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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
To Cage A God was an ok read. I kind of fell in the middle of liking it and not really that interested. The story was engaging and I liked the concept of having gods grafted into humans to give them magic. I always enjoy an ‘overthrow the king/queen’ storyline and exploring how a cast of characters are affected by their rule. However I just wish we got a bit more from everything; more magic, more exploration of the world and more character development.
I just wish the book hooked me more.
I just wish the book hooked me more.
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was so excited to read start this series based on the synopsis. Unfortunately it just didn't catch my attention and within 50 pages, and me letting it sit unread for 10 days without wanting to read more, I knew it had to be DNF'd. Bummer.
challenging
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Pradžia man buvo labai sunki. Ir dėl nežinomos kalbos, ir dėl vardų ar vietovardžių, jausmo lyg yra palikta kažkokia skylė ir čia ne pirmoji dalis… supratau, kodėl daug kas numeta šią knygą, bet toliau, kai jau prasidėjo ir meilės linijos (taip čia net kelios yra) man pasidarė įdomu! Pagaliau pradėjau atpažinti veikėjus, pasidarė įdomu, kas bus, kas į įvyks. Ir užvertus knygą galiu sakyti, kad ji visai patiko. Buvo net ir
challenging
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
To Cage a God contains pretty much everything I love in a fantasy & I can already tell that Elizabeth May is going to become a favourite author of mine. It’s a dark story with dark themes, so I would definitely check out any trigger warnings before heading in.
Set in a fantasy world inspired by Imperial Russia, in their country the commoners starve while royalty live in splendor thanks to their pact with God’s centuries ago. Now every member of nobility is an alurea, someone who shares their body with a god who gives them, and the people who guard, them unimaginable power. But never has an alurea come from a commoner family… that is until now. Sera and Galina both carry the gods within them, though they both wish otherwise. Experimented on by their mother, they had no choice in the joining, nor what she made them do once their power was available.
Sera’s god is vicious and vengeful, happier to see her in pain than to help her out in anyway and it’s power comes with a hefty price. Galina had a softer bond with her god, but the things she was forced to use her power on made her resent it, hate it, and she has pushed the god as deep down as she can, covering up it’s presence with alcohol. Both of these characters are broken in their own way. Sera, dealing with a vindictive god and never being able to tell the man she loves her secret for fear he would kill her. Galina having to live with what her mother made her do. But they also both carry hope, hope for a better future. One where the alurea no longer rule, where people cannot access that kind of power, a fairer world… they just have to make it happen. These two are sisters of circumstance, but I loved the bond between the two. Sera the sometimes vicious, but always protective older sister, and Galina the seemingly meek and reserved younger sister, but the one with the most power.
But Sera and Galina aren’t our only two POV characters. We also meet Katya, the Empresses’ handmaiden, a job title that changes with every day and mood. Someday’s confidant, others footstool, Katya has had to watch the fifteen handmaidens who came before her die, including her older sister, and she is more than happy to help bring about the downfall of the ruling alurea. Her chapters are certainly some of the most intense of the book, despite her having no power, and most of her scenes taking part away from the action, but seeing this woman having to deal with the fickle moods of the Empress, knowing one wrong foot, word, could end with her death, it certainly made for some nail biting scenes. There are others, in fact there are a plethora of POV’s, something which can sometimes be annoying, but I enjoyed the use of it in this book and thought it added to the pace and high intensity.
May certainly knows how to create a fantasy world, and I thoroughly enjoyed all the world building parts. The main plot did take a minute to take off, but the start never felt slowed down at all, rather I enjoyed the slower pace, allowing us to learn the history of the world and our characters, because once the main plot does start the story picks up pace and never really lets up. There’s plenty of plot twists, action and romance to keep us entertained, and I loved the parts where we got to see our characters use the powers their God’s allow them. But this is also quite dark and intense in parts, May gives is plenty of nail-biting, high intensity scenes where you’re not quite sure everyone’s going to make it out alive, and all of these thrown together made for a story I struggled to put down.
