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Cradle of Secrets #1
Cradle of Secrets
When an intrepid American with a dark past becomes a hired gun for a mysterious woman in London, he’s shocked to discover a world crawling with monsters.
Jem has lied and cheated his way out of America and into the most fashionable circles of Victorian London’s elite. He has almost everything he ever a beautiful, if gullible, tycoon’s daughter on his arm and a patron who’s willing to fund his lavish lifestyle. But none of it delivers the high he always thought it would. So when a mysterious woman called Felicity appears at a ball and asks him to demonstrate his legendary gunslinger skills, he can’t resist.
But Jem is about to realise the problem with inventing yourself an elaborate adventuring it doesn’t hold up very long when you’re confronted with real monsters risen from the grave.
Narrowly escaping with his life, Jem discovers Felicity isn’t all that she appears either. He tries to return to normality, but when tragedy strikes, he’s forced to seek her out at her home, Grimwood Manor, where he finds her surrounded by a motley crew of friends, none of whom seem exactly . . . human.
Swept up in a world of witches, werewolves, and other creatures that ought not to exist, Jem struggles to keep his dark past buried. But when a string of supernatural murders rocks the human world, he must confront his fears and join forces with his new friends to figure out who’s creating monsters out of men.
A perfect blend of fantasy, romance, and paranormal mystery, Cradle of Secrets is the brilliant start to a gripping series perfect for fans of Bridgerton and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
Jem has lied and cheated his way out of America and into the most fashionable circles of Victorian London’s elite. He has almost everything he ever a beautiful, if gullible, tycoon’s daughter on his arm and a patron who’s willing to fund his lavish lifestyle. But none of it delivers the high he always thought it would. So when a mysterious woman called Felicity appears at a ball and asks him to demonstrate his legendary gunslinger skills, he can’t resist.
But Jem is about to realise the problem with inventing yourself an elaborate adventuring it doesn’t hold up very long when you’re confronted with real monsters risen from the grave.
Narrowly escaping with his life, Jem discovers Felicity isn’t all that she appears either. He tries to return to normality, but when tragedy strikes, he’s forced to seek her out at her home, Grimwood Manor, where he finds her surrounded by a motley crew of friends, none of whom seem exactly . . . human.
Swept up in a world of witches, werewolves, and other creatures that ought not to exist, Jem struggles to keep his dark past buried. But when a string of supernatural murders rocks the human world, he must confront his fears and join forces with his new friends to figure out who’s creating monsters out of men.
A perfect blend of fantasy, romance, and paranormal mystery, Cradle of Secrets is the brilliant start to a gripping series perfect for fans of Bridgerton and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
328 pages, Paperback
Published May 6, 2025
38 people are currently reading
5076 people want to read
About the author
Jasmine Wigham
5 books23 followersJasmine Wigham grew up reading any book that she could get her hands on and fell in love with fantasy and its many worlds. She writes novels inspired by her home in County Durham and the people that she grew up with. She enjoys writing about local and regional areas that she doesn’t see very much in fiction.
She has loved writing ever since she was a child, but only recently started writing again after finishing her BA in History and English Literature. She was a recent finalist in the Penguin 2020 Write Now scheme, which aims to champion promising new writers who are so far underrepresented in the publishing landscape, with her debut crossover fantasy, CRADLE OF SECRETS (due to be published in May 2025).
She has loved writing ever since she was a child, but only recently started writing again after finishing her BA in History and English Literature. She was a recent finalist in the Penguin 2020 Write Now scheme, which aims to champion promising new writers who are so far underrepresented in the publishing landscape, with her debut crossover fantasy, CRADLE OF SECRETS (due to be published in May 2025).
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 9, 2025
I loved this book, I fell in love with the characters, especially Odessa. The book flowed really well and I read it in two separate sittings because I just couldn’t put it down and gripped me, I cannot wait to read the second book when it comes out.
April 22, 2025
Thanks to Podium Entertainment who made an audio ARC available to me. I really had fun with this one.
So my love language is a scooby gang. A found family of distinct and diverse individuals working together to defeat the big bad. Actually doing the thing is great but I’m here for how we do the thing. The banter, the laughs, the secrets, the friendships. I can’t get enough of that shit. Luckily this book had it in spades.
