Review of Caged (Mastered #4) by Lorelei James

Caged is the fourth and final book in the Mastered series.

Deacon McConnell, an MMA fighter training and teaching at Black Arts dojo, embodies the term fighting machine. His impressive fight stats, mean persona, and tattooed, scarred body present the appearance of a hardened fighter.

That all changes when Molly Calloway takes his kickboxing class. Molly was mugged years earlier, and a self-defense class woke a love of martial arts that led her to Deacon's class. Ever since, he's desired her. The one time he asked her out, his trainer Maddox and Sensei Ronin Black convinced him that it wasn't the time for romance, so he stood her up.

Molly isn't keen on giving Deacon another chance even though she wants him, too. He's an asshole and a brutal teacher, though a good one, and she doesn't want that entanglement. They're opposites in every way, but the draw is undeniable. Despite her reservations, he talks her into it and dives headlong into a relationship with her. Deacon awakens desires in her she's kept secret, and Molly evokes emotions in him he didn't know he was capable of.

I found this to be a good close for the series. Molly was an important figure in the first two books, and Deacon was in the other three books, though neither came anywhere close to filling the pages.

I found Deacon and Molly to be fairly nuanced for the genre, and like many of Ms. James's characters, they're likable and I can't help cheering for them or wanting to throttle them depending on the scene. This series was one with qualities I like, namely where we as readers get an extended view into how other characters' lives developed beyond the end of their novels. It's one of the reasons I love reading romance series over standalone novels.

The settings were strong as they usually are with Ms. James. There was enough detail that I knew where I was but not enough to where it bogged down the story. The dojo was a pretty vivid place for me, and both their homes were also well described, Molly's apartment more than Deacon's condo.

The dialog was pretty believable with occasional cheesy exchanges, but in romance things sometimes get cheesy by nature of the genre. I found that I could tell whether it was Deacon or Molly speaking because of the tone and language, and the way they spoke felt natural to them. The dialog should be an extension of the character, and here it was.

Description was, like with the settings, enough so I knew where I was and what I was seeing without being overdone and slowing down the narrative. I found it to be a good balance, though I think she could have gone just a tad heavier on the description.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel and the series.

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