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chrystalo's review
4.0
Ok, this is the kind of paranormal fiction book that you want to need! Just the right amount of weird stuff, enough uncertainty about what's actually happening throughout the book but still getting some answers occasionally, and a really action packed story. I really really enjoyed this book and can't wait to get my hands on the next one. I think the characters were incredibly interesting, and the protagonist is a real person - making crazy mistakes left and right and never really understanding her emotions or what she's getting herself into. So yeah, good, quick, entertaining, detailed, fun, exciting read. Or something like that.
laura_devouring_books_crumpets's review
1.0
This book was just one big hot mess..... I really didn't know what was going on half the time, Ruby was bipolar, her emotions swing in roundabouts, one minute shes lusting after one guy then another than screaming at them... I really disliked her, the plot, well lets say it wasn't for me, the only character i found remotely interesting was killed at the end, also we learn practically nothing about anything, no one explains anything making the book really aggravating and a bit silly.... so big nope wont carry it on
sk24's review
4.0
This is a really good book that, I think, deserves some hype around it! I'm quite surprised that it hasn't taken off more than it has. The story is very good and kept my interest throughout. It begins very mysteriously and I had no idea what to expect from it. The synopsis doesn't really tell you anything about the actual story. It rather surprised me! There are tons of twists and turns in this book as well. Everything is so wonderfully mysterious that at the completion of the first book, I am left wondering about certain aspects of the story. I am looking forward to reading the next in the series.
The characters are very well developed. Ruby, the narrator, is a likeable enough character. She is, however, quite naive at first and finds herself getting into dangerous situations as a result. I loved how mysterious even she was to the reader, because she didn't even know everything about herself. So, the reader learns right along with her. Sean...oh, Sean, how mixed my feelings are about you! Sean is also very mysterious and I couldn't -- well, I still can't -- quite figure him out. Is he a good guy or is he a bad guy? What's up with his feelings for Ruby? I want to love him, but I also want to hate him! I very much sympathize with Ruby about her feelings for him, because I feel the same! She doesn't quite know how to feel about him or how to figure him out either! Eric...I don't want to give anything away about him, so I won't say much. But, he is very mysterious and well-developed. Cooper, who doesn't make an appearance until about halfway through the novel, is adorable. I love him, and yet he isn't one of Ruby's love interests (at least not yet). What's up with that? Frustrating...
The writing is good. I wouldn't say that the writing style is anything spectacular, but Natusch knows how to capture a readers interest and hold onto it until the end. This novel is a very quick and easy read. The chapters are extremely short for an adult book, which I found kind of odd. But, I don't mind short chapters. Short chapters are much better than super long chapters, in my opinion. At the beginning of the novel, Ruby has flashbacks and I thought that the flashbacks were rather poorly done. I think that they were rather misplaced and awkward. One minute you're reading the current story and then all of sudden the italic words start coming and you are thrust into a different time period. I don't like the way this was done and I found it a bit confusing at times.
Overall, I did enjoy this book and I will continue to read the rest of the series. I would recommend this book to fans of paranormal romance and fans of very mysterious books where anything can happen and catch you off guard! I also love the cover, I think it's pretty wicked.
This review was originally published on SIK Book Reviews
The characters are very well developed. Ruby, the narrator, is a likeable enough character. She is, however, quite naive at first and finds herself getting into dangerous situations as a result. I loved how mysterious even she was to the reader, because she didn't even know everything about herself. So, the reader learns right along with her. Sean...oh, Sean, how mixed my feelings are about you! Sean is also very mysterious and I couldn't -- well, I still can't -- quite figure him out. Is he a good guy or is he a bad guy? What's up with his feelings for Ruby? I want to love him, but I also want to hate him! I very much sympathize with Ruby about her feelings for him, because I feel the same! She doesn't quite know how to feel about him or how to figure him out either! Eric...I don't want to give anything away about him, so I won't say much. But, he is very mysterious and well-developed. Cooper, who doesn't make an appearance until about halfway through the novel, is adorable. I love him, and yet he isn't one of Ruby's love interests (at least not yet). What's up with that? Frustrating...
The writing is good. I wouldn't say that the writing style is anything spectacular, but Natusch knows how to capture a readers interest and hold onto it until the end. This novel is a very quick and easy read. The chapters are extremely short for an adult book, which I found kind of odd. But, I don't mind short chapters. Short chapters are much better than super long chapters, in my opinion. At the beginning of the novel, Ruby has flashbacks and I thought that the flashbacks were rather poorly done. I think that they were rather misplaced and awkward. One minute you're reading the current story and then all of sudden the italic words start coming and you are thrust into a different time period. I don't like the way this was done and I found it a bit confusing at times.
