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Title: The Gilded Cage
Author: Lauren Smith
Series: Surrender
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release
Date:
June 9, 2015
Publisher:
Hachette Book
Group USA
Print
Length:
110K
Format: Paperback and Digital
Print
ISBN:
978-1-4555-3277-3
Digital
ISBN:
978-1-4555-3278-0
Synopsis:
 
Passion that
takes no prisoners, and love that tests the limits of ecstasy . . .
Fenn Lockwood
comes alive in the shadows. Though he might have physically survived the
kidnapping that stole his childhood, the trauma and pain he lived through have
marked him forever. Now the only place where Fenn can be himself is within the
walls of his private BDSM world—a place of erotic obsession, where desire isn’t
just captured . . . it’s bound.
Hayden Thorne
knows that behind Fenn’s hardened exterior is a man worth fighting for. Yet to
save him from the past that still haunts him, Hayden will have to abandon every
inhibition she’s ever had and venture into Fenn’s intoxicatingly sensual world.
Each tantalizing second she spends in Fenn’s searing embrace is more delicious
than the last and soon Hayden begins to think that she may never want to leave
such torturous bliss…
Find out more at: Amazon
| Barnes
& Noble
| Kobo | iBooks
Review:
All in all, this was a good book which never got “boring”. The actions happening during the course of action are presented fluently, so I enjoyed reading this book in two days. 

When you start reading, you get introduced to mainly two different worlds which are connected because of things which happened in the past. This is the most important part of the story as it affects all the characters, especially the main character Fenn, even now in the present. 

When he was kidnapped together with his brother Emery when he was 8, everybody thought he died while actually, he just started living a new life i Colorado. I loved the way how the twin-topic played such an important role. Even when they are apart, there is such a deep connection I have read some books in which this wasn’t really used….
But it is someting special which should be definetly not forgotten as it made this book very special. In general I liked the way how all the characters developed during the course of action. 
The only thing I would like to critizise at this point is the fact that sometimes, it was a little bit confusing as the point of view changed too often(in my opinion). 

The book includes a lot of different aspects (BDSM, the Twins-connection, the wealthy family-part, the ranch-guy background,…). 
There was always something new to discover- sometimes in my opinion too much. This is the reason why this book “only” gets 3 stars. It’s obvious that Lauren Smith tried to put a lot into the story. It’s not like it didn’t work out at the end, but in my opinion she should have written more books coping with the single topics instead of putting it all into one book. Mentioning their interes in the BDSM world for example is something which could have been left out as it at the end not really played that big role. Even then, they could have lived a steamy and hot love-life.

One thing I wrote down as well is the fact that it was sometimes too predictable. At some times it was ok, but if you warn the reader two pages ago before exactly this happens to them, there is no “surprise” left.

At the end I just can say that I really want to get to know ore about Hayden. She is the character I liked most as she finally is able to break free. 
I will read the other books of this series for sure.



