I’ve read in any urban fantasy and great plotlines. I don’t what goes on in this author’s mind, but I’ll bet that it’s a riot.
Blood Hunters out to destroy all vampires are spreading Bloodrum as a drug in the streets. Their aim is to take out all vampires – but at a cost to both vampires and human casualties. When they also kidnap Michiko – the target is now on the Dark Council. And on top of it all, Tristan has a price on his head from the Golden Circle. We also meet Dex, Tristan’s uncle, and a powerful mage with connections to Morrigan…yes THAT Morrigan.
This is a full-fledged urban fantasy series that will keep you pulled in to the pages and won’t let go. This one ended on a cliffhanger – but this series is 7 books strong, so it didn’t bother me too much and the first chapter of the 4th book is included in the back. If you love urban fantasy, you won’t get much better than these. Reviewed by Cyrene

5 Stars

Only a Duke Would Dare by Collette Cameron

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Only a Duke Would Dare
Collette Cameron
Historical Regency

A Duke. A vicar’s daughter. A forbidden love.

Marriage—an unpleasant obligation
A troublesome addendum to his father’s will requires Victor, Duke of Sutcliffe to marry before his twenty-seventh birthday or lose his fortune. After a three-year absence, he ventures home, intent upon finding the most biddable and forgettable miss in Essex. A woman who will make no demands upon him and won’t mind being left behind when he returns to London. Except, Victor meets Theadosia Brentwood again and finds himself powerless to resist her—even if she is promised to another and the exact opposite of what he thought he wanted in a duchess.

Marriage—an impossible choice
Secretly in love with Victor for years, Theadosia is overjoyed when he returns. Until she learns he must marry within mere weeks. When he unexpectedly proposes, she must make an impossible decision. How can Thea elope with him when he’s marrying out of necessity, not love? Besides, if she does wed Victor, her betrothed—a man she loathes—will reveal a scandalous secret. A secret that will send her father to prison and leave her sister and mother homeless.

Uncaged Review: Whenever I think I should go to bed early and get some much needed sleep, I should never pick up a Collette Cameron book. She has a way of sucking me into the story and I have to read into the wee hours of the morning. And today, my coffee pot will work overtime to counteract the lack of sleep – but it was well worth it, I was charmed by this Duke as much as Thea was.
In this emotional and sweet romance, Thea must deal with an overbearing father, a secret crush and a slimy villain whom her father is going to push her off on, but not if Victor has anything to say about it. Victor, having come home from his rakish lifestyle only to find his father leaving a provision in the will that he marry by the time he turns 27 yrs. old, and that being only a few weeks away. His thought of just finding a wife and leave her be is tossed out the window when he bumps into Thea.
Friendship, love, suspense, great characters and a storyline that will pull you right into the story are all trademarks of this author. Highly recommended. Reviewed by Cyrene

4 1/2 Stars

Uncaged Review – Hotter than the Caribbean by Stacy Hoff

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Hotter than the Caribbean
Stacy Hoff
Contemporary Romance

Luis Serrano, the unwanted love child of a hotel construction magnate, is determined to reach his father’s level of success. When Luis finds himself pitted against his half-brother for control over their ailing father’s company, sibling rivalry comes to a head. The stakes are high. The brother who best completes their portion of the Caribbean construction project will gain control over the entire company. To win, Luis hires an interior design firm. But the firm will have to perform difficult work under serious time constraints.

Melanie Merritt is used to sibling rivalry. She’s always been second best to her older sister, the “golden child” of their parents’ interior design firm. Melanie’s desire is to be an artist. She works for her family to appease them. Her newest task is to implement a complex project for Luis Serrano under an impossibly short deadline. If she fails, her family’s company may go bankrupt. But Melanie can’t keep her too-creative ideas away from her family, and the client. 

Completing work on time won’t be easy. Especially when dual sibling rivalries threaten to destroy the project, and a passion hotter than the Caribbean.

