I love reading historical fiction and I did not expect that Gilded Cage will be a disappointment. The plot intrigued me the first time I read it but I honestly did not finish reading this one which I certainly gave it a try. The story is too fast that I couldn't keep on, and that most of the time I got confused. However, I like that each character has their own voices here but I couldn't imagine them. This book has so much potential though.

I didn't really enjoy this book that much, it was ok but I think it wasn't really my sort of book, I'm sure a lot of people would like it but the subject matter didn't interest me and I wasn't very keen on the characters or the romantic plot, and because it was a novella I felt like I didn't have much time to get into the story.

This was a nice different read compared to Sherry's other work. I liked that it was set in the prohibition area as I really enjoy Flappers. This story was full of emotion and is a quick, easy read.

Cue the Roaring 20's in this newest book from Ficklin. She has been one of my all time favorite authors for a while now. And this one will knock your socks off in 68 pages! It was a very short fast little novella that will give you a short, in-depth look at the world Masie is dealing with. The world she has created will open your eyes to all the glamor and horror of the world of gangsters, speakeasies, color wardrobes and bootleg! I finished this in about an hour, and couldn't put it down! I really hope that we get a full fledged novel from this world!

Book in a Pinch
Girl finds her calling in a boot-legger world
Go Into This One Knowing
Perfect for fans of The Diviners by Bray and others who love the roaring 20's!

I didn't realize how much I wanted a Gatsby inspired book until reading this. Gang crime, noir, and booze don't come up in literature enough. If this series turns a bit darker, less cliched and adds a dash of well-placed mystery, it could really succeed.
The main character Masie is sent for from school to confront issues at home and figure out her place in her crime-rich family. She seems to have a good grasp on things and has potential to be a good lead in future stories.
The setting isn't touched on much but I think the author will do a good job expanding it.
The dialogue was a little heavy handed with the slang of that era and seemingly thrown in "just because"; it needed refinement and depth.
Overall I'll look forward to further books.

Masie has been attending boarding school which for her has been an escape from her crazy family. Her father, Dutch Schultz, is a notorious boot-legger and quite controlling of his family. When Masie receives a phone call at school that something has happened to her mother she immediately rushes back home to find out what’s wrong.

After arriving home and finding her mother has been hospitalized and has now become yet another family secret. Masie finds that her time away has protected her from her father’s torment as his business may be failing. Her brother is right in the middle of the business while the boy she’d had a crush on has become the family enforcer and has a much darker side than she remembers much like her father.

Gilded Cage is a prequel novella in a new series, the Canary Club, by Sherry D. Ficklin. While the story is a short one it certainly gives a great look into the setting and characters that had this reader wanting to know more and continue on reading. A somewhat mob-like family it didn’t take long to get hooked onto wanting to know what was going on and what would happen next.

In the end I wanted to give this one a full five stars just by how quickly I flew through reading and was left with the feeling of wanting to know what would happen next which is what you hope when picking up a new series. But there was one issue I had with reading this ARC copy and that was that there were a lot of typos involved. Hopefully these will be resolved by publication but it was a tad annoying and hard to overlook and call this one perfect so for now I’d give this read 4.5 stars.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

There was nothing wrong in this book! It was well written and paced, great descriptions of the Flapper period! It was however not for me! You win some you lose some- it gets two stars because it's well written it would have gotten three if it would have engaged my attention, it didn't! As I understand it, it will be the opening of a new series of books, for some people this book will just sing to them! With it was more a quiet whisper! Can't win them all sadly!