I was blown away by this story. Set in an alternative England, we see what the world is like when ruled by those with power called 'Equals.' Using magic they call "Skill" they are the controlling parties of Parliament.. Those without must serve 10 years in what's called 'slavedays'.
I loved the different POV of Luke, who is sent to Millnoor, which is basically a labor camp; and Abigail his sister, who is with the rest of the family serving at the vast manor of a high ruling Equal. But even with the wildly disparate ways they are both treated, neither is free. One simply uses technology, and the other magic to keep the people in check.
The ending itself was a great twist. I did not anticipate it in the slightest and it kept me on the edge of my seat until the last page. I am definitely looking forward to the sequel to see what happens next.

I liked this book. I thought it was very well-written and engaging. I would definitely say that this is a Young Adult book even though some of the perspective characters are older, because of the emphasis on Luke (more on that in a bit). Overall, I found the comparison to Victoria Aveyard's excellent Red Queen trilogy to be quite apropos, which isn't always the case with those cover blurbs. If you are wondering whether you would like this book, and you enjoyed Red Queen, pick this one up!
Unlike many of the other reviewers, I wasn't crazy about the change in perspectives as only one of the characters felt like a main character, and that was Luke. The blurb made it sound like Abi, Luke, and Silyen were all equally important, but the page time and action definitely skewed towards Luke. As a result, he was the most developed and sympathetic character for me as a reader, and some of the perspectives almost seemed superfluous. Abi's appearances made her seem almost silly and way too naive for her situation. She was described in the book early on as extremely intelligent, organized, and driven, but that was not really shown in her actions. Given the ending, this may change in future books as Abi has more purpose and a goal given the events at the conclusion of the book. I sincerely hope this is the case, because towards the end there were real glints of an interesting heroine. I also wish that more page time had been devoted to Silyen since he was undoubtedly the most complex of the characters and the glimpses into his thoughts were utterly fascinating.
Despite these minor flaws, I would recommend this book to others who enjoy class-based dystopian novels as it kept my interest and I felt compelled to finish it in one sitting. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this wonderful debut!

Powerful super humans The Equals, controlling lesser humans through slavery and special abilities.
There were several things I enjoyed. The plot was really interesting, trying to figure out who was behind what was a complete mystery. The ending left no clues about who was on what side, a cliffhanger left me nothing to go on. The mystery weaving was wonderfully done. I loved the Equals, they were much more interesting than the commoners. Silyen, was the Equal to watch, off centered, quirky, wicked ? and unknown. if I continue the series it will be to find out more about him.
I really wanted to love this, but it didn't hold my attention. I wasn't ever involved in the story, it felt fragmented. There were many POVs and so many characters all being introduced. I just didn't get enough time with any of them to feel any connection. Political drama, urgh, there was too much for me, I just wanted to put the book down several times. I just didn't care. It could be the first book in a series, slow start world building that has me not connecting too. I really don't know if I'l continue the series

I couldn't finish this. I'm sorry but I just couldn't..I was so extremely excited to read this for months and I was over the moon to receive an arc but right off the bat starting this book I was very confused, disinterested and bored. I felt my mind wandering way too much and was not enjoying myself and I don't want to feel forced to read something, that's never good. The reason Gilded Cage was not for me was because first of all I did not like the character switching mostly because I couldn't connect with any of the character. Second of all was because of the writing I became very confused with some words and had to keep looking them up to understand what it was being talk about but also the writing was just strange and unfortunately not in a good way. I felt the world building and premise of the book very odd that I did not see coming from reading the synopsis..basically you are a class B citizen until you serve 10 years being a slave but you can choose when you want to serve those years (even when you are old) which seems like the smart thing to do but still odd. The characters know that they have to serve 10 years and jump back in forth from "we know we have to serve it's okay" to "oh my god this sucks" and the romance I just didn't like or find convincing at all. The world building was probably the biggest problem because it wasn't that much different from us nowadays but if you aren't born skilled you are uneducated and not a slave. I'm not angry with this book just very disappointed and I will not be continuing this series. All in all I just did not care.

