2.75 Stars

okay first of all let me say that i enjoyed this book more than i thought I would. After I was given an ARC I actually heard of quite a few people who didn't really enjoy this, which made me kinda hesitant.
So let me tell you who I think this video is for and who it is not for.

I think this is for very character focused readers, who don't need much else. And with character focused I almost more so mean relationship focused. Because those I did actually enjoy as much as I ever enjoy romance. Which is to say for me romance is something that I enjoy if it's there additionally to all the other stuff I love. More so than the romances tho in the relationships I did really love all the very strong female friendships and sisterhoods this books centered around.

So for whom is this book not? pretty much exactly for the type of reader I am. One of my favorite things in fantasy is the worldbuilding. But not the magic, but society, politics, etc. And there was nothing there in this book. We know there was a rebellion... but aren't really told what their goal was aside from "topple the monarchy". We're shown the empress we wanna kill is exceedingly sadistic and cruel, but what that means for this empires people as a whole and getting a feel of that? Not really much there! There'S a threat of war from other countries, but why and how the history is between those countries? nada.

All that to say if you care about anything past the characters in books, maybe skip this one.

I had high hopes for this one, and though I enjoyed element of To Cage A God, I finished this book with the overall impression that I’d been wanting more for most of it.

Magic/Gods

Let’s speak of the elements I DID like, first. I thought that the magic system was intriguing and was actually one of the main reasons I was interested in this book!

The idea of gods - and DRAGONS, at that! - being magically caged inside human bodies was something I’d not come across in a while. But, I wanted more from this. A pretty consistent and recurring feeling throughout this was that I wanted a LOT more sentience from the gods. These are full-bodies deities, assuredly which are canonically described as having individual personalities and traits; so where were they?

Galina and Sera are foster sisters, both of which have deities trapped in their bodies, which are the sources of their godpowers. Given that this seems to be a fairly strong connection between gods and their human cages, you’d have thought that there would be a more consistent presence of said god throughout the narrative. I don’t know about you, but if I had a god underneath my skin who I felt “raking its talons” in my bones, this would be a pretty consistent feature in my internal narrative. But other than showing up to convey lust or provide power for something very specific then disappear, these gods were not present. There were times when I forgot that they were even part of the story.

I did find the idea of the experiments wrought on the main girls, Galina and Sera, highly disturbing, and understood the magic structure/where the gods came from, so that’s something! But I wanted more from this magic system, a) because I love dragons and b) I feel like if you’re going to use literal gods as a source of power, then it should be built to the fullest extent it can be. Not feel like an “instant solution” to any problems/obstacles the characters had been written into…

Characters

Now, another element I liked so this isn’t a massive-gripe fest. I think Galina and Vasilisa are my favourite characters in this. Coincidentally, they’re also my favourite character relationship. I thought this was the most believable relationship, and although (as a slow burn lover) it was a little too “instalove” for me, and dominated initially with lust, I thought that they made sense and I loved their vulnerability with each other, grown over time. Vasilisa was pretty much my favourite character, and I admired her strength, her resilience, but also her weaknesses. I adored the scenes with Galina and Vasilisa and wanted more of them! It was the main reason I enjoyed the book if I’m being honest, and my feedback mid-read was, verbatim, “I wish this was just about them.” Yay for sapphics!!

And back to griping. Another main issue I had with this is that the emotional connection between the main POV, Sera, and Vitaly didn’t exist until about 350 pages in. Three hundred and fifty pages, until I semi believed that these two were good together. And during that time these characters read as YA ‘protagonists’, rather than apparently 30 year old adults navigating and leading a dangerous rebellion against an empirical force. There was also a supposed emotional/backstory reveal between Sera and Vitaly, which felt very disingenuous. It seemed like this revelation ness supposed to make readers fall over themselves for this “don’t touch my things/that’s my wife” sort of relationship that booktok loves, but it doesn’t have the emotional depth to make this seem anything other than a plot device.

