Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - To Cage a God

Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

To Cage a God by Elizabeth May

5 reviews

kpturner90's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book is a bit of a twist on your classic fairytale princess love story. I love the characters and their commitment to making the world a better place no matter how dangerous it may be. They see the unfairness and cruelty done to the people and are determined to do what it takes to make things right at any cost. The fierce protectiveness these characters have for each other is the type of loyalty everyone should have from at least one person in their lives, and these characters have it from many- sisters, friends, and lovers. They will do anything to protect and save one another. The romance aspect adds a nice touch without overpowering the main story that's being told. The couples are well-matched, and you can't help but love seeing them together. This book was relatively slow-paced, particularly in the beginning and middle, but picked up closer to the end. I'm not a big fan of slower-paced novels, but it's to be expected from the first book in a series because it needs to take the time for world-building so the story can be told in a way that pulls you in. Overall, I enjoyed this book well enough, and although it isn't one of my favorites, it has the makings of possibly becoming a favorite series. I am excited to see what happens next, and can't wait for the next book!

Content Warnings

kayla_moerman's review against another edition

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I did not like the writing style one bit. It had passages of text where it would give amazing description and detail to ‘show’ the characters situations and perspectives and the way their experiences have shaped them but then immediately undercut itself by ‘telling’ us exactly the same thing.
I'm not against a book telling us details that could else be inferred other ways, and overall from what I gathered of the themes bring explored, I feel optimistic that it would be quite nuanced and thoughtful in the concepts and topics introduce at the beginning. However I do fret for the execution as it felt like the author was almost working too hard to try and get her point across and didn't get a good balance between the showing and telling aspect of the book.
Saying that, the magic system sounded really cool and the upfront consequences and mechanisms the characters used to control the Gods grafted to their bones were interesting, though I wouldn't necessarily call it original. I did like the characters themselves a lot though because they were both very complex and immediately fleshed out by their inner dialogue and the banter between them. Once again, however, I felt it was overwritten in that despite this amazing display of showing the characters interact it would always tell us how they interacted too.

This is just a personal gripe for me as I'm very much a sucker for specific writing styles that have a certain flow to them. I don’t think the book was bad, what I read of it sounded good! But I just couldn't read it without losing concentration because I need slightly more vague writing to stay attentive.

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booksalacarte's review

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adventurous challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

To cage a god- 2.75⭐️ 3.5🌶️

Adult fantasy

Sapphic

30yo characters

Multi POV

Morally grey characters

Hidden identity

Dragons

Mythical beasts

Russian influence

Revolution

Alcoholism rep

Ptsd rep

Chronic illness/disability rep

Tw: self harm/cutting, suicide, murder, gore, death, emotional abuse, alcoholism, eugenics

I love the premise of this story! Commoners have unwilling dragon gods caged inside of them, something reserved for royalty, for a rebellion.

The entry into this story was abrupt, making it hard to connect to the main characters because we were dropped into the very middle of most of the character’s stories. but I just found it hard to feel caught up. I even was a kid fascinated by the Russian Revolution and the last tzar of Russia… and so much of the plot mirrored those true events.

The characters were flushed out well, for the most part. And the banter was good.

I found the magic system to be really interesting in how different magic manifested depending on which dragon god was caught.

The pacing wasn’t great, with the abrupt and slow start and rushed ending.

The spicy scenes didn’t feel as natural as I prefer. The timing of these scene was really NOT great.

Thank You Netgalley and DAW Books for an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Content Warnings

natashaleighton_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

An exquisitely thrilling Fantasy Romance that’s set in a lush, yet ruthless (Imperial Russian-esque) world full of god wielding rebels, tyrannical rulers and high stakes political tension that I couldn’t get enough of!

As someone quite new to Elizabeth May’s work (this being the first of her books I’ve ever read) I was really impressed with the deeply emotional, character-driven narrative and adored the intriguing magic system (Dragon Gods magically removed from their own realm and forced into the bodies of humans, so said humans can harness their powers)—though I was hoping to delve a little more into the lore surrounding each the dragon-esque gods.

The second chance romance between Sera and her estranged husband, Vitaly more than made up for it, however, thanks to the slow-burn, and swoon-worthy intensity of their enemies to lovers style dynamics. Galina’s romance with the Villainous Empress’s daughter, Princess Vasilisa, was also incredibly delicious as well. But, it was the bond of sisterhood and trust both Galina and Sera place in one another that really captivated me.

I loved exploring their shared experiences and the emotional journey that sees them survive such unrelenting cruelty at the hands of the Empire’s ruling classes—as well as their own rebel leader mother, who had sought to weaponise them for her own gain (before her capture and execution four years prior.)

I do admit, I was a little surprised by just how many POVs we got to explore (I had assumed it was gonna be a dual POV story between sisters Galina and Sera.) But actually, really enjoyed exploring all five of our POV characters, delving into their motivations, secrets, struggles and choice which lead each of them to that spectacularly satisfying (and rather pacy) conclusion.

Overall, a magic and romance filled romp teeming with gods, complex family dynamics and endearing, morally grey characters that’s perfect for both Romantasy lovers and fans of Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow & Bone series. Though I do suggest checking TWs beforehand.

Also, a huge thank you to Daphne Press and Blackcrow PR for the Proof

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devynreadsnovels's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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