Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'To Cage a God' by Elizabeth May'

'To Cage a God' was not what I was expecting and maybe that is a good thing. The writing style was right up my alley and for the start of a duology, I was hooked. I felt like I sped through this book quicker than I do most books. However, my qualm is that I honestly felt like I missed a lot happening and that's probably my fault. I will be continuing this duology though in the future.

Galina and Sera's mother grafted gods into their bones. The Sisters, bound to powerful deities, have access to forbidden power and were raised to overthrow an empire. The sisters eventually take the reigns of a growing rebellion in an attempt to end the reign of a cruel royal family. Sera reunites with her estranged lover who is a rebel leader, while Galina infiltrates the palace.

I was hooked from the very first line. This novel has a lot of aspects which I enjoy: there are two sisters with very different paths, godly powers where the gods sort of have a mind of their own and compelling relationships. The magic system and the whole concept of gods being part of the character is also something which appealed to me. I especially enjoyed Sera's characterisation and her relationships with her sister, Galina, and her HUSBAND(!) Vitaly, as well as with her dragon god.

In saying so, when I was halfway, I started to feel disconnected from the writing style very much. I found that I was skipping a lot of pages because I wasn't interested in the other characters we were introduced to later on.

Overall, although I did not enjoy the writing style very much, this was still an enjoyable novel.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me. Initially I was intrigued by the premise of the book - not to mention the incredible cover art! I liked the idea behind the story and in theory this book should have been right up my alley, however there were several aspecs of the writing that personally did not work for me. Firstly, this felt strongly like a firmly YA book desperately trying to force ittself into the adult category through the repeated and gratuitous use of profanity. The issue is not that I have a problem with swearing in books or that it cuases me any personal offence but the use of curse words felt unnatural and forced, it didn't come through as a genuine character choice - rather it felt like a fast and cheap way to 'age up' the writing. I also found the writing style to be not as clean as I was hoping, I continiually felt as if the reader is being told and not shown. Also the 'telling' was often overly detailed, every micromovement and every nanosecond of an action was painstakingly described to us, resulting in writing that felt slightly devoid of emotion and heavily undermined the impact of events in the book.

On the whole, this is not a bad book, just one that was not for me. I do think there is an audience of perhaps younger adult readers who still want a fun, fantasy adventure but also like to feel that the book is more towards the adult end of the spectrum, who will absolutely love this book.

I was so so excited to read this and so thankful to be given an arc copy to read.
But it kind of fell a little short for me. I felt that not alot really went on other than forming those founding relationships that we needed but it took a whole book to get there. I didn't buy sera and vitalitys relationship as I don't believe he could go from hating someone like sera to saying no no you're my wife it's fine, you're the exception, and then also accepting her sister. It was too quick and didn't feel real. There were a few relationships and characters I loved but as a whole I found that the whole book was just about forming those bonds and not much else.

This was okay. A mid paced dark political intrigue romantacy where two 'sisters' plot to over throw an evil empress. It was hard to get into at first as there were a lot of names being introduced that it felt as though we were expected to already know, even though it was the begining of the story. I actually stopped reading and did a goodreads search to see if this was actually the second in a series. There is also lot of telling in this story making it harder to connect with Galina and Sera and Katya or to understand why it is so important they take the risks they do. There is little emotional processing after some extremely traumatic events, the characters just plough straight on with their plan which lowered the stakes for me. From that point i never really thought any of the characters were in actual peril. The romances are well written and integrated well into the plot but the romances are also the only character development that occurs. Overall, I think that maybe we actually needed more context or backstory to help to understand these characters, maybe a prequel?

I found the story very cute and compelling, I read it with pleasure. I loved the descriptions of the places and characters and the reading was very smooth. The cover of the book is also very beautiful and definitely inspires reading.

I was so excited when I realized the author of this book is Elizabeth May, also author of The Falconer series. Those books were so important for me when I read them in my teens! I absolutely adored them. So maybe the expectations where too high from the beginning.

I love the atmospheric Imperial Russia inspired world. Also the magic system is something I haven't seen before so it was really exciting to discover how it works. Although I would have liked to see a bit more of insight of this dragon-god world, the book explains everything in a complete and easy way to understand.

