The third book in Harris’s Lizbeth Rose series, the Russian Cage was precisely what I needed today. Ginnie Lizbeth heads to San Diego when she hears that Eli is in prison, planning to break him out. When she gets there she finds nothing is as simple as all that and much mayhem ensues. The stories are fun, the characters are kickass and in my mind Charlaine Harris can do no wrong. If you loved her Sookie Stackhouse series you’ll love Lizbeth just as much, or more.

The Russian Cage by Charlaine Harris takes us back into the world of Lizbeth Rose, aka Gunnie Rose, off on a new adventure in the third book of the series.

This time Gunnie Rose is responding to the call of her younger half sister, who sent her a cryptic note she was able to decipher. She is going to need more than good aim in the Holy Russian Empire, where she wont be able to depend on her guns alone.

But what is a gunnie without her guns?

Lizbeth is going to acquire help from some unexpected sources as she sets out on a rescue mission. But this isn’t the only surprise ahead, for nothing is quite as straightforward as one might expect it to be.

Fans of Charlaine Harris will recognise the familiar tone in her writing. Her female characters tend to be capable, not going to take any nonsense, women and Lizbeth Rose is no exception. If you are looking for a MC who takes the bull by the horns, wrapped up in a straight forward and easy to read novel, this just might be up your alley.

I’m a long-standing fan of Charlaine Harris and I’m always excited to hear when she has a new book coming out. I find reading her work is like meeting up with an old friend you haven’t seen in a while. There is a comfort and familiarity there that is hard to match, but also the thrill of learning what exciting new things they have been up to. Would I class this as Charlaine Harris’ best book? No, but she has a lot of novels out there to fight for that 1st place. I’d certainly encourage her fans not to miss out on this series, because as familiar as the voice is, the story is very different, and one that doesn’t disappoint.

4/5 stars from me.

Thank you to Charlaine Harris, the publishers (Gallery Books/Saga Press) and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an impartial review.

The Russian Cage is the 3rd book in the Gunnie Rose series. It could be read as a stand alone but then you'd miss the satisfaction of seeing how far Lizbeth "Gunnie" Rose has grown since the 1st book...An Easy Death. Charlaine Harris is well known for her character development. You know them and would recognize them on the street were you to meet. And, as always, my disclaimer....I'm a dedicated Harris fan. Her books are an escape from the every day chores and drama while still giving you plenty of drama as you read.

For those who have never read this series and are thinking it looks interesting....it's actually great! The United States as we know it does not exist. Instead it is broken into 7 individual countries that are not necessarily friendly to each other. When moving valuable cargo from one country to the next, most individuals hire a crew that includes as least one "gunnie", an armed guard charged with insuring the delivery of the cargo. Lizbeth is a gunnie, and a damned good one. Life is hard, Gunnie Rose is harder.

This series volume differs from the last two, this cargo is personal. Lizbeth's family and friends are in trouble, so she's on her way. With her crew of young, unseasoned extended family, she'll tackle many challenges to save the day this time. No spoilers, she's the good guy in this story!!!! A great, exciting story line that will have readers rooting for Lizbeth and crew. SIGH.....now I have to wait for the next book......

This has been an excellent series from Mrs. Harris so far, and this newest novel doesn't dissapoint. Lizbeth finds herself in the Holy Russian Empire in a desperate attempt to save her lover Eli from prison and possible execution. While muddling her way through Russian politics, Lizbeth meets Eli's family, gets attacked on several occasions, gets to know her half-sister a little better, and assisinates a someone after the throne. I was very happy that she finialy get to get her happliy ever after with Eli at the end of the book. They both deserve to have some happiness together. I can't wait for the next book to come out.

I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley.

The Russian Cage
By Charlaine Harris

As a massive fan of Charlaine Harris and the Sookie Stackhouse Series (True Blood Series), Aurora Teagarden Series, Harper Connelly Series, Lily Bard Shakespeare Series, and Midnight Texas Series, I was thrilled to discover a new book by Charlaine Harris, “The Russian Cage.”

To be honest, I didn’t even look at the name of the book or read the description before requesting an ARC of this book from NetGalley because I love Charlaine Harris.

Since this is the third book in the Gunnie Rose Series, I jumped into a story with no common knowledge from the previous books. Sometimes books in a series can stand alone, but this would have been so much better if I had already read “An Easy Death” (book 1) and “A Longer Fall” (book 2.) There were relationships already established that I didn’t have the history for, and the book unfolds in an alternate United States, which also needed a little explanation.

The writing is good as always, and it was a quick read. In this alternate United States, there are new land divisions – Mexico, Texoma, Dixie, Britannia, New America, and the Holy Russian Empire. The story is about a royal family, ragtag mercenaries, magic, betrayal, escape, and love. This protagonist is very different than the ones in Harris’s other series. Androgynous Lizbeth is not preoccupied with “girlie” things, and more accurately, she seems uncomfortable with girlie things. She has a soldier’s mindset and tackles whatever mission is at hand. Her goal in this book is to free Eli from jail at any cost.