I enjoyed Vitaly more as a character, as I found him to be more genuine and believable in his characteristics as morally skewed. In his own words, he says he’s not about to convince anyone he’s a good person, and that reads true in his narrative. I did get bored with how often he would only refer to his love for Sera related through the lens of her ‘fuckability’, but, I still found him more genuine as a character. I still didn’t really believe their relationship, even with the background information. However I struggled with Sera; she was at times the ‘snarky heroine’, then the ‘selfless sister’ then the ‘badass rebel’ and none of those roles seemed to stick. I didn’t get much depth from her, and the only thing I really still know is that she’s down bad for her estranged ex.

I thought that Katya had more complexity to her than Sera, which although great, is also tricky because Katya is supposed to be a side character…

I also found the main antagonist, the Empress, to be one-toned throughout. She was the flat, monotone power hungry and constantly angry Empress, seeking power only. It’s been done before, I didn’t find it to offer anything more than the necessary conflict that a political fantasy needs.

Worldbuilding/Pacing

The worldbuilding was so-so. It felt like a watered down version of other Russian-inspired fantasy worlds, where political connects were somewhat contextualised but I still didn’t really get an idea of the good or tense relationships between countries/regimes. The inspiration for the world feels surface level, with no real understanding of what goes on here apart from the things that our main characters are directly involved with. Readers who enjoy a complex and richly built fantasy world with historical elements will need to look somewhere else, I’m afraid.

The difference between okay and great worldbuilding, I think, is an idea of how the world works when our characters aren’t in it. I didn’t get that with To Cage A God.

The pacing was also a tricky one to pin down, in that it felt like it fluctuated wildly. We’d get intricate details in particular scenes, and then - faint spoiler - we’d see Galina writhing in pain as a result of her godpowers, but then was apparently just left in the bath when another side character Katya ran off for help, despite the water making it worse. A very small example, and perhaps not the best, but there were instances where attention was paid in great detail to things that didn’t seem to matter, and then what I would personally consider more important things to be left out, or rushed, or skipped altogether. The fight scenes were quick and rushed - mainly skipped in favour of Sera and Vitaly to just fall into bed eventually - and the pacing just seemed to lag and jolt. I felt like a lot of build up then quick resolutions.


Overall, I felt To Cage A God had a lot of promise, and perhaps we’ll get more of this developed in book two, but I just don’t know whether I should have to wait for over 300 pages for things to start to ring true, whether that’s character relationships or otherwise. For Galina and Vasilisa, I’m tempted to pick up the sequel, but I’m also discouraged by the other character and writing factors aforementioned. But I’m sure that many readers will enjoy it for its romantasy elements!

Con las lecturas del año pasado me di cuenta de que una parte nada desdeñable de lo leído pertenece al género romantasy, algo que me sorprendió pero que luego, con más reposo, vi que tenía mucho sentido. En la fantasía actual hay mucha tendencia a incluir tramas amorosas, a usar el enemies to lovers y en general, a dar más importancia a las relaciones interpersonales. To Cage a God es un buen ejemplo de esto.


Elizabeth May le da un barniz imperial ruso a su fantasía asemejando su mundo a los últimos años de los zares de Rusia. Es por lo tanto algo previsible parte del desarrollo de la historia, aunque la parte mágica sí que es más original. El poder que ostentan las clases más altas deviene de su relación con los dioses que habitan sus cuerpos, encarcelados de forma hereditaria. Resulta también interesante el paralelismo con la hemofilia de las familias reales de la época, que se refleja también en este mundo fantástico. Somos testigos de la magia y de la crueldad de la emperatriz en el primer capítulo, cuando asistimos a la destrucción de un pueblo entero en un ataque de ira.

Por otra parte, los rebeldes también han llevado a cabo sus experimentos mágicos y han conseguido que dos personas tengan un dios en su interior y puedan ejercer la magia, sin haberlo heredado genéticamente. To Cage a God nos irá mostrando la lucha de poder entre ambos estamentos.

Lo que parece ser muy interesante al principio, pronto se desinfla. Los personajes aparecen muy acartonados, y las relaciones entre ellos son previsibles en exceso. La trama está muy centrada en el palacio y la infiltración que llevan a cabo los rebeldes es, cuando menos, peregrina. Me temo que hay una acumulación de clichés importante y aunque reconozco que pueden resultar de interés las tramas amorosas, a mí me han dejado bastante fría. Tampoco es que se pueda destacar mucho la prosa de la autora. Es un libro perfectamente prescindible.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️🌶️
🐉🔥❄️🗡️👩‍🦽

To cage a god is divine. To be divine is to rule. To rule is to destroy.