Set in an alternate universe version of Great Britain, Gilded Cage is a YA Fantasy in which people with "skill" (aka magic) hold the power, money, and resources. While people with Skill live a life of luxury, people without skill are forced to serve 10 years of slavery sometimes after they turn 10. When one family find themselves serving their slave years for the most powerful skill family in the country none of their lives, or the future of the Britain, will ever be the same.

The world that Vic James has built is compelling, but something about this story never quite hooked me. I think the shock of the prologue set the stage for a story that didn't live up to the hype.

I have many mixed feelings about this book, but overall I thoroughly enjoyed it. Think Magneto's Broodish Band of Villains versus Normals. Of course, nothing truly is that simple.


Things I didn't particularly care for:

1. The abundance of POV's. Initially, it was very hard to keep track of who was who. It greatly improved towards the end of the book, but still. Too hard to keep track of initially.

2. Daisy and Gavar's relationship. OK. This one just made me uneasy throughout the whole book, but nothing even happened between them. Daisy is a ten year old slave and Gavar is in his 20's. Daisy is tasked with caring for Gavar's illegitimate child from a slave-girl, and it just weirded me out the whole book. Why is he so doting, why does she practically worship him? ICK.

3. The vagueness of what Skill really is. I get that it's like having superpowers, but there is so very little described about ability each person has. It felt like each person had a TON of abilities. What accounts for the difference? Is there an overall ability umbrella that each Equal has? I NEED TO KNOW!
4. Jenner bored me to a TEAR PUDDLE MESS.


Things I LOVED:

1. VILLAINS. VILLAINS EVERYWHERE.

2. I WAS ACTUALLY SURPRISED AT THE TWISTS. This never happens. Well. RARELY. I feel like I need to provide an example. If you have not watched Sherlock (BBC) Season 4 Episode 2 yet, PLEASE DO NOT READ AFTER THIS MOMENT. (I totally called that the girl was both "Faith" and the "Psychiatrist" and the same girl that John had texted. And I totally called from episode 1 that she was bad and that there had to be some wild and CRAZY explanation for what he did to Mary. Still not acceptable to me, but at least I have an answer.)

3. SILYEN. Be still, villainous heart. Be still. *Heart palpitations increase*

4. Did I say Silyen? Cause. Silyen.

5. Have I mentioned my evil child Silyen? (But is he REALLY evil? "Aren't you all victims?"...I feel like he isn't truly, truly the evil one here....)


All in all I must know what happens next and I cannot wait for the next installment!

This book is highly recommended for anyone who enjoys dystopian fiction and is interested in entering a world full of magic, mystery, social unrest, and revolution. Brilliant characterization and multiple points of view, along with original world-building, make this a fast-paced read that is difficult to put down. Several key characters are left in peril at the end, ensuring readers (including myself!) will be anxiously awaiting the next entry in the series.

The concept can seem to some as being unbelievable. In England those who are not skilled (magically gifted) must serve 10 years as a slave. The magically gifted are referred to as Equals who are England’s aristocrats. It seems hard to think that people just accept this and do not rebel even though they know other countries are not like this. I can play devil’s advocate and say maybe the author wanted to show a world were individuals are complacent and they are willing to be slaves for 10 years as long as the rest of their life is good.
We are introduced to 2 families. One is a powerful skill family the Jardine’s and a slave family the Hadley’s. The Hadley’s a family of five was planning to do there 10 years together. Yet that didn’t happen and their son Luke was sent to Millmoor to a slave town while the rest of the family when to Kyneston which is a lavish estate. You would think Millmoor is a violent place but soon realized that Kyneston is more violent than you think. Three main characters emerge from this book. Luke who realizes it’s time to fight back, Abi who wants love and seeks knowledge, and Silyen Jardine who you don’t know which side he is on.
Great writing and the story pulls you in. This is a book about politics, violence, vengeance and scheming. The book reminds me of Red Queen meets Game of Thrones. Looking forward to Book number 2!

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I devoured this novel in one sitting; I think I ended up finishing around 3a.m.! I love alternative history/fantasy books simply because there's enough of the "real world" to keep it plausible and relatable while still allowing me to satisfy my craving for escapism.

Gilded Cage builds a world where gifted elites called "Equals" run most of the world and ungifted commoners are at best, second-class citizens, and at worst, slaves for a minimum of 10 years of their lives.

