Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Lore for this ARC Audio Copy! 3.5 Stars

I loved the idea of this book so much. A trans girl who wants nothing more than to be a witch takes her friend, who wants to be a knight, so she takes her place when the coven comes to pick her up for training. Not only does the character have to hide her identity because absolutely no boys are allowed to be witches, but she also has to deal with a blight upon the land.

I loved the representation in this book so much, the things that the character had to deal with, and the ways that she felt she had to hid parts of herself, as well as seeing the impact that acceptance had on her confidence and personality were wonderful. I wish I had liked the story as much as the underlying theme. There were many beautiful parts to this book, but the fantasy aspects left me wanting at times. It is still worth the read, but just don't expect the story to be heavy on the fantasy and world building aspects.

Dear Author,

I was entranced by the magic you weaved telling this wonderful story about a girl who defies her fears, her situation in life, and societal mores and norms to live as she wishes and be who she truly is. We need more queer stories, and this one was amazing! I had the privilege of listening to the audio arc; the narrator, Jackie, was superb!

I look forward to reading more from you.

Yours truly,

J. D. McCoughtry



Thank you, NetGalley and Dreamscape Lore, for the chance to listen to this audiobook arc.

We love the trans-bb realness in this gorgeous adventure!! Lorel and her best friend switch places so that she can be trained as a witch, a dream she has had her entire life! And her bestie goes off to become a knight! When Lorel is picked up by the band of witches, she is not really sure how to navigate the world in her body that has typically male features, but is fully hers as a girl. On her journey, Lorel and her new coven are faced with blights that are affecting whole forests of trees, leaving them frozen and sapped of magic. They meet many powerful witches, learning how to see the magic around them and tap into the streams to defend themselves from the kingdom’s tax knights who are adamantly anti-witch, and to discover the secret and cure for the blight to protect the land’s magic. Lorel finds kinship with her coven and finds comfort more and more with her body, even finding a spell that could potentially complete her physical transformation to feel like herself! Oh yeah, and there are definitely some wild saplings in cages that are being used to suck the life out of the forest and trees! And it is a pretty wild ride to get to the conclusion! I had a lot of fun with this story and our narrator was incredible!

Trans witch! I’m in! Yes please.

This was so enjoyable

Lorel is a witch and has always wanted to train to be a witch but all the witches are born female so she doesn’t know if she will be allowed to train and if she does can she keep her secret to stay in the coven and stay alive?

I could have used a little more magic. A lot of the training was fight training which made sense to the plot but I always want more magic.

I am ready for the rest of the series!

Thanks to netgalley and Dreamscape media for an alc

soooo, I did enjoy this book. It was entertaining and it did an excellent job in creating a diverse cast without feeling forced. But, I also finished this about a week ago and completely forgot that I had even read it and had to think pretty hard to remember specifics. I ultimately would still recommend this title highly, but it might be hard for me to continue this series if I am already feeling this.

Thank you to The Feminist Press for the ARC

The audiobook, read by Jackie Meloche, was a fun, fantastical read with witches, evil knights, and monster battles, complete with queer-centered companionship and a main character wrestling with their gender identity. I've never read any Margaret Killjoy, but what a YA delight. Will certainly look forward to more.

I received an advanced listeners copy of The Sapling Cage by Margaret Killjoy from NetGalley. I liked Lorel and the characters around her and enjoyed so many of the different settings in this book. The magic of the world and that of the blight was unique, and I look forward to reading the other books in this trilogy. I also have to mention how eerie & gorgeous cover of this book is. It was designed by HookieDuke, and fits this story perfectly. Four stars!

I had a hard time getting into this story, but stuck it out because I loved Killjoy's other works. And I ended up enjoying the story more as it really got rolling after about a third of the way through. The story is super cozy and bingeable if you just trust the process and let the story take you on a ride. I finished wishing there was more, which is always a good sign in my opinion! The novel is the first in a planned trilogy, so I am chalking the slower pacing up to that!
The book follows Lorel, a trans girl who takes her friends place to join a witch's coven while hiding the fact that she is trans. Lorel is a really fun character that I easily related to. And no surprise that Killjoy wrote an amazing, three dimensional trans character who was the perfect mix of anxious and clever. I often struggle with fantasy characters who are too perfectly suited to their world or the plot, but Lorel felt like a real person approaching the world in a realistic way despite the otherworldly magic.
All in all I can't wait for the next book!

Lorel is a sweet and likable main character. She genuinely wants to be friends and help people. And overall I think that this is a good story about a trans girl and I would recommend it to someone looking for stories about trans girls.

I was incredibly bored though. By about 40% I still felt like not much had happened and that’s really when I considered stopping. There were also so many characters. I still didn’t have a good grasp on who was who and that made the reveals less surprising because I had no idea who it was anyway.

Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

3.75⭐ rounded up to 4. I enjoyed this book, but I have mixed feelings about some aspects.

❤️ Worldbuilding and lore
❤️ Main character
❤️ Some fun side characters
❤️ Trans rep
❤️ Sweet romance
❌ Glossed over bullying
❌ Rushed ending and disappointing epilogue
❌ Some repetitive dialogues and internal struggles
❌ Not enough magic

Trigger warnings: violence, blood and gore, death and grief, murder, injury and injury detail, transphobia, bullying, toxic friendships, etc.

Plot:
Lorel has always dreamed of becoming a witch. There’s only one problem: only women can join a coven, and Lorel was born a boy. She finds the answer to her struggle by switching places with her best friend, who wants to become a knight. But joining the Order of the Vine is the least of Lorel’s worries: a strange plague is killing trees in the kingdom, the witches are being blamed and persecuted for it, a power-mad duchess is trying to seize the throne, and, most of all, Lorel must protect her secret at all cost or risk being kicked out of the coven… or worse.

This was a fun and easy read, with great characters and interesting worldbuilding and lore, engaging themes like trans romance, gender identity, bullying, found family, different personal strengths, and more. I was expecting more magic and witchy elements, however. I also feel like there was *too much* crammed into a 320-page novel: too many characters/motives, plotlines, villains, etc. I think some characters/relationships/events would have been more impactful with a little more direction and editing out.

Characters:
I really liked Lorel as a main character. She was nuanced, interesting, as well as very relatable and compassionate (although the epilogue ruined a bit of that). I also loved some of the secondary characters, such as the older witches, Lorel’s love interest, Lane, and the rogue knight (Aspen?). I was seriously put off, however, by how bullying was glossed over (not once, but twice!). As if being unhappy gave these characters the right to be mean or aggressive toward others… I didn’t think that was a great message to convey.

Writing:
Perhaps I would have more comments if I had read the book rather than listened to it, but here we go. The prose didn’t strike me as being out-of-this-world, or bad, but I thought it wasn’t evocative / descriptive enough. For most characters, we only have one characteristic to go with. I like to be immersed, transported—and I feel like descriptions play a key role in achieving that.

Audiobook:
I wasn’t crazy about the actor’s voice when the book started, but I got used to it at some point. It’s really just a personal preference, because they really did a great job at differentiating the various characters and adding emotions to the narrating.

Lorel wants to be a witch more than anything. The only problem is that witches are girls, and Lorel was born a boy. She doesn't let that stop her. When the witches come to take her friend, she disguises herself and takes their place. What follows is an epic fantasy story about self-discovery and acceptance steeped in rich lore and an intriguing magic system. What follows is a found-family epic adventure that dips into both mystery and political intrigue.

The powerful part of this book is when Lorel is working to understand her identity and place in the world. Those conversations and scenes where Lorel is being accepted and validated are beautiful. And the scenes where Lorel struggles with her place in this world are extremely validating.


This audiobook was such a fun experience. The narrator portrayed the emotions of the characters perfectly. I enjoyed the tone shift from description narration to dialogue. It was beneficial as a listening experience to help the listener differentiate between thought and spoken words. There were times when the descriptions felt clunky, and the scene transitions were not super clear, which caused a bit of confusion.

Overall, it is a refreshing entry into the fantasy world. I can not wait to continue this story.

Thank you, Dreamscape Media, Netgalley, and Margaret Killjoy for an advanced audiobook copy.

The Sapling Cage was a magical and cozy coming-of-age story. I loved this book and thought it was the perfect atmosphere for a fall read! I liked how the story of Laurel being trans was woven into the narrative. The author brilliantly uses emotional inner monologues to depict the thoughts of someone struggling with gender. You can tell the care and love Margaret Killjoy put into designing Laurel and I loved her as a main character. Another unique aspect of this book is the folklore aspects of traveling witches for this book. It gave a spooky aspect to the story but leant more to adventure rather than horror. This will definitely be one of my biggest recommendations for fall reading! The worldbuilding was complex enough to keep me intrigued but not overwhelming. The bigger story is still evolving and I cannot wait to see where the story goes in future books. The narration of this book by Jackie Meloche was flawless. I loved the effects and doubling that was used when the witches spoke together and casted spells. This was a wonderful audiobook experience!

i think this was a case of it's me, not the book. i am not a big fantasy fan, but i saw the words "trans witch" and my eyes glazed over and i clicked request.

this is a story about lorel, who was born a boy, but wants to be a witch. the problem? all witches are women. the coven makes its rounds claiming daughters from villages and lorel's friend is next. so lorel pretends to be her friend and let's the coven take her instead. from there, the witches start to investigate the source of a plague on forests and trees and lorel strives to hide her secret from fellow witches that may mean to do her harm and take away from her the one thing that she's always wanted.

i feel like the fantasy elements in this one were fine. frankly, i glazed over them a bit (again, not a fantasy fan). i could tell that the world was rich with lore (especially loved the reveal of another trans witch in history, as a big transphobic argument is that trans people just "started" to exist five years ago when the reality is trans people have been here all along).

the places where this book really excelled for me were the parts about lorel working through her identity, learning to understood that she had a place in this world exactly as she is, the conversations that were had about her transness, and the way this fantasy world both reflected our world, often inhospitable to trans people, and how that hatred spreads much like the blight infecting this world.

i think this will be a big hit for fans of fantasy.

What a dreamy, joyful novel about a young trans witch coming into her own. For those who feel that another magical series is no longer (and perhaps never was) for them ... perhaps this is a lite alternative. And it is lite. The older teenaged lead reads very young. Everything is overly ponderous and low stakes, at least until the battle near the end. Very little is scary at the level you might expect ... although the image my mind formed at the descriptions of the transformed witches was a little frightening. At the same time, there's enough conflict in the rights sorts of ways among the lead cast and especially the kids. Trans identities are plural and amorphic and validated. There's a lot of space for this material, for people of all ages who need it. The magical backdrop is almost secondary.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape media for the e-arc!
The cover, the promise, and the execution were all spectacular. From the moment I saw this book, I knew I was going to be absolutely obsessed. The first in a brand new trilogy, this book follows Lorel, a trans girl who's always wanted to become a witch. She decides to take her best friend's place and join the coven anyway. However, when she joins, she realizes there are dark powers at work throughout the kingdom. This story is packed full of witchcraft, magic, and identity.
I loved the story and got similar vibes to The Witch King. Both have this wonderful journey of magic and power with covens and dark magic at play. I do have to know that I ended up not loving the narration. I think I would've enjoyed it a bit more if I had read the physical or e-book, as there were definitely parts that the narrator would take me out of the story. But overall the world and characters are still really intriguing and I can't wait for the next book!

This is a paranormal fantasy with a transgender main character.

I love that the author wanted to include trans representation but I don’t feel it was successful. It was so prominent in the storyline the plot got lost to me. It was like 2 books going at a the same time. It could be more relatable to someone who is trans or in the LGBTQ community. I think people outside the community will have a hard time connecting with the main character and their situation.

Pacing was very slow. World building was strange. Narration was sub-par and i did not enjoy it. It’s possible I could have connected with the character and story better with a different narrator.

I was provided with a review copy of the audiobook and this is my honest opinion. I gave this book 2.5 stars. (If I am unable to leave partial stars, I will always round up.)

I will not be continuing the series at this time. Thank you NetGalley and Margaret Killjoy.

I enjoyed this book but I had some reservations. Chiefly I wish certain events had been described more fully rather than quickly summarized by Lorel. There was also a lot of time spent describing the world and the various factions though this was made easier to get through with Lorel being an active participant and not just a passive observer. When the plot really got going the quality of the book improved greatly and it came to a satisfying end. It was good enough that I will continue with the trilogy.

This story was interesting and I did enjoy it in the end
I really like Lorel and enjoy the way she observes the world. I also enjoyed the personalities of the various witches though there were so many I feel like I didn’t get enough time with some of them. I think this authors strength lies in human observation which is really beautiful.

I do think it reads as a YA coming of age but seeing as it’s got additional books I’ll admit it has the potential to become more adult as it goes. I also think that at several points the resolutions felt too convenient like Lorel didn’t have to work for information at all this got especially frustrating the further in I read.

The premise of The Sapling Cage is so cool a trans girl leaves her village to become a witch, but unfortunately a new kind of magical danger has appeared. Overall, I thought the story was pretty decent and will resonate with a lot of teens.

Beyond the actual story, the audiobook narration was phenomenally well done. The story has a wide cast of characters, but the style and delivery of narration makes the story far more immersive.

Actual rating: 2.5☆

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for an ALC of this book in exchange for an honest review

I'm so sad, I read the description for this book and it sounded so perfect for me and I'm truly devastated by the fact that I didn't love it.

I will start my all the things I really enjoyed. Mainly the main character, from the very beginning I was invested and rooting for Lorei, I wanted her to accomplish her dream of being a witch so badly. I think the author did a great job at quickly getting you situated and into the world and plot.

Now my complaints. There were soooooo many characters and besides Lorei I never felt like we got the time to actually develop everyone. The found family sprinkles were there but I feel like I never got to actually know anyone besides maybe some of the other welps. The plot of the book also felt very repetitive as soon as Lorei joins the witches the plot felt very cyclical it the same baseline events happening over and over. My main take is that I think the first book tried to do to much, establish the entire world building, develop a lot of characters backgrounds motives and their growth throughout the story and it still had this big bad evil that "kind of" got resolved all in 320 pages. Some aspects just were bound to not be as good as others.

Even though this book felt a lot like middle of the road I think there is potential for the next installments to improve on what already has been done, so I plan on checking the next book.

The narrator did a really good job, the spells part were horrifying in the best way