This was a captivating story that pulled me in right from the beginning. Rosalyn's journey is full of heartbreak and pain. She showed resilience, strength and fortitude throughout the story. I liked this a lot.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Luisa A Jones for providing me with a complimentary digital audiobook ARC for The Gilded Cage that came out July 11, 2023. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

After her wedding, Rosamund finds herself trapped in Sir Lucien Fitznorton’s lonely country estate. As she wanders the cold halls, she wishes for the comforts of her childhood home, where she was the beloved only daughter to a doting father, now buried miles away. She is a young woman with no fortune of her own and has no means to divorce her abusive husband.

Until she meets Joseph, the handsome new chauffeur to her husband. With his lilting accent and kindness, Joseph is from another world. One of clambering children and tea at scrubbed kitchen tables, the hollow scratch of hunger and long hours of hard work. Despite their differences, they find themselves increasingly attracted to one another.

But Sir Lucien cruel and devious. Soon Rosamund finds herself caught in a dangerous web of secrets and lies.

This was the first book I’ve listened to by this author. The gilded cage stories have been done before. I didn’t think there was anything particularly new about this one. It was easy to listen to and I felt for Rosamund being trapped in a marriage to such a horrible man. I understood her motives and her relationship with Joseph. The only thing I really didn’t like was the ending. It didn’t feel as resolved as I thought it would be. Maybe there’s going to be other books. I was a little confused with the time too. It says 1897, but then there was talk about a war. I don’t know if they meant WWI 17 years later. Overall, I liked it though.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes darker tales about marriage.

I was given an early audiobook but remiss in getting it to the top of my TBR. Once I started listening to this audiobook, I didn’t want to stop. I enjoyed it do much, the cruelty and abuse that occurs is hard to listen to especially as I became “friends with Rosamund. One such cruelty was for her husband,Lucien to cause her to have four miscarriages and then for him to complain she hadn’t provided him with a son. Although he already has a son and daughter from his first wife. The children are old enough to have been sent off to boarding school where their aunt tends to their needs so Lucien’s fore to do as.he pleases. Once married to Rosamund, he frequents Paris to take up dalliances with the Parisian women. Then come home and beat his wife then rape her. She had that to look forward to every time he left.Not only did she feel like their home was a gilded cage. But also her marriage was one too. The new chauffeur that Lucien had hired along with his mechanic son. Gets the new car tuned and spotless. Use the car to chauffeur Lucien everywhere he needs to go. Turning heads by the beauty of the car. The chauffeur, Joe, convinces the staff and Rosamund it would be a good idea for her to learn how to drive. The next trip Lucien leaves for weeks they start their driving lessons and become quite fond of each other. Both are married he with a wife and nine children. Fondness turns to love and all he wants to do is drive out of here with his arm around Rosamund driving away from everything tying them down but knowing Lucien would have the state police out looking for a very recognizable car and tell them that the pair had stolen it. Lucien was very cleaver to not put Rosamund’s name attached to anything. The thrilling part ensues. I highly recommend this book. Thanks to the following for allowing me to an early read,
#NetGalley
#DreamscapeMedia,
#GildedCage
#LuisaA.Jones
Publication Timon Date: July 11,2023

I decided not to finish this book because I don’t like it when characters are in a relationship with people but start a relationship with other people. I got to the 40% mark then decided I didn’t want to finish. I was really disappointed because I heard good things about this book. The writing is well done I just didn’t like the direction the book was taking.

Rosamund must marry after her father dies. She marries Sir Lucien. He is a monster who beats her and rapes her every chance he gets. After years of marriage he goes away to London for a few months and Lady Rosamund decides to learn how to drive. She falls in love with Joe the chauffeur who also teaches her how to drive. Her husband comes home and she now has to deal with his abuse.
This book Reminds me a little of Downton Abbey. Once you read it you will understand what I mean without giving away spoilers. I enjoyed this historical fiction romance. I felt bad for Lady Rosamund and everything she had to endure. I recommend this book to fans of romance and historical fiction.
Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ARC audiobook in exchange for my honest review. The narrator did a great job telling the story. This book alternates POV’s from Rosamund, Joe, Nelly, Mary and Sir Lucien.

I am not at all a romance person. To me it is silly and absolutely embarrassing. This wasn't completely an exception. The sexy bits had me cringing. But that is what people who like romance are looking for.
I did like the setting, the character, the history, and all of the drama.
I loved the staff in the house and the idea of a woman learning to drive.
It was wonderful.
A man with like 9 kids being excited about getting a woman pregnant is hilarious though.
Okay yeah I was into it.
I LOVED the narration too.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Dreamscape Media for an audio copy of The Gilded Cage. I love historical fiction. This one did not disappoint. We have Rosamund, who is forced to marry a very mean man. There is a lot of abuse in this book. I listened to it in one sitting.

The Gilded Cage was one of the best realistic historical fiction audiobooks I’ve listened to this year!
I was warned it had a lot of abuse, heartbreaking, sometimes difficult subject matter. To me it was all worth it, even necessary. I myself have suffered from a traumatic childhood and could relate to this story. Having said all that I fell hard. Loved the writing that was a moving, brilliant powerfully realistic. Luisa A. Jones is a new author on my radar and she captivated. Her characters shared their inner thoughts and struggles with the time period. I was there.
I just wanted to listen to this and do nothing else. I read and or listen to a lot books and I will never forget this one.
I was swept up into this heartbreaking story that I thought would leave me with a sadness I wouldn’t be able to shake. I was wrong. The ending had closer and a hope of a future. I was very satisfied with the ending.
The audiobook was read by Katie Villa and she did a fantastic job. I can not say enough good things about her. I hope you’re brave enough to listen to this one! It’s a must read.
Thanks Dreamscape Media via Netgalley.

In Victorian England, Rosamund has unwillingly become the wife of Sir Lucien Fitznorton. Desperately unhappy, Rosamund finds herself drawn to her husband’s chauffeur, a man from a very different class, a man who seems to care for Rosamund. Caught between her underhanded, authoritarian husband and Joseph, a man beneath her station, Rosamund must find a way to free herself from the web she’s caught in