It contains themes of class distinction, social revolution, social injustice, moral ambiguity, abuses of power on both minor and grand scales, the moral, legal, and political implications of slavery, as well as asking the question who keeps the rich and powerful in line when they hold all the power? How do the oppressed fight back against almighty oppressors and how does anyone allow themselves to become that way?

The only complaints I have involve the nature and history of the Equals gifts, as I feel the author did not go into as much detail with it as they could have done, but this may be addressed in later books. The other complaint is the teenage hormonal puppy-love type romance a character is semi involved in, it seemed like a poor choice in my opinion, but its a personal quirk.

I would absolutely recommend this book to my friends, on that note however, there are some adult themes (allusions to rape, torture, mental violation, murder, mutilation in workplace accidents, squalid living conditions, child abuse, domestic violence) so probably best left for high school age and above.

https://librarianonthelake.wordpress.com/2017/01/18/gilded-cages-by-vic-james/

It took me a bit to get into this novel but once I did, I really enjoyed it. I was getting lost in all the different names that kept being thrown at me and I had a hard time moving between the two different stories as they shifted between the characters but eventually the novel started to take shape and the characters and their lives started to mean a great deal to me.

Abi had put her families best interest in mind when she signed them up to go to Kyneston. She thought it was time for them to begin this service. They wouldn’t have to go to Millmoor to do their ten years of slave days but rather, they would work in Kyneston where they could serve as house slaves for ten years. It was a perfect plan until the day when they were to leave and Luke is not allowed to accompany his family to Kyneston. Guards transport him to Millmoor where Luke will begin his slave days without his family. Luke is not content with his current situation and instantly, I begin to see a transformation in Luke, as he adjusts to the hard world that is now his home. The rest of the family is ushered into Kyneston where they work as house slaves. Abi’s mind is set on reuniting her family, she is determined to put her family back together. I found the concept of the slave days interesting. It’s a unique concept but the reasoning behind it seemed to be unbalanced and distorted yet these citizens have been practicing it for years. I found this novel to be a great fantasy adventure and I look forward to the second novel in this series.

I received a copy of this novel from Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine and NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion.

Wow! I really enjoyed this book - from the engrossing multiple POVs, to the dark world and exciting plot. A great read, a definite recommend and I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for the next book in the series!

I did not finish this book, and stopped at about 30%. I was jarred by how often the perspective switched, even within the first few chapters. I would have preferred to become acquainted with Abi, Jenner, and the Jardines and then learned more about Luke's life and what was going on in Parliament. I found myself wanting to skip Luke's chapters and read only Abi's, as hers was the story I found most enjoyable.
I wasn't particularly impressed by the execution of the concept either. It didn't seem unique to me. However, I did like how the author seemed inspired by Britain's history as an imperialist nation ran by the aristocracy. The classist society of Equals and commons seemed to be a fitting commentary on Britain's past and even, to some extent, present.

I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait for the next book in the series.

Gilded Cage was a book that I couldn’t wait to get my hands on. The premise was intriguing; a servant girl falls for a forbidden boy while uncovering his family secrets and a slave boy fights for a revolution. When I received this book, I thought I was going to get romance, action, and mystery, which was probably my fault, because I didn’t get that.

Gilded Cage has a well-developed plot. The many complex characters with various motives and goals create an elaborate and complex story. The many moving parts feel more like a movie than a novel. Most books that have more than 1 POV fail to distinguish between the different voices. That wasn’t the case with this book. Although, the characters were complex enough to recognize, the main characters, Abi and Luke, fell into the background and I couldn’t connect with them.

Also, I didn’t understand the purpose of Luke and Abi’s parents. They were present, but never did anything to progress the story. They seemed unnecessary and I felt that if they were removed from the story altogether nothing would change.

On the other hand, my favorite characters were Luke, Renie, and Silyen. Renie was a bold and mighty 12-year-old girl and Silyen felt the most complex. His scenes were always the most interesting. Luke went through the most character development; he went from a weak boy to a fearless rebel through the course of the story.

My biggest problem with the book was the writing technique. The writing itself is good, but too descriptive to the point it became wordy and unnecessarily long. It’s not too difficult to understand, but it forces you to peruse through the reading rather than get lost in the words. The overall effect is a slow-paced and occasionally-boring read.

