Cage of Deceit
Reign of Secrets #1
by Jennifer Anne Davis
Source: Bought ebook
Stars: 4.5 our of 5
Description:
Sixteen-year-old Allyssa appears to be the ideal princess of Emperion–she’s beautiful, elegant, and refined. She spends her days locked in a suffocating cage, otherwise known as the royal court. But at night, Allyssa uses her secret persona–that of a vigilante–to hunt down criminals and help her people firsthand.
Unfortunately, her nightly escapades will have to wait because the citizens of Emperion may need saving from something much bigger than common criminals. War is encroaching on their kingdom and in order to protect her people, Allyssa may have to sacrifice her heart. Forced to entertain an alliance through marriage with a handsome prince from a neighboring kingdom, she finds herself feeling even more stifled than before. To make matters worse, the prince has stuck his nosy squire, Jarvik, to watch her every move.
Jarvik is infuriating, bossy and unfortunately, the only person she can turn to when she unveils a heinous plot. Together, the unlikely pair will have to work together to stop an enemy that everyone thought was long gone, one with the power to destroy her family and the people of Emperion. Now the cage Allyssa so longed to break free from might just be the one thing she has to fight to keep intact. In order to save her kingdom, she will have to sacrifice her freedom, her heart, and maybe even her life.
Review:
First, I fell in love with the cover, then I read the synopsis and knew I wanted to read this book. I’m sure glad that I did. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Warning: It ends in a cliffhanger. No HEA for this book, but there are more to come.
“I’m afraid you’re locked in this cage of deceit with me. When you break free, you’re going to hate me.”
Things I liked:
- Allyssa is a great character. She’s strong and has room to grow. I really liked following her story along the way. There were a few times when I felt like she kept complaining about being in her “cage” too much, but it got the point across. She’s a tough chick that’s willing to do what’s right even when it’s hard to do.
- Grevik is awesome. I wish there was more of him in the book. He is a great friend. And I so want to say more, but–my lips are sealed!
- Jarvik. Oh Jarvik. He’s surly and ornery in all the right ways.
- Allyssa’s parents were interesting characters. I want to go back and read their stories now after reading this book. They took really good care of their daughter, keeping her feelings in mind and loving her.
- The romance is a slow building burn that I totally feel for and was rooting on the entire time.
- After the initial beginning, it’s fast paced and kept me glued the entire time. I finished it in one sitting and am anxious for more!
Things I didn’t like:
- It took a little bit to get in to. It ended up being fine because what you learn in the beginning makes a difference down the road, but it was still a little slow moving at first.
- The big twist at the end of the book, I had it guessed right off the bat. Usually, this bugs me, but with this book, it was interesting to see what was going on knowing what I did.
- There were a couple conversations that got started but never finished. I couldn’t figure out a good reason for it other than as a plot device. If something is that important, you don’t let things get in the way of telling your daughter/girl you love. Nuh-uh. You say what you gotta.
“She was a princess, elegant, refined, and all that the position implied. At least, that was she kept telling herself. Because, truth be told, she hated being stuck in this cage, playing this game.”
Despite the difficulty, I think I managed to stay spoiler free, lol. Seriously, there’s so much I want to talk about but can’t without ruining it for someone. So go read the book so I can! I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys YA fantasy.
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