Gilded Cage by Vic James

Rating: 7/10
Published: 26/01/17
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Pages: 405
Synopsis from Goodreads: NOT ALL ARE FREE. NOT ALL ARE EQUAL. NOT ALL WILL BE SAVED. 

Our world belongs to the Equals—aristocrats with magical gifts—and all commoners must serve them for ten years. But behind the gates of England's grandest estate lies a power that could break the world. 

A girl thirsts for love and knowledge.

Abi is a servant to England's most powerful family, but her spirit is free. So when she falls for one of the noble-born sons, Abi faces a terrible choice. Uncovering the family's secrets might win her liberty, but will her heart pay the price? 

A boy dreams of revolution.

Abi's brother, Luke, is enslaved in a brutal factory town. Far from his family and cruelly oppressed, he makes friends whose ideals could cost him everything. Now Luke has discovered there may be a power even greater than magic: revolution. 

And an aristocrat will remake the world with his dark gifts.

He is a shadow in the glittering world of the Equals, with mysterious powers no one else understands. But will he liberate—or destroy?

Gilded Cage is the first book of the Dark Gifts trilogy.

I received a copy of this from my book club, which has in no way affected my review, these opinions are very much my own.

Set in modern day England in a world where Skilled Equals rule and force the common people to give away ten years of their life as slave, Gilded Cage focuses around the Hadley family as they serve their slave days under one of the most influential Equal families. This book is a really interesting twist on young adult fantasy, that in many ways seems very relevant to the modern world as we know it!

I feel as though I've read several books of a very similar style to this - Red Queen and The Hunger Games to name a couple. Gilded Cage has a really beautiful setting and is an original spin on the magical rich vs poor-style universe and I loved that it's set in modern day England rather than a fictional location. I'd certainly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of that kind of fantasy book as it's definitely not one to be missed! It has a lot of really interesting characters and some twists that will shock you - some of which I was speculating about thinking to myself "nah that won't happen" and they turned out to be true (always the best feeling, right?!).

Although I enjoyed this book a lot I struggled with the romance between Abi and Jenner, it seemed quite forced and felt like, in several instances, this bright and wonderful female character was reduced to just being in love with a boy. However I'm aware that as this is part of a series it may well develop a lot more in the following books. Abi's a really wonderful character and I hope that she'll be able to bloom in herself in the future and become the badass lady I know she could be.

The only other thing I wasn't sure about was the synopsis, which I found somewhat misleading. I don't feel that everything that was mentioned on the cover actually happened? Not to the extent to which it's described anyway, but maybe that's just me! That's not to say that you shouldn't pick it up though because I promise it's a good'un, I just feel as though Abi doesn't particularly face a "terrible choice", that I noticed at least.

Overall, Gilded Cage is a really interesting fantasy book with lots going on in a setting that seems very poignant in today's society. The ending left me with a lot of questions, and although it seemed a little bit rushed in some aspects it's definitely made me want to know more, so I'll almost certainly be picking up book two! I'll be interested to see where it all goes from here, Dark Gifts certainly has a lot of potential.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Rating : 10/10
The simple way to put it is that this book is ART. Honestly, it is one of the best, most beautifully written novels I have read in a long, long time. I had heard so many good things about The Night Circus from so many different people and it is safe to say that I was by no means disappointed!
It has everything you would ever want from a fantasy novel and the way in which it jumps between characters, times and locations in each chapter whilst still keeping you gripped (and un-confused) is fantastic. This is the kind of book I would recommend even if it's not the sort of thing you usually read, trust me on this one it is 110% worth it.

Put simply, it follows the movements of a circus in the victorian era; Le Cirque des Rêves is a place of mystery and just a dash of magic. However, the circus has a purpose more complicated than just to provide entertainment to guests. Characters Celia Bowen and Marco Alistair have been bound since childhood to take part in a competition with the circus as their playing field. To begin with the aims of said battle are unclear but as the rules become more evident and the pair grow closer, the true nature of their challenge is revealed. But I shan't tell you any more than that because the mysterious nature of every aspect of the book is what makes it so much fun!

Even though I'm certain you will thoroughly enjoy every page of this novel it isn't until the end, when every piece of the storyline falls gracefully into place, that you'll think "Oh my goodness what the heck that was fabulous I cannot believe!!!!" well, I mean that's the gist of the message I sent to a friend upon finishing it anyway.

Truly, if you're considering reading this fantastic book then don't just take my (and so many others') word for it, read the art for yourself! I could not recommend it more, a wonderful mixture of joy and illusion combined with a dark, twisting plot-line which will have you gripped from the start. An absolutely phenomenal piece of literature.