For a fantasy book, there isn’t much action or thrill in this book, but an abundance of political drama. We get a lot of information, some even unnecessary in my opinion and combined with the long, detailed writing the book became a hard book to read for me.

Lastly, I’m very disappointed with the romance in this book. The synopsis made me think that romance would be a big part, but it’s hardly mentioned at all. Through a handful of interactions, Abi falls for one of the brothers and I don’t understand why. Their relationship resembles more sibling than romantic. Regardless, the relationship itself is so insignificant, it could be eliminated from the book and it wouldn’t matter.

Honestly, I think Gilded Cage would be better for upper YA and Adults, because I can’t imagine a lot the younger readers enjoying this. To be fair, a major problem was I was expecting a different story than the one we got. The lack of action, wordy writing, many POVs, and the absence of romance was not what I was expecting. Then again, now that you know what you’ll get, maybe you’ll enjoy this read.

Didn't realize this was the beginning of a trilogy when I requested this title from Netgalley, and I wasn't really looking to start another series; however, I am so glad I read this novel. The story takes place in an alternate version of England where the elite, called the Equals, have magical powers, called skill, and the rest of society has to serve 10 years of slavery during their lifetime. Throughout the story, you learn that other countries do not have the slavery requirement for un-skilled. The story revolves around two interconnected families one is about to serve their 10-years of slavery and the other is the family they will be working for.

The story is told through various viewpoints which weave around each other to reveal different aspects of the story while still leaving the reader in suspense. By the end of the novel I was craving more and can't wait for the sequel, so I can learn what happens next to these families and this world in general.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley for an honest review. All opinons are my own and I was not compensated in any way.

First off, I want to begin that I didn't care for this book. That isn't to say there aren't good things about it, it just didn't jive with me. To start this review right, I'll put the good stuff first and end with what I didn't care for. There may be some intermingling between the two parts, but that's the way my brain flows.

And now onto the good stuff . . .

I was first drawn to Gilded Cage for its cover and the dystopian world blurb. Before you start thinking the world of this book is set in the distant future or past, it's more like modern times (this is important because it threw me for a loop. For some reason, I wanted it a Victorian esque setting). So, think of today, but with magic and ten years of slavehood for the non magic folk.

This concept is interesting. It gives the world a depth to it and doesn't give off a complete dystopian where everyone are "equal" or there's some big brother or games to kill each other. It's simply rich people wanting to remain powerful and normal folks getting the serious raw end of the deal. There is a rebellion in the works and the different point of views do lend a different aspect to what's going on.

The writing is also well done and you can read it fairly quickly. I was up to 25% in one sitting.

That said, now onto why I didn't care for it . . .

Okay, obviously there's the issue with the magic and setting. For some reason, the fantasy mixing with modern times bothered me. I couldn't grasp it in my head and kept putting them in an older time period. This became troublesome when you add in characters playing on a game console, but then have rich guys riding horses for day to day transportation. It played with my mind and it didn't sit well.

Another issue I had were the slavedays themselves. The concept of people being slaves for a number of years isn't a big deal. It is a big deal when these guys have been living like this for a long time and aren't rebelling until now. There are no mentions of previous failed rebellions. If there were, I'd be more inclined to understand it better. Also, ten years is a bit much. Especially if the main populace are supposed to do slavedays. I don't know . . . it just seems even more unbelievable for the world.

Though there was a good reason for the multiple points of view, it made reading the book a bit disjointed. I honestly didn't care about anything the Jardine family had to offer. Not as characters as much as characters with run time. I feel the book should have stuck with one or two viewpoints, possibly just Abi and Luke. This way we get the feel of slavedays in both enviornments and want to root for Luke more.

May I also add the names. Boy did they have special names. Now I understand that dystopians and fantasy books are filled with strange names, but Jardine? Kyneston? Zelston? Silyen? The list goes on and on. I didn't know how to say the names for one. For another, I got confused with all of the strange nomenclature that it pulled me away from the story itself.

So, yeah, I was constantly being pulled away from the book. I didn't know who was the bad guy, even though the good guys were pretty straightforward. I felt disjointed and I was not sure what I was reading. This just wasn't a book for me.