I recommend reading the first two books before starting this one because I believe I missed important information and character development by reading it first. I am happy to provide my honest review. I would like to give it a solid four stars, but without the benefit of the first two books, it was somewhat tricky to understand the story as a standalone. Therefore, I am giving it three stars – subject to change once I read the other two books.

Another intense installment of the Gunnie Rose series from Charlaine Harris. My favorite thing about this series is the "alternate history" aspect of it, and how thorough she makes her world, down to the finest details. Lizbeth is back, and the time, instead of working alongside her partner, she's trying to save him. It forces her to face hard parts of her past as she must trust people she's struggled to trust in the past. I like seeing how this character has grown from one book to the next, and this is yet another I would recommend.

I loved the first two Gunnie Rose books from Harris, and this one did not disappoint in its continuation of the series. Gunnie travels to the Holy Roman Empire (in its San Francisco location in this universe) when she gets suspicious about the wellbeing of her sister. Once she arrives, she uncovers a much larger conspiracy that will jeopardize her family, the expat kingdom of Russia, and the love of her life. Definitely recommend.

The Russian Cage by Charlaine Harris is the 3rd book in the Gunnie Rose series. Thank you Netgalley for the early access. Charlaine Harris has a very no nonsense sort of way of writing that I really enjoy reading. I noticed it with the Sookie Stackhouse books and it's in this series as well. Her female characters are strong and rational, and usually are the ones who save the day. Just like in this book. Lizbeth Rose rides into San Diego and the Holy Russian Empire to save Eli from rotting away in jail or being killed. She enlists the aid of his family and friends as well as her half sister. It was very interesting to get to find out more about where Eli is from and how things work there. I really enjoyed this book and am now in the mood to read more by Charlaine Harris.

I've been a fan of Charlaine Harris' novels since her early Sookie Stackhouse books, and Lizbeth Rose is another great heroine. The Russian Cage is a very satisfying conclusion to this series.

I have read most of Charlaine Harris's books but this one just did not interest me. I wanted to like it but didn't.

In this third book set in an alternate America, gunnie Lizbeth Rose is recovering from her last adventure in Dixie when she receives a letter from her half-sister Felicia. Felicia is in California, going to school and donating her blood with its rare ability to manage a bleeding disease to Tsar Nicolas of the Holy Russian Empire. But the letter is confusing, until Lizbeth figures out her partner in love and adventure, the grigori (magician) Prince Eli is in jail charged with murder. But is it all a plot? A way to bring down the present regime and put the blame on Eli, his family and his supporters? If so, someone is reckoning without Lizbeth Rose, her guns, and her determination to see Eli and his family put right

In The Russian Cage, Charlaine Harris writes an enthralling addition to Lizbeth’s story. Lizbeth is a marvelous character. A pistol-packing female who never hesitates to use her guns in the service of the goods or the people she’s been contracted to protect. Harris’s smooth prose invites you into the story and holds you captive until the spine-tingling climax. Lots of action, lots of danger, lots of derring-do is sure to keep the reader involved and asking for more. Harris’ vision of an alternate America is her most creative series yet. I hope there’ll be many more volumes in the gunnie’s continuing story.

The Russian Cage is the latest book in the Gunnison Rose series. A western with a fantasy twist, it's readable and action packed. Lisbeth Rose travels to the Holy Roman Empire to free Eli from prison. While there she gets mixed up in HRE politics.

First of all, let me say that I loved every second of it : the slow but steady start, the intriguing middle and the action-packed end

We start of a few weeks after the events of "A Longer Fall", where Lizbeth goes on a new journey not because of a job but because of personnal reasons : Eli. We get to see new sides of our heroine, softer and darker, as she goes deeper into Eli's life in Holy Russian Empire.
We meet new characters, such as his family, but most of all, we discover Lizbeth and Felicia's sisterhood as they are building it.

The Russian Cage is definitely a must-read as it is getting bigger and more interesting with each new book of the Gunnie Rose series

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for sending me this Advance Reading Copy. Expected publication date is February 23, 2021.

This is the third book in Harris’ Gunnie Rose series. After reading this, I really wish I had read the first two installments. I will go back and read them because I enjoyed this one so much. The series follows girl named Lizbeth (Gunnie) Rose. In this future history novel, America has been divided into five distinct areas: The Holy Russian Empire, New America, Texoma, Dixie, and Brittania. Gunnie tries rescue her partner, Prince Eli, from The Holy Russian Empire where he is imprisoned having been accused of murder. Bonus: There’s magic involved!