Now for the romance. For the most part I loved it, it’s got a couple who have a penchant for murder and pain – couples who slay together stay together – as well as a sweet and steamy f/f romance that crops up around half way through the book. I liked the push and pull in these relationships, especially the f/f where even though one seemingly has all the power, it’s the other who calls all the shots. What I didn’t love so much was the timing of some of the sex scenes. Now i’m no prude, give me all the smut, but love, you have to know that not every moment is the right time to have a quickie. And I also didn’t love the male love interest in some of the scenes, he was a bit too pushy and overbearing in some scenes, but that’s just me. But if you like morally grey couples who will burn the world down for each other, you’re going to love this.
All in all, To Cage a God was a fun, fast-paced fantasy filled with fight scenes, romance, and a little bit of smut. I especially enjoyed learning about the world, and the alurea, how they came to be etc, and after the absolute belter of an ending, am looking forward to picking up the second book.
Set in a fantasy world inspired by Imperial Russia, in their country the commoners starve while royalty live in splendor thanks to their pact with God’s centuries ago. Now every member of nobility is an alurea, someone who shares their body with a god who gives them, and the people who guard, them unimaginable power. But never has an alurea come from a commoner family… that is until now. Sera and Galina both carry the gods within them, though they both wish otherwise. Experimented on by their mother, they had no choice in the joining, nor what she made them do once their power was available.
Sera’s god is vicious and vengeful, happier to see her in pain than to help her out in anyway and it’s power comes with a hefty price. Galina had a softer bond with her god, but the things she was forced to use her power on made her resent it, hate it, and she has pushed the god as deep down as she can, covering up it’s presence with alcohol. Both of these characters are broken in their own way. Sera, dealing with a vindictive god and never being able to tell the man she loves her secret for fear he would kill her. Galina having to live with what her mother made her do. But they also both carry hope, hope for a better future. One where the alurea no longer rule, where people cannot access that kind of power, a fairer world… they just have to make it happen. These two are sisters of circumstance, but I loved the bond between the two. Sera the sometimes vicious, but always protective older sister, and Galina the seemingly meek and reserved younger sister, but the one with the most power.
But Sera and Galina aren’t our only two POV characters. We also meet Katya, the Empresses’ handmaiden, a job title that changes with every day and mood. Someday’s confidant, others footstool, Katya has had to watch the fifteen handmaidens who came before her die, including her older sister, and she is more than happy to help bring about the downfall of the ruling alurea. Her chapters are certainly some of the most intense of the book, despite her having no power, and most of her scenes taking part away from the action, but seeing this woman having to deal with the fickle moods of the Empress, knowing one wrong foot, word, could end with her death, it certainly made for some nail biting scenes. There are others, in fact there are a plethora of POV’s, something which can sometimes be annoying, but I enjoyed the use of it in this book and thought it added to the pace and high intensity.
May certainly knows how to create a fantasy world, and I thoroughly enjoyed all the world building parts. The main plot did take a minute to take off, but the start never felt slowed down at all, rather I enjoyed the slower pace, allowing us to learn the history of the world and our characters, because once the main plot does start the story picks up pace and never really lets up. There’s plenty of plot twists, action and romance to keep us entertained, and I loved the parts where we got to see our characters use the powers their God’s allow them. But this is also quite dark and intense in parts, May gives is plenty of nail-biting, high intensity scenes where you’re not quite sure everyone’s going to make it out alive, and all of these thrown together made for a story I struggled to put down.
Now for the romance. For the most part I loved it, it’s got a couple who have a penchant for murder and pain – couples who slay together stay together – as well as a sweet and steamy f/f romance that crops up around half way through the book. I liked the push and pull in these relationships, especially the f/f where even though one seemingly has all the power, it’s the other who calls all the shots. What I didn’t love so much was the timing of some of the sex scenes. Now i’m no prude, give me all the smut, but love, you have to know that not every moment is the right time to have a quickie. And I also didn’t love the male love interest in some of the scenes, he was a bit too pushy and overbearing in some scenes, but that’s just me. But if you like morally grey couples who will burn the world down for each other, you’re going to love this.
All in all, To Cage a God was a fun, fast-paced fantasy filled with fight scenes, romance, and a little bit of smut. I especially enjoyed learning about the world, and the alurea, how they came to be etc, and after the absolute belter of an ending, am looking forward to picking up the second book.