This book took me a while to get into, but once I did, I loved it! It is really well written and has some real character growth. The world is so intriguing and captivating with powerful sisters who have gods/dragons grafted into them, political intrigue and romance.

Audiobook review: I listened to the audiobook narrated by Sofia Engstrand who portrayed the different characters perfectly. Once I started to understand the plot better the narration really swept me away, and before I knew To Cage a God was finished and leaving me wishing for more Galina and Vasilisa content.

Summary: Sisters Galina and Sera wield forbidden godly power, raised to topple a tyrannical empire. Amid war and secrets, they face choices that could reshape their world.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an audiobook ARC of this book, all thoughts are my own.

When a fantasy world such as this one engulfs you, it takes a cool-down period to organize your thoughts, and that happened to me. The book immerses you in a kingdom where very few talented alchemists(for the lack of a better word) bonded themselves to ancient Godly Creatures to let them reside in themselves and take hold of all their power. But the Queen would kill anyone with a Godly power who isn't a part of the royal court and a lurking rebel group targeting such power-hungry royals is a threat to be dealt with immediately.

It was good to encounter a fierce female protagonist not acting foolish after a long time. The decision-making by the characters was handled and explained in a way that works perfectly for readers PoV. The book does have a slow start, but that is the only con about it as everything else felt perfectly in place. For the lovers of a little heat, there are a few scenes you would surely enjoy🔥.

Thank you @netgalley @bolindaaudio and @_elizabethmay for the Audio ARC
Genre: #fantasy #magic #lgbt #adult
Rating: 4/5 ⭐️



#ToCageaGod #NetGalley

I really enjoyed this book - much more than I was expecting! A magical fantasy following two sisters who have had gods grafted into their bones.

I loved getting to know Sera and Galina, each very different but with a fierce love for each other. I really enjoyed both their storylines and was interested in each of their POVs. The different POVs were actually a big strength for me - often, with a book bigger than dual POV, I'll have a favourite or least favourite that I'm more/less excited to read about but I was very invested in both their storylines as well as the secondary characters' storylines.
I feel that the romances were both well done - different but equally as beautiful.
It was a really enjoyable read that sucked me in from the beginning. The narration was perfect for me - I was engaged quickly and excited to keep reading.
Would highly recommend to fantasy lovers who enjoy a good amount of romance and found family in their books!

I was excited about this book, but when I finished it I felt something was missing.

The magic system was intriguing and quite unique. I loved the concept of gods/dragons trapped in human bodies, which was unique, and how a person's status and power were based on the strengths and abilities of the summoned god. But I wanted more out of it. The gods were supposed to have individual personalities and traits (Sera and Galina could feel them moving under their skin, sensed their reactions, and had to negotiate with them to gain their godpowers), but these aspects were rushed through and never explored. I would have liked to see the dragons play a more relevant role in the story.

I loved the close bond between the two sisters, Sara and Galina, Vitaly's deranged personality and Vasilisa's resiliency. And while I love multiple POVs (here we got 5 POVs), it felt like there were too many at times because we didn't get the chance to really get to know any of the characters in depth.
The main antagonist, the Empress, was likewise too one-dimensional for my liking, a power-hungry and constantly resentful character who fell flat overall.
While fun, the romantic relationships between the characters (M/F and F/F) suffered from the same flaw: they felt a little underdeveloped, rushed and needed more attention.

I struggled with the world-building. I generally enjoy complex world-building, but here I found it very confusing. It felt diluted and heavy at the same time. The author dropped the reader into this Russian-inspired world with no further explanation, no map and no translations of the terms and language used (there is a glossary at the end of the book, but at least some translation embedded in the prose would have helped, at least at the beginning). This, combined with the sluggish pacing of the first half, made me feel disconnected from the book.

Overall, while I enjoyed certain aspects of the book, it didn't live up to my expectations.

2.75 stars

🎧 Side note: I suggest approaching To Cage a God listening to the audiobook. The narrator did a great job offering an immersive experience. Plus, the audio format helps to comprehend complex foreign words and phrases.

