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booksalacarte's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
To cage a god- 2.75⭐️ 3.5🌶️
Adult fantasy
Sapphic
30yo characters
Multi POV
Morally grey characters
Hidden identity
Dragons
Mythical beasts
Russian influence
Revolution
Alcoholism rep
Ptsd rep
Chronic illness/disability rep
Tw: self harm/cutting, suicide, murder, gore, death, emotional abuse, alcoholism, eugenics
I love the premise of this story! Commoners have unwilling dragon gods caged inside of them, something reserved for royalty, for a rebellion.
The entry into this story was abrupt, making it hard to connect to the main characters because we were dropped into the very middle of most of the character’s stories. but I just found it hard to feel caught up. I even was a kid fascinated by the Russian Revolution and the last tzar of Russia… and so much of the plot mirrored those true events.
The characters were flushed out well, for the most part. And the banter was good.
I found the magic system to be really interesting in how different magic manifested depending on which dragon god was caught.
The pacing wasn’t great, with the abrupt and slow start and rushed ending.
The spicy scenes didn’t feel as natural as I prefer. The timing of these scene was really NOT great.
Thank You Netgalley and DAW Books for an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Violence, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Addiction, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, War, Classism, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Alcoholism, Blood, Gore, Alcohol, Outing, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Ableism
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