Snowy, wintery, cold, Russia like setting. Extreme poverty is killing the common folks, while the Alureans (nobles/upper class) spend their days playing politics and having parties in dazzling attires.
To be part of the chosen caste in this world you need enough luck - enough luck to be born by the right parents, enough luck to have a powerful enough god trapped inside you to give you a high status among the other Alureans.
Tradition teaches us that only from the right families comes the genetic mix necessary to have a god, but is that really true?
Serafima and Galina, sisters by fate, are on a quest to obtain revenge towards those that have destroyed their families and their childhood.
Ekaterina, handmaiden of the empress only wants a life away from court, a life of her own.
Vitaly is obsessed by dreams of revolution, but even more from the memory of his wife - his moral compass.

A couple of considerations:
- This is not a Romantasy to me, while the love stories are very present they still felt like subplots without any detriment to the main story
- At times it reminded me of a YA with adult language
- Each character has a recurring set of thoughts/drives and you will be reminded of it at least once on each of their POV based chapters.

3.5 Stars

A Russian empire inspired fantasy regarding an evil empress, the leader of a rebellion and a survivor from basically a genocide. Most of the nobility and security services are bonded to a god/dragon/zmeya which grants them abilities such as incredible control over fire or ice or for the lower ranked staff stronger senses to aid in defending the empire. Galina is the only survivor from her village being burned to ashes when she was a child. Locked in a cellar to avoid the worst of the blaze, she escapes with only scars on her legs, and then is found by a woman who has a method of bonding gods to commoners. The Empress razes whole towns and immolates servants who don't fully satisfy her insane impulses and mood swings. Her daughter can control frost and ice but suffers from a disability that must be hidden at all costs to avoid showing any kind of "weakness". Attempting to undo the reign of this monster is The Faithless a rebel group seeking to rid the country of the oppressive control of the Empress. The leader of which, Vitaly and his estranged wife Sera are tangled with the palace in multiple ways. I really enjoyed this book! I did find the Russian naming conventions difficult to understand and keep track of at the start - every character has 3 names - their full title, a diminuitive form and and even more intimate shortened form so in the beginning I did struggle but it got a lot easier as the book went on. The romantic relationships between Vitaly and Sera & Galina and Vasilisa were well developed and believable. I felt the fear and trepidation of the rebels when they were in situations that could flip on a knife edge due to the whims of a psychopath. I was fully immersed in this world by the end of the book and am very happy to see it appears to be the start of a series as I want more from this group of people!

Well, that did not work for me. This book felt like it wanted to be a sequel, in that the character connections, plot, and background were all just assumed. It’s like the writer wants to convince the readers that we already care about the characters and whatever happens to them without putting actual work into building them or anything around them. It was also very black-and-white, with a severe lack of depth to any character, relationship, or plot thread.

There is no sense of urgency or tension in this book plot-wise. For me, there was also no romantic tension, but I need more than “I don’t care about anyone but you” thrown at me five times, and multiple knife-to-the-throat scenes. I also need more than three conversations to believe two characters fell in love, thank you. I guess the dialogue could be decent? Especially between Sera and Vitaly. Nowhere near enough to make me care, though.

And the coolest part about this—the dragon gods, of course—were just there. We have three incredibly powerful dragons, and then Sera’s vengeful one. And we could have done such interesting things with Sera’s dragon, but what do we do? We remove the obstacle. Again, no sense of urgency or tension.

All in all, I didn’t latch onto any of these characters, I wasn’t remotely worried about anyone because I could tell nothing would happen to them, and the fantasy elements were very undercooked and unseasoned.
In my opinion, this could be read as a standalone, and I won’t be picking up book 2.

This book might be for you if you enjoy:
- romantasy with a prominent romance
- second-chance romance of the lovers to enemies to lovers variety
- people on opposite sides of the conflict falling in love
- proper villains with zero redeeming qualities
- a pinch of dragons
- a pinch of Russian Revolution

Many thanks to NetGalley, Elizabeth May and DAW for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I think this book was a little to complex and a little to difficult for me to get into and to understand.