I decided not to finish this after getting 15% in to the audiobook. I was initially intrigued by the concept of this, but the actual execution just falls flat for me. The writing is good but not remarkable enough to keep me interested, the characters have very similar voices to the point that it was difficult to differentiate between povs and that made it confusing to understand the world building at first. I also found the prose repetitive in places, and I'm not very far in. I just don't feel excited enough to keep reading and devote a significant amount of hours to this book when there are others I am itching to read.

TO CAGE A GOD is an epic tale of magic, rebellion, and facing down tyranny.

This book is set after a failed rebellion, about two sisters coming back to the fight after escaping for four years because they can see the current rebellion is just going to make things worse, isn't thinking far enough ahead. They have their scars and history, but are determined to try their best for the common people, using their illegally gained magic to wreck the world.

I loved that this was a book about sisters. Yes, both have romances (which were very fun and had such different dynamics) but it is first and foremost about two sisters fighting side by side and for one another in the midst of war. The ending only reinforces this with it being about them supporting one another, and winning because they're sisters.

There are five POVs in this book. Sera and Galina have the lions' share of the narration but Vitali, Katya, and Vasilya (spelling names is always hard from audiobooks!) also have chapters. I really liked getting their view on things. Vitali and his perchance for destruction was my favourite of the secondary narrators. He was just chaos unleashed around them.

Sofia Engstrand narrates all five perspectives. She did well at bringing the world and characters to life. I appreciated that each chapter started with the name of the character talking as it helped me anchor into the plotlines and events (not to mention POV) much faster.

While this is the start of a duology, this book pretty much stands on its own. The main story is wrapped up, the main antagonist faced at the end. The second book has a new threat and a new world to face, which should be fun.

𝗧𝗢 𝗖𝗔𝗚𝗘 𝗔 𝗚𝗢𝗗
—𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝗯𝗲𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗮𝘆 | 𝟰🌟

“𝘈 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘬 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦.”

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲:
✨Fantasy
✨Dual romance—one sapphic
✨A rebellion against an empire
✨Brutal deities
✨Espionage
✨Multi POV

𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀:
Sisters Galina and Sera have Gods caged in their bodies although unlike the royal family, their Gods did not choose to be used. But their mother, leader of the rebellion that opposes a violent Empire, needed a weapon, and chose the two girls when they were young, creating the power the rebellion needs and a sisterly bond that cannot be broken.

𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀:
𝘛𝘰 𝘊𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘈 𝘎𝘰𝘥 is a 𝗳𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 start to a new romantasy duology that promises 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀, an alarming level of 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿, and 𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 that could set a readers cheeks on fire.

Although Katya, the Empress’ handmaiden, was my 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 POV, I was absolutely 𝗼𝗯𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 with Sera and Vitaly. God, I just love an 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗴𝘂𝗲 who loves his angry wife more than anything and returns her insults with compliments. Their whole dynamic had me 𝘀𝘄𝗼𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 like a chambermaid on a hot day.

This could easily have been a 𝗳𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿 read. But, honestly, I think this book tries to do 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵: knives-to-throat romance, sapphic romance, espionage, rebellion, world building, multi POVs, a tumultuous magic system, it either needed to be 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿—and it was already at 400+ pages/14+ hours long—or more 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 so that it didn’t feel like each element was lacking a tiny bit.

When I say lacking, I really mean a minuscule amount, otherwise this makes a fabulous fantasy read! I actually listened to this as an audiobook which is narrated by Sofia Engstrad and she does a 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗹 job in capturing the 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 and 𝗿𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 nature of the novel.

𝗞𝗮𝘆𝗹𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵 | 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗵 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘆

"To Cage a God" by Elizabeth May promises a captivating premise, as sisters Galina and Sera wield forbidden powers, their bones grafted with imprisoned gods, leading a rebellion against a tyrannical empire. The audiobook, narrated by Sofia Engstrand, adds an immersive dimension with her skilled delivery.

Despite this, the novel falls short in key areas. The intriguing concept of gods' caged power takes a backseat to a lack of thorough world-building, leaving the universe unexplored and underdeveloped. The main characters, Galina and Sera, appear two-dimensional, driven by generic motivations of revenge and forbidden love. The plot's emphasis on political intrigue overshadows the potential richness of the magical world. Interactions feel forced, particularly the contrived instant love connection. The villain lacks depth, resembling a caricature of evil rather than a nuanced antagonist. The spy character, Katya, succumbs to repetitive thinking patterns, lacking the complexity needed for a compelling narrative.

