“Always look at the people, not the mass. A face, not the crowd. Look at the world, not the ground. Every little detail you see is a victory.”

This book has been on my radar for quite a while now. It sounded like exactly something I would read and honestly, I have no idea why I waited so long to start reading it.

Before I began, however, I did read a few reviews that told me that this book contained a lot of politics, but honestly, that had me EVEN MORE excited to dive in! I do believe that a good fantasy book should have enough governance for it to be believable.

Gilded Cage is a powerful page-turner, filled with politics and rebellion, family and courage, love and freedom that will leave you desperate for more.

SOME OF THE THINGS I LOVED INCLUDE:

1. THE BRUTALITY: Honestly, I would have been disappointed if this book wasn’t brutal. A Skilled Aristocracy that have the power to alter and erase memories, control over the weather and the elements and healing that rule over common folk – HOW COULD THEY NOT BE BRUTAL? While it shocked me, all the brutality made the book what it was.

2. THE REBELLION: When I read The Lunar Chronicles last year, the one thing that hit me was how the rebellion seemed SO EASY to orchestrate. IT ISN’T. Otherwise, anyone would do it. The rebellion or rather the growing unrest among commoners in Gilded Cage was believable, palpable and it made me feel like I was in a slave camp, right there with them.

3. SILYEN JARDINE: If you know me, you know that I CANNOT RESIST A SLIGHTLY SOCIOPATHIC HUMAN/ VILLAIN LOOKING OUT FOR ONLY HIMSELF. Silyen was such a BEAUTIFULLY COMPLEX character with POWER and a BRILLIANT MIND and I cannot wait to see what Victoria James does with him next.

4. THE MULTIPLE POV’s: I usually find it hard to get used to/ remember multiple points of view in a book, but IT WAS SO WELL DONE this actually was a huge plus point for me. I LOVED EXPLORING the minds of all the characters – Leah, Abi, Luke, Gavar and even Bouda and Euterpe.

THINGS I WISHED WERE EXPLAINED MORE:

1. THE SKILLS: The Skilled or the Aristocracy or the people with Magic’s abilities were SO VAGUE. Apart from a ONE LINE naming of all the various Skills, I got nothing. Do the Skilled have ONE SKILL or can they have a number OR does it depend on how Skilled they are? What even ARE the different kinds of Skills? I wish that these were a) described better and b) that we saw MORE OF THE POWER because there was more drinking than power being thrown and I NEED MORE, OKAY?

2. Jenner and Abi: These two would be on the top of the list of romances I DID NOT GET. I swear, the minute she saw him Abi a) blushed and b) thought, “If he wasn’t an Equal (Aristocrat) he might be someone I let myself love and be loved by. WHAT. And then there were a few scenes about some office romance – but I FELT NOTHING. It was insta love that COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER but was such a C-plot line that it just felt like a waste.

A book DEFINITELY worth diving into. A brutal, powerful, political fantasy with high stakes and intense prose. I can’t WAIT for more! 4 stars.

A frightening story of slavery in a world controlled by the few elite who have the power of life and death or even worse. An alternative world of dark magic where few – if any – aristocrats are interested in a fair and just society. Where citizens of all types are required to serve ten years in servitude under complete control of those they serve. Slavery at its worse, where families are separated, punishments are meted out without benefit of justice or fairness and death comes swiftly to those caught in the teeth of arrogance and tyranny.

Ms. James presents a tale of magic and fantasy that grips you from start to finish and leaves you begging for more. It leaves the door open for many future tales in this well created world where the unknown awaits the willing reader.

Hate when books with such a good blurb just fall flat.
When I read the prologue to Gilded Cage, I had very high hopes. Those hopes just disappeared after every chapter.
This book had so much potential to bring in magic and mystery but omg too much political drama that was just these privileged folks yelling nonsense at each other.
The main characters are Abi and Luke but they really did not hold my interest like Silyen did. For that matter, we don’t even get a real answer on whether Silyen is a true villain or not because he sure as fuck does some heroish shit in the mix of his manipulation tactics, more so than Luke if I do say so myself.
The book had the plot of slavery and privilege but it is just left hanging at the end.
What happened to the murder of Libby’s mom? What about those Jardine’s who have the skill and those who don’t?!
Why was none of this touched upon to make me WANT the continuations?
Gilded Cage moved too slow and didn’t choose the right characters to focus the attention on in my opinion.

