This book has a lot of issues like the one dimensional side characters, everyone but Monroe was just dull, but i’m not going to lie this book had me hooked. it frustrated me a little how much it focused on the romance between Cohan and Monroe but it was well developed i’d say, it just left me bored and felt too insta love yet slow burning at the same time. this books strengths were definitely its plot which kept me super engaged and plot twist that i didn’t see coming at all, and it definitely left me reeling and i’m definitely going to read the second book once its out.

thank you to NetGalley and Wattpad Books for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It was such a wild ride experience. Our protagonist Monroe Benson, is a goddess-touched girl which means she’s destined to participate in the Culling, an age-old competition to determine the next queen of Erydia. It was an enjoyable read with interesting magic system, amazing worldbuilding and I loved the royal concept, The-Selection-kind-of romance, the tension between the competitors and the shocking twist at the end. Looking forward to the next installment!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wattpad Books for the opportunity to read an advanced reader's copy of this book for an honest review. (Publish Date: November 22, 2022)

Description: From the moment Monroe Benson is born with a mark on her hand and the ability to summon fire from her fingertips, her life will never be her own. She’s goddess-touched, which means she’s destined to participate in the Culling, an age-old competition to determine the next queen of Erydia. For most of her seventeen years, her family has managed to keep Monroe—and her powers—hidden. But now, as Queen Viera calls for the Culling to start and war looms on the horizon, Monroe can no longer hide. She must face her destiny whether she wants to or not.

“Of Cages and Crowns” by Brianna Joy Crump was very much “The Hunger Games” series meets “The Selection” series as ten goddess-touched girls with different powers will fight to the death until only one is left standing. The winner will marry a prince and become the new queen.

I was very excited to read this book, because it sounded similar to “The Selection” but with a deathly and magical twist. The backstory about how the Culling began was captivating, and I was eager to find out the magical abilities of all ten competitors since they would all be different. The story only follows Monroe, one of the goddess-touched girls, and the reader finds out early-on that her ability is to conjure fire – which is super cool! However, despite her cool power, I really didn’t care for Monroe in the beginning of the book. All the unnecessary swearing and hardness made her difficult to relate with and feel sorry for. It wasn’t until she entered the Culling and started having feelings for Prince Cohen that I began to finally warm to her.

On the other hand, I loved Uri from the moment she was introduced and was delighted by her character throughout the entire book. She was so interesting and fun that I almost wished the book was about her instead of Monroe at times. I hope Uri returns and has a bigger role in the second book!

I was expecting the competitors to all get thrown into an arena Hunger Games-style to duke it out, but the girls faced off in randomly selected pairs with weeks in between each match to work with their trainers and take random royalty prep classes. I was disappointed by the lack of matches and not really getting to know some of the goddess-touch girls or their powers (maybe more of this will be revealed in the second book?). The big battle scene at the end was a bit confusing and a little unrealistic at times. I also developed a pet peeve with characters constantly biting their bottom lips. I could understand if that was just Monroe’s bad habit, but nearly all the other characters did it as well!

This book is the first of two in this series, so I wasn’t expecting everything to wrap up nicely in the end. It’s definitely not a stand-alone book, but there was just enough closure to get by until the next book is released. Overall, I would recommend this book as I enjoyed it and will definitely read the second book to see how it all ends.

This book reminded me a bit of the Hunger Games with insta love.

The book wasn’t for me, to be honest I was bored for a large part of the book. There is a whole build up to the Culling, there are endless parties, dinners, and walks around the palace that take up whole chapters and then the actual Culling is over in a few pages and doesn’ t happen into the second part of the book.

I didn’t think the main characters were very interesting which made me skimm large parts of the book.

The book needed more pace and action.

I really enjoyed this book! It was a little different from what I’m used to, but in a good way! It kept me hooked the whole time.

I received this book through net galley in return for an honest review.

I thought this was a great book. I thought this was going to be a predictable storyline, but it ended up entirely, refreshingly, different. The only minor complaint was that the inner dialogue of the heroine became a little redundant and I felt that parts of it could have been shortened. She kept going on and on about how she didn’t want to kill or be killed and how much she wanted Cohen. Those inner monologues became a tad too repetitive.

Over all a solid first book. Will definitely be looking forward to the sequel!

The premise of this story is perhaps one we are familiar with - the Hunger Games would be the main comparison. But the author takes the story forward in such a way for it to feel fresh and new, and I honestly did not want to put it down!