Overall, I did enjoy this book and I will continue to read the rest of the series. I would recommend this book to fans of paranormal romance and fans of very mysterious books where anything can happen and catch you off guard! I also love the cover, I think it's pretty wicked.
This review was originally published on SIK Book Reviews
tobyyy's review
3.0
At the beginning of Caged, I really enjoyed Ruby and how she managed to hold herself together. I thought that she might have the makings of a strong female lead, but as the story continued, I realized that she really was confused and very good at making poor judgments about men.
I only gave this book 3/5 stars because Ruby ended up kind of pissing me off. She kept going back and forth about the men in the novel, and wasn't as strong a female lead as I would have liked to see. Sure, the book was interesting and I am planning on reading the rest of the series, but I really hope that Ruby grows and matures some in the rest of the books in the series.
Last but not least, the ending seemed a bit rushed, and explanations were hard to get, both for Ruby and for the reader. A lot of the story I did not understand until near the end, when the reader - and Ruby - get explanations for a lot of what occurs over the course of the novel.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes paranormal with a little bit of romance thrown in. It wasn't a bad book, per se, and I did enjoy reading it, but Ruby just got under my skin a little bit.
Spoiler
However, this book was intriguing in that it was about a were, from the perspective of a were, who didn't realize that she was a were until partway through the book. I found it interesting to see how Ruby reacted to different situations, especially once she became more in charge of when she Changed.I only gave this book 3/5 stars because Ruby ended up kind of pissing me off. She kept going back and forth about the men in the novel, and wasn't as strong a female lead as I would have liked to see. Sure, the book was interesting and I am planning on reading the rest of the series, but I really hope that Ruby grows and matures some in the rest of the books in the series.
Last but not least, the ending seemed a bit rushed, and explanations were hard to get, both for Ruby and for the reader. A lot of the story I did not understand until near the end, when the reader - and Ruby - get explanations for a lot of what occurs over the course of the novel.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes paranormal with a little bit of romance thrown in. It wasn't a bad book, per se, and I did enjoy reading it, but Ruby just got under my skin a little bit.
deadlybeauty's review
5.0
I first began the caged series just a few days ago and have struggled to put these books down. I am now on book no 4 and impatiently waiting to get no 5. Just when I think I've got it figured out she totally changes things and i am left having OMFG moments out loud
chllybrd's review
4.0
*Minor Spoilers may be revealed*
I jumped into Caged not knowing what it was really about and had no clue it was a werewolf story. The story starts off a bit slow with information, You get through about half the book before any hint of the paranormal is even mentioned then BAM your thrown right in to everything and things start to make more sense.
Ruby is frustratingly naive when it comes to most matters. She is quick to jump to the worst conclusion but also quick to double guess herself. She hides behind humor and is quick with her comebacks. I found her to be real and easy to connect with. Her entire story is heartbreaking and compelling. She makes the story more real with her emotions and it becomes impossible to put the book down once you get into it. The men of the story aren't always straightforward and its hard to see where they stand and if they are trying to help or hurt Ruby. Having said that I liked Sean from the moment his character was introduced and I could tell Eric was nothing but trouble.
The only thing that I did not care for in CAGED had to do with the play out from after Ruby was "caged". I was glad we didn't "witness" what happened to her, we got many hints but no solid confirmation until the end of the book. I would have thought she would have been a tad bit more traumatized but maybe the trauma from it wont show up until book 2 as a lot happened afterwords and she really didn't have much downtime.
Amber definitely knows how to write my brand of book crack.I really enjoyed CAGED and am really excited to find out what will happen next.
I jumped into Caged not knowing what it was really about and had no clue it was a werewolf story. The story starts off a bit slow with information, You get through about half the book before any hint of the paranormal is even mentioned then BAM your thrown right in to everything and things start to make more sense.
Ruby is frustratingly naive when it comes to most matters. She is quick to jump to the worst conclusion but also quick to double guess herself. She hides behind humor and is quick with her comebacks. I found her to be real and easy to connect with. Her entire story is heartbreaking and compelling. She makes the story more real with her emotions and it becomes impossible to put the book down once you get into it. The men of the story aren't always straightforward and its hard to see where they stand and if they are trying to help or hurt Ruby. Having said that I liked Sean from the moment his character was introduced and I could tell Eric was nothing but trouble.
