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A review by clrwht
The Gilded Cage by Lynette Noni
5.0
“Sometimes the people who act like they don’t care are really the ones who care the most. They feel so much that it overwhelms them, and to keep from falling apart, they hide behind easy smiles and quick laughter, acting like nothing matters. It’s a defence mechanism, a way to protect themselves from the worst. A way to keep from getting hurt.”
Despite being pretty predictable at times (much like the first one), I loved every single second of reading this. It was like watching a car crash happen in slow motion - you know it’s going to end in disaster, but you can’t look away.
I’ve read over 100 books this year, and can name only a handful that had me in such a chokehold - this series is definitely included in that list. I couldn’t put this one down, squeezing a few pages into every minute I had to spare. I spent the majority of my time reading, either muttering away to myself, gesturing my distress or getting so worked up I ended up pacing around the room with the book still in my hand.
My one criticism is how trusting Kiva is in this book - you’d expect after 10 years in Zalindov; hiding her secrets and her magic from everyone, she’d be more cautious about what information she gives out. This was the one plot point I had trouble with, especially given it led to so much of her (and everyone else’s) downfall.
Despite that though, she’s still a pretty strong character and I enjoyed getting to see a different side to her in this book, where she opened up more. The other character developments won me over for sure though - I absolutely adored Caldon, his sharp and colourful personality brought so much more to the story!
Despite being pretty predictable at times (much like the first one), I loved every single second of reading this. It was like watching a car crash happen in slow motion - you know it’s going to end in disaster, but you can’t look away.
I’ve read over 100 books this year, and can name only a handful that had me in such a chokehold - this series is definitely included in that list. I couldn’t put this one down, squeezing a few pages into every minute I had to spare. I spent the majority of my time reading, either muttering away to myself, gesturing my distress or getting so worked up I ended up pacing around the room with the book still in my hand.
My one criticism is how trusting Kiva is in this book - you’d expect after 10 years in Zalindov; hiding her secrets and her magic from everyone, she’d be more cautious about what information she gives out. This was the one plot point I had trouble with, especially given it led to so much of her (and everyone else’s) downfall.
Despite that though, she’s still a pretty strong character and I enjoyed getting to see a different side to her in this book, where she opened up more. The other character developments won me over for sure though - I absolutely adored Caldon, his sharp and colourful personality brought so much more to the story!