Often books like this I will either enjoy or not and unfortunately this is one of those.

The idea and the concept however were so cool and unique.

I expected a bit more from this book. To me it read YA most of the time with the expect of the sudden change in tone between two characters needing to touch and have sexual contact with each other every time they are together. That to me stood out like a sore thumb in comparison to the rest of the narration. It wasnt needed and didnt fit in which annoyed me a bit.

We got thrown in right into the rebellion led by the two sisters, it would have been interesting to see how they ended up the gods cage instead of just telling us that that was the situation. Its not until later in the book where more of the history and magic got revealed.

What i did like was that the gods they have are not willing participates and causes them pain everytime their magic is used. That was refreshing.

As i both listened and physically read this book, i was so grateful for the chapter headings having the POV's name on them. There were two too many POVs I found as not all of them were different enough. Sometimes I found myself really confused as to which POV I was listening to. The narrator had the same voice for all of them including the male POV so it was hard to distinguish by audio alone. So the name titles really helped.

I enjoyed Galina's POV a lot more then Sera's. In the end I couldnt tell you the details of what really happened as the narration kept jumping and more character interactions than anything else. Its a shame but i didnt enjoy this one as much as i hoped.

Thanks to #netgalley and Daphne Press for a eARC of this book.
All opinions are my own.

To Cage a God first captured my attention with that stunning cover art. A political fantasy set in an Imperial Russia-like setting, with cruel nobles, oppression, secret identities and sapphic romance: it sounds like a perfect read for me.

I thoroughly enjoyed the political element to the story and think it was really well done. It was what kept me reading because I really wanted to know what happened next. And in speaking of that, the pacing was a little clunky at times but the plot kept me intrigued enough to push through the slow parts.

I think that it was the actual writing that stopped me from really loving this one. I love a fantasy that has vivid descriptions, whereas May's writing feels very straight to the point without that fantastical element or world-building, which did keep me confused for parts.

Thank you to the publisher for an e-arc. All opinions are my own.

To Cage A God has been on my radar for a little while, with its dark Imperial-Russia vibes, a political element (I'm always drawn to) and the promise of being 'perfect for fans of Shadow and Bone' I was all in when it came up on NetGalley (thank you Daphne Press for the advance copy) .

I found the whole thing to be quite slow, despite the fact there are some big events very early on. In terms of getting going event wise it was rapid, but it felt like I was missing something vital and because of this I almost quit out, but I'd decided to keep going to 25% and see how I felt...then at 50%, and by then it seemed silly not to see where it was going to end up.

With the languages (Zverti and Grand Imperial), we have words and phrases here and there, which I always think is great when an author has taken the time to create/adapt helping us readers to feel more immersed, but if you're not telling me in the same/next line what it means (which is a method utilised sporadically) please give us a guide so we can learn and understand whats being said, not just infer from tone or sentance.

Now, there is actually a guide (genuinely, always appreciated) but its at the back and basically invisible until you get to it on a kindle, and with the Russian-inspired setting, the formal and informal use of names, diminutives, and endearments also had me double checking I was still reading the same 2 characters, and a guide before I started would have counteracted a lot of that.

The other thing that that slowed it down for me was the characters mentioning things we simply had to accept (like their caged gods) until a flash back or conversation imparted some context, and these two things in particular made it hard to fall into the book and forget the outside world.

The problem overall was it just felt clunky. The premise is great, the promise of something more kept me reading and we ended up with a language guide, got some relevant information and I didn't hate the characters, but it just felt, lacking. As the story progressed it built a bit of history, some world, a political and religious landscape, and we met new characters and they get their own POV's which was enough to keep me reading to see where it going, but not enough to make me want to read any more - but thats ok, because it kinda ends in such a way that it could absolutely just be the end.

3.5 stars, rounded up because I didn't quit out and that counts for something!

