MAGIC RULES. WE SERVE. In a darkly fantastical debut set in modern-day Britain, magic users control everything: wealth, politics, power—and you. If you’re not one of the ultimate one-percenters—the magical elite—you owe them ten years of service. Do those years when you’re old, and you’ll never get through them. Do them young, and you’ll never get over them. This is the darkly decadent world … the darkly decadent world of Gilded Cage. In its glittering milieu move the all-powerful Jardines and the everyday Hadleys. The families have only one thing in common: Each has three children. But their destinies entwine when one family enters the service of the other. They will all discover whether any magic is more powerful than the human spirit.
Have a quick ten years. . . .
Look for all three books in the mesmerizing Dark Gifts trilogy:
GILDED CAGE • TARNISHED CITY • BRIGHT RUIN
Praise for Gilded Cage
“Beautifully characterised and compellingly plotted, Gilded Cage is an impressive debut.”—The Guardian
“Exquisitely wicked . . . a lavishly opulent, yet brutally vivid, alternate England which subtly questions modern beliefs . . . If ever there was a speculative fiction book that captured the zeitgeist of an era this is it.”—SFFWorld
“An alternate modern-day England where enticing drama and social unrest mix with aristocratic scandal and glamorous magic . . . conjuring up the specters of Les Misérables and Downton Abbey . . . an absorbing first installment that presages an intriguing new fantasy series.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Gilded Cage is a heart-pounding combination of dark magic, political revolution, and forbidden romance that had me addicted from the first page!”—Danielle L. Jensen, USA Today bestselling author of The Malediction Trilogy
“Devious and deliciously dark with lashings of magic, mystery, and mayhem, this juggernaut of a book will keep you hanging on by your fingernails until the very last page.”—Taran Matharu, New York Times bestselling author of the Summoner series
“A dark and intriguing vision of an alternate, magic-drenched Britain, Gilded Cage kept me up long into the night.”—Aliette de Bodard, author of The House of Shattered Wings
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This is a most exciting start to a series. I understand this is the first of a trilogy and I can hardly wait for the second book. The plot is original, the characters believable and vibrant and the story line was often dark and horrific but I so loved it! The Equals ruled Britain and the commoners became slaves for ten years to the Equals. The Equals had special Skills, healing, telekinesis and more. The slaves did their ten years in various slave towns or as slaves to one of the wealthy Equal families. The conditions in the slave town of Millmoor were simply awful, but Luke became part of a rebellious group to improve conditions for Millmoor. The rest of Luke’s family were slaves to the Jardines, one of the most powerful Equal families. An exciting read with an ending I did not anticipate. I hope I am lucky enough to be approved for an ARC of the sequel.
I couldn’t make up my mind about this book at first. It opened with a violent death that I knew would be important later on, but how? I put the book down a few times and turned to other distractions. But you know what? I always found myself thinking about this story. I wanted to know more about how this alternate universe of Britain functioned. In a modern world with the same technology as our version of reality, how do they keep the slave system running without revolts, underground railways out of the country and collapse of society? Oh. They don’t.
I liked the alternating point of views, both the Equals and non Equals. I hope that James delves further into the magic of the Equals in the next books. More information on what exactly people can do with their magic, if different people have different skills, and how these traits can be controlled would be really interesting. Adding this series to my watch list for new releases!
~ Need to read all three of trilogy. Great twisted history. Makes you think. Some ideas could play out to our times. Great books.
Definitely not what I was expecting. I dived into the book thinking it was going to be light and fun. But to my surprise, I discovered that it was about injustice in society, darkness in human nature, and corruption in politics. Heavy topics weaved into an incredible story. If I picked this up as a teenager, there would of been a chance of not finishing because…. honestly… I was a teenager with a short attention span. But my memories as a youngster is a big foggy. So maybe I would have enjoyed it tremendously.
The story switches between different characters throughout the book, but it mainly focuses on two British families from opposite classes.
The Hadley’s are common. They have no supernatural power; therefore they are required to serve 10 years of their lives as slaves. The years can be done when they are old or young, but the oldest daughter, Abi, thought it would be best to serve together as a family at an estate instead of a factory. The application was approved for everyone but Luke.
Luke, Abi’s younger brother, was sent to Millmoor, a polluted place with harsh living conditions. His body and mind changed from his exposure to cruelty and brutality. During his time he also meets different people fighting for a cause. But how can common people without powers go against the Equals? Equals that have the power to heal and destroy. Beings that could even manipulate the minds and actions of others.
The Jardines are one of the most powerful families in Britain. The family has 3 sons. Gavar, the oldest and the next heir. Jenner, the middle child with no supernatural power. Silyen, the youngest and most powerful son with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Serving the family as slaves seems easier than years at a factory, but some of the Jardines have a dark agenda.
This book truly deserves a discussion at book clubs or class rooms. Once I got attached to the characters, I couldn’t put this down. I highly recommend this book for someone looking for adventure and also looking for something thought provoking to read.
Although I received a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review, all opinions remain my own.
I really enjoyed this book, it was different then the books I have been reading lately. There are magical people, called “Equals” and then normal people. The normal people all have to serve the Equals for ten years.
It was really strange at first. The book jumps viewpoints which I liked, gave me a wider view of the whole story. You follow a family who is just starting their years, they are sent to a very rich family. The dynamics of the family are beyond strange, but I enjoyed it.
While the ending wasn’t quite the closure I was hoping for, it worked. Cannot wait for the next installment!
