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Caught in a Snare
344 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 1, 2026
About the author
Cassie M. Shiels
19 books55 followersCassie M. Shiels is a multi-genre author of several books, such as Caught
in the Middle, The Royal Spy, and A Simple Christmas Kiss. She was born in
Idaho but loves living in Southern Utah, where it’s warm. As a kid, she was
often found reading on the school bus, before she did her homework, and late
into the night. (Wait, she still does that!) In middle school, she determined
that she loved creating stories as much as she enjoyed reading them and
decided to become an author. She consistently works on that dream with
every story idea that bounds into her head. She says that stories are a part of
her, and if you ask her, she often writes more than one book at a time, and the
same goes for reading; she’s usually reading a paperback, an e-book, and an
audiobook so that no matter what she’s doing, she has access to a good story.
Besides writing, she enjoys collecting dragons, crafting, raising her five
kids with her husband, and using random items as bookmarks. She loves
writing heartfelt, wholesome, and thrilling sweet contemporary romance,
romantic suspense, and young adult speculative fiction full of swoon-worthy
moments and heart-pounding kisses. For more visit her website: www.cassiemshiels.com
in the Middle, The Royal Spy, and A Simple Christmas Kiss. She was born in
Idaho but loves living in Southern Utah, where it’s warm. As a kid, she was
often found reading on the school bus, before she did her homework, and late
into the night. (Wait, she still does that!) In middle school, she determined
that she loved creating stories as much as she enjoyed reading them and
decided to become an author. She consistently works on that dream with
every story idea that bounds into her head. She says that stories are a part of
her, and if you ask her, she often writes more than one book at a time, and the
same goes for reading; she’s usually reading a paperback, an e-book, and an
audiobook so that no matter what she’s doing, she has access to a good story.
Besides writing, she enjoys collecting dragons, crafting, raising her five
kids with her husband, and using random items as bookmarks. She loves
writing heartfelt, wholesome, and thrilling sweet contemporary romance,
romantic suspense, and young adult speculative fiction full of swoon-worthy
moments and heart-pounding kisses. For more visit her website: www.cassiemshiels.com
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Romantic suspense perfection!
Fans of the Undercurrents series by Traci Abramson and the Hazardous Duty series by Betsy Brannon Green will find a new favorite series with Caught in the Middle!
Annie was just a typical, small town Christian girl- until her ex-boyfriend’s murder throws in right in the middle of a for-hire heist at the request of an Italian mob boss. Although she should be happy to once more be at home with her Granny living a normal life, she struggles to find a place (and a job!) in a small town full of ruthless gossips. When some suspicious looking Italians take up residence next door, she’s soon caught in their elaborate snare and will need the help of her morally gray friends (especially the handsome and elusive Sam) to escape. Will she be able to make it out alive- and maybe make room for herself in Sam’s life?
Although I haven’t read book one yet, I was able to jump in pretty smoothly with book two! It does have some spoilers from book one, but if you want to read out of order, it could totally work!
The suspense was top notch! I read it all in two days, which is ridiculously fast for me. I also loved the rather complicated romance budding between Sam and Annie. Their moments together were so cute, made all the more special because of all the odds stacked against them. Opposites attract? Too high stakes to be together, and too high stakes to be apart? Yup, I’m in!
I think my fav part of the book was Annie herself. It’s hard to write a FMC who is both vulnerable/weak and loveable, but Cassie nailed it. I was rooting for Annie from the very beginning and wanted to give her haters a piece of her mind. She was realistically involved in the plot (well, I mean as realistic as you can get with a crazy Italian mob boss!!!) and was a strong character without coming across as two dimensional.
It ends, but oh my I am dying for the next one!!
This is an ARC review, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Fans of the Undercurrents series by Traci Abramson and the Hazardous Duty series by Betsy Brannon Green will find a new favorite series with Caught in the Middle!
Annie was just a typical, small town Christian girl- until her ex-boyfriend’s murder throws in right in the middle of a for-hire heist at the request of an Italian mob boss. Although she should be happy to once more be at home with her Granny living a normal life, she struggles to find a place (and a job!) in a small town full of ruthless gossips. When some suspicious looking Italians take up residence next door, she’s soon caught in their elaborate snare and will need the help of her morally gray friends (especially the handsome and elusive Sam) to escape. Will she be able to make it out alive- and maybe make room for herself in Sam’s life?