To Cage a God is an epic romantasy inspired by Imperial Russia and its revolution. That being said, you should go in knowing that revolutions aren't pretty, and be sure to check out content warnings. That aside, this book is epic.
When they say it's a book crossed with Forth Wing, Shadow and Bones, and From Blood to Ash, it's not a joke.

To Cage a God follows multiple points of view, but our main two characters have to be sisters, Sera and Galina. A sister bond like no other, they devise a plan to overthrow the tyrant leader, Impress Isidora. Using their powers due to being bonded with dragons (well, more like forced to use their bodies as cages), the sisters and a team of "faithless" try to take down those called alurea who use their power to murder, hurt and rule out of fear.

There are action, knives, fire and frost power, spice, sapphic and m/f love, dragons with attitude, dragons who feel, princesses who fight despite being in chronic pain, servants who hope despite being beaten, and magical flowers with different ways to help heal.

Highly recommend it to those who love good stuff the government type books, and those who love dragons, and a great worldbuilding in fantasy.

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

Theoretically, I should have loved this book. It’s got Anastasia x Shadow and Bone vibes with dragons thrown in – Sign. Me. Up. However, the first 25% of the book was a challenging slog, and it took me way too long to settle into it. While I don’t mind heavy world building, this felt over long and occasionally confusing. Being dropped into a world with little explanation on the terms and language used, combined with stilted pacing, made me feel disconnected from the book. There IS a language key at the end of the book - this again, is something that I normally love - but some translations within the story would have helped.

Once I did settle into the book (around the 40% mark), I started to enjoy myself. It had all the nice little components I love, like high fantasy, unique magic systems, sibling dynamics, dragons, romance, and unhinged shenanigans. The sisterhood between Sera and Galina was beautiful and my heart ached for them throughout the book. I wish we had a few more glimpses of their lives together.

The romantic relationships in this book (M/F and F/F) while fun, felt a little shallow at times and could have used a bit more fleshing out. I love multiple POVs but it felt like there was too many at times – almost like we were given a POV without a proper introduction to that character.

Could the concept of caging the gods (dragons) into human bodies and the unique magic system have been better explored? Yes. Could we have done with maybe ONE less POV? Also, yes. Still, I did enjoy myself reading this, and I’d like to see how everything unfolds in the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Daphne Press for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

We follow foster sisters, Sera and Galina, whose foster mother experimented on them by implanting gods. The mother was executed for being part of the Rebellion, the Faithless. But the girls have their own path mapped for revenge for the Empress.

When they arrive at the palace we then meet Katya, Vitaly and Princes Vasilisa who are also important players in the story.

If you like books with devious plans, fighting for a cause, morally grey characters, power mad nobles and sisterly bonds, then this book is for you.

I loved the romances, second chance (sort of) and sapphic.

As usual I fell for the assasin, he stole my interest and my heart, Vitaly, his devotion for Sera made my day!

Another character who had my full interest was Vasilisa. First of all she was mysterious and full of secrets and then she blossomed into herself, her character growth was immense.

The second half of the book is where it piqued my interest, the first half fell a bit flat for me, it was painfully slow but at the same time important things weren't explained I felt.

Even though this is billed as adult I'd say it was more YA with a bit of steam thrown in!

Mostly I was drawn to read this book by this author. I have known about Elizabeth May for a while but have not read many of her books. I read the Seven Devils duology she co-wrote with someone else and one under her Kendrick penname. But I wanted to read something else too. To Cage a God didn't quite live up to the expectation.

To Cage a God is set in a Russian inspired world. The two sisters, Galina and Sera, have been in hiding with the gods that inhabit their bodies. But when the emperor is assasinated by the rebellion they were once apart of, it makes them step out of the shadows with a plan of their own to overthrow the empire.
For the most part the book was entertaining to read. It took me a little but I did start warming up to both Galina and Sera. Especially Galina started rough with us. We meet her when she is nursing a hangover from one of her alcohol binges. But when Sera comes to her with a new plan, you see her starting to stand up again, even if she initially fights it. You see a very damaged young lady who is actually pretty strong on the inside. I also really appreciated the relationship that Galina and Sera had. They are not biological sisters. Both were adopted by their mother and were used to put Gods in them. But for them, that sister bond is very real. I never felt any animosity between the two for anything that happened. Just support. And I loved that.