There's power dynamics, evil rulers, dangerous rebels, secret labs, a world at the edge of war, and two sisters against everything. Sera and Galina's foster sister relationship was for me the best relationship in this book. Even better than their respective romance stories.

But for romantasy fans, yes, you can get your fair share of romance in this book. Each sister has her own romance story, and both relationships get a bit explicit at some point. And both romances were beautiful but I have to admit, they felt a bit plain at some point. Like it was repetitive and felt more of a tell but don't show. And I honestly would have loved for Vitaly to have a little bit of personally besides being in love. He doesn't think about ANYTHING else. Because yes, this is a multiple POV book. That was enjoyable.

I liked the pace of the story. I loved the world building at the beginning and how things get dramatic and urgent in no time. I liked the development of the story and it's conclusion. Even though the end promises big trouble to come in the next book.

So why do I have this feeling like I am missing something? Like the story could have given a little bit more and it would have been a wonderful read? I think some part (mostly toward the end) felt empty and with a lack of context, I would have loved more details that framed this story and less focus on the romance, which was already getting repetitive.

So, I don't even know how to rate this. Because I liked, I devoured this action-packed novel, and I want to read the next book when it comes out. But I still feel like I'm missing more details that would have made the story absolutely fantastic. Maybe its a 3 1/2 star reading.

The gods caged in question are in our main characters Galina and Sera's bones.
These sisters must sneak into the palace and help the rebellion end the reign of the royal family who are currently possessed by destructive gods.
However, both sisters also have romances going on that make life, and their plans. Much more difficult.
I enjoyed this, and there is Sapphic relationships, dragons, found family, magic and political and palace intrigue.
It was a little slow paced to start, but it picked up around the half way mark, and is such an interesting concept that kept me reading on!
I enjoyed the different POVs throughout, and they gave us good glimpses into the world and people's thoughts.
I will say, it's nice to have older protagonists, as 30-40 year olds aren't often read about, but they didn't read as that age. It didn't really read any different to the kind of attitude and mistakes YA protagonists make. Otherwise, really enjoyable, action and intrigue throughout!

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Oh wow this was different. It was a bit slow to start off with plus I’m not a big fan of third pov but eventually I got used to it. It had potential but I still think It needs some polishing story wise. Just felt a bit draggy and Info dumpy. I like multiple povs and the romance side of the story. Still recommend to give this book a go. Thank you!

DNF at 20%, this was a struggle to get through, stuffed full of dialogue and info dumpy without actually clarifying what the heck the plot was meant to be. Also extremely tropey and obvious about it.

*Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for an EARC in exchange for an honest review*

SCREAMING. I've not been reading a lot lately but this YANKED me out of my reading slump by the hair because honestly what the hell did I just read it was dark and romantic and original and just UGH.
Love.
This is me trying to put my jumbled thoughts into words so just bear with me yk.

The romance absolutely made this book so if you don't like romantacy... run away now. It was heavily enemies to lovers and like, enemies while lovers?? idk Vitaly just did things to my heart. I would absolutely go feral for him.

And the two protagonists, the sisters Galina and Sera oh my god. Absolutely powerful, morally greyish assassins with a mission to take down a corrupt empire? Say no more. And of course, the chronically ill and queer rep was just *mwah* as well (although I'm not an ownvoices reviewer for chronic illness rep, but other people seem to be complementary too!!).

Poisoner princess, assassin lover, god-sisters and a handmaiden tired of empirical evils, honestly the POV characters of To Cage a God were all masterpieces.

To make things even better, there was a complex (but easily understood thank god i was not in the mood for heavy fantasy) plot which was deliciously fast paced and exciting, definitely no boredom here- I raced through each page!

The ending felt slightly rushed, and I'm actually not a hugeee fam of a happily ever after (hence 4 stars not 5) but these are just personal preferences so.

If you want a fun, romantic, slightly gory, dark, new adult, etc etc book, and you loved Furyborn/Fourth Wing/NA fantasy in general, read To Cage a God. I'm sure you'll love it!!

