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Gilded Cage Dark Gifts Vic James 9780425284155 Books

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MAGIC RULES. WE SERVE.
 
In a darkly fantastical debut set in modern-day Britain, magic users control everything wealth, politics, power—and you. If you’re not one of the ultimate one-percenters—the magical elite—you owe them ten years of service. Do those years when you’re old, and you’ll never get through them. Do them young, and you’ll never get over them.
 
This is the darkly decadent world of Gilded Cage. In its glittering milieu move the all-powerful Jardines and the everyday Hadleys. The families have only one thing in common Each has three children. But their destinies entwine when one family enters the service of the other. They will all discover whether any magic is more powerful than the human spirit.
 
Have a quick ten years. . . .

Praise for Gilded Cage

“Beautifully characterised and compellingly plotted, Gilded Cage is an impressive debut.”—The Guardian

“Exquisitely wicked . . . a lavishly opulent, yet brutally vivid, alternate England which subtly questions modern beliefs . . . If ever there was a speculative fiction book that captured the zeitgeist of an era this is it.”—SFFWorld

“An alternate modern-day England where enticing drama and social unrest mix with aristocratic scandal and glamorous magic . . . conjuring up the specters of Les Misérables and Downton Abbey . . . an absorbing first installment that presages an intriguing new fantasy series.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Gilded Cage is a heart-pounding combination of dark magic, political revolution, and forbidden romance that had me addicted from the first page!”—Danielle L. Jensen, USA Today bestselling author of The Malediction Trilogy

“Devious and deliciously dark with lashings of magic, mystery, and mayhem, this juggernaut of a book will keep you hanging on by your fingernails until the very last page.”—Taran Matharu, New York Times bestselling author of the Summoner series

“A dark and intriguing vision of an alternate, magic-drenched Britain, Gilded Cage kept me up long into the night.”—Aliette de Bodard, author of The House of Shattered Wings

“Brisk plotting, sympathetic characters, and plenty of intrigue will keep readers on the edges of their seats, eager for the next book in a very promising series.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Gilded Cage Dark Gifts Vic James 9780425284155 Books

Dear authors, if you want to keep people interested in your books, don't save everything until the last chapter.

Gilded Gage is all aspects sounded so good. Magic, revolutions, British elite, maybe even a budding romance. So what wrong? In all honesty, almost all of it.

Well maybe with how this ended up being a political book instead of fantasy, magical awesomeness. There were so many rules and laws and history of laws and history of rules thrown at us along with a million names as to who was Lord of what or Chancellor at this. Not going to lie, I kept forgetting a lot of people, including some of the main characters because there were so many names. Don't even ask me to name any of Luke's friends in the slavetown because it's all lost.

Then let's talk about the million POV's that I had to sort through. It wasn't just Abi and Luke, like the blurb makes it seem. Nope. We also had all three brothers and the comatose Aunt (yup, you read that right) and the future wife of one of the brothers (sorry, I can't remember her name. See???). There may have been more that I've lost. Along with constantly switching POV's, the chapters were so short that I never got the chance to really dive into any one character. The minute I felt like I was starting to get a hold of someone, chapter ends and we move on. There were also multiple chapters that just seemed like a waste. They weren't needed and they didn't move the little plot we had ahead any. I don't know about you, but I really need to know my characters if I'm going to root for them.

Oh, and can we talk about that budding romance with Abi? How it felt unrealistic and almost just thrown in because every YA needs a romance? Between Abi and Daisy's infatuation with their captors (because yes, I'm sorry, you are slaves to this family), I just wanted to throw my hand up. Unless they were seeing something in the brothers that we weren't, which could be the case considering how little character development we got. Sorry, moving on...

The plot itself seemed interesting, but there wasn't enough of it. And the whole slave thing rubbed me the wrong way and the dog situation was really ick (you know what this is if you've read it). I honestly don't know if I would continue this. There's a part of me that wants to know what happens just because I can't let things go unfinished. But if the next part is this discombobulated, I would rather skip it.


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Gilded Cage Dark Gifts Vic James 9780425284155 Books Reviews

"Ignorance bred fear, as Father was fond of saying, and fear bred obedience."

My relationship with this read was strange. While I thought the concept was brilliant, I had a tough time actually getting into Gilded Cage until more towards the end.

Reading the synopsis, my eyes quite literally sparkled. The setting sounded (and was) absolutely amazing. Well, not amazing considering there is apparent oppression of a certain populace. I mean--amazing as in, what a brilliant idea for a dystopian novel!? Getting into the book, however, proved to be difficult throughout the first half. Perhaps it was due to the more explanatory nature in tone in order to set the stage for the remainder of the story? I'm not really sure.

While this book is undoubtedly dystopian, it naturally reads like any historical fiction, which may be a part of my overall confusion and inability to immerse myself into it further. Technically being a science fiction read, this book simply didn't feel like one, which, by no means is a bad thing! Perhaps because this book crosses some boundaries, it rests at a place higher than my categorical mind can comprehend because I've been conditioned to think that "Sci-fi" and/or "dystopia" mostly means futuristic. Gilded Cage certainly breaks the mold that has been determined by most other books in this genre.