Publication Date: February 2, 2017
Link: http://dulivre.blogspot.com/2017/02/book-review-gilded-cage.html

3.5 stars


Plot: James welcomes us to a world much like our own, except there is a mandatory slave period for all non-magical people. Abi and her family decide to take their 10-year slave period right after the youngest has turned ten. Of course Abi has done her research and made it so that her entire family will remain together and have a rather light sentence. This all changes when Luke, her brother, is sent to a factory town to work 10 years of hard labor. With betrayals and behind the scene politics, it's clear that not everything is what it seems.

Despite how seductive that premise sounds, I felt that Gilded Cage was missing something. I was sucked in by the idea of a mandatory slavery sentence and the hierarchy of the world. However, with all of the different perspectives that this novel cycles through, it's hard to keep track of any action or poignant scenes. This is another one of those books that never has a sense of urgency, even though the topics covered include slavery, rebellion, and political ambition. With such themes I had hoped for a lot more deep dialogue or acts of violence. Yes, there were some pretty violent deaths but nothing graphic - just the mention of someone being shot and blood spraying. There were not emotions attached to these deaths. I can admit that this novel was anything but predictable. It hits the critical scenes that you would expect, but there always an added bonus that kept you guesses about someone's alliances, motivations, or history.

Characters: Gilded Cage follows the lives of Abi and Luke's family along with the mysterious Equals. There are about six or seven perspectives that James rotates through, and it was hard to keep track of everyone. There were a lot of different settings but not enough distinctive voices to understand the characters. Time flies quickly in this novel and there wasn't any development with any of the characters. The most interesting character was the youngest, Daisy, but I didn't find her interesting for a good reason. Daisy has an odd relationship with the oldest Equal. Seriously, this relationship between a 10-year old and a 20-year old was odd and a bit concerning.

There were also a lot of background romances that were never really acknowledged so they felt unnecessary. You would think that the love between a commoner and an aristocrat would be sexy and romantic but it was just....there (and boring).

Worldbuilding: I was sucked into this world immediately despite not knowing what it was. Was it historical fantasy? Was it modern? Gilded Cage somehow worked as a contemporary magical world and the premise was exciting. I could easily imagine the posh lifestyle of the aristocrats and the smokestacks of Millmoor. One thing that I really enjoyed about this book was how the author incorporated real world events into the world of the magical. The American Revolution? Battle between the commoners and Equals. The French Revolution? Same. It was very creative and helped solidify this alternate universe Britain.

Short N Sweet: Gilded Cage has a fantastic premise but lacks a steady stream of action and character connection.

Book Title: Gilded Cage
Author: Vic James
Series: Dark Gifts #1
Genre: Dystopian-ish, Fantasy-ish
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group -Ballantine
Source: I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

⇝Add to Goodreads⇜

⇝Buy at Amazon⇜



♪♫MY PICK FOR BOOK THEME SONG♫♪
♫ Tear Down the Wall by Art of Dying --This is really for Leah who is the MC of the prologue, but it's pretty fitting for the rest of the book too.♫


⇝Ratings Breakdown⇜

Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
The Feels: 4/5
Addictiveness: 4/5
Theme: 5/5
Flow: 2/5
Backdrop (World Building): 4/5
Originality: 5/5
Book Cover: 5/5
Ending: 4/5 Cliffhanger: YES!!!

Will I continue this series? Hhmmm…I'm still deciding


OVERALL RATING: 3.7/5 STARS




⇝My Thoughts⇜

Gilded Cage has this whole modern/historical/feel to it. Mixed with a witch/superhuman/monster thing.


I believe this has everything it needs to be great, plot wise, anyway. It missed the mark somewhat for me. It might be that it's too British for me or it might be that it has so many words that I was clueless about. I didn't get why the author would want to use so many odd words in her story, it seemed over the top to me. But, maybe that falls into the whole too-British thing. I don't know??? All I know is I struggled with the flow.

I love the cover for this, it's absolutely stunning. The world it's set in is exceptionally shocking and somewhat intimidating too. So much so, that I really wish I hadn't struggled with reading it, because I wanted to love it completely.

⇝Sex Factor⇜ While sex is noted…it's not done explicitly.