Excerpt
from The Gilded Cage: 
                Hayden Thorne’s heart was still pounding a little
hard, her breath a little shallow, and her palms still hurt from scratches
she’d received when she’d climbed over the rail to avoid death. Had she really
jumped into an arena to challenge an angry bull? A little half-hysterical
giggle escaped her as she collapsed onto the small twin bed in her cheap motel
room in Walnut Springs, tugging her red dress down her thighs. Her hands still
shook from the adrenaline.
                Yeah, she had actually done it.
                She’d saved Fenn Lockwood’s life. The missing boy in
the pair of twins kidnapped at age eight, twenty –five years ago. Emery, the
younger of the twins, had miraculously escaped, but never spoke of what might
have befallen his brother Fenn. The world had assumed his silence meant Fenn
was dead. How wrong they’d all been. He’d been here in Colorado all along,
living as a rancher. He was alive. A fact that still shocked her and filled her
with a sense of wonder and excitement. Bringing Fenn home could do so much—for
him, for his family, for his brother. Fenn’s loss had devastated so many
people, including her brother, Wes, who was Fenn and Emery’s childhood friend.
                She reached down and tugged off her Jimmy Choo pumps.
The black leather was badly scuffed. She’d have to get another pair soon. They
were probably ruined by the crowd during the panic following the accident when
the stupid bull had thrown Fenn like a sack of potatoes. Why couldn’t he just
play polo like his twin? Why did he have to be a bull rider?
                She let the shoes drop to the floor. She still
couldn’t relax. She was too keyed up for anything else. What she wanted to do
was find Fenn and tell him everything. She had tried to find him after she’d
gotten out of the arena with the help of a couple of riders. They had enjoyed
leering at her chest before she’d gone to find her heels. They’d even trailed
after her, making all sorts of comments that would have made her blush if she
hadn’t had other things on her mind.
                Once she’d found her shoes, she’d asked around again
for where Fenn had gone after he’d left the arena, and she’d been pointed
toward the medical tent. By that point, it had been empty except for a polite
middle-aged doctor who was busy packing up his supplies. A couple of giggles, a
smile, and she’d earned decent directions to a place called The Broken Spur, a
place where Fenn worked.
                She slid her hand into the tiny, almost hidden pocket
of her dress and touched the slip of paper she’d scribbled the directions to
Fenn’s ranch on. Fenn’s residence at the ranch was not something she had shared
with her older brother Wes. He could try to bully her into going home all he
liked, or into staying out of the way, but she didn’t care. This was her
mission and she wasn’t going to give up without a fight. She wanted everyone
back home to take her seriously.
                Being
a daughter of one of the richest families on Long Island’s Gold Coast was not
the perfect dream most people might think it would be. She was a bargaining
tool, a pawn for her parents to gain political power and influence. She was
marriage material, nothing more. She wanted to shake her parents up, get them
to open their eyes and see that she wasn’t just a frilly dressed ninny, but a
woman who could actually change the world. Bringing home the long-lost golden
boy might just change their minds about her, and doing so would also make sure the
people she cared about were finally safe. It wouldn’t be easy, either. Someone
wanted to kill Fenn Lockwood and she would not only bring him home but save his
life. Just like she’d done tonight—even though tonight she had not expected
Fenn’s potential killer to be a damn bull.

THE
GILED CAGE by Lauren Smith is a dark and erotic story about a
solitary bullrider who finds out he is the heir to
a vast fortune and a family he never knew he had. Readers will be enthralled
with the second installment in the Surrender series which is t
old
in the vein of BARED TO YOU by Sylvia Day and SECRETS EXPOSED by Lisa Renee
Jones.
Praise for the Surrender series:
“The Gilded Cuff is a dark, sensual
tale that teases and tantalizes the senses. It’s all about anticipation,
seduction, and surrender. You will be every bit as enthralled with the story as
Sophie is with Emery.”

 Give Me
Books Blog

 

“From the very first page I was lost to the suspense, romance, thrills and
chills of this intriguing story. In fact, I was so engrossed in the dramatic
plot that I stayed up all night to finish the story. There was no way that I
would be able to sleep without knowing how everything played out.” 

Sizzling Hot Books.com

“If you love a great mystery with a giant dose of steam and a beautiful
love story, you will swoon over this novel!” 

The Reading Cafe

 
Other Books in the Surrender Series
THE GILDED CUFF
Book 1 is available at Amazon | Barnes
& Noble
| Kobo | iBooks | Audible
THE GILDED CHAIN
Book 3 is available for pre-order at Amazon | Barnes
& Noble
| Kobo | iBooks
About
Lauren Smith:
Amazon
Best-Selling Author Lauren Smith is an attorney by day, author by night, who
pens adventurous and edgy romance stories by the light of her smart phone
flashlight app. She’s a native Oklahoman who lives with her three pets: a
feisty chinchilla, sophisticated cat and dapper little schnauzer. She’s won
multiple awards in several romance subgenres including being an Amazon.com
Breakthrough Novel Award Quarter-Finalist and a Semi-Finalist for the Mary
Wollstonecraft Shelley Award. 
Connect with Lauren at her 
Jeri’s Book Attic, Author
Interview 
– Lauren Smith –