Overall, "To Cage a God" struggles to breathe life into its characters and world, leaving readers with a sense of unfulfilled potential and prompting me to discontinue the journey halfway through the book.

I don't usually listen to audiobooks, so I don't know how this might influence my opinion. Perhaps I would've enjoyed this book more, had I read it instead.

The story was fine. It was a bit boring and slightly too cliché. What is the plot actually? There's a lot of people running around and doing things, but why? Is there a reason behind it? The only one I actually get is Vitaly, which might be why he's my favourite character. He's got a mission, he's got emotions, he's interesting! All the others didn't seem to have any agenda at all.
Isidora for example was simply evil. She did evil things, like torture people. Why though? All explanations seemed weak to me. The girls are a bit too heroic and suffering. Again, why? Why not just... leave? Go somewhere else? Do nice things? I really wanted some clear explanations, something I could stand behind. But the explanations we do get weren't enough for me and didn't seem to make a difference.

On that note - from the writing style and the way the characters behaved, I would've thought that they were, what, 17? Perhaps early twenties for Sera, who had been married before. Turns out she's 30. What?! She did not behave like a thirty year old! The age just didn't fit.

I enjoyed the relationship between the two sisters and the differences between them. But the romances were a bit flat, lacking chemistry. I didn't really get why anyone fell in love with anyone else. To be fair, after three quarters of the book I actually started to like one of the couples, but getting there was frustrating. I just didn't feel it.

There were also a couple of side characters that seemed nice enough and got to be around in bigger parts of the book, but I don't really see what they added to the plot. Seemed a bit as if the author really wanted a found family trope and just started adding characters.

I did like the world building. I love Russian inspired fantasy worlds and while this one doesn't seem to use any kind of Russian mythology, it was very nice. I liked the names and phrases, the descriptions.
Unfortunately, I was quite confused about the gods. What are they? Gods? Dragons? Do they have a body? Are they spirits? All of the above? The explanations are very vague. I just wanted some nice facts. And I really would've loved to actually see more of the gods. They don't actually do anything! This was such an interesting concept, but you could've done so much more with it! Such a shame.

This book was a lot of vibes and not much story telling. There aren't many explanations about anything and we don't see that much of the gods. Maybe we'll get more of that in the next instalment.

Sofia Engstrand did a good job reading the book. One thing that did annoy me slightly, was how the characters always sounded close to tears, voice almost breaking. This was fantastic and very effective for emotional scenes, but it felt overused. Still, nicely done.

Thank you, NetGalley and Bolinda Audio for letting me listen to the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this, more than one love interest, unique concept of gods being caged, trying to work out if people are enemies or Lovers, I liked the backstory becoming more apparent as time went on.

Con las lecturas del año pasado me di cuenta de que una parte nada desdeñable de lo leído pertenece al género romantasy, algo que me sorprendió pero que luego, con más reposo, vi que tenía mucho sentido. En la fantasía actual hay mucha tendencia a incluir tramas amorosas, a usar el enemies to lovers y en general, a dar más importancia a las relaciones interpersonales. To Cage a God es un buen ejemplo de esto.


Elizabeth May le da un barniz imperial ruso a su fantasía asemejando su mundo a los últimos años de los zares de Rusia. Es por lo tanto algo previsible parte del desarrollo de la historia, aunque la parte mágica sí que es más original. El poder que ostentan las clases más altas deviene de su relación con los dioses que habitan sus cuerpos, encarcelados de forma hereditaria. Resulta también interesante el paralelismo con la hemofilia de las familias reales de la época, que se refleja también en este mundo fantástico. Somos testigos de la magia y de la crueldad de la emperatriz en el primer capítulo, cuando asistimos a la destrucción de un pueblo entero en un ataque de ira.

Por otra parte, los rebeldes también han llevado a cabo sus experimentos mágicos y han conseguido que dos personas tengan un dios en su interior y puedan ejercer la magia, sin haberlo heredado genéticamente. To Cage a God nos irá mostrando la lucha de poder entre ambos estamentos.

