I always enjoy Ms. Harris' writing and I think the Gunnie Rose series is my favorite, I really enjoyed reading this book and getting to know the characters.

This is the third book in a very exciting series. I really wasn't sure I would like them at all but turns out I can't get enough! The mix of magical realism and alternate history is brilliant! I hope this series goes on for years to come.

This was a fun entry into the Gunnie Rose series and I enjoyed it. I like Lizbeth’s reaction to being in the seat of the Russian Empire and being a fish out of water. I liked the advancement of the personal plots but I feel like some of the threads are starting to get lost in the shuffle. Definitely recommend it for anyone that enjoyed the first two books. I think this could be an ending or at most the next to last book without a significant refocusing of the series - maybe a spinoff with Felicia but otherwise I think the story is at or coming to the conclusion.

I received an advance readers copy from the publisher and Netgalley in return for an honest review.

This is the third book in the series, so you have a chance to pick up the first two books which are:
An Easy Death
A Longer Fall

If you like magic, an alternative history a dash of steam punk, a female gunslinger, and some Russian history. BUY THIS SERIES immediately. Lizbeth Rose is a treat

Well written, vibrant and exciting. I couldn't put it down. This new story is a gift to Harris fans. The usual compelling and disturbing characters yet very different. This story will keep you reading past your bedtime. A must read tale for sure.

In the third book in this series, we finally get to see Eli’s world, a world of opulence, Russian royalty, and magic, a far cry from Lizbeth Rose’s Texoma, a hardscrabble area. Years ago there was a political and social upheaving, leaving the U.S. split into several countries/territories. Lizbeth is a gun slinger who lives in the Southwestern country known as Texoma. Eli, also known as Prince Ilya Savarov, is from San Diego, California, now known as Holy Russian Empire. When Lizbeth learns that Eli has been jailed, she heads to the HRE to free him.

Lizbeth is out of her comfort zone in Eli’s world. Her world is so much simpler, straight forward, more black and white. Eli’s world is brilliant colors, distrust of everyone, and so many political machinations it was hard to know what to expect next. I loved it. And Lizbeth is willing to do whatever it takes to free Eli, even wearing a dress.
I enjoyed exploring this different world, with royalty, magic, and lots of political intrigue. Another plus was getting to know Lizbeth’s half-sister better; Felicia is studying to be a Grigori, a user of magic. We also meet Eli’s family. And I actually started to like Grigori Felix.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery/Saga Press for providing me the eARC ; this is my honest review.

I was disappointed in this installment of the Gunnie Rose series. It felt very rushed and thrown together. I won’t be continuing the series.

I was super excited to receive an ARC of The Russian Cage! This is the third installment in the Gunnie Rose series, where we follow Lizbeth as she travels alone to the HRE to save Eli. In the past two books, Lizbeth has always had Eli as her trusted sidekick and now she has only herself to rely on. Upon arrival to the HRE, its clear that this society is more political of nature than previous books and I like that Harris ties in themes to each book (similar to racism and sexism in the second installment).

In this book, past characters including Felix, Peter and Felicia come back to help save Eli and we get to meet Eli’s mother and sisters! Eli’s mother is exactly what you would expect of a noble individual and obviously Lizbeth has thoughts about how sheltered his sisters have been raised.

There is less killing in this book compared to the others, and I like that his book focuses more on interpersonal relationships/politics. Lizbeth is finally upfront about herself and her feelings towards Eli. She acknowledges that she wants him as a more permanent fixture in her life, even given how different their worlds are. In the end of An Easy Death, I felt Lizbeth knew she cared about Eli but decided that they were too different and seemed to already be mourning their end.

This may be just me, but I sometimes felt I missed under-themes/relationships in this series. I didn’t pick up on Felix’s feelings towards Eli until it was spelled out, and maybe I’m blind but I needed more context to Alice’s reaction at the end, I thought it was someone being shaken up a bit about a certain event but the re-iteration of it made me think there was more to the story that I was missing.

Overall, this book was a page-turner like the previous two books (I read it in a day). I am happy how Eli and Lizbeth’s relationship left off in this book, it could be a great end to the series BUT I hope not!!

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley.

Another installment in the life of Lisbeth "gunnie" Rose, and really only 2.5 stars, it doesn't add anything new in the way of character development or world building. I could repeat my review of the 2nd book and it would work as well here! Written well enough to keep my interest, and somewhat of a page turner (other than that the ending is never in doubt so there's not much tension). These books are all simple comfort reading, good for an airplane journey or beach where you don't want anything demanding. Quite reminiscent of Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson series, which I also got bored of after a few installments.