However I struggled a bit with other aspects of the book. The worldbuilding for instance. The royals are born with a god in them and it is what makes them the ruling power. There is apparently a big history of that. Our two main characters had a god put in them when they were children. Their mother found some book about that. It is just there but it is not build up. There are no details though you would think that be important. There are no details, no names and very limited interactions with the gods. They are suppose to be this thing, but they aren't really present. They could have just as well have had powers of their own because I'm not sure what the added point was of these gods. Even if this is to come in the future books, there needed to be more here to hook the reader. It was a really interesting idea but the execution really let it down.

As far as the story goes, I can see why there was a rebellion. The royals really weren't very nice people and they treated the people pretty bad. But for something like this, a rebellion, an entire city, there were not enough characters. It felt so incredibly tiny and limited. We were on the outside of the palace but all that this really served for were the romantic interactions between Sera and her guy. The city, the people, the rebellion. None of that was build up.

To Cage a God is for the most part an entertaining read, even more so if you like a good bit of romance. I do not feel compelled however to wait/pick up the next book. This plot is wrapped up and it has not left me curious about anything else.

This was a ebook ARC received through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I hadn’t ready any of May’s work before so I really was going from the blurb. This book was also part of a Buddy Read with Louise over at FoxesFairytale. She read the book before I did, but was very good at keeping spoilers to herself.

I mostly enjoyed this book, but there was one aspect that I just wasn’t here for. The male POV character. For me he was a bit flat. I didn’t understand his motivations, or even how he’d managed to stay alive. He was the antithesis of the red-headed, green eyed chosen girl who doesn’t know how pretty/special/powerful she is. Who does nothing to earn that status. He felt like a roughed up, dirty version of that. It doesn’t help that I could see glimmers of Kaz from Six of Crows but with a much less defined backstory, and unclear motivations. Sometimes he seems to be motivated with vengeance, other times lust but with his end goal being the rebellion. But there wasn’t enough backstory to make his cause feel worth it. For me, he wasn’t necessary to move the story on.

If I just pretend he wasn’t part of the plot then I loved it! There is an intricate fantasy world, skilfully built. And the characters are believable. There a romance that was just beautiful and engaging. Backstabbing and politicking in a recently bereaved royal household. Exquisite. The revenge plot line had motivation and purpose. At its heart, it was quite a small tale of vengeance and love but it felt all encompassing.

I believe this is a duology but it could definitely be read as a stand-alone. I would recommend it, don’t let that man put you off!

High fantasy
Romance (M/F and F/F)
Revolution
Imperial Russia inspired
Dragon gods
Disability representation
Multiple POVs


I was so stoked when I first heard about this book. This follows the story of two sisters (Sera and Galina) as they try to overthrow an oppressive empire with the help of gods that have been grafted into their bodies. Although they are the main characters, we also get POVs from other characters as well totalling to 5 POVs which does help the reader understand the other characters a lot better. I loved the concept of the caged dragon gods that grant power and how a person’s status and power is based on the summoned god’s strengths and abilities. I just wished that this was further elaborated on in the story. The romance was enjoyable and I loved reading Galina’s romance more. I personally am not a fan of the writing style and I feel that some sentiments became repetitive and some scenes were long drawn. Otherwise, this was still an enjoyable read and I am curious as to what happens next in this duology.

Thank you to NetGalley and Daphne Press for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Twin Crowns meets Shadow and Bones with an adult feel.

This was a nice light (which seeming as the content is quite dark) fantasy that combines politics and science in a new and inventive way.

Our dual protagonists are unique and steal the show in very different ways in this novel. Each is relatable, however, does not fall into predictable hero’s journey tropes.

While I would have loved to have seen a little bit more tension within the piece to make some of the plot points more dramatic - I think this type of NA fantasy builds nicely between exposing audiences to fleshed out queer romances and politic world building.