In a harsh world inspired by Imperial Russia, the nobility carry dragons within their bones, summoned and caged to do human bidding. They use it to war amongst themselves and oppress the commoners, squabbling over borders and bringing fire and destruction without thought for the consequences. Galina lost her entire town, and all her family, to the raging inferno of Empress Isidora, and so was easily taken in by Irina, Sera’s mother, when she offered a chance at revenge. It came at a steep price, with Irina experimenting on both Galina and Sera until she found a way to summon a god into the body of a commoner. However, To Cage a God begins years after Irina’s execution, with the sisters in exile until they hear of the assassination of the emperor and get caught in the crossfire of an invading army.

With all out war imminent, and a potentially unstable empress on the throne, Sera decides to take a chance and attempt to take down the monarchy once and for all, and so the two return to the capital and begin to carry out their plans: Sera will work on a concoction that will give Galina enough power to sever the empress from her dragon, and Galina will gain the empress’ trust and spy within the palace while she waits. What neither of them account for are the other playing pieces on the board: Sera’s ex Vitaly, who was Irina’s left-hand man and has continued a very violent campaign against the throne, and Vasilia, the reclusive princess who takes a quick interest in Galina. The final key character is Katya, the empress’ handmaiden who has watched all her predecessors -including her own sister – killed at the slightest provocation, and who must walk the careful line between rebellion and obedience.

All the characters were incredibly interesting and very believable, and I especially loved the bond between the sisters. Sadly, though, Sera and Galina separate very early on in the book, with one in the palace and one hiding in the shadows, and so we didn’t get to see a lot of that relationship first-hand. And as much as I enjoyed Vitaly and Vasilia as love interests, I struggled with the way the pining took centre stage during such a delicate operation. In fact, I’m afraid to say that I ended up finding this book a bit boring… I liked the individual elements very much: the setting and worldbuilding were opulent and rich in detail, the characters, as I’ve said, were dynamic and well-rounded, and the potential for the plot was very strong. But then it just… fell flat.

The politics were surface level, with the empress written to be a terrifying and ruthless ruler but her actions not really following through. I also suffered for the lack of a map (I don’t know if one will be included in the final version, and I do know that ARCs don’t often have them), because there were so many location names mentioned that I struggled to place them, and we don’t really see any significant foreign forces or solid plans for imperial expansion. Vasilia as princess was intriguing and I would have liked to see more of her in a public role, but most of her scenes take place in her secluded wing of the palace and I didn’t really care about her romance with Galina; it was very sudden and a little too intense for my tastes. I did care about the relationship between Sera and Vitaly but their plot line didn’t really grip me.

I know that this is probably a lot of set-up work for the rest of the series, but I must admit to skimming a good deal of the final third of the book to get to the conclusion. I do enjoy romance in my fantasy, but there was a bit too much focus on it for the kind of story I felt May was trying to tell, and the steamier scenes seemed to happen almost exclusively just before some important part of their plan needed to be carried out. The priorities just didn’t make sense, and the characters in those moments felt more like teenagers with their first crush than adults trying to carry out a revolution they’ve been working on for years. So yes, I loved the concept and enjoyed being introduced to this world, but ultimately this book wasn’t for me.

I'm sad to say that I did not end up enjoying this one, the premise sounded really good!

I enjoyed the firs 25% of this book. Nicely paced, interesting set up. But after that I felt like the book was quite generic. Lots of tropes we often see, and not necessarily executed in a different way (lots of cliches).

I also really did not care for both of the romances, like at all. They both felt very random and forced. I didn't really help that I didn't feel anything for the involved characters, so I also wasn't rooting for them to get together.

It was a nice fast-paced read though.

Book Review of To Cage A God by Elizabeth May
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My thanks to NetGalley, Daphne Press and the author for providing this e-book for my unbiased review 🩷
This review will be shared on Facebook & Instagram @tinydragonbooks, and on Goodreads.