The only thing that I did not care for in CAGED had to do with the play out from after Ruby was "caged". I was glad we didn't "witness" what happened to her, we got many hints but no solid confirmation until the end of the book. I would have thought she would have been a tad bit more traumatized but maybe the trauma from it wont show up until book 2 as a lot happened afterwords and she really didn't have much downtime.
Amber definitely knows how to write my brand of book crack.I really enjoyed CAGED and am really excited to find out what will happen next.
a_novel_ty's review
1.0
Please note, this review has spoilers
Actual Rating: 1.25 stars
so….i said i never judge a book by its cover in that i wont dismiss it because i do not like the cover…i will now be applying the opposite rule to my reading search…i will never again read a book solely based on the fact that i DO like the cover because this was the shittiest semi good book I’ve ever read in my existence…
i think it would be easier for me to start off with what i did like about the book…it had potential…this book had the potential to be a REALLY good book…it was written well … and when i say that i mean grammatically. and the actual plot could have been really good had the author not been lazy and actually took the time to develop the damn story.
it was 300 pages of what the hell! — first of all the plot holes in the entire story was just too much. The main character was so dense and thick and just stupid, it got to the point that i really just wanted to smack her. — not to mention the holes in her story-line…she’s a loner who is anti social with no friends at all, she doesn’t go out and she only recently gained the ability to see because she was born blind…yet the girl is a fashionista with seven jeans and thousand dollar, limited edition Louboutins….now explain to me how the hell that’s possible and why it’s necessary when she doesn’t go out!? who the hell is going to see the clothes? and she’s only been part of the ‘seeing’ world for about 8 months…how the HELL does she have all of this exquisite fashion sense?
Now let’s move on to where the book needed some serious development…she’s thrust into this ‘relationship’ of sorts with a guy named Sean….at first their back and forth banter was fun…but then when out of nowhere their relationship turned into something more…i was just like wtf? there was no build up, no dating, nothing! — then out of LEFT FIELD! some guy named Eric is introduced…and after a freaking week she’s entrusting her life to this guy and going away to Utah with him to stay away from Sean because she’s been so easily convinced that he’s trying to kill her…when up until this point he has been doing NOTHING but saving her life!
So she’s in Utah for god knows how long because Eric set her up and sold her to some pack…i think she was being raped by the pack. i don’t really know because the author just kind of skimmed over that part - only really giving any real indication that, that was what was happening by mentioning that Ruby (that’s the characters name) was relieved when she got her period after the whole ordeal was over….anyway while she’s in the cage getting raped and tortured some random, named Cooper comes out of nowhere and wants to save her…after some lighthearted banter and sarcasm (there’s ALOT of that in this book) he has the audacity to say to her “your defenses are always up” like what the fuck?! who says that to someone who’s been in a dungeon getting raped by over 50 people for who knows how long….and then she says. ‘the truth hurts’ ugh this book is stupid
oh yea..i forgot to mention that out of the blue its revealed to her by Eric that she’s a special kind of werewolf…called Rouge et Blanc who is really powerful and can easily kill, i don’t know whatever…
this book was just sloppy and all over the place and just dumb…not to mention dramatic as hell…half of the time i was reading it i thought i was reading a badly acted out soap opera, what with her falling down to her knees in despair, and everyone yelling at and shaking her unnecessarily.
my favorite line from the whole book though was when Ruby said “bitterness and grudge-holding were two of my finer qualities” …. AGAINST WHOM! bitch you have no friends or social life! are you holding a grudge against yourself?!
ugh….there are more parts to this book…how? i don’t know but i will most definitely NOT be reading them…just lord.
so…Recommendation? —- find something else to read…seriously.
Actual Rating: 1.25 stars
so….i said i never judge a book by its cover in that i wont dismiss it because i do not like the cover…i will now be applying the opposite rule to my reading search…i will never again read a book solely based on the fact that i DO like the cover because this was the shittiest semi good book I’ve ever read in my existence…
i think it would be easier for me to start off with what i did like about the book…it had potential…this book had the potential to be a REALLY good book…it was written well … and when i say that i mean grammatically. and the actual plot could have been really good had the author not been lazy and actually took the time to develop the damn story.
it was 300 pages of what the hell! — first of all the plot holes in the entire story was just too much. The main character was so dense and thick and just stupid, it got to the point that i really just wanted to smack her. — not to mention the holes in her story-line…she’s a loner who is anti social with no friends at all, she doesn’t go out and she only recently gained the ability to see because she was born blind…yet the girl is a fashionista with seven jeans and thousand dollar, limited edition Louboutins….now explain to me how the hell that’s possible and why it’s necessary when she doesn’t go out!? who the hell is going to see the clothes? and she’s only been part of the ‘seeing’ world for about 8 months…how the HELL does she have all of this exquisite fashion sense?
