Hello Readers,
Thank you, Jamie and Black Crow PR for sending me an arc of
To Cage a god by Elizabeth May for free in exchange for an honest review. I helped
with the cover reveal for this book back in September and have been so excited
to share my thoughts with you. As it is publication day this review will be spoiler
free.
Happy Bleated Book Birthday
Content warnings from Elizabeth May copied from Goodreads
To Cage a God depicts violence and the impacts of imperialism against the
backdrop of a budding war and revolution. The ruling class in this book is
ruthless, ableist, and openly practices eugenics. There is frank reference to
grim eugenics practices. One character manages chronic pain and disability and
is forced to keep her illness invisible because of this. In addition, another
character is bonded to a god that demands self-harm, so please be aware of this
if cutting is a trigger for you.
List of additional CWs:
- Violence: murder, immolation, explosions, injuries, gore, death
- Self-harm: alcoholism, suicide, stabbing (self-inflicted and not), cutting
- Abuse: emotional abuse, manipulative relationships (parental)
- MISC: self-medication, eugenics, frank depictions of living with chronic pain, PTSD
Title: To Cage a God
Author: Elizabeth May
Genre: Fantasy Fiction, Romantic fantasy, Dark
fantasy
Pages: 384
Cover Image:
Synopsis:
To cage a god is divine. To be divine is to rule. To rule
is to destroy.
Using ancient secrets, Galina and Sera’s mother grafted
gods into their bones. Bound to brutal deities and granted forbidden power no
commoner has held in a millennia, the sisters have grown up to become living
weapons. Raised to overthrow an empire—no matter the cost.
With their mother gone and their country on the brink of
war, it falls to the sisters to take the helm of the rebellion and end the
cruel reign of a royal family possessed by destructive gods. Because when the
ruling alurea invade, they conquer with fire and blood. And when they clash,
common folk burn.
While Sera reunites with her estranged lover turned
violent rebel leader, Galina infiltrates the palace. In this world of deception
and danger, her only refuge is an isolated princess, whose whip-smart tongue
and sharp gaze threaten to uncover Galina’s secret. Torn between desire and
duty, Galina must make a choice: work together to expose the lies of the
empire—or bring it all down.
Miniature Review
This is a dark romance fantasy that has been inspired by imperial Russia. I enjoy the politics in this book we all know how much I love a bit of fictional political drama but add a sprinkle of a great villain like Elizabeth did I am here for it. In this story society is divided between a god-like elite, commoners, and is filled to the brim with rebellion. Two of my favourite things in this story are the worldbuilding and the magic system. It was a given I was going to lap up the political drama, so it doesn’t count.
To Cage a God is beautifully written and had me hooked from the start from the pacing to the storyline everything was precisely done. The book is written in multiple POVs with multiple romances, including sapphic and high-stakes romance. Elizabeth does an amazing job at making a clear distinction between Sera and Galina personalities and at no point did I get confused at who POV I was in.
It’s not only the sister point of view we see as we see multiple
POVs of characters who play an important role to the story. I found myself getting attached to almost every
single character we met. There was no throw away characters in this book I found
everyone interesting, loveable, and even occasionally morally questionable. I can’t
wait for the sequel.
L x
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