Lo que parece ser muy interesante al principio, pronto se desinfla. Los personajes aparecen muy acartonados, y las relaciones entre ellos son previsibles en exceso. La trama está muy centrada en el palacio y la infiltración que llevan a cabo los rebeldes es, cuando menos, peregrina. La lectora del audiolibro, Sofia Engstrand, hace lo que puede, pero es que el material de partida es bastante pobre. Me temo que hay una acumulación de clichés importante y aunque reconozco que pueden resultar de interés las tramas amorosas, a mí me han dejado bastante fría. Tampoco es que se pueda destacar mucho la prosa de la autora. Es un libro perfectamente prescindible.

To Cage a God by Elizabeth May had a brutal first scene which definitely hooked me to the story. Sofia Engstrad did a wonderful job in engaging the listener and presenting distinct voices for the characters.

It follows two sisters, Galina and Sera who have been in hiding for four years after their mother was executed. Though this sounds horrific, their own mother tortured them, carving their bones and summoned and trapped a God within them.

Sera’s God was a failed experiment and it requires her own sacrifice to use its powers.

Galina’s God was carved with more success.

Together they plan to overthrow an oppressive, destructive Emperor who revels in the misery and torture of those around her.

‘Let my face be the last you ever see. I will burn myself into your memory.’

There was some unusual language used and some fairly obvious things happening in the story but I did enjoy it. The magic system and how God’s became intertwined in the beginning confused me a bit. However, I really enjoyed Vasya and Galina’s relationship.

If you enjoy F/f relationship, snarky husband and wife … a whole lot of stabbing and a bit of spice you will enjoy this!

3.5 stars

Thanks you to netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

We follow foster sisters, Sera and Galina, whose foster mother experimented on them by implanting gods. The mother was executed for being part of the Rebellion, the Faithless. But the girls have their own path mapped for revenge for the Empress.

When they arrive at the palace we then meet Katya, Vitaly and Princes Vasilisa who are also important players in the story.

If you like books with devious plans, fighting for a cause, morally grey characters, power mad nobles and sisterly bonds, then this book is for you.

I loved the romances, second chance (sort of) and sapphic.

As usual I fell for the assasin, he stole my interest and my heart, Vitaly, his devotion for Sera made my day!

Another character who had my full interest was Vasilisa. First of all she was mysterious and full of secrets and then she blossomed into herself, her character growth was immense.

The second half of the book is where it piqued my interest, the first half fell a bit flat for me, it was painfully slow but at the same time important things weren't explained I felt.

Even though this is billed as adult I'd say it was more YA with a bit of steam thrown in!

I received both an audioarc and e-arc through Netgalley all opinions are my own.
3 stars because I'm nice. Probably more 2,5 stars.
Also this review contains spoilers.

This is the kind of book where it's good to dual read the audiobook and book at the same time. Due to the foreign words and names being used. It really helped me. Otherwise I would have been stuck at words I didn't know how to pronounce.
I don't think I would have been able to finish this book without the audiobook so I'm immensely grateful for that.

I have so many questions. But I also wonder if I just missed something when reading which I tend to do.

So dragons are gods I guess?
I don't really understand how some alureans are born with these gods inside of them. Like how are they chosen? What kind of gods exist?
Also the magic system. I don't fully understand it. Some magic can heal broken bones? But magic doesn't heal their illnesses?
Why does the other countries want to go to war? Is it to gain more land or did I miss something?

The lesbian romance was fine. The hetero one was eeh. I'm just not into jerks, especially not when said jerk tries to kill my sister several times. And then doesn't ever apologise for it. Even when she keeps him safe. They even point out that he haven't apologised yet and he just says it's implied that he feels sorry, eventhough he doesn't.
I wasn't a fan of the sexual tension, and it's not really enemies to lovers. They were never enemies, Sera just never communicated with Vitalik.

I was liking the book but at around 80% in when Sera finds out that her friend has been captured and is being tortured she decides that she NEEDS to bang her husband instead of trying to figure out a plan to save her friend what the actual fuck?!?!?!?!
I know that it comes from fear that she might never be with her husband again. But what the actual fuck??

