Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to listen to this book.

Love and Other Cages by Emilia Ares is second book in the Love and Other Sins series. Read the first book before diving into this one. You need the context!
Mina, a high school senior, raised by her single mother. She is taken by criminal underground Russian mobs because of her father’s mistake. Mina’s boyfriend, Oliver, goes out to try to save Mina. Mina is fighting for her and her mother’s lives and Oliver is fighting to save Mina.
I enjoyed the narrator, but the story was very hard to get through. It felt disjointed and the characters needed more depth. Also, I thought it was strange that the FBI was briefly mentioned and then never again. I know that Oliver is a trained fighter…but he is one high school student taking on an entire Russian mob. It just did not seem believable to me. I know that stories we are supposed to suspend our disbelief…but there is a point where it is just ridiculous.

"Love and Other Cages" by Emilia Ares is a compelling and emotionally charged book that sweeps listeners into a world of danger, love, and resilience. The audiobook format heightens the tension and emotional stakes of the narrative, with the narrator skillfully conveying both Mina and Oliver's journeys. The performances bring a palpable urgency to their story, enhancing the listener's immersion into their world. Mina's journey from an ordinary life to one filled with mystery and danger is compelling, and Oliver’s anguish and determination to find her are rendered vividly through the narration. The author’s exploration of love under extraordinary circumstances is captivating, and the pacing of the audiobook keeps the listener engaged from start to finish. The narrator’s ability to capture the emotional nuances of the characters makes the story feel even more immediate, pulling you into every high-stakes moment. The blend of suspense and intrigue makes "Love and Other Cages" a gripping listen. Overall, Love and Other Cages is an immersive audiobook experience. Ares delivers a story that will leave listeners rooting for Mina and Oliver as they fight to rewrite their fate.

DNF at 25%
This one is just not for me. I tried walking away and coming back to it, but alas it's just not meant to be.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to listen to this book.

This was a very unexpected surprise. I didn’t know much about this book before going into it but, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. This book has a lot of aspects but, it reminded me a lot of movies like: Red Sparrow, Black Widow and Taken. It has a combination of thriller, mystery and romance. Mina goes through A LOT in this book. My girl really went through a lot of shit and had to LITERALLY do everything and anything to survive. I can’t believe that her father was such a terrible one and couldn’t help his family and do everything to get her back. Like my man, your daughter is doing through hell and he doesn’t do ANYTHING? That’s insane to me. The love interest was doing everything to get her back, my man went through a lot trying to gather information about her and what was going on. Honestly, this audiobook felt like a movie and there’s definitely gonna be a third book because that was a criminal way of ending things between these two and their lives. I really was surprised and people should read this book because it’s actually good.

I really enjoyed the narrators for this audiobook. Their voices were so easy to listen to. I did however feel like this book was too slow for my liking. It is a slow burn but holy cow.

Love and Other Cages by Emilia Ares is book two in the Love and Other Sins series although you can read this as a standalone. If you like romantic thrillers, dual POV, action, suspense, with multiple twists and turns then you will love this book.

Mina is a high school senior, who is being raised by her single mother. One day her life is turned upside down when she is taken by some criminal underground Russian mobs, to pay for her father’s mistake.  Oliver is Mina’s boyfriend, is a trained fighter, is a senior, and has his own job. After deciding to make it official between them their relationship is short lived. Mina is fighting for her and her mother’s lives and Oliver is fighting to save Mina.

Ares did a great job with this book and I was left hanging with that cliffhanger. Mina did a great job with the storyline and plot. Emilia Area voices Mina and Will Collyer voices Oliver and they did a great job with the characters. Told in dual POV between Mina and Oliver. It was tough to listen to the torture Mina suffered through but she stayed so strong throughout. Then seeing how Oliver would go to any lengths to find her. I was really wanting to know what happened when her father found out about what was being done to his daughter, maybe we will get that in book three. I didn’t realize that there is Love and Other sins was book one, it doesn’t really need to be read before jumping into this one but from what I read we get more of Mina and Oliver’s past and friendship. I can’t wait for the next book because I have to know what happens. Thank you to Sera Books and NetGalley for letting me listen to this audiobook in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions.