Monroe is in a group of 10 girls born with special powers. Every generation a new group of these girls is born and their power develops, until they are brought to the palace for a fight to the death. The one champion who remains is crowned queen. Along with this thread is that the country is in a great period of unrest - the current queen has not taken care of its citizens and many have risen up in protest.

The main character Monroe was very likable, and the Queen and some of the other characters I completely detested. The author did a great job of bringing out that emotion. Prince Cohen, while naive, also brought high points to the story. Smart writing - made me think, “I can’t write like this or think it up” which was refreshing.

I thought this was a standalone book and that the final battle/outcome would be obvious, but there will be at least one sequel, which I can’t wait to read. Thank you to Netgalley and Wattpad Books for the eARC!

Of Cages and Crowns has all the vibes of the YA Dystopian heyday. (The Selection, Hunger Games, Red Queen) As the real world falls apart and becomes more of Dystopian reality everyday, I find myself drawn to Dystopian fiction less and less. It used to be one of my absolute favorite genres. But Of Cages and Crowns reminded me of my love for it. It's definitely a semi dark story. At least in YA terms. I had to close the book for a few minutes just after reading the Prologue. I hope there will be trigger warnings in the final copies.

If you enjoy Fantasy and/or Dystopian, I definitely recommend picking up this book. May the odds be ever in your favor.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wattpad Books for providing me with a review copy.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wattpad Books for the eARC!

4.5 stars

I very, very much enjoyed this book. The magic system is so unique, the plot has some familiar tropes while still maintaining a surprise element, and the characters all go through so much.

Parts of the book are quite dark, but there are some light and fluffy moments as well.

I really loved watching Monroe’s story evolve and become more developed, and I love the friendships she is able to maintain throughout.

I am looking forward to the publication later in 2022 and will be watching for sequels!

Wow! I finally got around to finishing Of Cages and Crows! I have been invested in this series since the WattPad days, and it has come so far! The descriptions of Monroe's powers were beautifully written, and definitely some of my favorite parts of the book! Uri is still most definitely my favorite character, but I love how all of the more supporting characters felt more fleshed out. I did find myself getting a little frustrated with Monroe's decision making and the dialogue at time, but all in all, this was such a wonderful, nostalgic ride!!

Holy cow, what a fantastic book!

This is what Red Queen and Hunger Games was trying to be. It’s got this relatively fleshed out dystopian world. With a magic system that requires ten girls fight for the death for a crown.

I was hoping it would focus more on the trials of the girls, but I can see why that didn’t need to happen. The story did slow down a bit after Monroe got to the palace and began training but it quickly picked up from there.

The ending, I did not call. But, I do have a few questions. How can Larkin have an ability? Only 10 goddess touched girls have powers and she makes girl 11.

The ending was also a major cliff hanger and I need the next book pronto!

What a ride!
It was so good.

I got Selection vibes, I got Hunger games Vibes.

It’s also fresh and new at the same time. The world building, the character development. It made it easy to relate to the world and to the people in it.

The book had me hooked right out if the gate.

4.5 stars 🌟
What a ride. All am thinking is why did I not read this sooner 😩😩
Fans of the Hunger Games? This one is for you. Don't even question it, just pick it up and give it a go. It's unputdownable.

Erdiya is ruled by a "goodess touched" queen, who is brutal, evil and looking for the next queen. Ten girls with powers of their own must compete and fight to death to be the queen of Erdiya and marry the prince. Only it's not that simple, Monroe doesn't want to be queen. She doesn't want to fall for the prince. And she certainly doesn't want to conspire and be part of the rebels. Do things work out in her favour or she's gone for good?

The world building was top notch. The way the book is written is so amazing, I immediately felt like I was witnessing it. The storyline sticks with the plot. But I did wanted to see more of the competition, I felt that was a bit short. Also the pacing of the book slowed down a bit in the middle (had to take a short break) but it picked up pace pretty quickly and was action packed towards the end. I did not see some of the plot twists coming and the ending broke me😭😭

The characters are complex.
Monroe, the FMC is presented as weak for about 60% of the book (which I felt was a bit much). I wanted to see her use her powers to full extent. Some of the people want her to be queen, but she barely took charge. I would prefer for her to be more empowered.

Cohen is the prince, who is undeniably sweet, kind and such a romantic. He is presented with struggles of his own, and he did take charge in some scenes but it wasn't enough for me. I want him to be a much more powerful character, someone worthy of being a king.