The plot? Listen, it maybe got away from us in the back half a little bit. I kept thinking “this probably should have been at least two books” to give each plot point the breathing room and development it really deserved. We just covered so much ground so quickly and not every plot point seemed consistent with the established rules of the world but if you can roll with it I think you’ll have a good time
I knew I was a goner when one of our crew gets injured and I was yelling at the top of my lungs for someone to help them on the way to the grocery store. Yeah when I start talking back to the book you know it’s good.
Audio production was solid too! I’ll definitely be on the lookout for the next one.
So my love language is a scooby gang. A found family of distinct and diverse individuals working together to defeat the big bad. Actually doing the thing is great but I’m here for how we do the thing. The banter, the laughs, the secrets, the friendships. I can’t get enough of that shit. Luckily this book had it in spades.
The plot? Listen, it maybe got away from us in the back half a little bit. I kept thinking “this probably should have been at least two books” to give each plot point the breathing room and development it really deserved. We just covered so much ground so quickly and not every plot point seemed consistent with the established rules of the world but if you can roll with it I think you’ll have a good time
I knew I was a goner when one of our crew gets injured and I was yelling at the top of my lungs for someone to help them on the way to the grocery store. Yeah when I start talking back to the book you know it’s good.
Audio production was solid too! I’ll definitely be on the lookout for the next one.
May 18, 2025
Fans of found family, misfit monster fighters and/or the Penny Dreadful TV show will adore the beginning of Jasmine Wigham’s gothic fantasy series.
It introduces Jem, an American gunslinger fleeing his dark past in search of a place to belong. He ends up in London, where a mysterious woman hires him to protect her. When they end up battling inhuman monsters, he is thrown into a world he never knew existed, filled with witches, werewolves and a malicious warlock seeking to tear everything down. But he also finds what he’s been hoping for - a chosen family who have his back no matter what.
The characters are brilliant, and you grow to love every member of the core group. With their mixture of magic, banter and vulnerability, this scooby gang feels complex and whole. Much of the book focuses on the relationships between them, from lies they tell each other to their shared history.
I also love Cradle, the city of magic. The glimpses you get of it in this novel are intriguing, brimming with possibilities, and there’s so much potential to be explored in book two. The magic system and world building are handled really well, creating atmosphere and understanding without drawing too much attention away from the stars of the show (the characters). The pacing is fast (which I personally enjoy) and the antagonist is a worthy (and suitably awful) foe.
All in all, it’s a great escape for gothic fantasy lovers with a fondness for memorable characters.
It introduces Jem, an American gunslinger fleeing his dark past in search of a place to belong. He ends up in London, where a mysterious woman hires him to protect her. When they end up battling inhuman monsters, he is thrown into a world he never knew existed, filled with witches, werewolves and a malicious warlock seeking to tear everything down. But he also finds what he’s been hoping for - a chosen family who have his back no matter what.
The characters are brilliant, and you grow to love every member of the core group. With their mixture of magic, banter and vulnerability, this scooby gang feels complex and whole. Much of the book focuses on the relationships between them, from lies they tell each other to their shared history.
I also love Cradle, the city of magic. The glimpses you get of it in this novel are intriguing, brimming with possibilities, and there’s so much potential to be explored in book two. The magic system and world building are handled really well, creating atmosphere and understanding without drawing too much attention away from the stars of the show (the characters). The pacing is fast (which I personally enjoy) and the antagonist is a worthy (and suitably awful) foe.
All in all, it’s a great escape for gothic fantasy lovers with a fondness for memorable characters.
September 10, 2025
This delightful surprise reads as though Gail Carriger and the tv series Penny Dreadful set out to have tea with a KJ Charles gothic. A few bodies and near-death experiences later and we have a lovable, flawed crew doing their (questionable) best. I’ll definitely be reading the next.
May 13, 2025
This was a pretty good book! It did seem a bit fast at certain points but it was a decent read overall!
June 3, 2025
Thank you Podium Entertainment for sending me a free ALC copy!
4 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟
This was a great read! I was intrigued right from the beginning .. I was like secret monster hunters? Cool, I'm in!
With cool monster hunters, come wild personalities and then a whole witch plot that I was super shocked by.
I found the pacing a little slow at parts, but overall a good one.