Thank you netgalley and SERA Press for the advanced audiobook for review. I will start off by saying I only found out that this was the second book in the series when looking to add it to my Storygraph. That being said it can be read without reading the first one, but if you'd like a deeper understanding of the characters backstories you might want to pick it up. I really liked the dual perspective and dual narration in this audiobook it really brought the characters to life. The fact that the FMC is the author means that every line is delivered just how they'd want it done and It was a great performance. The male narrator did a great job of conveying all of Oliver's tones too. For me the initial setup felt a bit slow because I was expecting the action to start right away, however it's a good set-up as we get to know the characters and their main notifications. When the action does start it goes from 0-100 pretty quick, the main kidnapping plot unleashes all sorts of wild rides as the scope of just how deep Mina is in gets revealed. It's pretty dark and brutal. I really loved Oliver's loyalty and how much he is willing to fight for the solace and love he finds in Mina. The star crossed lovers had me hooked, the question was constantly in my head about how they find their way back to each other. I'm so hyped to find out the rest of what fate has cooked up for them in the next book. I'd also like to go back and read their origins too. Would definitely recommend for people who like languid and lyrical writing with lots of detail and description. Romance readers who like a bit of spice will also enjoy this too.

I thought this was a great, suspenseful YA thrilling story. The narration was well done, the tension was high, and the story and characters were engaging. Thank you NetGalley and Emilia Ares for the opportunity to listen!

So I only got about 30% of the way through this book, but it's not working for me. I was not aware that this was a sequel in a series (I also didn't look into the fact that it said it was part of a series either on the cover).

This story seems to take place immediately after the events of the first book, where Mina and Oliver are waking up together from the night before. After Oliver sneaks out of Mina's room, Mina and her mother are attacked by some men. Mina barely fights them off but not before they can seriously injure her mother, landing her in the ICU. After learning this was orchestrated by a Russian mob due to something her father is connected to, Mina finds herself being kidnapped by them. Oliver tries his best to be there for Mina, but she pushes him away for his own safety, but he refuses to stand down.

I think overall, the concept is interesting where it is similar to an episode of Criminal Minds or FBI, but it's lacking depth. I don't feel like I am captivated enough by the characters or story at this point where I want to see where this goes. I have no idea what Mina's father has done to cause the mob to go after the family or why the police don't seem very concerned with her and her mother's safety or why higher authorities like the FBI aren't really involved with any of this outside of a brief conversation with one agent in the hospital that even local law enforcement aren't involved with.

It is my understanding that the characters are high school students, so for Oliver to decide to try to take on the Russian mob to help save Mina just doesn't make any sense to me, especially since he doesn't seem to have such resources to do such a thing. Also, the way the police go about handling his missing persons/kidnapping report to them, they don't seem very concerned or competent.

Ok. I admit it. I did this book a disservice. I neglected to do a little research and realize it was book 2 in a series. I spent a good portion of the first half thinking “I’m missing something,” because, spoiler, I was !! That being said, I’m going to review this for the story and writing and my lack of all the details will not be factored into the rating. So, this book felt like Black Widow’s origin story and the movie Taken spawned this tale. It was written extremely well, and even though I would have benefited from the details in book 1, I thoroughly enjoyed the story and characters. It was more YA/teen/new adult than it was a romance (kind of a sprinkle of romance). It was definitely more drama, action, intrigue.

Beware: there is a steep cliffy.

Audio Notes: the audio performance was very good!! With dual POV, I do always wish for a duet narration, but I thought both performers brought the characters to life nicely. I love when authors narrate their own books because they tend to put a ton of heart into it.

Love & Other Cages by Emilia Ares was simply too much for me to handle. From the beginning, I felt overwhelmed by the sheer intensity of the violence in this story, and the lack of romance, which I usually look for in books like this, left me feeling disconnected. It didn’t quite meet my expectations, particularly when I was anticipating a more balanced emotional experience with a romantic core.

Another important point that frustrated me was the fact that this is marketed as a standalone, but it absolutely doesn't feel like one. This is the second book in the Love & Other Sins series, and without having read the first, it’s incredibly difficult to connect with the characters or feel any real empathy for their backstories or their love story.

If you’re diving into this without the context of the first book, you might feel lost or disengaged, like I did.

DNF'd at 48%

Unfortunately, I had a lot of trouble staying engaged with the story. Don't get me wrong, I think Emilia Ares is a very talented writer. But because I didn't read the first book, I found it a bit difficult to keep up with the story world.

Thank you SERA Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

I started reading this book and something felt off. I kept thinking in the back of my mind why does some of this seem similar? then I remembered I read book one (which you don't need to read for this book) It's been a few years since book 1 came out and I did not like book 1 so I thought I'd give this book a chance. Even though I said in my review I would not read book 2.. I made it about 15% and I couldn't so with regrets I DNF this book.

Thank you NetGalley for this Audio Arc in exchange for my honest opinions.

I wasn’t paying attention when I requested this on netgalley. It’s a book 2 and probably would have liked it more if I had read the first book. It didn’t feel super necessary but probably would have been rooting harder for the romance.

Mina and her mom have moved back into town but immediately get attacked by some Russian gangsters to keep her father in line. She ends up getting taken and her boyfriend Oliver is searching for her.

Dual pov between the couple and to be honest sometimes the switch was a little jarring. Like i definitely liked Mina’s perspective better so when we’d go back to Oliver’s I would remember he existed lol.

It’s a series and definitely am curious about what will happen next.

Thanks to netgalley and sera press for an alc

Very fun and entertaining read, but a bit predictable and vaguely familiar.

First things first. I did not read the prequel nor did I realize there was a prequel when starting the book. That being said you don’t really need the prequel to get the gist of this book.
This book reminds me of the star-crossed trilogy by Alexandria Lee but with a Russian spy twist. This is a good and bad thing because I love love loved the plot of the star crossed series. I do want to continue this story and obviously the ending leaves us with a lot of questions so I’m excited for the next book. And I want to read the prequel eventually.
I LOVE Mina! She is so strong and developed as an FMC and you can tell if for whatever reason she stays with the agency as a plot twist she would absolutely crush it. On the other hand I did not like Oliver and kind of dreaded his chapters… I didn’t really get the sort of cheating but not really side plot that kept getting brought up and he kinda just annoyed me the entire book. I wouldn’t mind a spin off for Havi and Naia. (Sorry idk if that’s spelled right I listened to the book on audio) what I’m really rooting for is a love triangle between Mina, Oliver, and one of the Russian spy mentors.. low key.
Lastly! As mentioned I listened to the audio book version and let me tell you it was INCREDIBLE! The accents! The drama! The random lines of Russian! Definitely a big selling point for me. It definitely added to the reading experience and I would recommend to anyone who is looking for an exciting fast paced thriller with a touch of romance

4 out of 5 stars.
Thank you to Netgalley and SERA Press for a copy of this audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

First things first - when I picked up this ARC I didn't know it was the sequel to another book, and therefore the second book in a series. To be honest I didn't realize this before looking up other reviews in the midst of looking up content warnings in the middle of the book. Therefore I don't really think I missed a lot from the first book to understand the context and happenings in this one, and I will say it works okay as a standalone.
Love and Other Cages wasn't anything I expected, and it's been hard to write an actual review on the book, because it's so hard to place for me. I contemplated DNF'ing this book for the first 20-30% every time I listened, but the latter half of the book captivated me completely. If someone had told me this would turn into a Russian spy novel, I wouldn't have believed them.

When I picked up Love and Other Cages I thought I would end up with a YA-ish contemporary romance between two young people and their personal hardships. Instead I ended up with a book full of very strong characters with well-written personalities, some very dark scenes and a lot of action. While Oliver captured me from the start, Mina took a little longer, but I ended up loving her and all the qualities she represented. I love strong and willful women, and I think Mina fits nicely into that box, while Oliver is the friend and boyfriend everyone deserves in their life.

I won't lie and say I didn't miss the romance I was expecting, but I was very impressed with the action and the emotional turmoil presented. Emilia Ares does an amazing job framing each scene with the right descriptions and emotions shown, while still keeping the book true to it's identity. I did struggle a little with finding the plot believable at times, even in the book setting, which also made the book feel like a classic YA book, which stood at a juxtaposition to some of the darker scenes in the book. (Torture and rape attempt.)

I don't think I will pick up the first book of this series, but I might just be intrigued enough to look for an eventual continuation of Love and Other Cages. You might be too, if you like reading action-packed books with spy elements and colourful characters.

I got about half way through this audiobook and unfortunately am having to DNF. While I love the female narrator, I cannot stand the male. In addition, while the cover and premise of the story is beautiful, the story itself I find to be lacking and flat. I often enjoy stories that drop you in the middle of the action but this feels a little jarring and I cannot connect with any of the characters or find it in me to be interested in them.

I'll not leave a public review on this out of respect for the author.
Thank you for the opportunity to listen and review this book, I really appreciate it!

The narrator of 'Love and Other Cages' was great, and I just know that it's going to find its audience and they will LOVE it. Unfortunately, this just wasn't for me. I'm sure it will be a star on library shelves, and win over young people's hearts, just not mine.

DNF’d at 40%

Whoever said you can read this as a stand alone lied. I tried sooo hard to get into this but I was genuinely so confused. The writing was good no notes there but the plot itself was so hard to understand without reading the first one.

1 star
The suspension of disbelief went out of the window with this one. As someone who has read dozens of mafia romance books in their life, this was not it. Especially since this is apparently a new adult thriller, so let me tell you the absolute shock I had to find myself listening to on page SA.
But removing that, the characters are one dimensional with no personality. The plot was messy. And the romance wasn't good either.
The thing I liked was the characterization/acting from the narrators. It was fantastic.
Overall, it's not my favorite read.