Oh, I liked this one… Dystopian future, with strong family elements and a really cool (and freaky) paranormal/extra-natural element I found intriguing and horrifying at the same time. There’s some first-class storytelling going on here, with more than a dash of morality tale for good measure. There are two segments of society – one has Skill (i.e., supernatural powers that range from the silly to the nigh-on omnipotent) and the other has ten years of slavery to that Skill… How individuals and families manage this ten years varies wildly – almost as wildly as the Skilled themselves. This first installment describes the intersection of two families, the Skilled Jardines and the unSkilled Hadleys. and the world will never be the same after their lives become entwined…
How’s THAT for a set-up – good, right? So’s the book. The story is quite as sharp and alluring as my hyperbole suggests. There’s some spot-on family and coming-of-age drama, and some glorious insights into the human condition that are presented in clear, crisp writing that enriches the underlying story while simultaneously making the reader occasionally pause, double-back, and reread until the full weight of the insights are realized. It’s a marvelous piece of storytelling… I’m delighted there will be more books.
The premise of this new series is interesting. It takes place in Britain, in an alternate history. The ruling class, called The Equals, possess “skill”, magical abilities that can vary between people. They use their skill to keep the majority of the population in line. All others must give 10 years of their lives as a slave. They can decide at what age they want to do it, but no one escapes their fate.
I found the first portion of the book to be predictable and just average. I am still having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that slavedays even exist in this book. 10 years is a long time to give up your life and be treated like an animal. Why haven’t there been more uprisings? And in a world where not every country participates in this tradition, why haven’t other countries come to the rescue?
The second half became more interesting, as we watched the ruling class and their political maneuverings. The motives of many of the characters are still unclear. The book ends on a cliff hanger, with Luke, a slave, in a seemingly impossible situation. I don’t know how he will get out of it. I do know that another book is in the works, so we should get some answers.
I received a free ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest opinion.
This was a good story. I loved the world created and the character development was great, but a few of the plot points fell short for me. Moments that I expected to be huge moments when they happened were left undeveloped and told in passing like they weren’t important. I would have like more. I’ll still read the next books to see what happens.
An interesting storyline.
Book source ~ NetGalley
This is a dystopian world of slaves and Equals. Equals rule the land because they have magical abilities. Everyone else has to serve ten years of slavery. They can do it at any time of their life. Some do it early to get it over with, some wait until they’ve lived out most of their life. It doesn’t matter when only that they put in their time.
This book follows one family as they sign up for their term. Mom, dad, 18 yr-old Abigail, 16 yr-old Luke, and 10 yr-old Daisy. Abi makes arrangements for them all to serve on the Kyneston Estate, home of the Jardines, which should be a whole lot better than a factory town, a slavetown, like Millmoor. Except the orders are changed and Luke gets sent to Millmoor instead and the Jardines have personal issues of their own.
While this is a suspenseful read and a fascinating world, I can’t put my finger on why it’s not a 5 star read for me. The writing is pretty good and there’s multiple POVS, too. Maybe it’s the characters. While they are great I just couldn’t get invested in them. In any case, there’s suspense, a mystery, intrigue, creepiness, good guys, bad guys, and people with awesome and terrifying abilities. The ending is a bit of a cliffhanger, so it’s obviously going to be picked up in book 2.
I’ll admit I tend to shy away from the YA genre, though for the life of me I don’t know why. Some of the best stories I’ve read fall under this classification, and ‘Gilded Cage’ is no exception.
Set in an alternate Britain, it tells the story of two families. The Jardines are part of the ruling class, those who possess Skill (some form of magical ability) while the Hadleys are commoners, possessing no magical skill at all. As part of the law of the land, every commoner has to give up 10 years of their lives to perform what is called ‘slavedays,’ an aptly named moniker for a form of enforced brutal drudgery, where the benefits favor those who rule. But as with all tyrannical systems, eventually someone will rise to challenge its existence.
A well-written book that explores different possibilities, and alternate views. The characters are wonderful and the dystopian world chilling. One warning: the book does end here. You will need to continue with the second book, ‘Tarnished City’ and finally ‘Bright Ruin’ to reach a satisfying conclusion. However, all three are well worth the time and effort and are absolute keepers on my bookshelf. I cannot recommend them highly enough and will be looking for more by this very talented author.
Great beginning to a series!! Loved every minute!
I found this book and the other two from the trilogy Dark Gifts original and compellingly plotted.
Not my usual style as alot of what is happening is dark and evil, however I am interested in the characters so I will buy the second book in the series and trust that good is going to at least if not win, have some wins along the way, because there haven’t been many to date. Actually as I write this I’m going to go change my rating to a 5 because I am still reading this book and wanting more. That tells me that for me, this is a great book because I am still thinking about it weeks later and hoping to get through my library books quickly so I can get to the next in the series.
This book should have everything going for it: an original plot, a plethora of (hopefully) interesting characters, and a great blend of fantasty and dystopia. But in actuality, the entire book reads like a synopsis, not a fleshed-out story. The characters are flat and all share the same voice, and the plot jumps around, not letting us get invested in any one character. The worst part was that though there was definitely potential in every scene, everything except basic plot points was glossed over, so that while I can remember a basic story, I have no idea what the point was, or why I should care.
This book is great
A great debut. I am looking forward to more from this writer.
A unique and fascinating merger of the dystopian and urban magic.
I don’t like how unfinished the book felt. It was set up for a sequel which would be fine if there was enough closure to make it serve as a standalone story as well.
One of the best fantasy writers of our generation. Yes, that good.