The chemistry between the two is so perfect.😩😩There were parts which made me smile so much, but other left me heartbroken. It's so easy for them to be together, and I definitely loved that. It never felt forced🤌

Supporting characters are pretty good as well and there's no lack of personality.

It's close to perfection, I would definitely recommend and can't wait to read the sequel 😩 The action towards the end is so brilliantly written, and the cliffhanger had me crying😭 So happy I read this one.

eARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review.

If you like to read about magic, royalty, romance, battles and the slightest hints of betrayal, this is the right book for you.

A crossover of The Hunger Games, The Selection and Red Queen; Of Cages and Crowns follows the perspective of Monroe Benson, 1 out of 10 goddess-touched girls; girls gifted with powers in the kingdom of Erydia. When the time comes to name a new queen, the 10 girls have to fight to the death to make their way closer to the Erydian throne.

The fantasy novel explores the ideas of trust, power and instability that one holds in a competition such as the Culling. It also emphasises how much humankind may risk in order to be guaranteed survival.

Initially a Wattpad novel, Of Cages and Crowns has come to the published stage better than ever. The world building of this universe is a lot more extensive, the characters are also written more in depth whilst still maintaining the same elements that can be found in the original version.
Overall a 5/5. I’m looking forward to seeing how the sequel will also be revised.

This was an enjoyable read. It was a cross between The Hunger Games and The Selection series. I found myself quickly flipping through page after page and was so disappointed when it ended because I wanted to keep reading and find out more!!

A great read for the first novel in the series! The author gave an interesting plot twist towards the end that I did not see coming! The goddess touched girls are brought to the castle to become the next queen, but only one will survive. Monroe has been hidden her whole life, for her mark indicates she is one of the goddess marked girls, but Monroe has no desire to be queen, yet ends up having to be in the competition to save her family. She gets to know Cohen, the prince whom all the girls are fighting for. He is nothing like she expected when they are alone, but he has a different facade when dealing with the court. The people are angry, for the laws and decisions being made are hurting the people and some have joined a rebellion to end the Culling and the monarchy. Monroe gets caught in between and will have to decide what she should do, for she does not want to die, but the only way to survive is to kill or be killed. I received this novel from net galley and the publisher as an ARC. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

"Whatever the goddess had placed in her, sang to whatever was within me. And it was a sickening, slithering sort of feeling, being so close to something so...volatile."

as soon as i started of cages and crowns, i was instantly reminded of kim liggett's the grace year, which is a story i loved from start to end. this novel is the hunger games meets the grace year meets the selection—and it has a lot to encompass in order to stand out amongst the stories of its kind. i think in part, it does. the worldbuilding is fresh in its own way, the characters are interesting and the world is unique. but one thing that gets me about books like this is the whole "falling for the person who is deemed the prize after i kill all these other people even though i know its wrong" trope...i dunno, it just has never sat right with me. monroe and cohen's romance is confusing, and slightly offputting, to be completely honest. having him linked as the soldier in her early memories is a nice touch, adding to the depth of their relationship, but overall, i found it odd that they grew so close considering the circumstances. it also saddened me to see so little of the girls and their powers—you learn of them, how dangerous and elusive they are, for most of them to be killed off essentially immediately. the culling is a game that ends entirely too soon for the build-up it gets throughout the entire novel and it could've easily been stretched out. there are a few other details i wasn't completely in love with (the ending was insane to me—how is he just gonna lose nearly his entire family and then just be like love you monroe, i guess we're rebels now x) but overall, there's no denying that the author's writing is beautiful. the tension, angst and fear were all there, and the fight scenes had me on the edge of my seat. this was a story i devoured in a day and i'm excited to see how the world progresses going forward!

thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc!

Of Cages and Crowns is a great YA dystopian romance. It has all the typical characters and story lines. Young girl that has a special talent, a prince needing a queen, a competition to the death, rebels….it is all there. I initially was worried that it would be just like every other YA dystopian book I have read but it ended up being so much more and so much better. The writing in the novel is able to draw the reader in and you really connect with the characters. All of them. There are twists and turns and though the story line is overall predictable, getting there is a fun ride! My only problem with this book is that I have to wait for a sequel to find out what happens! Bottom line-if this is your reading genre, you will love this book! Read it now.

The blurb and the cover was so interesting and beautiful.
But the characters were meh... and a little boring, sadly.
So it fell flat for me.

I absolutely loved this book! It was full of action and adventure which I really love in a book. The author did a great job keeping the plot moving and creating unique and interesting characters. This was such a fun read that I will be recommending it to everyone I know.