I love The Falconer series with all my heart and To Cage a God was one of my most anticipated releases of 2024. So, I was very excited to get this ARC and dive into this new world. Alas, it didn't work for me. It pains me to give such a low rating but I really struggled, and more than once I had to force myself to continue reading. I couldn't connect with the characters, the writing style didn't captivate me and there were lots of fillers that bored me most of the time. I wanted to love this book so badly and I'm really sad I didn't.

Very slow to begin with dragged abit for about 200 pages, then gets going and has you hooked. Anyone who love y/a with some spice this is definitely for them.

'To Cage a God' is set in a Russian-inspired world and tells the story of Sera and Galina, foster sisters who both hold gods trapped within their bodies. In an attempt to overthrow the corrupt royalty and the alurea who support them, Galina infiltrates the royal family so that she and Sera can, together, overthrow them from the inside. Nothing goes quite to plan though, and the Empress' cruelty puts not only Galina but those around her in danger as well. As Galina grows closer to the Empress' reclusive daughter and trapped handmaiden, Sera finds herself working in close contact with an old friend, having to fight attraction and conflicting goals in order to reach their end goal.

This book had me hooked right from the beginning, and it didn't let me go until I had turned the very last page. More than anything, this is a fun read that sets up the duology well, and there are so many places it could go that would be exciting and disastrous. The relationships between the various characters are intricate and varied, but more than anything I love that the idea of 'bonded' gods and humans is explored in a way that makes it messy and dangerous, and not nearly as clear-cut and mutually beneficial as I have seen it done before.

There may be a lot of tropes included, but that didn't detract from the intrigue and fun for me. The world and the writing are accessible and perfect for beginners to fantasy or just those who are looking for something that won't be too difficult to understand. I loved the romances, the friendships, and the deep-rooted rivalries that formed between the different characters, and the depth they had to them. It's a story about sacrifice, cruelty, and love in the face of danger, and I can't wait to see where Elizabeth May takes these characters next.

It started slow, and I struggled to follow along, but nearly halfway it started to build up.
This book did have a very complex world, and the plot follows sisters Sera and Galina, whose late mother, former rebel leader, had experimentally grafted gods into their bones, trying to make weapons out of them.
I found it an interesting book, but I did struggle through it a lot and just couldn't connect.

Imperial Russia-Inspired Romantasy
Enemies to Lovers
Dragon Magic
Steamy
Political
New Adult
Multiple POV

Anytime I see a book compared to the likes of shadow and bone, I worry it won’t hold up. But I devoured this book, it had me staying up well past my bedtime to finish.

This book is everything I wanted and more, its got dragons, found family, twists and the best morally grey characters.

The world building sucked me in immediately, and the idea of Dragon Gods caged inside the bones of the worlds royalty is just incredible. To Cage A God explores humanity, rebellion and the romance WELL.

I cant wait for everyone to read this, so I can scream about it.

To cage a God is the start to a brand new duology by Elizabeth May

Set in a Slavic inspired fantasy kingdom on the precipice of revolution, To cage a god follows the tale of Sera and Galina who have been raised by their deceased mother to rebel against the current regime.

This series hooks you from the beginning with a short prologue and takes you straight into the trauma filled lives of is S&G. I liked that there was an equal focus on the 2 very different romances of the sisters. With Galina’s being a sapphic Cinderella-esq story and Sera having a more edgy enemies to lovers romance with a morally grey rebel leader.

The writing was good but some of the metaphors and phrasing fell a little flat for me. The writing was also more YA than NA despite the darker elements of grief, alcoholism and violence prevalent in the book.

The premise was brilliant but I feel like a lot of interesting things happened before the start of the book whilst, the actual book contained a lot of filler. The world building was also a little underdeveloped but I can see a lot of potential here.

Another round of copy edits would definitely help the book meet its potential.

I’ve been a fan of Elizabeth May for a while so I was ecstatic to get an ARC to review. Thank you too Daphne Press and NetGalley for the digital arc.

What a book! This world is rich and deadly and I could not get enough of it. The multiple POVs adds extra depth to the storyline as each MC has different things they're fighting for. The ending was exciting and I'm very excited for the sequel