Book One of the These Monstrous Gods series is a historical fantasy with political machinations, secret identities and a touch of romance.
The land is in turmoil, constant battles between cruel nobles, who oppress their people, tear towns and villages apart and keep its people in poverty.
Galina and Sera have divinity in their bones. Literal divinities. Their mother, Irina, bent on destroying the noble ‘alurea’, crafted her daughters into walking threats. Using ancient magic, she planted gods within them. Gods who are seething and malicious, resentful of their imprisonment. Like the nobles who use their captive gods to wage war, the sisters wrestle with their own, Sera attempting to alleviate the torment of Sundyrs citizens and Galina, drinking hers into oblivion. But when revolution comes to their little town, the sisters have no choice but to continue their mother’s seditious legacy. Galina must enter the palace as a common born alurea, and undermine the Empress from within, while Sera mobilises her spies and tries to find a panacea for the gods within them.

This was my first Elizabeth May book, and I’m surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Political intrigue is not a trope I usually find exciting in a storyline, however, combined with the fantastical elements of this story, it did not detract from my continuing interest. Set in an imperial Russia-type world, I loved the imagery provided by the architectural descriptions, and the cultural elements included.
I found the premise very original, (which is wonderful when you are almost primarily a fantasy reader!), and the idea of having the gods as sentient beings, who also recognise eachother, great. I loved Sarah’s gruffness and badassery, which was a great juxtaposition to Galinas softer nature.
I also loved that the writing and dialogue was contemporary enough to appeal to a reader of today despite the older era.
Highly recommend to readers who enjoy Katherine Arden’s and I’m looking forward to the next instalment of this series.

Was kindly given a free copy of this book, however all opinions are my own.

Funny thing, this is going to be a monthly pick for one of my book subscriptions in the coming month (won't tell you which ones because we don't do spoilers!) and I actually chose to skip this month because I read the blurb and didn't think I'd enjoy it, and then I received a copy of this for my kindle and honestly regret skipping it now!
I was so incredibly pleasantly surprised by this book! It was fast paced, exciting, I liked (some of) the characters, the sapphic pairing was good, I had a pretty good reading experience overall!

There are however a few things I would have liked to see explored more within this, for instance although I did like the characters, I don't think we get to know any of them quite as well as I'd have liked to, and I did have a hard time picturing both the characters and surroundings due to (imo) lack of descriptive imagery.

I would have loved to know more about Irina and the events leading up to Sera and Galya leaving, which I didn't feel like was talked about a lot.

I also feel like, apart from the romance of it, Galya's infiltration of the palace was a pretty thin plot point. I feel like she mostly drifted around, waiting for Sera to finish the pancea, and I would have liked it if she had, like, a task or objective or something to do. I get that the point was for her to get close to Isadora but she didn't really seem to do that either, and given that Sera and Vitalik literally just climbed over the walls and got into the palace anyway, what was the point?

All in all I did enjoy this, I got through it pretty fast, wasn't bored at all and the story was pretty good. Was it amazing? No. Was it somewhat lacking in vivid imagery and character depth? Yes, a little - but I did have a good time reading this, I was properly entertained and I will probably be reading the next one as well, whenever it comes out.

Vitalik has me in a chokehold lord have mercy. The angst and the tension in this book knows no bounds.

Great premise for a story. I really liked the idea of the gods being literally caged inside the host. I would be cranky too if I was taken from my home and shoved in a box for a mortal lifespan.

The author knows how to write evil well. None of the villains in the story came off as cringy. You really felt their conviction (however misguided) and it wasn’t overplayed.

I enjoyed the fickleness of the royal court and the endless games courtiers must play to survive.

The sexual tension between each couple throughout the book was *chefs kiss*. I felt it, I wanted them to be together. The author writes chemistry fantastically.

Will definitely be recommending this book to friends!

I'm gutted that I had to DNF this book. I was really looking forward to it, but couldn't vibe with the plot or the characters and struggled to immerse myself into it.

I tend not to give a star rating to books I haven't completed, because it's not a fair assessment. So my 1-star is simply for the purpose of my feedback and not a reference to the entirety of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for this copy of To Cage A God

I had high expectations for To Cage A God and it was one of my highly anticipated reads, I felt that this started as a slow burn, the way it was written to start with coupled with all the swearing (which I personally thought was unnecessary) I was doubting I was going to enjoy the story.
It did however pick up after the first initial chapters, with the multiple pov and the story began to shape really well, the characters started to flow off the page and the magic etc seemed to present it's self well, it was unique.

