This book ended in a way different from what I expected. There were surprises, twists and turns and I was fully engaged the entire time I was reading. There are some slow-moving portions, yet they're easy to get through. I want more from this author and believe that this is a good foundation for an engaging series.

James builds a very interesting world. The depiction on the slave years in particularly unflinching and I like the way it includes factory work and other jobs as part of the system. I didn't feel like it really needed the multi-view point narration, it didn't add a lot and it seemed to drop a lot of characters just when it could have been interesting. I'm interested in reading the next one, I don't know that it will become the hot new thing but I think fans of Charlaine Harris and Twilight will enjoy it.

I requested this e-galley via Netgalley because it sounded like something I could get into rather easily. And I was right. I pulled it out to read whenever I could, including during the times I was in line at New York Comic Con. When I got toward the end of the book, I found a corner to sit and read, ignoring everything around me, including the panel I had planned to attend. Oh, well.

The ending left much to be desired as it didn't really end; it just left more questions. And since I read it before it actually gets released in February 2017, I have to wait 4 months longer than everyone else to find out what happens next. Le sigh.

The reason I gave it only 3 stars is because I felt it could have been better. There are a lot of characters and POV-changes throughout the book, so not a lot of focus was on one or two people. It was hard to find a connection with the story because of this. But I'm very hopeful this is a series that ends strongly, so I'll read the next book.

Gilded Cage by Vic James
Gilded Cage (Dark Gifts, #1)
by Vic James
3 out of 5 Stars

Anticipated Release date: 14 Feb 2017

Gilded Cage has some flaws, but the payoff is worth it. It's a tale of class warfare, of the "haves vs the Have-nots" that the British do so well, and Vic James is no exception.

The book starts off a bit choppy, but smooths out beautifully into a gripping coming-of-age story that's difficult to put down. The lead characters are fleshed out well, and feel real... down to our teen Hero sulking.

Where it trips a bit is in the choice to deliver some necessary background information via a vignette at the start that feels out of place. It might have been better done to reveal that info slowly through the novel, building tension. As it stands, it's a clunky info dump that makes me wonder where the editor went. The secondary characters are sketched out very lightly. Too lightly. In my opinion the parents might have been better eliminated entirely, if there was no way to make them more real.

Overall though, i'll be adding this to my list of authors to watch, and you should too.

This is one of my favorite ya books to date. I loved the complex story line which stands out among all others of this genre. Filled with twists this story keeps you on your toes. The characters really add to the book as well. I can say that I didn't love all of them but they added their own unique points of view which allows you to understand their choices and how far they would go. There is just the right amount of action and romance that you don't get lost in any additional fluff some authors add to fill connections between the two. This is the first book I have read from this author and I am so intrigued that I want to read more. If you are looking for a new kind of ya then I suggest you pickup a copy today.
Received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

I am having a problem wrapping my head around the world building. This book takes place in modern day, but it’s a dystopian world where people must spend 10 years of their lives as servants. Going into this book, I didn’t think it took place in a modern world. And I think I would have preferred it much more if it had taken place in a different time. I also was only 10% into the book and was getting a bit overwhelmed with all of the characters. In the 2nd chapter, we get thrown all of these names at us and I didn’t know who was important or not. I was really excited about this book due to the high number of 5 star reviews, but I don’t think it’s my cup of tea.

DNF 10%

Gilded Cage starts off with a young woman, Leah, running for her life across the ground of the estate she was a slave too….Kyneston. She is hoping to make it to the wall before Gavar and Jenner do. She has her baby, Liberty (aka Libby) with her and she is hoping that Libby would be able to open the gate so they could escape. It doesn’t happen. Libby doesn’t have the Skill to open the gate. Or as Silyen, the youngest and the most Skilled of the 3 brothers said, maybe she doesn’t want to leave her family. It doesn’t really matter anyways because before Leah could do anything else, Gavar shoots Leah. Miraculously, Libby isn’t hurt and Gavar takes her back to the house….leaving Jenner to mourn over Leah. Jenner does try to get Silyen to heal her but he won’t…saying that even he can’t bring back the dead. As they are talking, Leah dies.

A few months later, we are introduced to Abi, Luke, Daisy and their mother and father. Luke is the equivalent of a junior in high school and Abi, a senior. Their little sister, Daisy, is 10 years old. Luke is studying for his final exams when he notices a strange man looking at his father’s restored Austin-Healey. The man unnerves Luke, for some reason, and is quickly on his way after seeing that Daisy is celebrating her 10th birthday.