I would definitely recommend this for a New Adult reader, especially in the wake of heavy dragon fantasy like: Fourth Wing and Dragonfall.

3/5 stars for me

I received both an audioarc and e-arc through Netgalley all opinions are my own.
3 stars because I'm nice. Probably more 2,5 stars.
Also this review contains spoilers.

This is the kind of book where it's good to dual read the audiobook and book at the same time. Due to the foreign words and names being used. It really helped me. Otherwise I would have been stuck at words I didn't know how to pronounce.
I don't think I would have been able to finish this book without the audiobook so I'm immensely grateful for that.

I have so many questions. But I also wonder if I just missed something when reading which I tend to do.

So dragons are gods I guess?
I don't really understand how some alureans are born with these gods inside of them. Like how are they chosen? What kind of gods exist?
Also the magic system. I don't fully understand it. Some magic can heal broken bones? But magic doesn't heal their illnesses?
Why does the other countries want to go to war? Is it to gain more land or did I miss something?

The lesbian romance was fine. The hetero one was eeh. I'm just not into jerks, especially not when said jerk tries to kill my sister several times. And then doesn't ever apologise for it. Even when she keeps him safe. They even point out that he haven't apologised yet and he just says it's implied that he feels sorry, eventhough he doesn't.
I wasn't a fan of the sexual tension, and it's not really enemies to lovers. They were never enemies, Sera just never communicated with Vitalik.

I was liking the book but at around 80% in when Sera finds out that her friend has been captured and is being tortured she decides that she NEEDS to bang her husband instead of trying to figure out a plan to save her friend what the actual fuck?!?!?!?!
I know that it comes from fear that she might never be with her husband again. But what the actual fuck??

It seems like I hated this book. But it was fine. I didn't love it. Wouldn't mind recommending this to other people either if they like russian inspired books. But if you know too much about the russian revolution I think, then you might not like this book.

It does follow a lot of common tropes and cliches.

The book doesnt end on a cliffhanger and most things had tied up, so you can read this as a standalone if you wanted to.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher/author for accepting my request to read and review this one early!

I was so thrilled to be accepted for this one as the concept of caging Gods into humans was so fascinating to me. Alas, we don't get to see this process in the books, but I do think how the magic system works and how the gods effect the humans they are trapped within is an awesome concept.

This was such a strange reading experience as on one hand I was HOOKED. I adored how character focused this book is as all my favorite fantasy (and fantasy romance) are character focused books rather than plot focused. So seeing relationships develop was awesome. The romances were both incredible.

HOWEVER... the plot left something to be desired.

1. I felt for one that 3 of the 5 perspectives we followed were all fairly identical and it could have been limited to just 1-2.
2. We didn't really get much world building or history, it was hard to see what this world looked like, what the people looked like etc.
3. There actually wasn't much plot beyond characters getting to know each other. A few events happened but for a 17.5 hour audiobook it was shocking that I can only recall a couple things that actually happened. Needed more of a story direction.
4. It felt like this was book 2 in a series. There was soooo much history between some characters and every character has a lot behind them that would have been super interesting to follow. I kind of wish this book were the second in a series and the first book was following the characters getting to this place.

Despite my critiques I really enjoyed a lot of this book and I am interested to read book 2 when it comes out.

Thank you to Daphne Press and NetGalley for allowing me to review this ARC! To Cage a God was one of my most anticipated releases for the early half of 2024, and I read this in three sessions.

The first 20% felt… slow. I really struggled to focus and to connect with the characters. The next 30% I finally started getting into it. Vitaly and Vasilisa really started to save it for me, the most engaging characters in the entire book. Then today I read the last 50% in one sitting, absolutely obsessed with it.

I really enjoyed the magic system, the Zmey, and though this clearly needs a sequel, it also stands on its own quite well.

Thankyou to NetGalley and Daphne Press for a free e-arc in exchange of an honest review.

I DNF'd this book at around 20% as i soon realised the story just wasn't for me- this had nothing to do with the way it was written and he storyline itself isn't bad- its just not my preference!

