Caged

Intense!!!

I really wanted to love this but the choppy writing style just never jived with me

This story is more complex than it seems at first. There are many twists and subplots and it isn’t easy at first to tell who to trust. The book is disturbing in some ways, portraying despicable actions and conditions and human trafficking. However in the midst of a hopeless situation, when all seems lost, each finds an inner strength and they reach out to one another. An amazing evolution takes place as both Ella and Cage must abandon deeply ingrained behaviors to allow their newly formed love to grow. I liked that both of them did everything possible to protect the other. Cage protects Ella on the inside, then she protects him on the outside This book was better than I expected.

This is so not the typical love story. It is so very sad to think that there is any possibility people could be so very cruel. All along, I wanted Cage to get free and find happiness with Ella. Glad that the version I read contained both Caged and Uncaged.
Well edited.

Ella suffered the loss of her sister at a young age, and has been a selective mute since. She will talk to her parents, but no one else. One night, she awakens to find an intruder in her house, but she is knocked out before she can really react. She awakens to find herself in a glass cage, next to a young man, also in a glass cage. She soon finds that she has been taken expressly for the young man, in order to have his baby. As she finds out more about her situation, she is surprised to learn that the young man, Cage, has never been outside of his glass cage. It is so hard to believe that he has been raised to fight – to the death, no less – and he has very little formal education. He has never seen the sky, trees, grass, a body of water, a sunrise or sunset, or felt the sun or a soft breeze on his face. Even more astounding is the fact that the man keeping them imprisoned is Cage’s biological father. What kind of monster does this to his own child?! For a bit, there is another girl in a third glass cage – Syrena, who is blind. Communication between the three is a little hard – Cage can’t read, Ella won’t speak, and Syrena can’t see. They eventually find a way, and Ella decides to speak to Cage, which is huge. Syrena is taken as punishment for Ella not allowing Cage to have sex with her. Cage doesn’t really understand what he has done wrong – he has no concept of boundaries. For him, things are simple – he was shown pictures to pick a girl that would be for him. He didn’t understand that that meant she would be taken from her life, that she wouldn’t be willing to have sex with him, or that he should really ask her first. Cage isn’t stupid, but he has not received any kind of normal education – academic, social, or moral.

Cage has never tried to escape because he doesn’t know that he should. Ella opens his eyes to the world outside the walls – a world he has never seen. She helps him see that they should try to find a way out before Graham, Cage’s father, decides kill them. Ella has an opportunity, seizes it, but doesn’t make it very far. She feels immense guilt because she chose to leave Cage behind. They try again, and Ella finally makes it out. After she is found, the police finally find and raid the facility, but no one is there. No Cage. No Graham.

Ella is heartbroken, but determined to find Cage. He, however, is adrift in a world that he has never encountered. He has no money, no idea where he is or where he needs to go, and no idea how to deal with strangers or society. Through sheer determination, they find each other again. Ella tries to help Cage integrate into the world. Slowly, they find their footing, and Cage begins fighting professionally in order to provide a life for them. However, one huge question looms over them – did Graham survive? And if he did, where is he now? When the dust settles, Cage and Ella are ready for their HEA, but they still have questions that need answers. What happened to Syrena? And now that they know Cage has a brother – where is he? And how will they deal with the bombshell of a connected past?

Definitely need to read Locked in order to find out what happened to Cage’s brother. Graham is an absolutely horrible creature with zero redeeming qualities. I did wonder – the age difference between Lock and Cage doesn’t seem to be all that great, so what made Graham decide to expose Lock to the outside but not Cage? It is said that Graham learned his lesson with Lock because he became more and more enamored with the outside world (I mean who wouldn’t?!), so he decided not to allow Cage the same temptation. Just some details that posed questions that really weren’t fully answered. Very glad to see Cage really make an effort to learn and be a productive part of society, as well as experience the love of a real family. Enjoy(?).

Guys……I am at a complete loss here.
I have no idea what to write, what to say.
How do I even start a review when even after putting this novel down, breathing is hard and my very soul has been touched in a way that words just simply seem useless.
But I know that I need to give you guys something……
So here it goes……..