Now let’s move on to where the book needed some serious development…she’s thrust into this ‘relationship’ of sorts with a guy named Sean….at first their back and forth banter was fun…but then when out of nowhere their relationship turned into something more…i was just like wtf? there was no build up, no dating, nothing! — then out of LEFT FIELD! some guy named Eric is introduced…and after a freaking week she’s entrusting her life to this guy and going away to Utah with him to stay away from Sean because she’s been so easily convinced that he’s trying to kill her…when up until this point he has been doing NOTHING but saving her life!
So she’s in Utah for god knows how long because Eric set her up and sold her to some pack…i think she was being raped by the pack. i don’t really know because the author just kind of skimmed over that part - only really giving any real indication that, that was what was happening by mentioning that Ruby (that’s the characters name) was relieved when she got her period after the whole ordeal was over….anyway while she’s in the cage getting raped and tortured some random, named Cooper comes out of nowhere and wants to save her…after some lighthearted banter and sarcasm (there’s ALOT of that in this book) he has the audacity to say to her “your defenses are always up” like what the fuck?! who says that to someone who’s been in a dungeon getting raped by over 50 people for who knows how long….and then she says. ‘the truth hurts’ ugh this book is stupid
oh yea..i forgot to mention that out of the blue its revealed to her by Eric that she’s a special kind of werewolf…called Rouge et Blanc who is really powerful and can easily kill, i don’t know whatever…
this book was just sloppy and all over the place and just dumb…not to mention dramatic as hell…half of the time i was reading it i thought i was reading a badly acted out soap opera, what with her falling down to her knees in despair, and everyone yelling at and shaking her unnecessarily.
my favorite line from the whole book though was when Ruby said “bitterness and grudge-holding were two of my finer qualities” …. AGAINST WHOM! bitch you have no friends or social life! are you holding a grudge against yourself?!
ugh….there are more parts to this book…how? i don’t know but i will most definitely NOT be reading them…just lord.
so…Recommendation? —- find something else to read…seriously.
intothewilder's review
4.0
I really liked this book. I didn't know if I would because I'm pretty over the love triangle/who will she pick/I'm beautiful and I refuse to believe it stories. The thing that was different about this one was that although is a love story aspect it felt like it was more about Ruby finding out about who she was then landing the guy. And that I liked.
booklovinmamas's review
3.0
Full Review posted on Book Lovin' Mamas
One of my favorite parts was when Ruby, Sean, and Ruby’s friend Ronnie were at a store (which is the excerpt in the guest post/giveaway post above). Ronnie played a short role, but she put Ruby in her place. Sean was my favorite character in the story because of the way he was always there for Ruby. Even when I found out what he was, I still loved him because I knew in the end, he loved being around Ruby. Be prepared if you do read it, to have a lot of bad guys in the story.
The ending was a doozy for me. I did not like that one chick that was introduced. I felt terrible for Ruby. (sorry won’t give away..no spoilers here) I recommend this urban fantasy and paranormal romance readers out there who enjoys a book that keeps you guessing on what is going to happen next to the main character. (The poor girl went through so much I do not know how she handled it so well. Although, she did have something that no other person had that helped her.) I plan on reading the 2nd book whenever I get the chance because I do want to find out if certain characters will hook up in the end. =)
One of my favorite parts was when Ruby, Sean, and Ruby’s friend Ronnie were at a store (which is the excerpt in the guest post/giveaway post above). Ronnie played a short role, but she put Ruby in her place. Sean was my favorite character in the story because of the way he was always there for Ruby. Even when I found out what he was, I still loved him because I knew in the end, he loved being around Ruby. Be prepared if you do read it, to have a lot of bad guys in the story.
The ending was a doozy for me. I did not like that one chick that was introduced. I felt terrible for Ruby. (sorry won’t give away..no spoilers here) I recommend this urban fantasy and paranormal romance readers out there who enjoys a book that keeps you guessing on what is going to happen next to the main character. (The poor girl went through so much I do not know how she handled it so well. Although, she did have something that no other person had that helped her.) I plan on reading the 2nd book whenever I get the chance because I do want to find out if certain characters will hook up in the end. =)