Description from Goodreads:
In modern-day Britain, magic users control everything: wealth, politics, power—and you. If you’re not one of the ultimate one-percenters—the magical elite—you owe them ten years of service. Do those years when you’re old, and you’ll never get through them. Do them young, and you’ll never get over them.
This is the darkly decadent world of Gilded Cage. In its glittering milieu move the all-powerful Jardines and the everyday Hadleys. The families have only one thing in common: Each has three children. But their destinies entwine when one family enters the service of the other. They will all discover whether any magic is more powerful than the human spirit.
Have a quick ten years. . . .
Review:
Gilded Cage by Vic James has 368 pages and was published in 2017 by Del Rey Books.
What an interesting read. Gilded Cage is a novel about the aristocratic Equals that are now ruling Britain. Equals are born with skills (magic) while the commoners are not. Commoners are forced to work as slaves for 10 years of their life. They work under extremely cruel, unsanitary conditions. This is the story of those people who would like the system to remain the same (primarily Equals) and those who would like it to change (primarily commoners).
The premise is unique and interesting. However, I found that it took me a few chapters to really get into this book. Once the plot got rolling though, I found it to be an entertaining book with intriguing characters. I am really interested to see where James leads them in her next book.
There is a small amount of romance in Gilded Cage. It is not a huge element in the plot. There is also some violence, strong language and alcohol use.
There are a lot of questions left unanswered. I was disappointed to see that the next installment is not out yet and I will have to wait for it’s release.
Recommended for fans of dystopian literature.
Rating: 4 Plot Monster Spiders
Notable Quotes:
“Have a quick ten years.”
― Vic James, Gilded Cage
“Imagine waking from a twenty-five-year sleep, and the first faces you saw were Sil and Lord Weirdo. Aunty Terpy’s sanity would run gibbering back to whatever cracked little corner of her skull it had been occupying all these years.”
― Vic James, Gilded Cage
MDW original review. Source: Library.
Plot Monster 
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