REVIEW by Charity: Caged (Caged #1) by Amber Lynn Natusch @amberlnatusch , @plantingmoon)

“I stood in the middle of the room, unmoving – I barely breathed. My life had just become surreal, impossible, and one enormous lie. I needed to go, to run somewhere, anywhere to beat back the reality that was rapidly closing in around me. The image of him was burned into my retina, flashing over and over again like a warning. He was trapped somewhere between human and decidedly not, and I realized that was my new reality.I was too.”

After the death of her parents, Ruby awakens from a lifetime of shadows and finds herself alone, thrust into a world of lies, deceit, betrayal and the supernatural.

As her quest for truth continues to come up short, she realizes that maybe some questions really are best left unanswered.

When her true identity is finally unveiled, she is forced to choose between two of the mysterious men who continually seem to crop up in her life.

She chooses poorly.

Now abandoned, Ruby must learn to call on the darkness within to survive, or spend a hellish eternity imprisoned because of it.

Wow! I had no idea what this book was about before I read it. And disappointed I am not! This book and series really deserves so much more attention then it has been given.

Caged is written from our heroine Ruby’s POV; a woman in her late 20‘s who grew up blind. However, after a tragic event she miraculously regains her vision. Here’s the fun, the reader gets to experience all of the weird little nuances that a recently sighted person might have. It’s a neat little perspective and backstory we get on our heroine and immediately makes the reader want to like her. Caged is sort of a slow build as Natusch is introducing us to characters as well as Ruby’s perceived world. She does this to create a wonderful set-up before the big bombs drop. And boy do they drop.

Normally I am not a huge Werewolf fan but Natusch’s Caged is making me sing a different tune. Yes, yes, I know reviewers always say, “Oh what a new or different take on blah, blah, blah…,” well, in this case they are correct. Natusch does take a classic paranormal baddy and gives it an interesting twist.

I drank this book down faster then I would guzzle a nice micro-brew after a long run. Yeah, it was that good. I am extremely impressed with Ms. Natusch’s writing. She is wonderfully descriptive and has the gift to keep her audience engaged and interested. Her character’s have a lot of depth and are not your typical cookie-cutter black and white good guys versus bad guys. This I appreciate, as it adds a little bit more reality to the story.

If you enjoy Werewolves, PNR, Urban Fantasy and a plot driven story with fantastic writing, then please, please give Caged a read. You won’t be disappointed.

I give Caged 4.5 stars