This topic is no longer of interest to me and I will not be finishing this book.

I did not know exactly what to expect. I went into the novel without expectations and so I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed it. The world is so detailed and there are so many different storylines that are all starting to converge. I really wonder where the next book is going to head and I cannot wait to read it.

Gilded Cage has the same ingredients that every other dystopian, semi-fantasy book has out there with the classic division of have's and have-not's with the added element of magic.

It's a dystopian with the world divided into elites and the non-elites in this case the Equals—the Skilled aristocrats— and the Non-Equals who have to give up a decade of their life to slavetowns without any pay.

The times are bleak as in this world you don't get to be a full citizen until they complete his/her slavedays.

Told from multiple POV. We get to see the world through members of a family torn apart due to the slavetown agreement. Not all family members of our protagobist family get to go the world behind the Gilded Cage where the Skilled (the family with magic) live.

The book ends on a semi non-cliffhanger that sure makes one want to know what happens next. I want to read the next book just because, but I am not that eager to do so as my experience with this book was a-okay.

I, for one didn't like the similar high end family trope and the love story sure added to my dislike. This setting has been the backdrop for so many novels out there that I just can't. I didn't really like the characters or the plotline.

The last few chapters saved the book for me or it would have been a two star read for me.

This book was highly loved on Wattpad so there's that.

Special thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for this review copy.

An interesting read, I'm usually intrigued by anything that has to do with aristocracy, but this book was far too political for me. It was hard to get into the story when everything is about political machinations. A little too dark for my taste, it weave an interesting story involving social structures and power. My kids would probably enjoy it, although I didnt.

In the world of the Gilded Cage, you possess magic or you don't. Possession of magic places you in the upper tiers of society, while lack of a magical gift requires you to enter the service of the magically gifted for ten years. The Gilded Cage tells the story of two families - one gifted, one not. As the lives of the families become intertwined, the reader discovers that it takes more than magic to create a family, and that power doesn't necessarily belong to the ones with the power.

This was one of the best dystopian novels I've read in a long time! I wasn't sure what to expect because some supernatural fiction comes across cheesy and unrealistic, but each and every one of the characters in this novel had their own depth and humanity - whether they had magical powers or not. I cannot wait to continue reading this series when book 2 comes out!

I really got into this book at the first - the story and world were intriguing and I liked the writing. I ended up with a very busy mid-month though, and somehow my forward momentum was ruined. I never dreaded reading, and I always enjoyed it when I did read, but I didn't get through it as quickly as I normally would.

What I liked the most was the characters - I liked seeing some good in one I initially thought of as 100% bad, and some of the others surprised me! I also thought the story was good - there was lots of intrigue and it kept moving well. What I didn't like was some of the world - it's a neat world but parts just don't make sense or I just can't see how they could possibly work. However, it is book one and I suspect a lot of that will be explained.

Anyway, it was an enjoyable first book in the series!

This book was just OK for me. I always recommend going ahead and reading a book, if it sounds interesting to you because I am just one person and just because I might not care too much for something, doesn't mean someone else might not love it.

Gilded Cage by Vic James is a hard book to review in the sense that once I finished it, I was truly depressed. There's not anything redemptive in the game of political power machinations happening and the abuse of power, is sickening. That said, this YA story was one of the first in a long time that made me disgusted with how easily manipulated humans are in their efforts to get rich and stay in high political positions. Trust no one! Also, I had no problems following the multitude of switching narratives. I am intrigued and will definitely be getting the next book in this series. My only fear being that it will not end with any hope for humanity which I do not like when finishing a series. Finely, darkly woven political thriller with supernatural elements; GILDED CAGE is probably best for older readers or ones who are mature enough to read Hunger Games and the torture in it.

I requested Gilded Cage by Vic James many months ago and due to a series of unfortunate, or perhaps fortunate as the case may be, events I was unable to read it until just a few weeks ago.

I remember requesting Gilded Cage. It seemed up there with other dystopian/magical type series where you have those with powers and those without. This one primarily focuses on two families, the Jardines and the Hadleys. The Jardines are called Equals, those who have powers or Skills. These Skills can be used to change the physical world or to manipulate the minds of others. The Hadleys are a family without any Skill which means that, sometime in their life they have to spend ten years working their Slave Days. During those ten years they can be assigned to a variety of jobs, some of which are worse than others.

Most of the Hadley family is sent to work for the Jardines which is somewhat cushy but offers some issues of it's own. (The book opens up with one of the Jardine's' slaves trying to run away with the baby she had with one of the Jardine sons and she makes it very clear that he has not treated her well.) But the eldest Hadley son is sent to a work town where the work is dangerous, the hours are long, and the slaves are beaten and treated like nothing.

So of course there's a rebellion with some Equals recognizing that the current system is awful and not fair.

It definitely sounded interesting enough but there were too many issues for me.