The world is set in modern-day Britain, but it doesn't feel like it. Society is divided into two parts aristocracy, and commoners. The aristocrats have a major advantage on their side they can use magic. Because of this, they have assumed positions of power and privilege. Anyone outside of the elite group of magic users must spend ten years in servitude. These unfortunate souls get to pick when they serve, but nothing can get them out of it until after ten grueling years and then their freedom is granted. Nice, huh? Whether it be for a wealthy family, or in the slums, wherever one is placed, he or she must go.

The divide in lifestyles is immediately exemplified by the vast differences between the Hadley family, and the Jardine family. The Hadleys, being of non-noble birth, are commissioned to work for the wealthy and powerful Jardine family. Through a debacle, Luke is placed in one of the factory slums instead and forced to separate for his family.

"There aren't many that see this place for what it truly is. Even fewer who realize that the slavedays aren't an inevitable part of normal life, but a brutal violation of freedom and dignity, perpetrated by the Equals."

Having a vastly different experience from the rest of his family in the factory city, Luke uncovers a populace of people desiring change in the system. The ability to use magic shouldn't be the sole reason why certain people held high places in society. Seeing the amount of injustice most people must go through for these elite individuals, Luke decides to partake in a diverse and secret group pushing to make a change in the system.

This plot was thick and complex. Even so, the way things took place felt natural and possible with the world created here. In this way, this plot was effortless and functioned well. On the other side, because there was so much happening throughout this story, it was difficult to follow at times. Many characters are cast for variously sized parts, making it difficult to keep track of who's who and what their purpose is. However, the climax and end of this book does a good job to wrap up the overall plot and clarify the functionality of some people throughout.

I think in general that this book will garner mixed reviews. While the content is original and with depth, the material doesn't present the "feel-good" atmosphere many readers are looking for. Oppression, slavery, and mistreatment of humans aren't light topics to discuss, nor should be glanced over lightly. Despite this fact, I appreciated the author's ingenuity with the subject-matter and creating a world that is dynamic and believable.

Vulgarity 30 words total (from what I counted - this could be slightly off.)
Sexual content Minimal - some kissing.
Violence At least moderate. Some of the scenes were rather graphic.

My Rating ★★★½
Wow. Just WOW. This book completely blew me away. I was not expecting this amazingly and thoughtfully crafted dystopian world filled with such a fantastic cast of characters. I was hooked from the very start and could not put this book down.

Gilded Cage has a whole slew of characters and connections to keep track of, but I swear it is all worth it. The story focuses mainly on the Hadley and Jardine families, specifically Abigail (Abi) and Luke Hadley and Silyen Jardine. The story is told from multiple points of view and each chapter was like peeling back the layer on an onion. Each voice was distinct and you get to go deeper into the inner workings of the character's mind and see just what makes them tick. I especially loved the contrast between how a character is viewed by others/presents themselves versus who they truly are. Not everyone is as they seem. The characters were wonderfully complex and there were lots of shades of grey between who was truly good and evil and what is right and wrong. Can something be truly good if it's done for the wrong reasons? What about something bad being done for the greater good?

The pacing of the story was perfect and the conflicts encountered by our characters were at times intense. I don't think you could write a book about slavery and human decency (or lack there of) without eliciting these powerful emotions. The author gets you invested in these characters and you root for them to persevere and hurt with them when they struggle. The highs are incredibly high, filling your spirit with hope, but goodness, the lows are heartbreakingly low, tearing your heart right out of your chest. This is truly a testament to the superb writing and storytelling of Vic James. Gilded Cage really had it all and I cannot wait to continue on with this series!
Dear authors, if you want to keep people interested in your books, don't save everything until the last chapter.

Gilded Gage is all aspects sounded so good. Magic, revolutions, British elite, maybe even a budding romance. So what wrong? In all honesty, almost all of it.

Well maybe with how this ended up being a political book instead of fantasy, magical awesomeness. There were so many rules and laws and history of laws and history of rules thrown at us along with a million names as to who was Lord of what or Chancellor at this. Not going to lie, I kept forgetting a lot of people, including some of the main characters because there were so many names. Don't even ask me to name any of Luke's friends in the slavetown because it's all lost.

Then let's talk about the million POV's that I had to sort through. It wasn't just Abi and Luke, like the blurb makes it seem. Nope. We also had all three brothers and the comatose Aunt (yup, you read that right) and the future wife of one of the brothers (sorry, I can't remember her name. See???). There may have been more that I've lost. Along with constantly switching POV's, the chapters were so short that I never got the chance to really dive into any one character. The minute I felt like I was starting to get a hold of someone, chapter ends and we move on. There were also multiple chapters that just seemed like a waste. They weren't needed and they didn't move the little plot we had ahead any. I don't know about you, but I really need to know my characters if I'm going to root for them.

Oh, and can we talk about that budding romance with Abi? How it felt unrealistic and almost just thrown in because every YA needs a romance? Between Abi and Daisy's infatuation with their captors (because yes, I'm sorry, you are slaves to this family), I just wanted to throw my hand up. Unless they were seeing something in the brothers that we weren't, which could be the case considering how little character development we got. Sorry, moving on...

The plot itself seemed interesting, but there wasn't enough of it. And the whole slave thing rubbed me the wrong way and the dog situation was really ick (you know what this is if you've read it). I honestly don't know if I would continue this. There's a part of me that wants to know what happens just because I can't let things go unfinished. But if the next part is this discombobulated, I would rather skip it.