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A review by a_h_haga
A Gilded Cage by Michael Anderle, Auburn Tempest
3.0
I'm not entirely sure where I picked up the kindle edition of this book, but it gave me a discount on the audiobook, so what does that matter?
I don't know exactly what to say about this book. It had many things that I liked, and some things that irked me - more on that below - but generally, it was enjoyable. There were a bit too many male characters involved. I had trouble keeping them separate from each other, as they were mostly introduced in a bunch.
One of the things that irked me was how the author didn't seem to write action scenes. In some cases, they skipped right over discussions and fights, and gave us a flashback of it instead of letting us experience it. In other cases, they would ruin the flow of a scene by throwing in a ''shit. And then everything blew up'', or something similar. It's OK if it's done once or twice, when it actually fit the scene, but it didn't here. Every action sequence started with a ''and then things happened'', and then we're told what happened - if we don't get a flashback in the next chapter.
The other thing that irked me isn't related to the writing or craft of a book, but more the subtle meaning of things said. There was one scene, in a cellar, that felt thrown in so the author could state their opinion about ''snobby Europeans'' and how we ''don't allow worship of different religions'', which is just plain wrong. It didn't feel like a story moment, but more like the author wanted to tell everybody about this view point.
As an European - Norwegian, to be precises - I can say that all religions and lifestyles are welcome. Sure, there are some shitheads that don't respect diversity, but that's the minority. And yes, we're proud of our heritage, but so are the non-native inhabitants of America. Why else would you all make such a fuss about where your ancestors came from?
The point I'm trying to make, I think, is that there's nothing wrong with taking pride in your story, as long as you respect others wish to do the same, and I really didn't feel like the author did that. At least not in a good way. It felt like a jab.
And I now realize I'm ranting about this, so I'll stop the review here, before I dig myself further into a hole of annoyance.
The things mentioned aren't enough to keep me from continuing on with the series, for I'm very much in a mood for things that feel old, and despite this book being set in our time, the way it introduced Old World magic and traditions - other than the thing mentioned above - fullfils that need. At least for now.
I think the only thing I'll finish with, is that I wish this book was longer, or split into two, so we could take part in more of the MC's training and how she handled the sudden change in her world. It felt sudden and very superficial, and left something to be desired.
I don't know exactly what to say about this book. It had many things that I liked, and some things that irked me - more on that below - but generally, it was enjoyable. There were a bit too many male characters involved. I had trouble keeping them separate from each other, as they were mostly introduced in a bunch.
One of the things that irked me was how the author didn't seem to write action scenes. In some cases, they skipped right over discussions and fights, and gave us a flashback of it instead of letting us experience it. In other cases, they would ruin the flow of a scene by throwing in a ''shit. And then everything blew up'', or something similar. It's OK if it's done once or twice, when it actually fit the scene, but it didn't here. Every action sequence started with a ''and then things happened'', and then we're told what happened - if we don't get a flashback in the next chapter.
The other thing that irked me isn't related to the writing or craft of a book, but more the subtle meaning of things said. There was one scene, in a cellar, that felt thrown in so the author could state their opinion about ''snobby Europeans'' and how we ''don't allow worship of different religions'', which is just plain wrong. It didn't feel like a story moment, but more like the author wanted to tell everybody about this view point.
As an European - Norwegian, to be precises - I can say that all religions and lifestyles are welcome. Sure, there are some shitheads that don't respect diversity, but that's the minority. And yes, we're proud of our heritage, but so are the non-native inhabitants of America. Why else would you all make such a fuss about where your ancestors came from?
The point I'm trying to make, I think, is that there's nothing wrong with taking pride in your story, as long as you respect others wish to do the same, and I really didn't feel like the author did that. At least not in a good way. It felt like a jab.
And I now realize I'm ranting about this, so I'll stop the review here, before I dig myself further into a hole of annoyance.
The things mentioned aren't enough to keep me from continuing on with the series, for I'm very much in a mood for things that feel old, and despite this book being set in our time, the way it introduced Old World magic and traditions - other than the thing mentioned above - fullfils that need. At least for now.
I think the only thing I'll finish with, is that I wish this book was longer, or split into two, so we could take part in more of the MC's training and how she handled the sudden change in her world. It felt sudden and very superficial, and left something to be desired.