Although I haven’t read book one yet, I was able to jump in pretty smoothly with book two! It does have some spoilers from book one, but if you want to read out of order, it could totally work!
The suspense was top notch! I read it all in two days, which is ridiculously fast for me. I also loved the rather complicated romance budding between Sam and Annie. Their moments together were so cute, made all the more special because of all the odds stacked against them. Opposites attract? Too high stakes to be together, and too high stakes to be apart? Yup, I’m in!
I think my fav part of the book was Annie herself. It’s hard to write a FMC who is both vulnerable/weak and loveable, but Cassie nailed it. I was rooting for Annie from the very beginning and wanted to give her haters a piece of her mind. She was realistically involved in the plot (well, I mean as realistic as you can get with a crazy Italian mob boss!!!) and was a strong character without coming across as two dimensional.
It ends, but oh my I am dying for the next one!!
This is an ARC review, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
"Bad things happened to good people because evil people made horrible choices, and good people got in the way. "
This quote from the book pretty much sums it up. Annie ends out in the middle of trouble time and time again. And I'm talking major trouble like kidnappings, shootings, running for your life type stuff. She is convinced she is just bad luck and sharing it with those around her- those she cares about. She is a quiet girl from a small town in Idaho- how in the world did she end out on an Italian mobster's hit list? And WHY???
She starts out a little lost and clueless, and to be frank- I wanted to yell at her a couple of times. "Are you SERIOUSLY going in there?!!? USE YOUR HEAD!" She grows in confidence as the book goes on, and I loved seeing that.
If you like action on top of action, a very slow-burn forbidden love story, peril at every turn, and a sweet granny who sees more than she is told- you're in for a couple of late nights while your fly through this story. He's basically a con-man but supposedly working for the good guys. She's a Christian girl that has never broken a rule in her life. How can they ever be together?
"How does he look at me?" "Like you're a cinnamon-apple pie straight from the overn, too hot to touch, but the desire is there. The love is there. The wish is there."
"The odds of their happily ever after were not good, but the prospect grew anyway-- a new seedling pushing through the dark soil to saok up the sun of hope."
This is book 2 in the series but many have said that they enjoyed it without having read the first.
I got an ebook from the publisher for my opinion.
This quote from the book pretty much sums it up. Annie ends out in the middle of trouble time and time again. And I'm talking major trouble like kidnappings, shootings, running for your life type stuff. She is convinced she is just bad luck and sharing it with those around her- those she cares about. She is a quiet girl from a small town in Idaho- how in the world did she end out on an Italian mobster's hit list? And WHY???
She starts out a little lost and clueless, and to be frank- I wanted to yell at her a couple of times. "Are you SERIOUSLY going in there?!!? USE YOUR HEAD!" She grows in confidence as the book goes on, and I loved seeing that.
If you like action on top of action, a very slow-burn forbidden love story, peril at every turn, and a sweet granny who sees more than she is told- you're in for a couple of late nights while your fly through this story. He's basically a con-man but supposedly working for the good guys. She's a Christian girl that has never broken a rule in her life. How can they ever be together?
"How does he look at me?" "Like you're a cinnamon-apple pie straight from the overn, too hot to touch, but the desire is there. The love is there. The wish is there."
"The odds of their happily ever after were not good, but the prospect grew anyway-- a new seedling pushing through the dark soil to saok up the sun of hope."
This is book 2 in the series but many have said that they enjoyed it without having read the first.
I got an ebook from the publisher for my opinion.
June 1, 2026
Nice romantic suspense. This was the second in a series and I had not read the first book. However, the characterization and plot gave enough to make this an enjoyable read. Some of her reactions, “a warm zing ran down Annie’s neck…” were over used in my opinion. And I took a star off because there were frequent grammatical errors.
I was delighted to find that Jeremy was based on the authors brother. His interaction with Granny was wonderful!
I was delighted to find that Jeremy was based on the authors brother. His interaction with Granny was wonderful!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
3.5
This isn’t my normal genre but I found the book easy to get into. The thriller aspect was intense and I found myself thinking about the book when I wasn’t reading it. I loved that Annie’s character seems to be finding herself and some confidence in this series.
Content: kisses, peril
I received an ARC from the publisher and all opinions are my own.
This isn’t my normal genre but I found the book easy to get into. The thriller aspect was intense and I found myself thinking about the book when I wasn’t reading it. I loved that Annie’s character seems to be finding herself and some confidence in this series.
Content: kisses, peril
I received an ARC from the publisher and all opinions are my own.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews