4.5 stars!!
Gilded Cage is a young adult fantasy about London in an alternate universe. In this reality there are two classes of people, the Equals, who have special powers called Skill, who rule over the common people. The common people are expected to serve their slavedays, 10 years as servents to the Equals. Luke Hadley and his family become entwined with one of the most powerful Equal families, the Jardines. As the story unfolds, Luke finds himself in the middle of an uprising while his sisters are becoming closer to those who enslave them.
This was a captivating story full of complex characters. Just when I thought a character’s true self was finally revealed, the pendulum swung again and I found myself reassessing all of my opinions. The oldest and youngest Jardine brothers were the most intriguing to me and I’m very interested to see how these characters evolve in the next book. I was a little nervous going into Gilded Cage because of the dystopian feel (I’ve read SO many of them lately). However, I think Gilded Cage shines in its own way and it is absolutely a dystopian worth reading!

This is the author Vic James debut novel. It is the first book of a three book series, "The Dark Gifts Series." Keep an eye out for the second book coming out this July 2017. For those of you who would like to purchase a copy of this book CLICK HERE.
Overall I rated this book three out of five stars. This book is a dystopian novel. It is set in a world where there are those of us who are lucky and are born skilled, meaning are born with magical powers. For all the rest of us commoners those of us who are born with no magic skills at all, are forced to be slaves for ten years working under those who have skill or magical powers. This book tells the story of one family who gets themselves involved with a powerful skilled family and are forced to make difficult choices in order to keep their family together. The premise of this book had a lot of potential, but reading this book felt disjointed and disconnected. This book did not flow well. The characters were on the unlikable side and because of this it made it more difficult to enjoy this book more than I did. I really wanted to and I had high expectations before reading it. I really hope the next two books in this series make up for this one.
I want to thank Netgalley, Vic James, and Random House Publishing Group: Ballantine for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting world building set in a contemporary world with magic and a devious aristocratic society. The three POVs are engaging and it's interesting to see the world from the villain's perspective as well. A must-read for secondary world fantasy that takes place in our own.. The levels of struggle and fear are salient in all three POVs. I found myself drawn to Abi's the most because she had the most at stake. It's interesting because I normally wouldn't be terribly drawn to a family dynamic. Abi has to be so many roles to so many people that I grew to admire her. She's a fantastic character who uses her brilliance to navigate a trying situation.

Lately, I've been into darker, political fantasies. I loved Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake, and I loved The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin. Both would fit into the dark political fantasy group, I think, as would Gilded Cage. At first, I found reading Gilded Cage unsettling and uncomfortable, and I wasn't sure if I'd be able to finish it. I'm glad I did, though. What I found so unsettling was what the premise of the book looked like in action. In James' British society, the world is ruled by the Equals, those who are born into families with Skill, essentially magic (but don't ever call it that!). Since the Equals are clearly superior and clearly do everything for the betterment of all (...right), those without Skill are forced to serve them. However, their system of slavery is unique. Each commoner must serve 10 years of his/her life as a slave to the Equals. During those 10 years, the commoners relinquish their rights wholly and completely. They essentially put their lives on hold. Commoners may choose when to serve their slavedays, but it has to be after the age of 10, according to the law. Parents may choose to do their slavedays, and essentially force their children to join them. In Luke and Abi's family, this is what happens. Once their younger sister turns 10, their parents decide they will all do their slavedays. Abi has secured a place for the family on one of the Equals' estates, which is perhaps a cozier use of slavedays than the factory towns. However, Luke, the middle child, is placed into a factory town away from his family. The narrative flits through different viewpoints, mainly Luke and Abi's as they learn about what slavedays are really like and deal with various struggles, such as falling for one of your masters and dealing with a resistance group. Other viewpoints given are from various Equal citizens, deeply entrenched into Luke and Abi's society and lives.
Overall, I ended up enjoying this book a lot. The first few moments of the family's slavedays and jarring and deeply uncomfortable, as they should be. I liked the multiple viewpoints here because it allowed me to really get a full picture of this society, what slavedays are technically supposed to be like, and what they really end up being. I'm a fan of political fantasy, and this does not disappoint in that arena either. There are so many moving parts here, and while the reader gets the full picture, most characters don't. I finished the book last night, and I'm still mulling over all of the connections and all of the places that this series could go, and it's exciting. In addition to the politics and courtly maneuvers, there is also some action here, but not a lot, which some readers may not prefer. I was so engrossed by the worldbuilding, politics, and characters that I didn't mind.
The characters are very intriguing people. Luke and Abi are fairly straightforward characters, and to me, serve the purpose of being protagonists that readers can understand in this world that is very different from ours. Abi is more willing to accept hte world as it is, at least at first. Luke, on the other hand, finds himself drawn to revolution after his experiences in the factory town...and I'm a sucker for revolutions. The Equal characters, on the other hand, are mysterious. The Jardine family, whose estate Luke and Abi's family are sent to, are a fascinating bunch. From the cruel lord and patriarch to the powerful and sly youngest son and the heir who I still don't quite get, I was entranced and repulsed in equal measure. These people clearly see no reason slavery is abhorrent, and don't acknowledge their own contradictions or breaking of laws once. They are powerful and drunk on the power. Some are more sympathetic than others, but when you really think about the ones who appeal, you realize they're not all you want them to be. I do wish there would have been a little more depth to the characters at times, but I have a feeling that things like that often grow over the course of a series.
Overall, this book gave me a lot to think about. The society is ruthless and power driven and not as foreign as we want it to be. The politics are there, the characters are there, and the fantasy aspects, while a little light at times, are there. I'm really interested to see where the series goes (and I would love to see more of the world outside of England, as different countries have dealt with Skill in different ways). The ending left a bit of a hole in my heart, but also a lot of eagerness to see what happens next (and I apparently don't have long to wait as Vic James' website says installment #2 will be published in July!). If you're intrigued, and don't mind political fantasy, check out Gilded Cage when it is released on February 14.
Note: I received this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. This has had no impact on my review.
Rating: 4 stars
More Information: Goodreads, Amazon, Vic James' Website, Vic James on Twitter

“Understanding slid into Luke’s brain and lodged its sharp point there...

‘We’re all going to do our slavedays.’”

About : Luke and Abigail Hadley live like normal teenagers all over Britain until their parents suddenly commit the whole family to their “slave days.” Every British commoner is forced to devote 10 years of service to the magically “Skilled” elite class that rules over Britain, a caste known as the “Equals.” At least the Hadleys manage to score a cushy group deal: all five will serve the richy rich Jardine family on their legendary estate of Kyneston.

At least, that’s what they're told.

But when the bus arrives, Luke gets marked as “surplus” and sent instead to Millmoor, “Manchester’s filthy, unforgiving slavetown.”

Because in a “state of non-legal personhood,” you have no rights.

“You are now chattels of the state.”

Expected publication: February 14th 2017 by Del Rey Books.

Thoughts : I requested Gilded Cage mainly hoping to read about the cool “Dark Gifts” of the series title (and based on Vic James’ exciting bio). But the meat of the first 50% focuses instead on the challenges you might find in a British drama. Maybe more like Downtown Abbey? With cruel lords and ladies making life miserable for their butlers, maids and slaves. (I haven’t actually seen much Downtown Abbey, as I don’t watch a lot of tv beyond Cops and 48 Hours, so this guess could be somewhat off.) The publisher is clearly marketing the book to people who enjoy this sort of story, and I think the target audience would enjoy it more than I did.

I read to 50% before deciding to set it aside.

Why DNF?

The title Gilded Cage perfectly encapsulates the majority of narrative perspectives in this book: Abigail Hadley tells us of life Kyneston; her new masters, the Jardine men, also share their perspectives with us in the first 50%. The “Gilded Cage” refers mainly to a magical wall that surrounds the Kyneston estate, keeping slaves locked inside, although it may also refer to the British society at large that cages its commoners into servitude. So we spend a lot of time in this cage, reading the thoughts of both captors and captives.

This is unfortunate for two reasons: (1) The Jardine men are a largely despicable lot, and (2) Abi’s plot mainly consists of developing feelings for one of them. The plot summary suggests more to her plot, later in the book—she discovers the Jardine family secret and must decide whether to reveal it or not—but I didn’t get that far because I just couldn't get into the story. The focus stays mainly on domestic and political troubles rather than magical, during the first half, and I had a feeling the focus wasn't going to change.

But my main problems with Gilded Cage relate to the characters. First of all, I thought there were too many narrators for such a short novel. The first 50% cycles through enough narrators that I don’t remember who they were or how many I met. More importantly, none of the characters feel like authentic people (with the bare exception of Abigail, who feels like a legitimately moony teenaged girl). The Jardine men especially fell flat for me. I had a difficult time buying Silyen’s antisocial brilliance and everyone’s fear of The Young Master. I especially couldn’t believe that the violently angry Gavar cared most in the world about his baby daughter. No amount of Gavar’s POV could convince me of that, after he shot the mother while she held the child in her arms during the prologue. The unrealistic psychology and motivations of the Jardine men left me bored and unconvinced.

Luke Hadley is also unfortunately a very wooden character, although his scenes in the slave town of Millmoor are the most exciting to read. Luke takes part in a slave rebellion, and I enjoyed the action scenes in his perspective. Little things in his perspective did make the narrative lose credibility, though, such as when one character gets harnessed up and steps straight off a rooftop, instead of carefully lowering herself down. Ouch! That would give you quite a jolt and likely smash you into the side of the building. I would definitely not recommend doing it thataway.

Overall : Unfortunately, Gilded Cage just doesn’t appeal to the “Fantasy,” “Alternate History” or “British Mystery” parts of me and I couldn't get into the characters. Very little surprised or interested me about the first 50%. The author focused on Abi’s romantic ambitions or the proceedings of the court of cruel lords when I was hoping for something more magical.

Recommended To : Readers who like both YA and British dramas. From what the positive reviews are saying, readers appeared to most enjoy the “Britishness” of it. It does feel very British. Lots of class warfare. I can see the Dickensian influence, as another positive review remarked—but only in the class structure and relations. That particular comparison makes me a feel a little sick; Dickens is known for his characterization and this book has terribly un-lifelike characters.

Thank you so much to Vic James, Del Rey and Netgalley for this e-galley!

I will readily admit that the cover had me taking a closer look at this book, it’s simplicity is what catches the eye and urges you to take a closer look, and after reading the blurb I figured I’d give it a go. And while I enjoyed it, I didn’t love it. It was that weird mix where I was intrigued by the concept, but the book never got it’s claws into me. I could put it down and not feel the urge to pick it right back up, but I still wanted to know what would happen next and when I did start to read it again I enjoyed it.

The concept is quite simple: People separated by status which is based not only on bloodlines and affluence, but magical skill ~ Equals. Those without all of those attributes are commoners and live in freedom with the exception of Slavedays, the 10 years of their lives when they “willingly” make themselves chattel to be used as the Equals see fit and if they survive can once more live their lives as they see fit. I’m still a little. I’m still a little murky on exactly why slavedays are even in existence, but it does set up the stirrings of rebellion within the story and that’s where Abi and Luke Hadley enter the story.

While I liked Abi and Luke, I found I liked Luke more. Abi just didn’t really speak to me like Luke did and I have to admit that it was because of the situations they found themselves in. Luke had to grow up and learn to survive or he’d die. Abi, while her situation was just a dire in some regards, was much more cushy. But though Luke and Abi are touted as the main figures in the story, it was the Jardine brothers who interested me the most. We have Gavar, the Brute who is almost heartless. Silyen ~ the Sneaky One who may or may not be evil. And Jenner, the Nice One. They are all so different and I found their dynamics when they did interact quite interesting. Silyen, for obvious reasons, is the one I’m most intrigued about, but Gavar is a close second.

The writing is engaging and does draw you in, but the multiple POV’s slowed things down for me. It wasn’t that they weren’t done well, or that they didn’t fit within the story arc, because they all did and gave depth to the world, it was more that when I started to get really into that particular voice it was over and I was left feeling a bit perturbed that I had to change gears. There is a cliffhanger type ending, not unexpected, but it has left me with more questions than answers and though I may not be chomping at the bit for the next book, I do want to see how everything plays out, so will be keeping an eye out for it.

Couldn't get into the story. Thought it was going to be set up differently. Sorry Did Not Finish.

In an alternate version of England there are the “Equals”, people with magical powers, passed through their families who are the controlling government, and the regular humans who are forced at some point in their life to serve 10 years of “slave days”. Abi has just finished high school and she’s been accepted to many medical schools, but she finds an opportunity that may be too good to miss. She can start her slave days now, directly serving one of the Equal families on their estate, where there are positions for her parents and siblings to join her. This way they can all serve together and live well, instead of taking their slave days in one of the brutal slavetowns.

But things don’t go according to plan, her brother Luke ends up separated from them, and her family may be in even more danger working for the Jardine family than if they were in the slavetown.

I’m a bit torn with this book, because while I was completely hooked by the end, I didn’t really buy into this world. I had a hard time accepting the whole slave days concept. 10 years seems so extreme for people to willingly give up their freedoms to serve the Equals in a modern day type society. I think this concept kept hanging me up. Yes, the equals are powerful and it’s a system that’s always been in place, but with modern technology it’s so much easier for people to communicate and gather in masses to protest, especially against the harsh conditions in the slave towns, which I guess the story does begin to focus on. But forcing myself to sort of let go of this idea, I was able to enjoy the rest of the book.

There’s a rebellion, there’s mind control and a tiny smidge of romance, and some political stuff amongst The Equals. There are a lot of different characters with alternating agendas and different abilities so there is a lot going on that makes the book fly by. The ending also leaves a lot of threads to be explored in the next book which I’m looking forward to reading.

An empty birdcage with the door shut. A tulip in its prime, upright in the vase but drab and gray, as if a week dead. A sheet ruled with musical staves but without notes. A violin with no strings.

* * *
3/5

Gilded Cage was a fun read, or as fun as a book about slavery and oppression can be. The writing was plain and the concept behind it was simple: there are the Equals, the nobility with magic-based powers called the Skill, and then there is everyone else. Normal people are second-class citizens who must serve their "slavedays", ten years of labour either in service to a house of Equals or in a slavetown, in order to gain their full rights. This all made it reasonably easy to follow; Gilded Cage is built on a decent idea executed in a satisfactory fashion. I devoured it in three days.

As I have said, the concept was all quite interesting. It primarily focuses on a family: Luke who is sent to Millmoor, a slavetown, and his siblings Abigail and Daisy who go to Kyneston estate alongside their parents to serve under the most powerful family in England, the Jardines. The Lord Jardine is frankly revolting and James conveys this very well. He has three sons: Gavar the heir who treats slaves and women like possessions is equally so, but is also rather interesting in his burning hatred of his father; Jenner, the middle son, Skill-less and kinder than his brothers; Silyen, politically ambitious and slippery as a snake. They are all decent characters with their own interesting motivations.

"The whole point about birthrights, Gavar thought resentfully, and not for the first time, was that they came to you automatically. You didn't have to do anything, except be who you were."

My favourite bits of the novel were the political scenes: I love deception and deviousness. I liked Bouda Matravers angling for power in a male-dominated game, I enjoyed the sister who wasn't all that she seemed. The setting and history were also well-fleshed out; a problem I have encountered with a number of books lately, which Gilded Cage did not suffer from, was a lack of sufficient world building and explanation. Gilded Cage never info-dumped but neither was I ever confused.

"It's an ability, origin unknown, manifesting in a very small fraction of the population and passed down through our bloodlines. Some talents are universal, such as restoration. Others, such as alteration, persuasion, perception, and infliction, manifest in differing degrees from person to person."

What prevents Gilded Cage from obtaining a higher rating, in my opinion, is that its focus is too large and its length too small. The novel focuses on Luke and his revolution at Millmoor, on Abi and her family at Kyneston, on Bouda Matravers and her political ambitions, on Gavar Jardine and his relationships with his father, brothers, and daughter, and on Silyen Jardine and his sneaky plots. The result is that none of these characters and their respective plots and arcs get enough pagetime. None of them are fully explored as they deserved - and Vic James has crafted several wonderful characters that don't rise to their full potential. If you want to write a book with multitudinous plotlines and focuses, then you have to write a hefty tome like A Game of Thrones. Not a slim volume like Gilded Cage.

"In the centuries since the Great Demonstration, no woman had ever sat there. Bouda intended to be the first."

I wanted to know all about the dynamics in Luke's group at Millmoor. I wanted to see more of Renie and the others, all the details of their missions and heists being pulled off. Or Bouda shifting her way up the political ladder, making distasteful deals and being all-round crafty. A novel focused on Silyen and Bouda as twin perspectives would have made a wonderful version of Gilded Cage with an emphasis on political intrigue. But alas. Gilded Cage wanders between being about the perils of revolution and its cost of personal sacrifice (Luke reminds me of Katniss Everdeen - someone caught up in the thrill of the revolution, willing to sacrifice themselves, but only just realising that what is so much harder is to ask and to watch as other people sacrifice their lives for your cause), between being a novel about family and familial love, and a novel about politics and the climb to power. They are all lovely ideas that are sketched out in Gilded Cage; if it had chosen and focused on one of these, it would have been far more compelling.

I was also not a fan of the romance. At one point I thought James was going to make a nicely illustrated point about how even if your oppressor and owner is kind, there cannot possibly be an equal relationship. No matter how kind a man is, he is still a Jardine and complicit in his family's crimes. Instead James writes a barely explored master/slave dynamic. Not really my thing at all. The good bit is it isn't particularly prominent.

"Well, that was unexpected." The Equal smiled. "I love it when people aren't who they seem. It makes life so much more exciting, don't you think?"

And Silyen. What an un-excavated goldmine! Silyen in the novel was fascinating and sly. But he simply did not get enough page time. Silyen is the youngest of the Jardine brothers, powerful in the Skill and slippery as an eel. He's the kind of character that readers love: smooth-talking, powerful, weaving a dozen plots at a time. You know the kind - he's the Kaz Brekker (Six of Crows) of Gilden Cage and he is criminally un-utilised. I'm hoping for a lot more Silyen in the next book, alongside more of the political weaving and double-crossing that I loved about Gilded Cage.

"She shouldn't have expected any better from Silyen Jardine, with his weird, bright friendliness and his utter lack of scruples"

I did love that the book was set in England. There's the whole parallels with British aristocracy to utilise, and James made nice use of our parliament system and the House of Lords/Peers. I'm going to presume that Vic James is English because there was a couple of nice references to British culture - Angel being named after the Angel in the North, and Gavar choosing to study Land Economy at university. I found that hilarious!

"Bouda had been the star Law student of their year at Oxford. It was one of the reasons Gavar had opted to study Land Economy instead - although "study" was perhaps an overstatement"

Land Economy has a reputation for being something taken by athletic students hoping to coast through academically (whether this is actually true or not I have no idea). Although I don't believe Land Economy can be studied at Oxford, only Cambridge.

The ending was also fantastic. The last 15% of the book is what I wish all of it had been: fast-paced, emotion inducing, full of plot twists. Abi finally grew her backbone. Luke faced the consequences of revolution. Silyen is sneaky. James finished the book with a bang that has left me anticipating the sequel. The ending, the characters, and the hope that James will write a more focused sequel, alongside the fact that it was genuinely fun to read, means this book is a solid 3/5 stars.

My thanks to Netgalley and the author for an ARC copy of Gilded Cage.

I honestly wasn't sure what to expect going into The Gilded Cage. It sounded like an awesome premise, but unfortunately what sounds like a good idea in the description sometimes falls flat in the actual story. I'm happy to say that The Gilded Cage absolutely did not disappoint. I reeeeaaaallllllyyyy liked this book. A lot.

This book is set in an alternative version of our world. In this world, England is split into two groups: those who are "skilled" (born with supernatural powers) and those who are not. The skilled rule, while the rest of the country is forced to spend ten years of their lives as slaves.

First off, as I already mentioned, I loved this idea a lot right from the start. I'll admit, I'm a sucker for a good dystopian book. But this is so much more than your steroptypical young adult dystopia. The Gilded Cage raises some interesting, and sometimes disturbing, ideas about the human race. But it doesn't feel preachy, or like it's trying to shove a particular belief down the reader's throats. The ideas are there, and the reader has to option to interpret them however they want.

The characters are pretty great too. I really enjoyed pretty much everyone, with a few exceptions. Each character had their own unique personality and backstory. Abi and Silyen are two of my favorites, but there are many more I loved too. It was easy to get attached to these characters and I was so invested in what would happen to them.

I do wish a few things would have been explained better, and there were times when I felt like the world building was a little lacking. There's definitely a lot more that needs to be explored in the future books. But, the stuff that was in the book was really cool!

I would definitely recommend this book. And I'm really excited to see where Vic James takes the story next!

Powerful, dark, memorable. Magic-wielding Equals rule over magicless Commoners with an iron fist. Any hint of rebellion is put down speedily and sometimes bloodily. The players:

The Hadleys, Commoner siblings:
Abi: The nurturing eldest sister; she requests that the family do their ten years at Kyneston, mistakenly believing it will be easy duty

Luke: Gets separated from the family and sent to the worst location, Millmoor, where he gets involved with rebels

Daisy: Preteen nursemaid to Gavar's bastard daughter, Libby, she hero-worships Gavar.

The Jardine brothers, a Founding Family
Gavar: Reluctant heir with an unpredictable temper; casual murderer of Leah, Libby's mother and Bouda 's reluctant fiance.

Silyen: Amoral Machiavellian puppeteer playing a long game, he offers no favors without gaining at least two in return. If this were The Game of Thrones, my money would be on him.

Jenner: The non-magic, sweet brother, with a forbidden tendre for Abi.

Remember when I said this is dark? The Commoners never get a break in The Gilded Cage. The Equals are immensely powerful, and they don't hesitate to use their magical gifts to slap down the slightest hint of rebellion. You'll find yourself cheering for the rebels early on, but it was frustrating because they were constantly on the losing end. We can only hope that things improve for them in the next book.

The world building in this story was so well done that it was easy to visualize everything from the streets in Millmoor to the kennels where Dog was so inhumanely kept. This series deserves to make the leap to the big screen one day.

First, I think that's an awful cover. Despite that, I still thought the book's premise sounded really promising. It sounded like there was going to be some star-crossed lovers, a revolution from the lower class, and a mysteriously powerful, game-changing person. And the book had all of that, but it all just felt so...bland. I didn't really care about the characters--I feel like I wasn't given a reason to care about them. Even though we get to see the story from both Abi and Luke's perspectives, I don't feel like I know who they are or what they care about or mostly WHY they care about what they do. I mean, obviously they care about their family, but is that their only motivation to do anything? I don't know how to explain it...I just didn't feel a connection there.

The romances and general relationships between characters were strange too. Honestly, it feels like the younger sister has been hypnotized or brainwashed or something. We saw no development in her relationship with the eldest brother (though not romantic in nature, still strange and slightly disturbing). The overall plot is hard to discern and may be more fleshed out in future books, but I'm not personally planning on continuing the series. Mostly I just feel confused. I don't understand how powers work or what they do (but I guess nobody really does). There's some weird generational explanation for some stuff, which didn't really make sense and just seemed super random and more confusing.

I've seen so much hype around this book, but it seriously let me down. I didn't hate it, but the story just felt so uninspired and flat. Too much happened with too little explanation. Despite such a great premise, I'm afraid I have to recommend that you give this one a hard pass.

Overall Rating: 3
Language: Mild
Violence: Heavy
Smoking/Drinking: Moderate
Sexual Content: Mild

Note: I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This would be one of those books where the Goodreads summary's addition of these words drew my attention: For readers of Victoria Aveyard...

Okay I've read ONE book of hers. And liked it enough that I intend to catch the others in the series eventually. So I thought, sure, why not?

The cover didn't pull me in as I generally have a habit of judging books by covers. The synopsis did. I found the first 50% of the book to be interesting but it was not overwhelming me. The part I could've camped out in the entire book about, is the story-lines following the three Jardine brothers. Equals...two of which have power and the youngest somehow was born with zero skill. He's no different than the ordinary commoner humans aside from his family name. Their stories alone would've sold me more on the book.

However, as it is, the book jumps around to different characters. Twenty-Five year old Gavar the oldest Jardine brother, Silyen the middle brother who likely has the most power of the siblings, Abi the oldest sibling of the human family sent to work their slave days out with the Jardines, Luke the middle sibling of Abi's family, and only brother who unfortunately gets separated by his family and is sent to work out his slave days in a slave town called Milmoor. Plus there are other POV's: Bouda comes to mind, Euterpe, and perhaps one or two more. Usually for me, with so many different POV jumps, I sometimes get bogged down. It's unlikely I will enjoy reading from each of these characters. I found that to be the case for me with this story as well. I found Luke's story line to be much more political in nature. Though there's definitely a lot of politics going on with Bouda as well....engaged to the eldest Jardine brother for none other than the power his name will bring to her as she is climbing the proverbial political ladder to be a chancellor: the first female chancellor.

Basically the story is about those with skill, who are called Equals, wanting to rule over those without, the common folk. Skill is an ability which manifests itself in small numbers of the population and is passed down through bloodlines. Some of the skilled talents are healing, alteration, persuasion, perception, and infliction (such as pain). If you are born an ordinary human you have to give up 10 years of your life in service to either a skilled family or a slave town. Who can say if one is better off than the other? Both are slaves to someone else. The timing of your slave days is up to you. The older you are, the more brutal what's required of you can be. But the ordinary humans are tired of living this existence....and as such an uprising is brewing. However, most skilled think the situation is fine the way it has been for centuries and since most can cause damage just with their mind and even more can heal themselves, how on earth are they to be defeated?

Finally the end brought a couple of surprise twists and that piqued my interest.

There's not much in the way of a love story. That left me more on the meh side of this story overall. At this point I'm not so sure I would come back for book two.

Favorite Quote:
"Well allow me to offer a lesson of my own. I know you like history, Abigail. Remember: those who don't learn from it are doomed to repeat it. Or should that be those who learn from it are able to repeat it?"

Language Rating: 1 (light)
Mature Content Rating: 1 (light)
Final Rating: 3 stars

I am thoroughly impressed. This book gets all the stars from me. I'd give it more if I could.

You've got an interesting concept - two kinds of humans, Equals and the normal people. Equals have superhuman powers. Normal people are, well, normal. Every normal person is required at some point in their life to serve ten years of "slavedays," service to the Equals in some form or fashion.

You've got superpowers - instant hook for me - and they're not used on every page or constantly thrown about. We get glimpses of the power throughout, and it feels like a taste of what's to come...

You've got some great characters - a family divided, an infant with mysterious seeming lack of powers, some Equals very full of themselves, a creepy Equal with stranger powers than most, power hungry politicians and rebellious normals.

I don't want to give away too much -- but I will say this. I wasn't surprised at all by one of the biggest twists of the book. I had actually come to expect it a while before the reveal. But what happened AFTERWARDS did kind of throw me for a loop, and set up the next book extremely well.

Thankfully, the next book comes out later this year, and hopefully the wait for the third won't be too long, because as of right now, *GRABBY HANDS*

Special thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I think that this is a promising start for a series. This was not a perfect book by any means, nor was it wholly original. However I think that it had a few elements that will allow it to become a good series with time.

The first thing I did really like about it was the world. It was a classic power-filled dystopian with a slave class of people. Not exactly original but I appreciated that it felt like Vic James put a lot of effort into creating a centuries-old history for this futuristic England. That was clearly evident in certain scenes where there was an abundance of information given to readers.

I also liked two of the plethora of characters that we get points of views from. I really liked Luke, one of the main Hadley siblings. He had the most character growth throughout the series and I appreciated that he was moralistic and loyal.

I also liked Silyen because I'm a sucker for unapologetically chaotic neutral characters. Vic James never tried to pitch Silyen as other than he was. He was presented as a morally grey enigma and I liked that.

One of the things that I think hurt this book was that there were like seven characters who got points of views. I don't think all of them were necessary and I don't feel like it really served a purpose. Having that many character changes really removed me from the story and kept me from liking any of the other characters.

As far as the multitude of characters went, I literally only liked Luke and Silyen. I absolutely hated Abi. She was such a weak character. Her whole role in the story was being obsessed and in love with Jenner, who was a spineless and weak coward. Despite the fact that he never once stood up to his family, Abi didn't know how to not spend a single chapter gushing over him. I hated their romance. It was stupid and inappropriate considering we were romanticizing a relationship between a slave and her master. I'm really over female characters whose only characteristic is being obsessed with a man. I also hate how the strong and ambitious political woman is constantly referred to as a "bitch" by every one because we can't have strong females without them being bitchy. Nope, impossible.

I think this book could have been infinitely better if the romance had been removed and the characters were strengthened. However the cliffhanger has me interested to see where this story will go next.

* SPOILER ALERT *

I received the ARC copy 'Gilded Cage', Random House Publishing Group title from NetGalley! I felt really offended by slave/master outlook in this book. Like they chase after a slave on horseback or the family is staying in a cottage on the estate of one of The Skills family(basically slave masters). This book I couldn't even make it to chapter 10 I stopped at chapter 7. Maybe one day I'll read it again, but as of now NOT finishing this one.

The plot of Gilded Cage was slow to build, and the characters were slow to reveal themselves, but once the story took off I couldn't put it down. This unique dystopian/alternate history proposed questions and created situations that sparked my imagination and sense of outrage. I became invested in not only the family, but all of the commoners in their need for revolution. This novel comes at a crucial time in American history, and I believe it will be a beacon - and a mirror - in an uncertain time.

Did not finish. The genre and subject matter didn't end up appealing to me.