I listening to this as audio book format too- the audio book is very good and i would highly recommend. Narration is great and so is pacing

I thoroughly enjoyed this book despite the slow start.

I would say the first 10% is difficult to power through due to the intense political world building however once I was 15% in I could not put the book down.

Beautifully written where you hate who you’re meant to and are made to love the ones who you’re meant to love.

4/5 ⭐️ and definitely will be re-reading this year

Give this girl a sapphic fantasy and she will read it.

To Cage a God is a fantasy heavily based around the Russian Revolution so easily combines my two favourite genres.

I really enjoyed this, it felt like an easy read and a good set up book to a universe that we've never seen before. Personally, I can't wait for book 2!

Thank you to Netgalley and Daphne Press for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 20%

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. I rarely DNF books, and I’m sorry I did, but I just couldn’t get into the story due to the pacing and prose. I didn’t really get what was going on, and also wasn’t interested to find out. I feel like the author immediately jumped into the story without giving information about the world first. It just wasn’t for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Daphne Press for providing me with the Arc in exchange for an honest review.

Please be sure to check the trigger warning for this one, as there are quite a few.

This YA fantasy unfortunately didn't live up to the hype for me. It was slow and I found it a bit confusing too.

Thank you for the copy in exchange for a review. If this book seems interesting to you, please give it a go!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book!

To Cage a God felt like a book specifically catered to me. As a big fan of fantasy books that borrow from Russian history I was already intrigued when I read the synopsis of this book. But when dragons were also included? Count me in.

The world is so alive in this book and it just makes me all the more excited for the next installment. I felt for all those in the Blackshore under the regime of the empress. It truly felt like a lived in neighbourhood and it made me all the sadder to see the residents suffer as they did. I loved every attention to the world building and the politics of the regions, it reminded me of other works that weave politics into their stories so effortlessly and that is what it felt like here. I also loved the dragon magic, how well thought out the ways it worked was and how incredibly disturbing the experiments done on the young girls were written to be.

I also loved how most of the major players here - as well as some of the most important relationships - were female characters, my personal favorite being the princess Vasilisa. Her story broke me and made me feel for her in so many ways, as well as adding to the tension in her relationship with Galina. I adored how their relationship developed and played out, two women realising how much they really have in common and finding they may be alone but now they have found someone to be alone with. It also felt so refreshing to have such a solid sisterly relationship, as I often feel like familial relationships are lost in epic fantasy stories. Sera and Galina truly love each other and you can really feel it at certain points in this book. I longed to see them meet up again and each time they did it tugged at my heartstrings even more.

The writing was at points incredibly beautiful without straying into overly purple which I personally appreciated. May has such a talent for crafting emotions and feelings into words so effortlessly that you relate to them yourself while reading. Her talent for writing yearning (especially between women) was so fun to read and I loved each time scenes like that showed up.

However, I did have one gripe with this book that lowered it to 4 stars and that was Vitaly as a character and his relationship with Sera. I often found him grating and at times hard to like when all he seemed to talk about in relation to his wife was how physically attractive he found her. I failed to see at times why he truly loved her beyond vague impartings of said love which never really landed with me. I also was not a fan of how their relationship was re-kindled considering how, personally, his blatant disrespect for Seras boundaries early on in the book plus the amount of times he seemed careless for anyone except himself (even when he claims Sera is the only one that matters to him) grated on me and their rekindling at such an odd moment when it felt unearned on his side turned me off their relationship entirely. I would have loved to have seen him work more to regain her trust and ease his way back in to her life in a way that felt like he worked for it rather than him appearing to wear her down with his so called "charm".

Overall though I really enjoyed this book on so many levels I was able to overlook the slight issues I had with it. I will for sure be picking up the sequel when it comes out and cannot wait to recommend this to friends upon release! Such a great winter read and I feel I will re-read this each year from now on.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Daphne Press for providing me this book in exchange for an honest review*

I've tried to read Elizabeth May's other books but they didn't draw me. So, I was reluctant to pick "To Cage A God". And Oh boy, was I wrong.
I loved the world building and I really loved Sera's and Galina's realationship. Vitaly's chapters were my favorite. It reads YA at some parts but other than that I loved it. I can't wait for book #2.