Got this from NetGalley because I love Gunnie Rose. If you are also a fan of Gunnie Rose's matter-of-fact, deadly, competence, and are fascinated with the dichotomy of her ability to read people's intentions without understanding the emotional reasons behind those intentions, then you will also love this book. Not only do we get more of Gunnie Rose being who she is, but we also get to see Gunnie Rose stripped of her beloved colts, thrust into dresses, and having to deal with the arcane politics of her grigori lover, Eli's, world.

Yes, we get to travel into the Russian Empire as Lizbeth must save Eli from high level political machinations involving the Tsar. She gets to spend alot of time both with her sister, who isn't as little or helpless as she presented herself to be in Segundo Mexia, and another grigori named Felix who resents her and then grudgingly comes to respect her competence.

Oh, she also has to win over Eli's mother!

I missed some of the gunfighting and Eli's magic-working from prior books, but for those of us shippers we get some quite satisfying developments (referenced after the fact, although a bit of lovely kissing) at the end of this story.

A fine addition to the Gunnie Rose saga. Don't start the series with this book, however, do yourself a favor and follow along from the beginning. The Gunnie Rose we get here is a mature, self-confident one not only in her ability to kill, but ability to navigate who should be killed. I enjoy this version because i've journeyed along with her since she was just a hired gun on a crew ;)

Book 3 (please let there be a book 4). I really like Lizbeth - she's pretty straightforward. Especially with who she kills. After getting a coded letter from her sister she heads off to the Holy Russian Empire to rescue Eli from prison. No-one knows why he's been arrested and there's no trial on the horizon (dodgy). Cue plots and questioned loyalties and struggles with social etiquette as ever. Still Lizbeth manages to charm the right people just about enough.

Disclaimer: I received this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

The signature of the Gunnie Rose series may be how quickly we are dropped into the plot. Here, as in the previous two books, author Charlaine Harris doesn't waste any time getting things going. While the tension is high and every moment is fraught with danger, in The Russian Cage, Lizbeth Rose is without a crew and the mission is personal as she heads into the Holy Russian Empire to rescue her former partner, Eli, from prison.

As in the previous books, everyone is suspect. Not only is that exhausting for Lizbeth, it is exhausting for the reader. It would be nice if she could make a few allies on her travels, or spend some time in Texoma where she has family and friends. Constantly looking over your shoulder makes you old before your time, and just about the only time 20-year-old Lizbeth seems her age is when she is in bed with Eli. For most of this book, he's in jail, so needless to say she is pretty grim much of the time.

Set in an alternate 1930's North America, these books are urban fantasy Westerns with a female protagonist. While readers get to share in Lizbeth's delight in new 20th century treats like elevators, phone booths, and ice cream, this is a world where many people are poor. The glimpses we have into domestic life, whether Lizbeth's own in Texoma, her sister's upbringing Mexico, or the homes she visits in the HRE, really fill in the blanks, making it seem more real. Maybe a little less shooting and a little more focus on the people and their circumstances would allow us to become more attached to the world Harris is creating.

Fan websites have hinted that the Gunnie Rose series is set to be a trilogy. I hope that's not true. There is a lot more story to be told here. While we've been to a lot of the new North America, we haven't visited Brittannia or the new (larger) Canada. And Lizbeth isn't yet 21. As a reader, I hope there are many more installments in this series and Lizbeth's easy death is a long time coming.

I'm a big Charlaine Harris fan, having happily read my way through her Sookie Stackhouse, Aurora Teagarten and nearly all her other series. Her Gunnie Rose series is a bit of a departure for her as it focuses on a dystopian alternative history time in America. Many the other typical elements of her novels are present-- a heroine who handles herself with aplomb, a form of fantastical or magical being, and a fair amount of action that while violent is not overly upsetting.
The Russian Cage is the third book in the series. Having read the other two books in the series, it was easy for me to know what was going on, but I'm not at all sure that if you hadn't read the other books, it would work on its own. The book is about how our heroine Gunnie Rose, must rescue her friend/lover Eli from being imprisoned. We meet Eli's family and get a sense of how his part of the country (the former states of California and Oregon now renamed The Holy Russian Empire) has developed in Harris's version of alternate history.
I enjoyed this fast-reading book, it was creatively concepted and engaging, but do suggest others read the other two books in the series first.

Another hit from the author. The third book in this series is another mesmerizing thriller. Excitement and suspense from page to page. Already looking forward to the next book in this series.

Third book in the series, you could read this without the previous, but you'd miss how and the history of Lisbeth becoming Gunny Rose and her relationship with Eli. We have met most of the characters before and in this edition we learn a lot about them, especially her sister. Eli has been imprisoned in the now HRE based in San Diego, and she's getting him out no matter what. It is non-stop action, trying to make plans on how she will achieve her goals. The people around her may not be appreciative of her skills, but they learn to respect her and her abilities. Once the action starts, it becomes a page turner to find out what's going to happen next. Appreciation to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced read for an honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this third book in the series! Lizbeth travels to the Holy Russian Empire, formerly San Diego, to try and rescue Eli after he has been arrested. We get to reacquaint ourselves with her half-sister, Felicia, young Peter, Eli’s brother, and Felix, a fellow Grigoriyan. Lots of intrigue and adventure! Highly enjoyed it and highly recommend it!