You get:
• Fantasy
• Monsters & Monster Hunters
• Forced Proximity
• Don't Trust Anyone
• Secrets & Lies
• Witches
• Quest
If you like monster hunter fantasy, you would enjoy this! Available on KU, ebook, paperback, and audiobook.
4 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟
This was a great read! I was intrigued right from the beginning .. I was like secret monster hunters? Cool, I'm in!
With cool monster hunters, come wild personalities and then a whole witch plot that I was super shocked by.
I found the pacing a little slow at parts, but overall a good one.
You get:
• Fantasy
• Monsters & Monster Hunters
• Forced Proximity
• Don't Trust Anyone
• Secrets & Lies
• Witches
• Quest
If you like monster hunter fantasy, you would enjoy this! Available on KU, ebook, paperback, and audiobook.
May 13, 2025
Cradle of Secrets is a gothic horror/fantasy. Jem is an American gunslinger who finds himself living through a Penny Dreadful. One evening assisting a beautiful, mysterious woman named Lissa opens his eyes to the paranormal horrors that lie hidden beneath the everyday. There are creatures I recognized, like witches, werewolves and vampires. Also truly horrific creatures I'd never heard of before.
Jem joins Lissa with her found family in the country, only to realize that London isn't the only place with mysteries. Jem is thrown for a loop and questions whether he's better off not knowing what dangers lurk. But when the violence becomes personal he decides he has to find the strength to see the evil ended.
The book is descriptive and has a lot of depth. It picks up pace as it goes along and stops spending the time it needs to really sit with each new revelation. By the end the plot and the characters are both running from one spot to another, sometimes trying to find answers they already should have had. Not everything is as it seems and the ending feels a bit like a runaway train. I'm still impressed at the atmospheric book.
Jem joins Lissa with her found family in the country, only to realize that London isn't the only place with mysteries. Jem is thrown for a loop and questions whether he's better off not knowing what dangers lurk. But when the violence becomes personal he decides he has to find the strength to see the evil ended.
The book is descriptive and has a lot of depth. It picks up pace as it goes along and stops spending the time it needs to really sit with each new revelation. By the end the plot and the characters are both running from one spot to another, sometimes trying to find answers they already should have had. Not everything is as it seems and the ending feels a bit like a runaway train. I'm still impressed at the atmospheric book.
May 12, 2025
Book Rating:⭐️2.5/5
I really wanted to love this book, especially with its cool concept and found family dynamic that hinted at an adult Mystery Inc. vibe. The idea had so much potential, and the story started off strong, but unfortunately, the second half felt rushed and a bit lost. I found myself wishing it had been plotted out more clearly, with more time to develop the characters and world. Maybe if it had been a duology, the story could have really hit its stride. I did finish the book (I don’t review DNFs), but it was a challenge to get through the end. This one wasn’t quite for me, but I still think the premise was a great one.
I really wanted to love this book, especially with its cool concept and found family dynamic that hinted at an adult Mystery Inc. vibe. The idea had so much potential, and the story started off strong, but unfortunately, the second half felt rushed and a bit lost. I found myself wishing it had been plotted out more clearly, with more time to develop the characters and world. Maybe if it had been a duology, the story could have really hit its stride. I did finish the book (I don’t review DNFs), but it was a challenge to get through the end. This one wasn’t quite for me, but I still think the premise was a great one.
May 12, 2025
This was such a fun read, and perfect for those who enjoy books that are gothic fantasy, with great friendly banter and mystery. We get strong female characters, and a guy who is a bit frazzled- awkward but cute. I loved the found family dynamic, and well… the build up of secrets and monster hunting! I would like to add that I really liked how the romance didn’t overwhelm the plot. I was glued to the storyline. There were some parts of the book where it felt like you were thrown about a little (maybe too quick paced for me at times), but other than that- solid fantasy book for me.
I received a free copy of this book via Podium Team and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Podium Team and am voluntarily leaving a review.
May 6, 2025
I tried so hard to make it through this book, and I might have, but I just could not with the narrators voice. Unfortunately, the narrators timbre to their voice was unpleasant for me to listen to, and I made it to about 54% before giving in and throwing the white flag.
I received a gifted copy. This review is honest and voluntary.
I received a gifted copy. This review is honest and voluntary.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews