*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