When I got an ARC from Net Galley I did a happy dance because I LOVE Charlaine Harris and I have fallen in love the Gunnie Rose series.
This is not one of those series that you can just pick up anywhere, so if you are new to this world, do yourself a favor and put down this book and start with An Easy Death, the first in the series. You won't be disappointed.
The series is set in an alternate America where 1) magic is real and 2) a much more disastrous WWI and Influenza Pandemic, the federal government of the United Stated collapsed with Mexico reclaiming some of it's former territory, Britain reclaiming a portion of the east coast up into Canada to form Britannia, the Southern States coming together to form Dixie, the former California and Washington states forming the Holy Roman Empire, Texas and Oklahoma forming Texoma and the remaining states forming New America. Instead of being murdered, the royal Russian family escaped and were in exile prior to being invited to rule in California, where the sorcerer Rasputin formally started a school to train magic-users, both to support Russian rule and to treat the hemophilia of the Russian ruler.
Lizabeth Rose is a gunnie, a hired gun, from Texoma, a very poor country. In An Easy Death she is hired by Prince Ilya Savorov, or Eli, a grigori, or magic user, from the Holy Roman Empire on a mission from the Tsar. Much adventure ensues. Ditto for the second book, A Longer Fall, which details the further adventures of Lizabeth and Eli.
Although Eli is a loyal servant of the Tsar, his political position is somewhat precarious because his father and older half-brothers were involved in a plot to overthrow the Tsar.
The Russian Cage opens not long after Lizabeth and Eli parted for the second time. Lizabeth receives the news that Eli has been imprisoned in the Holy Russian Empire and she immediately sets out to try and help him, not knowing what she will find when she gets to San Diego - the capital of the Holy Roman Empire - and not knowing who she can trust.
I don't want to give anything else away, but believe me, you won't be able to put the book down!
Now, I can't wait for the next book!

WOW! Another wonderful Gunnie Rose novel.
This time, Lizabeth "Gunnie" Rose goes to the Holy Russian Empire, formerly known as California to get her lover, Eli out of jail.
Once there, she begins to understand the intricate ways in which royal courts are manipulated.
And she must free Eli.
Ms Harris authors another great novel, full of suspense, blood shed, magic, and humor. Two thumbs way up!

I do feel that you should read the other two books in this series before tackling this one, so that you get a good background, before jumping into the deep end.

Lizbeth Rose is off to California aka the Holy Russian Empire to save Eli her beloved and break him out of prison. She gets help along the way from her younger sister Felicia, and Felix who also has a romantic stake in Eli's welfare. I haven't read the previous boos An Easy Death or A Longer Fall but I enjoyed the story all the same. I haven't been keeping up to date with Charlaine Harris’s books although I loved the Sookie Stackhouse series. But when I realized she had a new urban fantasy series with a gunslinger as a heroine and that the latest was available for trial through NetGalley, I had to give it a go.

The The worldbuilding was pretty interesting, the Tsar Alexander suffers from hemophilia and must keep distant relatives of Grigori Rasputin nearby to supply him with blood transfusions. Lizbeth's sister Felicia, is one of them and in return she gets to attend a prestigious school for young Russian wizards or “grigori.” Lizbeth luckily is resistant to magic and thus can hold her own against her adversaries. But she first has to unravel the local politics and who has framed Eli, why and for what purpose.

This is a 3.75 stars which I will round up to a 4. I was expecting more of an Old West feel which I didn't get in this installment. But it was a very entertaining blend of action, adventure and romance, with a surprising emphasis on family ties both on Lizbeth and Eli's side. My only complaint is lack of personal development on the characters' side.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley.

The Russian Cage is one of my Most Anticipated Reads of 2021 and it did not disappoint! Charlaine Harris' third installment of the Gunnie Rose series, fans will heave a sigh of relief at the supposed Happily Ever After at the end (knowing Charlaine Harris, the adventures of Gunnie Rose are not done so that HEA may be tentative).

The Gunnie Rose series is a fantasy sub-trope all of its own, with a slight Steampunk feel in the Old (New?) West where the Russian Romanov family rules what is now California and Oregon. Gunnie Rose travels to rescue her love Prince Ilya who has been wrongfully imprisoned and much gun-slinging and shenanigans ensue.

Definite five stars, with a series re-read now moving to the top of my To Be Read pile.