Thank you to NetGalley and Daphne Press for the advance reader copy.

I went into this book with very high expectations, especially in regards to the power/magic systems and the world building but came away feeling like there was something missing.

The first 30-40% of the story was a very slow build and at some points I was gong to DNF it but also was hoping for a pick up. We do get that but it feels like the ending was rushed and not enough time taken to flesh out the better part of the book.

I also didnt realise this was a duology, which upon finishing the story makes sense with the ending.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I've read a lot of anti-imperialist, anti-colonialist, rebellion fantasies recently - it seems to be a current theme in YA/fantasy novels. I would say that this one was enjoyable but not quite up there with the best (e.g. The Final Strife). I liked Sera and Galina's relationship, and the concept of binding dragon gods inside people's bodies to give them powers is an original take. I also really liked the chronic illness rep given by Vasilisa's character - it's really good to see this coming through more in recent fantasy novels (see also Fourth Wing). I'm definitely intrigued enough to see where the series goes.

This was an odd one for me. Initially I didn’t think I was going to like it, the first 20 percent had me bored. And then I got slowly drawn into the story and by the end was invested in the characters. It was an interesting concept, however I would have preferred a bit more world building. I think it will end up being a part of a series as the epilogue sets it up as one, however it has a satisfying ending point where I do not necessarily feel like I’ll need to rush to try the next one in the series,

3.95 ⭐️
thank you netgalley and daphne press for a review copy!!
This was a really amazing fantasy book!! I thought the magic system was really unique and the characters were really well written. Its told through multiple povs which really helps with the flow of the novel but I did find it felt a bit rushed in the second half and I think it would have been better to split it into two books rather than one. Overall I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it to fantasy lovers!!

I was excited about this book, but when I finished it I felt something was missing.

The magic system was intriguing and quite unique. I loved the concept of gods/dragons trapped in human bodies, which was unique, and how a person's status and power were based on the strengths and abilities of the summoned god. But I wanted more out of it. The gods were supposed to have individual personalities and traits (Sera and Galina could feel them moving under their skin, sensed their reactions, and had to negotiate with them to gain their godpowers), but these aspects were rushed through and never explored. I would have liked to see the dragons play a more relevant role in the story.

I loved the close bond between the two sisters, Sara and Galina, Vitaly's deranged personality and Vasilisa's resiliency. And while I love multiple POVs (here we got 5 POVs), it felt like there were too many at times because we didn't get the chance to really get to know any of the characters in depth.
The main antagonist, the Empress, was likewise too one-dimensional for my liking, a power-hungry and constantly resentful character who fell flat overall.
While fun, the romantic relationships between the characters (M/F and F/F) suffered from the same flaw: they felt a little underdeveloped, rushed and needed more attention.

I struggled with the world-building. I generally enjoy complex world-building, but here I found it very confusing. It felt diluted and heavy at the same time. The author dropped the reader into this Russian-inspired world with no further explanation, no map and no translations of the terms and language used (there is a glossary at the end of the book, but at least some translation embedded in the prose would have helped, at least at the beginning). This, combined with the sluggish pacing of the first half, made me feel disconnected from the book.

Overall, while I enjoyed certain aspects of the book, it didn't live up to my expectations.

2.75 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Daphne Press for a copy of the ebook. This review is left voluntarily.

Absolutely ADORED this pacy, eventful, romantasy!!

Firstly, the concept of caged Gods really intrigued me but it has to be said I'd have happily gone with 'caged dragon's instead and didn't quite get the link BUT...

Overall I loved the two opposing couples. The tension and secrets withheld between the ex-lovers was *chef's kiss.* I loved the Enemies to Lovers of the princess and the rebel.

The rebellion against the villainous queen was high stakes and kept me hooked.

There was only one character (no spoilers) that I felt really didn't get justice and I was angry that they weren't the one to get revenge in the final chapters. I found some scenes with this particular character very upsetting and it'd have been okay if they got their revenge eventually.

This was an enjoyable read and I thank Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this ARC!