Book Reviews

Gilded Cage Review

I had way more fun than I expected while reading Gilded Cage by Vic JamesMostly because the cover design put me off a little at the beginning. And because it took me a long time to understand what was going on in the Gilded Cage world. So here’s my mini-synopsis that hopefully will help future readers:

The events on this book happen in the modern world we know, but in this one some people are born with magic powers. Those are called Equals, and they are seen as the superior and god-like perfect part of society. They can use their magic powers to manipulate minds, build things, heal or kill, and they supposedly use them to improve the world. To help them use 100% of their time doing awesome things with their powers while ruling the country, the un-equals a.k.a. the powerless, have to give up ten years of their lives serving as slaves for them.  

And that’s it. I guess you can predict the inevitable revolution that comes with every dystopia. And of course the unavoidable romantic sub-plot. what_i_liked

  • The mix of revolution and politics. Don’t be scared if you don’t like books heavy in politics like Game of Thrones. Gilded Cage is a

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    much lighter version and everything there happens in the same country (and between less families). But I really liked all the political drama and schemes going on. On the other side, the revolution also grows slowly and the characters make you care about them and their cause. 

  • Some characters and twists were really cool.  I loved the main rebel character. Luke is a teenager forced to begin his ten years of slavery too early. And he decides to make the best of it by helping other people inside the slave city. He’s a good person with good intentions, but he sometimes makes the wrong choices. Another couple of good characters are part of the magical Equals and they are incredibly selfish and egocentric guys but also extremely charming an interesting. About the twists I won’t say more because I want them to be a surprise ;).

what_i_disliked

  • It has too many POVs. I think some characters would have been more interesting if we weren’t forced to read the book from so many perspectives. A bunch of the POVs live in the same place and attend basically the same events, so reading about similar things from so many perspectives feels redundant. Also, even while reading someone’s POV, their chapters kept hiding a lot about their plans and intentions, so WHY HAVE THEIR PERSPECTIVES IN THE FIRST PLACE?? 
  • Insta-love. I’m warning you: the main female characters does nothing but admire the first guy she meets. She’s supposed to be smart and bookish, but the only thing I remember from her chapters are “this Equal guy is hot”, “this Equal guy touched my hand” and variations of the same thing. At least the romance is not a big deal and is treated as a small sub-plot, but I had high expectations for said female character and I’m sad she only was there to fall in love.

you-should-read-it-if

  • You are looking for a fantasy novel with a side of dystopia
  • You want to read about magic royalty 
  • You like books with multiple POV
  • You love a bit of politics in your books

Many thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review. 

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