I read Gilded Cage, then went straight to vicjames.co.uk and signed up for the newsletter, because I don't want to miss the next book in the series. It's that good.

Will Vic write a real answer for solving the ongoing disparities that erupt between Equals and Commoners (of Haves and Have Nots)? I sure hope so. Because things aren't getting any better over here, and we could sure use some good ideas.

Gilded Cage is a strong debut and a new favorite of mine! I love V.E. Schwab's fantasy series, beginning with A Darker Shade of Magic, and Gilded Cage engaged me with its unique world in the same way. Books about a society of magical "haves" and "have-nots" abound (Harry Potter, natch!), but Ms. James has managed to create a unique take on the theme and make it fresh. The chapters alternate between locations and characters seamlessly, and provide enough suspense to encourage continued reading. Books abound recently dealing with America's shameful history of slavery, such as Homegoing and The Underground Railroad; however, other kinds of slavery exist, and Gilded Cage provides a setting that allows the reader to examine the topic in a new and different way. The characters are also very well-developed, which can be a challenge for a new author. The book ends on kind of a cliff-hanger, which is disappointing, but I'll just have to wait impatiently for the sequel!

When I had time to read this, it was a fast read. Dystopian Britain is ruled by a powerful, magical class called Equals that make the common people serve for them for 10 years of their lives as slaves. Abi's parents still need to serve their slave days so she plans a way for her family to serve together at an Equal's estate instead of at a slavetown, thinking that the work will be less grueling and cruel. Her plan goes sideways when her brother, Luke, is reassigned to a slavetown, Millmoor. Her parents and her along with her sister, Daisy, are sent to Kyneston Estate, owned by the Jardines, one of the most powerful, and as it turns out evil and scary-powerful, Equal families in the country. As 10-year-old Daisy cares for one of the Jardine's bastard children and falls in love with the eldest of the Jardine children, Abi falls in love with the middle Jardine child. But comments falling in love with Equals is dangerous, especially since the mother of the child Daisy cares for was a commoner that was "accidentally" killed by the child's father and eldest Jardine child, Gavar. Meanwhile, Luke is befriended in Millmoor by a group of misfits trying to make life better at Millmoor and cause an uprising by the slaves as the country's Parliament questions the morality of the slave days. Will Abi's family survive their slave days? Will the country change for the better or is it doomed to be forever trapped in the past?

I loved the world building and how all of the characters are very human, having good and bad in them. There are still a lot of questions that need to be answered at the end of this book that makes me wish the second book was out now.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.

I received an advanced readers copy of this book from NetGalley for review consideration.

This book is one of the most exciting dystopian fantasies I've ever read. It is set in an alternate present-day England, where a magical aristocracy requires each citizen is to work for 10 years as a slave. Although the book is set in a similar world to ours, Ms. James has done an excellent job imbuing the story with a rich, well thought-out history. It is told from multiple POV's, but James handles them brilliantly. Rather than that sinking feeling one often gets when reading a novel with multiple POV characters, I couldn't wait to catch up with each one. The characters are strong and unique, and the stakes are high for both aristocrats and the commoners they enslave. While on the surface, this is a page-turning thrill ride of a book, beneath it all, Ms. James makes us think about our own class society and what it means to be free. It was one of those books I never wanted to end. Luckily there will be two more installments. Highly recommend.

Trigger Warning: “Slave Days”, Violence, Mindfucking, Pyscho White People, Torture, Naked Guy Trained as a Dog + Kept On A Leash, (but there’s only light kissing so prudes don’t worry!!)

What can I say? Don’t read this. Don’t get sucked into another fantasyland with an allegory for racism and literal “slave days” that people VOTED for?!? Okay, just don’t…

I was very close to DNF’ing the book. It was obvious, cliche, bunch of stupid white people running around, reeked of privilege, stupid crushes, etc.

Just every terrible thing you’ve heard about YA Dystopian and Paranormal books, especially the clueless privilege.

And then the rebellion kicked in and the politics got deeper and characters got interesting and I kept reading til the damn end.

I am so disappointed with myself over it. So much wasting time and energy spent on this and I just do not have anything nice to say about it all.