Uncaged Review: This is a book that has all the great trappings of a good contemporary romance. A heartwarming read with two characters are perfectly blended. With both Melanie being the black sheep of her family, trying hard to keep the peace and Luis the illegitimate son of his father and fighting for the respect he’s earned and never given.
All the elements fall into place, and I truly enjoyed this read. With a high stakes design competition pitting brother against brother, and design firm against design firm, the rewards can make or break Mel or Luis. The romance is not a slow burn, but an easy alliance with a tense uphill battle. Easily recommended for romance lovers. Reviewed by Cyrene

4 Stars

Uncaged Review – Notes from Hell by Rachel Bukey

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Notes from Hell
Rachel Bukey
Mystery

When Seattle Times reporter Ann Dexter scores an interview with Franco Albanese, rock star of the modern opera world, she is thrilled. Don Giovanni in art, Don Juan in life, this charismatic man easily charms all women he meets, including Ann. But when Franco is kidnapped and Ann is contacted by the kidnapper who wants her to publish the truth about Franco, she launches her own investigation into his past exploits. Ann interviews a cast of characters from Franco’s life including former lovers, a jealous husband and a young opera singer whose star is on the rise.

Armed with new information and determined to rescue Franco, Ann must use her wits to deal with an adversary whose grasp on reality evaporates almost as quickly as Ann’s strategies to escape. In a thrilling climax, Ann gets one chance to free the opera singer from his hellish imprisonment. Will she take it?

Notes from Hell is a carefully crafted mystery of intrigue and suspense, packed with operatic drama and passion.

Uncaged Review: I’m not a mystery reader and I don’t read heavily in this genre, but I have to say this was a really well written read. Ann is a reporter that is normally stuck on the education circuit, and when she gets the chance to interview the opera star, Franco, she jumps at it. When Franco is kidnapped, and Ann starts getting cryptic messages, she cooperates with the police, but also does her own investigation on the sly.
The nice thing about the book, is that Ann is not written as a superhero, she’s written as a strong, smart female lead that is believable and likeable and the author does a good job with the whole cast of characters, and there are quite a few to keep track of. It slows down a bit in spots, but it gets right back into storyline without dragging down the story.
Nothing was overly surprising to me, but it had an ending I didn’t really expect, and a nice epilogue-ish final chapter. This is the second book in the series, but it reads well as a standalone. Reviewed by Cyrene

4 Stars

Uncaged Review – Betting on Cinderella by Petie McCarty

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Betting on Cinderella
Petie McCarty
Contemporary Romance

Garrett Tucker inherits his grandfather’s casino empire and steps into the reclusive billionaire’s shoes as the “Prince of Vegas.” His first act is to buy a bankrupt casino in Biloxi. When he discovers embezzling in his new operation, Garrett goes undercover. His prime suspect is the new finance supervisor–the spitfire brunette who stole his heart at first sight.

Andi Ryan moves to Biloxi to care for her godmother and takes a job as finance supervisor for the renovated Bayou Princess casino. She discovers someone is skimming from the till and starts her own investigation, worried she will be blamed for the theft when the new owner discovers her godmother has a gambling addiction.

A rival Vegas competitor has sent a spy in to ruin the Bayou Princess, and Garrett and Andi are forced to work together to prove her innocence and discover the identity of their casino spy.

Uncaged Review: This is modern re-telling of Cinderella, with a little bit of danger and suspense thrown in to keep it interesting. When Garrett inherits a casino empire from his grandfather, he acts to keep his grandfather’s last project going in Biloxi, MS. But his grandfather’s rival and enemy will do almost anything to keep Garrett from succeeding in making the casino a success.
This is the second book in this series, and reading book one would have given a better background on the three best friends, Rhett, Garrett and Aidan – it does fine as a standalone, I had no issues, but if I were choosing – I would have chosen Rhett’s book first, as Andi, our heroine – is a friend to Rhett’s new wife, Lily. When Garrett sees her at Rhett and Lily’s wedding – he is immediately attracted to her, but she disappears before he gets a chance to be introduced. And when she applies to work for the casino to keep an eye on her gambling addict godmother, the two will be tossed together again.
There isn’t anything too surprising in this romance, but it’s well written and I enjoyed reading it. I definitely would pick up more from this author. Reviewed by Cyrene

5 Stars

Uncaged Review – Resurgence by S. Usher Evans

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Resurgence
S. Usher Evans
Urban Fantasy

Demon hunter Jack Grenard is rebuilding his life in Atlanta three years after his wife was brutally murdered by demons. But while out on a routine patrol with his partner, Cam, they encounter a demon who saves lives instead of takes them. They embark on a mission to find out who she is before Demon Spring, the quadrennial uprising of the most evil demons from the Underworld. And word on the street is, the King of the Demons, Bael, will be making an appearance. 