1)      What is the first book you read that
comes to mind? Why is it so important to you?
a.      
Cat’s
Cake by Richard Fowler. It’s one of the first books my mother read to me as a
child that I really remember being read to. What resonated most with me about
the story was that this Chef Cat is baking a cake and a whole cast of
characters sneak in to his kitchen to add ingredients they would want into the
cake. At the end of the book the cake tastes rather terrible. What I learned
from the story is how secondary characters and their desires can affect the
path of a story. Even as a young child, I was learning and focusing on what
good stories have. In the case of Cat’s Cake, it’s secondary characters.
2)      How much of you and/or your
surroundings is a part of your stories? Is the influence based on a conscious
decision, or do you periodically recognize yourself in one of your characters
and it wasn’t planned?
a.      
My
stories are mostly fantasy in that the events and people in the stories are
entirely from my imagination. Some people write what they know, even personally
into a story, but I really prefer to explore new characters and new
surroundings. I love the challenge of trying to write about places I’ve never
lived and men and women that aren’t like anyone I know. However, I sometimes
put a trait or two, or a small detail here and there into a character or story
when it fits. An example would be in my story The Shadows of Stormclyffe Hall,
the hero tells the heroine how he learned to dance and it was how my dad told
me he was taught to dance.

3)      What genre is the most intimidating
when you think about writing in it? Explain why!
a.      
If
we’re talking about the Romance Genre, I think the subgenre that most
intimidates me is historical romance set in the highlands. I specialize in
writing Regency set romances, but anything consider “highlander” romances with
men in kilts and running around with swords is incredibly intimidating. I would
love to write a story like this, but the research to get the story right would
take a lot of time to do and given my day job as an attorney, I can’t afford
the time to research it. 
4)      In your opinion, what is the most
important feature a book needs to have?
a.      
Character.
I mean this in two related ways. A book itself should have character in that
the book should make you remember it, like a good movie, or a song. You can’t
get it out of your head. And one of the best ways a book can do this is to have
strong characters like the hero and heroine. A writer should make their
characters strong, loveable, human and compelling. If a book has those type of
characters, then that is a book which will capture a reader’s heart. 
5)      What is the most difficult part of
writing a book, (including the preparations and after-publication-process)?
a.      
The
most difficult part is probably editing. You’re mentally sort of done with the
book and you want to move onto to the next project but you can’t. You have to
be willing to work on the book all over and change anything that your editor
says you need to.
6)      If you had the chance to influence
the questions people ask you in interviews, what question is the most annoying
and you would love to never hear again? What question would you really like to
answer that you have not been asked yet, and what is your answer to that
question?
a.      
I
think the most irritating question is probably ‘Where did you get the idea for
this book?’ I tend to write and I don’t always know where the story comes from,
it just hits me. I think that’s probably more annoying to answer because I
don’t have an answer and it doesn’t really tell the audience anything about the
book when I have no ready answer. I think a question I would love to answer
that no one really asks me is “What is your favorite part of the story? Or What
were you trying to show through your characters?” I love to talk about what I
am thinking as I write and what I’m trying to accomplish. In the case of my
book The Gilded Cage, I really sought to focus on two characters, Fenn and
Hayden who are both a reverse fish out of the water and a fish out of the water
story line. Fenn, an heir to a fortune and a Long Island high society family he
didn’t grow up with and doesn’t remember due to a childhood trauma and injury
is now a poor bullrider in Colorado, and Hayden who grew up in luxury on Long
Island in Fenn’s childhood world of opulence and decadence. There was a lot of
wonderful character development I was able to play with while writing these two
seemingly different characters who weren’t actually that different come
together.
7)      Name three characteristics of your
writing style that are important yet different from other authors. 
a.      
I
write in almost all different subgenres of romance: Contemporary, historical,
modern gothic, and paranormal, yet my writing style doesn’t differ all that
much. Many writers when they change subgenres, their style changes too much and
they lose readers.
b.     
My
style also tends to be a little more haunting, lyrical and literary than other
romances in some ways because I never read romances when I was growing up. My writing
influences were very literary and I read a lot of gothic romances and high
fantasy novels. 
c.      
I
also love teasing the readers with hints of fairy tale connections or
metaphors. I am obsessed with fairy tales and can’t help but write them into my
stories, even in small ways.
8)      What do you want tell your readers
at the end of this interview? 
a.      
I
hope that readers will check out The Gilded Cage, it’s not your average erotic
romance. It’s a powerful story about family, dreams, and real love about two
people and the friends that help them come together. It’s not just a love
story, it’s an emotional and exciting adventure story too.
 

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