Later that night, Luke overhears something horrific. His mother and father have decided to enact their slave days. See, in this dystopian society, all commoners are supposed to serve the Equals, those who have the Skill and rule over the country, for 10 years. What is Skill….well consider it magic of a sort. The Equals can do anything with it…including healing, mind reading and building houses or maintaining a gate that only opens for the Equals. They are sent to a slave town (called Millmoor) to serve out their 10 years. After the 10 years are over, the commoners can hold certain jobs (never went into in the book), own a house and travel abroad.

So it is understandable that Luke is upset. He is losing 10 years of his life and Daisy, who is 10, will not be able to receive any education during the 10 years. Luke would be missing out on college, girls and the start of his life. I would be upset too.

But Abi had come up with a solution. She applied, for the family, at a department within the Labor Allocation Bureau called Estate Services. That is where the Equals go for their house slaves. Her application got accepted and they are being sent to serve the Jardine family on the estate of Kyneston. Seeing that Luke is under the age of 18, he goes with his family. It is the perfect solution to something that is dreaded in the lives of the common people.

Except it didn’t go that way. The day that they are being picked up by the LAB person to be driven to Kyneston, things change. The driver only has 4 names written: Mum, Dad, Daisy and Abi. Luke, unfortunately, gets sent to Millmoor. Which is unheard of because he is a minor. The officer, who was an idiot and I didn’t like him at all, and Luke’s Dad gets into a scuffle. Dad gets a beat down and the officer, Kessler, explains that they are all non people and have no rights. They all separate and then the story goes into Luke at Millmoor, Gavar at Kyneston and various areas , Silyen at Kyneston and Abi at Kyneston.

I couldn’t put my finger on how I felt about Silyen. He had an agenda and he wasn’t afraid to use people to get desired results. But I also saw glimpses of a kind person and of someone who could be more than what he was raised to be. If that makes sense.

Gavar did redeem himself in the book. I did feel bad for him because his father had an ironclad grip on him. It came out that he was in love with Leah but his father made him shoot her. Which is awful. But his father’s control over him was slipping. Gavar reminded me of an abused dog who is just waiting for its master to not be paying attention before tearing his throat out. I also feel that his fiancé will be caught up in that once Gavar snaps. But he does have a soft side. He loves his daughter and he is very taken with Daisy, who is Libby’s nurse and I believe that he would move heaven and earth to protect the both of them. It is going to be very interesting to see how Silyen and Gavar’s storylines end up in the other books.

Jenner was actually my favorite brother. He is Skillless but he is an asset to the estate and runs it. He is close to Silyen (well as close as Silyen lets him be) and he is getting very close to Abi. So close that Jenner’s mother, Lady Thalia, reminds him that he is an Equal (even if he doesn’t have powers) and that she is a slave and warns him off her.

Daisy had to have been my favorite person in the book. She was so upbeat and always saw the bright side of everything. She even liked Gavar, which kinda blew my mind. To be caring for a baby at her age was amazing (now granted Gavar did most of the caring for Libby when he was home and Daisy was just there as a babysitter) but still. She matured over the course of the book and I can’t wait to see where the author takes her character in book 2

I honestly didn’t know what to think of Abi. At times I liked her, at times I wanted to tell her to shut up and at other times I was in awe over her braveness. I am very interested to see what happens to her in book 2.

I felt awful for Luke. Being ripped from his family, put into an awful slave town and being worked to the bone, no wonder he became radicalized. His friendship with Renie, a girl his sister’s age, was very cute but at the same time dangerous. The events after was reunited with his family were beyond his control. I am very interested about what happens to him. Very interested.

Lord Whittman Jaradine, Gavar, Jenner and Silyen’s father, is a bad, bad, bad man. I literally got the chills when I was reading his scenes because his evilness just came off the pages. Again, a storyline that I would be very interested in seeing where it goes. I am also interested in seeing what happens between him and Gavar.

The end of the book ends as a cliffhanger, which made me want to yell. If you have read my reviews for any length of time, then you all know how I feel about cliffhangers. But, it did get me interested in book 2 (which I didn’t know there was going to be one until I pulled Gilded Cage up on Goodreads).

How many stars will I give Gilded Cage: 4

Why: A great dystopian book. This was a quick read with complex characters. I can’t wait to read book 2!!

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age Range: Teen

Why: No sex, no language. But there is violence…including a graphic scene of a head being blown off. Also, there is a disturbing side story about a man forced to live like a dog.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**