Gilded Cage by Vic James

I was hooked by the end of the first page. I loved, loved, loved how this book pulled me in to the world. In fact, I loved most everything about this book. The settings, the characters, the plot are all well thought out. Be prepared, this book was rather dark and very Machiavellian and in some ways reminded me of Game of Thrones. That said, the story was fresh and I loved that the setting was in the UK and not some totally made up world. The flow and speed of the story was really great and there were several twists that I did not see coming. I always love when a good book can surprise me and that does not happen very often.

The UK described in the book is ruled by the Equals, the aristocrats, who weld magic that is called “Skill”. The commoners or “Un-Skilled” are required to spend ten years of their lives as slaves with no rights and they are considered chattel. The story revolves around two families, the Hadley family, who are commoners, and the Jardine family who are the most powerful “Skilled” family.

The Hadley’s plan is to do their slave days as a family and they have been assigned to the Jardine’s estate of Kyneston. From the start their plans go array, when the car comes to pick them up the Hadley’s, soon to be seventeen year old, son Luke is not assigned to the estate, but to the slave town of Millmoor. Millmoor is a notoriously brutal factory town where the work is long and hard and many do not survive. As a slave Luke has no rights; therefore, he must go on to Millmoor and hope his family can correct this error. What ensues is nothing short of tragic.

The Guiled Cage is the start of a great new trilogy. I predict that it will be the next big epic YA fantasy series and I can’t wait to read the second installment.

Disclosure: I received an ARC copy from the publisher, via Net Galley, in exchange for me honest review.