Reading both Caged and Uncaged being released for a limited time, I cannot express to you how much these novels impacted me not only psychologically, but emotionally.

In brief we meet Cage.
Held captive his whole life, all that surrounds him is cold concrete and glass.
Held prisoner by the one person that Cage trusts unconditionally.
It’s all Cage knows.
The outside world doesn’t exist in Cage’s life.
No color, no ocean, no blue sky.
Just sterile walls.
Cage will obey to anything, no matter the consequence, he doesn’t know any different.
But there is one thing he wants.
No there is one thing he needs.
And he will have it, no matter the cost.
He will have her no matter the cost.

Her name…….Ella.

Welcome to Cage and Ella’s world.
A world so dark that light is simply unobtainable.
A world of torture that pain becomes normal living.
A world of starvation and thirst that it’s hard to think.
A world of depravity.
A world of torment both emotionally and psychologically.
A world where hope just simply doesn’t exist.

But does it?
Can hope be found?
Can trust be given?
Can freedom be obtained?

Guys these novels simply broke me. My heart ached from beginning to end. The ache I felt took my breath away. At times it left me feeling completely empty, but on the other side of the emptiness it left me feeling at peace with a calmness that I can’t describe.
Cage my heart was with you from the very start, and you will stay with me always.
Ella, I have nothing but love for you.
To Clarissa…..Thank you for sharing their story with us.

And i’ll end my review by asking people this….

Have you ever stopped just to look at the color of the grass, stood on it with bare feet?
Have you ever stopped what you were doing to just look up into the sky?
Have you ever just stood in the rain and felt every drop touch your skin?
You should, because you never know when it will be taken from you.

A HUGE 5 star read.

It’s been a while since I’ve read a Clarissa Wild novel and I have to say I missed her tortured heroes and heroines. I’ve just finished Caged/Uncaged and was captivated (yes a pun) by Cage.

Cage and Ella did not meet and date and fall in love in any circumstances that could be called normal. Captive. That’s what they were. Forced to do things out of their control. But there was this undeniable connection despite the depravity of their situation. Somehow choice inserts itself and the choice to submit, to speak, to touch, to look, to hope, and to love all start to overshadow their surroundings. Moments, really.

Choice to escape when the moment presents itself. Choice to leave him because she couldn’t save them both. Choice to search and find her future. And even when the come together again m, it’s not over. His choice may have been taken away but hers will never be taken away again.

It’s not an easy story to read but the characters drew me in. I’m all ready to dice into Locked and Chase. If only I didn’t have to work tomorrow. It’s so easy to get lost in the twisted world of Clarissa Wild’s books!

This book made me angry, sad, hopeful and hopeless. I loved it. I felt the characters and everything they go through.

This is a very unusual story. It is sometimes unnerving and unbelievable.

Too dark. Didn’t even finish it. A book to avoid.

This review is for the duet, Caged and Uncaged. Wow! I just ate this up. It’s intense with a dark undertone. The author has included a warning for a good reason. However it’s the disturbing content that pulls you in deeper. It plays with your perception of bad and unknowing.

Caged is raised in a glass cage. He knows nothing else. He’s never been outside. He’s never gone to school. He was never taught right from wrong. He was taught to obey. Cage was raised to fight, to kill, to win. His father is his capture. Keeping him as his prized possession rather than his son.

Ella has been taken by Graham, Cages father. She’s been placed in a glass cage that is connected to Cage’s. She’s been give to Cage to breed future fighters for Graham. Ella is selectively mute, after her sister’s death Ella’s voice died with her. She only speaks to people she trusts. Unexpectedly, Ella finds her voice when communicating with Cage.

Cage begins to change in the first book of the duet. He instinctively knew when he’s overstepped his boundaries with Ella. He begins to internally fight his obedience training that leads up to him helping Ella. Cage takes ownership of Ella. She is his. Ella soon feels the same.

Caged ends in a cliffhanger. Luckily, Uncaged was only a page away. Uncaged sends Cage into the wilds of the real world and Ella searching for what is hers. The ending had me teary-eyed and sniveling. The story is a real roller coaster ride. 5 Stars!

“He didn’t chain my body in that prison…he chained my mind, and Ella set it free.”