Download the first book in S. Usher Evans’ breathtaking urban fantasy trilogy and get swept away in the brilliant world of demons and monsters. 

Uncaged Review: This is a promising start to a series and a solid read. Demon Hunters, Jack and Cam have been partners for a long time, Jack even having married Cam’s sister – Sara. But Sara was killed by a demon attack 3 yrs ago, and Jack has been out of the game since. When he transfers to Atlanta, to once again team up with Cam, he’ll need to get back into the game since an event known as a Demon Spring is about to happen, and when it does, thousands of demons from the Underworld are released on mankind.
My biggest hang up with this book, is that the first half of the book, Jack is still mourning his wife and he shouldn’t even be out, he’s a danger to himself and his partner. This is too overdone – I wanted to kick him myself – so I never really got that attached to Jack. When we finally get moving is about at 60% in, and then we begin to learn more about Anya, and the Demon King, Bael. That is when this book begins to become hard to put down, I just wish it would have gotten there quicker. Reviewed by Cyrene

4 Stars



Uncaged Review – Cryptofauna by Patrick Canning

By
Cyrene Olson
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0

Cryptofauna
Patrick Canning
SciFi/Dark Humor

Working as a janitor at an insane asylum in rural Idaho has Jim in the dumps. One night, his attempted suicide is rudely interrupted by one of the residents, and he’s recruited to play a game called Cryptofauna. The bizarre contest of worldwide mischief and meddling might actually help the blue custodian discover a reason to life, if he can survive the deadly trials that await…

Uncaged Review: Jim is a young man working at St. Militrude’s, an insane asylum/nursing home. After thinking “too hard” about life, he decides to end it all with some pills washed down with a can of root beer (because a resident had recently thrown all the cans of Coca Cola off the roof). He is interrupted by Oz, who is one of the residents of St. Mili’s and also an “Operator” in a global game called Cryptofauna, and taken deep down into the basement. Jim is given a bag of turmeric and a dog and is then thrown into this game. Having been given very minimal instructions, Jim must survive and work toward completing three tasks, all while gathering a group of people to help him (his “Combo”). But he has a Rival to contend with, a nasty and not-so-intelligent man named Boyd. Jim must figure out how to make it through the game and stop Boyd’s evil shenanigans in the process.

It is a rare thing indeed for a book to make me laugh as much as this one did. I found myself smiling, chuckling, and outright belly laughing on many occasions, and I have to say that this book was a supreme delight to read. It’s quite bizarre — think of a mix between Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and possibly Doctor Who (except that there is no time travel, and all the events take place on Earth).
The author has brilliantly written this book to allow readers to vividly visualize the wonderfully bizarre and crazy events. We sometimes are in the thick of things with Jim and company, and sometimes we get fascinating history lessons about some of the main characters. Each section has the same witty and hilarious style and pace that makes you want to keep reading to find out what happens next.
There are so many fascinating things about this book. Everything is bright and mentally engaging. One of my favorite parts was the underground Abbey in Boston, which boasted a labyrinth of libraries and other mentally stimulating rooms. Who wouldn’t want to spend months soaking up as much knowledge as they could? (Even if you had to be surrounded by leprous monks who didn’t sleep and who only ate carrots and drank dandelion wine?)
The cast of characters was truly fun. Each had a unique personality, and I felt like I came to love them as family just as Jim did.
Although the details and exact purpose of the game Cryptofauna may still be vague in Jim’s mind and my mind, this book is a true treat to read, certainly one of the funniest books I have read in a long time. I would recommend this book to anyone who is not easily offended and who loves quirky and bizarre but very interesting situations. *While it thrilled me to my core to read this book, there are some disturbing things and adult situations (think orgies, random cruel murders, and excessive drug use) so I wouldn’t recommend the book for anyone who is too young for that kind of content.

I would eagerly read another book written by Patrick Canning, and I am likely going to purchase a paperback of this book for my library (I think this is one I will want to read again and again). I would also LOVE to see this made into a movie. Reviewed by Emily

5 Stars


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