Will I continue the series? No. I still don’t recommend it. I should have quit while I was ahead instead of falling into such a stupid, annoying, problematic POS.

*sigh*

Gilded Cage by Vic James is a page turning fantasy novel set in a a dystopian British society where the world is divided into people with and without skills. The story focuses on two families ; 1 family who is set to begin their mandatory 10 year slavery service and 1 family who rules the country.

I could not put it down. The story was so vivid, the characters so engaging and grow along with the story, and there is no shortage of political intrigue and magic.

I really enjoyed it and cannot wait to read Book 2.

Firstly, Id like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC of Gilded Cage. This book had me intrigued right from the start. I was happy to see that it was set in alternate UK, as most books are set in America, so this helped me connect with the book straight away. This book immediately reminded me of Red Queen, so if you enjoyed that you should check it out. I enjoyed the general premise of the story both when I read the blurb and and when I read the story, especially seeing points of view from both Millmoor and Kyneston. Learning about Skill was interesting, and I hope the author goes into more detail in the next book as Skill hasn't quite been explained as to what it actually is and what different types there are. However, I did find the multiple point of views confusing, and some I found unnecessary. I liked that you got to see more than one side to the situation but I think there were slightly too many point of views. Regardless, it was interesting to see so many characters, different in so many ways. I did find the actual story a bit too focused on politics with a bit too little worldbuilding - however, this is the case in many first books so I'll have to read the next book to see if it improves. I gave this book 3.5 stars as although it did have issues, these could be resolved in the next book so I will continue on with the series.

I really wanted to enjoy this book more than I did. What I did like was the political aspect. It was very intriguing, but it was a little hard to follow. I think what kept me from enjoying this book more were the multiple point of views. There were a lot, and it jumped around quite often. There wasn't a lot of action, so it did get slow with all of the politics. I wish there had been more suspense to keep me focused. In the end, I liked the book, but the multiple povs kept me from connecting to the characters. I would be interested in reading the sequel though, because I would like to know how this turns out.

Unfortunately, this book was not to my liking. and I was unable to finish it. I truly wish the author all the best.

Although I received a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review, all opinions remain my own.

I really enjoyed this book, it was different then the books I have been reading lately. There are magical people, called "Equals" and then normal people. The normal people all have to serve the Equals for ten years.

It was really strange at first. The book jumps viewpoints which I liked, gave me a wider view of the whole story. You follow a family who is just starting their years, they are sent to a very rich family. The dynamics of the family are beyond strange, but I enjoyed it.

While the ending wasn't quite the closure I was hoping for, it worked. Cannot wait for the next installment!

What a well written, skillfully paced novel! Readers are blessed with characters that are absolutely beyond compelling and the plot sticks with you even after you're finished.

I absolutely loved Gilded Cage. The characters are well developed and easy to relate to. I loved getting each characters perspective on the happenings in the story. I found this hard to put down and now I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book to see what happens next.

This book is well written, with an interesting premise, and yet I struggled to get through it. I found it so bleak, I could only stand to read it in small doses.

The description of the book is somewhat misleading. While the three characters mentioned are important, the plot is unraveled through a complexity of viewpoints, so that Abi, Luke, and Silyen (the aristocrat) share the stage with several other important characters. I think some people might get frustrated with the narrative viewpoint shifting around so much through the course of the book.

The basic premise is that England is ruled by a class of magically-gifted aristocrats called Equals, and the ordinary citizens are required to give 10 years of their lives in service as slaves. The experiences of Abi and Luke, particularly Luke’s exposure to a resistance movement in the slave town where he labors, encourage them to question and rebel against this political system. Most of the Equals are obviously perfectly happy with the current system, but they have members among the resistance as well. So, the book is really about the abuses of the system and the potential for revolution to overthrow it.

I did wonder as I was reading why the people of England was so backward in generating an organized resistance to their slavery. At the beginning of the book, it almost seems like Abi and Luke don’t realize how bad their term of slavery will be, which seemed odd to me, given that slaves re-enter society after their slave days are over. Is there magically induced amnesia that quells potential rebellion? It’s also mentioned that there was a revolt that was brutally put down, but we learn that the French overthrew their gifted aristocrats and the United States won’t even let them enter, so it seems like the Equals shouldn’t be all powerful.