- There were too many narrators and the vast majority were idiots. Fall in love with your slave owner after one day? Check. Join a rebellion after one day? Check. Trust your slave owners even though their own brothers tell you that they are murderers? Check. Be super manipulative and possibly working on the side of good but literally never explaining any of it? Check. Oh, and they were also mostly boring.
- I knew there was politics because that happens in all of these types of books. However I did not expect to spend half the book sitting in on political meetings where the Equals rehashed the same arguments over and over and over again. Really, how were there no rebellions before this? You're all idiots.
- The "ending" was unsatisfying. Sure, it was explosive and a good rebellion story needs one of those but where each of the characters ends up was not worth the read.

The gilded cage imagines an alternate world where the Equals (the elite of society) are not just the richest and most powerful, but are Skilled with powers like magic to create, destroy and manipulate the physical world around them as well as the emotional abs thought lives of others. the unskilled ate commoners, each required by law to serve 10 years of slavery in service to the Equals. It is this world into which we are thrust to follow the story of one common family (mainly their children Abi and Jake) and one Equal family (and their 3 sons: Gavar, Jenner, and Silyeun). As the common family starts their years of servitude, they are torn apart and sent to different locations.
I thought this book was decent at creating this alternate reality, but not so great at developing the thoughts and actions of the characters. It seemed somewhat rushed, especially toward the end. Not sure if I'll pick up the sequel when it is released.

This book had an interesting synopsis but in ways it fell short and dragged along at a snails pace. It felt more historical fiction then the magical fantasy I was expecting

This one was difficult for me to get into. I found the world the author built interesting and the class division based on magical ability, while not a new idea, was a solid basis for this story and set everything up well. I found the characters to be well developed and I'm interested in seeing what happens next for everyone.

Thank you so much for the chance to read and review The Gilded Cage. I'm sorry to say that I wasn't able to finish the book. Because I didn't finish, I don't feel comfortable reviewing this title as I didn't get the full story. This doesn't stop me from recommending this title to those I feel like would enjoy the story and/or writing! It just wasn't a story that I was able to get into.

Full of magic and mystery, James delivers a captivating and unique story that leaves you craving more.

I admit, the first quarter of the book was a slow go for me, hence the 4 stars and not 5, but once I hit that mark I was enthralled and couldn't put it down. Each character was well developed and by the end, I found myself torn in deciding who was good and who was bad. I could find both in each of them and I'm curious to see which side each of them will fall in future installments.

With multiple points of view and an emphasis on politics, the plot gets complex. For some this would be seen as a negative, but as I enjoy politics and find tracking several stories along the same timeline challenging but fun, this enhanced the reading experience for me.

I can tell the first book was just setting the board and getting the game started. I can't wait to see how the author moves the pieces, I have a feeling it's going to get really intense. Looking forward to book 2.

I tried to get into this one, but I just don't think I was the right reader for it. However, we did purchase it for my library and it has gotten good circulation - it is rarely on our 'new fiction' display as it is often getting checked out.

It is sort of a disturbing book, but it is also the type of book that stays with you long after you have finished reading.

A YA tale that evokes the days of Britain's Industrial Revolution - but with magic, and even more class inequality.
In this world, the ruling aristocrats, who hold totalitarian power through their magical 'skill,' have decreed that every citizen of the lower classes is required to work their "Slave Days" - a 10-year indenture. Some people opt to do it early in life, with the hopes of getting it over with and then being able to live as a free individual. Other wait - but an older person is much less likely to survive the harsh treatment and backbreaking labor expected from slaves in industrial prison towns like Millmoor.

Our main character is a teenage boy, Luke. As the story opens, his sister has pulled some strings, and instead of going to one of the slave camps, she thinks that the whole family will be permitted to do their Slave Days together, as the personal household servants of one of the ruling families, the Kynestons. The positions should be relatively safe and cushy, she thinks. However, the family has put too much trust in the word of the Kynestons, and has seriously underestimated their potential for cruelty.

Luke is thrown into Millmoor, where he finds himself amidst a fomenting revolution. His younger sister is given a privileged position as nursemaid where her youthful innocence may lead her perilously close to siding with the oppressors. Meanwhile, the older sister is prey to the different, but just as dangerous, perils of romance...

I enjoyed the concept and the set-up, but the way the story unfurled was just a little too typically YA for me. Fans of dystopian YA romance, however, will likely find this to be right up their alley.

Many thanks to Del Rey and NetGalley for the opportunity to read. As always, my opinions are solely my own.

I loved this book! I wasn't really sure what to expect based on the cover and description but the story blew me away. One of my favorite reads this year!

Firstly, thank you Netgalley for providing this copy of Gilded Cage for an honest review.

I won't go into many spoilers for this book, but I will say the ending totally took me off guard. Normally, I can see an ending coming from a mile away. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Not all stories have to have a some twist and shocking ending to be good. This felt worthwhile.

I did have a bit of trouble with so many points of view. In some instances it was done remarkably well. In others, I was left a bit confused and a tad dragged. It's hard for me to see character development when there's that much going on.

The world building for this book is incredible and filled with a really interesting class system that I found pretty fascinating. Towards the beginning of the book, the world building was a bit sparse, but it was remedied quickly enough.

All in all, I gave this book 4/5 stars. Would definitely recommend to a friend.