It seems like I hated this book. But it was fine. I didn't love it. Wouldn't mind recommending this to other people either if they like russian inspired books. But if you know too much about the russian revolution I think, then you might not like this book.

It does follow a lot of common tropes and cliches.

The book doesnt end on a cliffhanger and most things had tied up, so you can read this as a standalone if you wanted to.

No fault of anyone, I just didn’t jive with the concept. Didn’t take me long to dnf. I could not get into the world. It was quite confusing and more complicated than it needed to be (which was hard to listen to). Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance audio copy in exchange for my honest thoughts!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher/author for accepting my request to read and review this one early!

I was so thrilled to be accepted for this one as the concept of caging Gods into humans was so fascinating to me. Alas, we don't get to see this process in the books, but I do think how the magic system works and how the gods effect the humans they are trapped within is an awesome concept.

This was such a strange reading experience as on one hand I was HOOKED. I adored how character focused this book is as all my favorite fantasy (and fantasy romance) are character focused books rather than plot focused. So seeing relationships develop was awesome. The romances were both incredible.

HOWEVER... the plot left something to be desired.

1. I felt for one that 3 of the 5 perspectives we followed were all fairly identical and it could have been limited to just 1-2.
2. We didn't really get much world building or history, it was hard to see what this world looked like, what the people looked like etc.
3. There actually wasn't much plot beyond characters getting to know each other. A few events happened but for a 17.5 hour audiobook it was shocking that I can only recall a couple things that actually happened. Needed more of a story direction.
4. It felt like this was book 2 in a series. There was soooo much history between some characters and every character has a lot behind them that would have been super interesting to follow. I kind of wish this book were the second in a series and the first book was following the characters getting to this place.

Despite my critiques I really enjoyed a lot of this book and I am interested to read book 2 when it comes out.

I felt liek the narrator did a great job, I think the audiobook was a great way to read the book.

A battle of mind, strength and godly power. With vibes of Wolf and The Woodsman and a dark fairytale this soft sapphic fantasy takes you on a journey of inner power.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC.

Sadly, this one was not for me.
I was very intrigued by the premise, but the execution fell flat for me.
The plot was all over the place, and you're being thrown right into the plot without much explanation.
It felt as if you started in the middle of the book, I was quite confused at what's going on.
Instead of some sort explanation, you get multiple POVs, which did not help my confusion.

I ended up DNFing at 25%. The story failed to pull me in, I didn't care about the characters and the writing didn't appeal to me either.

Thankyou to NetGalley and Bolinda Audio for a free e-arc in exchange of an honest review.

I DNF'd this book at around 20% as i soon realised the story just wasn't for me- this had nothing to do with the way it was written and he storyline itself isn't bad- its just not my preference!

I listening to this as audio book format too- the audio book is very good and i would highly recommend. Narration is great and so is pacing

A very engaging, if sometimes brutal, fantasy book with Russian setting and multiple POV.
Thanks to both @bolindaaudio and @dawbooks I was given the ALC (audiobook) and eARC (ebook). This way I could both listen to and read the book, which was a great experience.
The story is really well paced and is extremely gripping in both reading and listening to. The narrator of the audiobook does a really good job to transport the vibe of these hugely different characters.
Speaking of characters, they are the real strength in this narrative. There's the sisters Sera and Galina, both burdened with huge trauma and with gods caged within them - dealing very differently with their situations. There's Vasilisa and Vitaly, the respective love interests - both real strong on their own, and also giving the relationships tension, passion and angst galore.
There'sKatinka, a side character of sorts but with her own POV and a great albeit brutal story of her own - and even more side characters that are interesting.
Everything is set in Imperial Russia, which is already giving this harsh, dangerous vibe. And as one can guess, the story at heart is one of resistance and rebellion.
I think this is a standalone, which works perfectly. I'd also gladly go back into this world to get some more of these people I came to love (or hate).

4,5/5 stars and a huge recommendation.

Thank you @netgalley, DAW and Bolinda for the ARCs.

#ToCageAGod #netgalley #bookstagram