They do really seem to completely overmatch the ordinary citizens, though, and that’s what made the book so bleak for me. The story opens with a young slave woman being murdered by an Equal with absolutely no repercussions. This imbalance of power continues throughout the novel as the Equals practice cruelties against the nearly powerless ordinaries. The victories of the resistance movement were so miniscule that their work seemed almost futile, and the novel ends on a dark note for some of its members. I needed a few more victories for the good guys for the book not to seem so crushingly dark to me.

That said, I am curious about what will happen next. I’m particularly interested in the role that some of the Equals could potentially play in overturning their own rule. Silyen seems completely amoral, but he’s plotting something I can’t quite figure out. Gavar, his brother, is the one who murdered the young slave woman, but he also chafes under some of the restrictions of the current system. I’m wondering if he might not wind up doing something to further his own ends that will benefit the resistance, too.

So, even though I had trouble getting through this book, I’m intrigued enough that I will probably read the next one. I’m hoping that the heroes will have more wins in the second, though.

Recommended for readers interested in dark fantasy with political themes.

An ARC of this novel was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Set in modern day(ish) U.K., this book follows multiple perspectives at a time when there are people with special Skills... and those with none.

I thought the premise of this was interesting, even though I was not a fan of the Skilled part (I liked the idea of Equals and non equals on its own). The multiple perspectives make this book a little more high paced. While focusing on fewer perspectives may have created more dynamic characters, it's still a great YA fantasy book.

I had way more fun than I expected while reading Gilded Cage by Vic James. Mostly because the cover design put me off a little at the beginning. And because it took me a long time to understand what was going on in the Gilded Cage world. So here's my mini-synopsis that hopefully will help future readers:

The events on this book happen in the modern world we know, but in this one some people are born with magic powers. Those are called Equals, and they are seen as the superior and god-like perfect part of society. They can use their magic powers to manipulate minds, build things, heal or kill, and they supposedly use them to improve the world. To help them use 100% of their time doing awesome things with their powers while ruling the country, the un-equals a.k.a. the powerless, have to give up ten years of their lives serving as slaves for them.

And that's it. I guess you can predict the inevitable revolution that comes with every dystopia. And of course the unavoidable romantic sub-plot.

*WHAT I LIKED*

The mix of revolution and politics. Don't be scared if you don't like books heavy in politics like Game of Thrones. Gilded Cage is a much lighter version and everything there happens in the same country (and between less families). But I really liked all the political drama and schemes going on. On the other side, the revolution also grows slowly and the characters make you care about them and their cause.

Some characters and twists were really cool. I loved the main rebel character. Luke is a teenager forced to begin his ten years of slavery too early. And he decides to make the best of it by helping other people inside the slave city. He's a good person with good intentions, but he sometimes makes the wrong choices. Another couple of good characters are part of the magical Equals and they are incredibly selfish and egocentric guys but also extremely charming an interesting. About the twists I won't say more because I want them to be a surprise ;).

*WHAT I DISLIKED*

It has too many POVs. I think some characters would have been more interesting if we weren't forced to read the book from so many perspectives. A bunch of the POVs live in the same place and attend basically the same events, so reading about similar things from so many perspectives feels redundant. Also, even while reading someone's POV, their chapters kept hiding a lot about their plans and intentions, so WHY HAVE THEIR PERSPECTIVES IN THE FIRST PLACE??

Insta-love. I'm warning you: the main female characters does nothing but admire the first guy she meets. She's supposed to be smart and bookish, but the only thing I remember from her chapters are "this Equal guy is hot", "this Equal guy touched my hand" and variations of the same thing. At least the romance is not a big deal and is treated as a small sub-plot, but I had high expectations for said female character and I'm sad she only was there to fall in love.

* YOU SHOULD READ IT IF*

You are looking for a fantasy novel with a side of dystopia
You want to read about magic royalty
You like books with multiple POV
You love a bit of politics in your books

Many thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved the parallel storylines going on in this story. I was immediately drawn in by the political intrigue in this one. At the end there is a fantastic twist that I didn’t see coming, but absolutely loved! Honestly, my jaw hit the floor. I loved all of the characters, even the characters I hated, I loved to hate them. My favorite character and storyline was definitely Luke. I am really looking forward to the next book in this series and can’t wait to see what comes next for Luke’s story and for the rest in this intriguing dystopian world.