Charlaine Harris never fails to delight me. In this novel, the third to feature gunslinger-for-hire Lizbeth Rose, Lizbeth heads to the Holy Russian Empire--San Diego, to be precise--to spring her lover Eli Savarov from jail. But the job is complicated by politics, families, magic, and the fact that Lizbeth can't legally carry guns in the Empire. I loved the development of returning characters, particularly Lizbeth's sister Felicia, and the wonderful new characters who inhabit this book, Eli's mother and sisters especially. Lizbeth's voice is honest and plain and Harris's storytelling is gold. Readers will probably want to read the previous two novels featuring Lizbeth before this one, as it relies pretty heavily on the events of the earlier books, but I do think it can stand alone as long as readers are willing to enjoy the ride and look into Lizbeth and Eli's past adventures later.

This third installment in the Gunnie Rose series by Charlaine Harris was as wonderful as the first two books and I found myself reading in whatever pieces of free time I had. Trust me, that is saying a lot because there is no such thing as "free time" in my life. I have four kids under the age of ten, one neurotic German Shepherd and three cats. I am finishing my bachelor's degree online and that is where all of my free time should go. Instead, I hid in the bathroom and read while I was supposed to be showering, I read while I prepared food for my spawn and as I gave the dog his dose of antianxiety meds. I read while I was walking the dog but realized that it was a health hazard and I can't trust him to guide me. I read when I should have been working on a research proposal and now I am scrambling to make up for the time I lost to this book.
I don't begrudge the time lost in the pages at all. There is no time like now when an escape from reality is sorely needed. I will say that you can't read this book without reading the first two, so you should do that. Now. Immediately. I mean, you've got some time before this one hits shelves but why waste time in the real world when you can give yourself a vacation to a world of gunslingers, wizards and political machinations. Hmm. When I put it that way, it doesn't sound like much of an escape. Let me assure you, you will come to love Gunnie Rose as much as I do. Tough, dedicated, determined and sharp, she is one heroine I want in my corner. There is a light sprinkle of romance, but it doesn't take over the story and the story doesn't rely on it to carry the story.
I can't wait for the next book...the book didn't end on a cliffhanger, but there is room for growth and further books. Now to try to slog through the schoolwork I put off to read this book, and nurse a book hangover.

The Russian Cage is the third book in Charlaine Harris' Gunnie Rose series. It's a stand alone novel though reading the earlier books is beneficial. The expected publication date is February 23rd 2021.

I really enjoyed reading this book and love the series. It's an alternative history novel in which the United States no longer exists but is broken up into smaller countries.

The main character, Lizbeth Rose, an armed guard "gunnie" by trade, is wonderful. She's supremely confident about her professional skills but quite insecure in other ways. This makes her very relatable and endlessly interesting. In this book she receives a coded missive from her younger half-sister that results in Lizbeth heading to the West Coast and the Holy Russian Empire to rescue her partner Eli from prison.

To a degree, this is a fish out of water story as Lizbeth contends with a land that has a lot of Eli's relatives and doesn't allow her to have guns--which would come in handy dealing with some of the relatives. At least she has a lot of knives. There's bonding time with her half-sister, a wedding, lots of fighting and even an assasination involved. All in all, this book is a lot of fun and very highly recommended.

I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lizbeth has received word from her sister Felicia, that Eli is in jail. He's her partner, she can't leave him there, so she decides to travel to San Diego to find out why he has been imprisoned, and to do anything necessary to free him. Lizbeth quickly realizes that it will be no easy task and she will have to rely heavily on Felicia to help her navigate through the politics of the Holy Russian Empire. To top it all off, she was informed the minute she entered the Empire that she couldn't even carry her guns.

I absolutely adore Lizbeth, but I think all the characters in this book are well written, compelling, and realistic in their actions and interactions. Unexpected twists, suspense, magic, violence, and lots of action kept me engrossed from the first page to the last. Fantastic book!

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

The Russian Cage in the 3rd installment of the Gunnie Rose series.
Writer is at the top of her game in her writing quality, and the book is a page turner.
Charlaine Harris uses a futuristic, imagined universe to show an oppressive societal control in the Holy Russian Empire (HRE), previously California and Oregon, in this alternate history novel that reveals dystopian reality of the United States .
Lizbeth Rose heads directly into the Tsar's court to rescue Eli from imprisonment. The building of Lizbetth’s character continues in a very creative and compelling way providing an intellectual depth to navigate the political and familial intrigue of local society.
The originality of the plot, an entertaining blend of action, adventure and romance offers a great read for fans of Charlaine Harris' books.

Great story filled with action.
Love how the author creates a unique scenario that is difficult to place in time.
The female characters are fierce and intelligent.
Would recommend it young adults and anyone who enjoys fantasy and fiction.