Cage of Darkness by Jennifer Anne Davis
Fantasy. 219 Pages. 4 Stars
Synopsis:
While traveling to Fren, Allyssa and Odar are hijacked by a ruthless assassin who divulges a stunning secret that changes everything.
Trying to come to terms with this newfound revelation, Allyssa is taken to Russek and delivered into the hands of a malicious and twisted royal family. She finds herself an unwilling pawn in a risky political game that will either end with her death or the annihilation of her beloved kingdom. Unsure of where the lies end and the truth begins, she must survive the brutal family and escape the fortified castle, all the while coming to grips with her feelings for Odar.
In a kingdom filled with darkness, Allyssa enters a game where one wrong move means death, secrets hide around each corner, and it will take every ounce of cunning she has to survive.
My Review:
Well, crap man. That isn’t quite how I saw this ending. This was certainly a thrilling sequel to Cage of Deceit, and there were both parts I enjoyed as well as parts I didn’t find as entertaining.
The overall plot was engaging and kept my interest. One of the book’s strongest aspects is the political intrigue. I’m a sucker for politics in fantasy and this series is heavy with it. In fact, it is probably the strongest component compelling me forward in the series. Just as with the previous book, there were a few turns (mostly ones set up in book 1) that I saw coming; though, I found far more turns I didn’t see coming in this book than I did in book 1, which was refreshing. The author works well with tension and that sucks her readers in. Even to the last page, I was wrapped up in the plot and curious as to how it would all unfold.
The setting for this book was in the enemy kingdom of Russek. It was appropriately a contrast from Emperion, in many ways. Not only was it geographically–and consequently so was the climate–quite different, but culturally and stylistically the country’s differences peeped through. Everything from the architecture to the mannerisms of the people contrasted with the world Allyssa knew, and I found it captivating. The harsh cold and bitter snow reflected the even harsher people and more bitter royalty. The setting set the tone for the book very well and felt fresh and knew, unknown and foriegn, which added to the tension in the story. I look forward to the yet more drastic differences in Fren, which we just barely saw hints of in this book. I have a feeling we’re far from done with Fren and its people.
The characters in this book, both returning and new, left me with mixed feelings. I can honestly say I liked Odar far less in this book than I did in the first one–and that is before the rather abrupt reveal at the end. He was much more of a wimp. When he was sobbing and whining about how much he loved Allyssa and just wanted to protect her, he was furious and indignant toward anything that threatened her. He either held her close and stroked her cheek, tears in his eyes, or made stupid decisions and foolish declarations through black, angry eyes. Truthfully, I was disappointed in him. He felt rather flat in this book. Don’t get me wrong, I love a protective male lead as much as the next girl, but that’s all there was to him here. And after a while, that just gets old. He wasn’t cunning or strategic or strong or, well, anything. He was either overwhelmingly weak and wilting or hard and unfeeling, and I didn’t care for it. What little we did see of him was not only disappointing, but disinteresting as well.
As for Kerdan, I can see how the author is setting up a space for another ship, but…I struggled to jump on board. Even with the much-subdued Odar, I felt more a kinship between Kerdan and Allyssa than anything romantic. I’d rather see them as brethren who fight by each other’s sides than I would lovers. Now, that is how I felt for 90% of the book. After Odar’s brilliant tantrum at the end, I’m not sure I care for sailing on his ship anymore, but we’ll see. I’m not normally so easily swayed. All that said, the book didn’t really feel love-triangley to me at all. Allyssa was clear from the beginning where her heart stood, even as she mourned Odar’s deception.
These three were by far the most prominent characters. Some of the others held spaces in the story, but only Soma could possibly be considered as important. Soma was well-written, definitely creeped me out. I liked the political intrigue, as I said, presented by the Russek royalty, but we didn’t really get to see much of who the characters actually were. There wasn’t much depth to many of the characters since the book focused so heavily on Odar, Allyssa, Kerdan, and the precarious political situation. I missed some of the characters from book 1 and hope that in 3 they will resurface.
The writing isn’t poor, though I’m not in awe of the style, either. The only thing that really bothered me so much was the not-so-subtle feminist lines. I mean, feminist or not, these were more than a little overt. They disrupted the flow of the story. I get that Allyssa is clearly concerned that she is treated equally as any man around her; you don’t have to remind me every chapter. Personally, I found it annoying. The plot wasn’t about equality and fair treatment–she was a prisoner for half of it!–and yet, these rather obtrusive lines kept finding their way into the story and tearing me out of it long enough for me to roll my eyes. Perhaps it’s meant to factor in when we get to Fren? I don’t know. I didn’t find the undertones necessary. They felt more like a real-world political statement than a natural, organic part of the story.
Lastly, but certainly not leastly, the content. Okay, so there is some mild swearing scattered fairly sparingly throughout the book. There wasn’t anything vulgur or blatantly abrassive, in my opinion, but the language was used more than in the first book (maybe three words used several times throughout the book?). The romance was still clean, though there were some allusions to harlotry and a mildly suggestive scene (implied). Nothing more than a kiss happened in the book, but it did sometimes lightly imply or touch base with a more embarassing subject (particularly that would target and humiliate Allyssa). The violence, however, was definitely more than book one. There were two specific scenes of torture and a few murders. Though the book still wasn’t all-out gorey, there were one or two bits that were a little graphic, even more so than necessary. I didn’t personally find the book more than I could handle, though I did wrinkle my nose at the second torture scene, but I wouldn’t suggest giving the book to anyone younger than sixteen or seventeen.
Oh, also, there were some mildly thematic themes that didn’t really…resolve properly? Maybe they will in book 3, but the book definitely entertained ideas of revenge and murder that were never strictly addressed as “always wrong.” And, while I appreciate the complexity and reality in indecisiveness and the fault in characters, I did kind of spend the whole book waiting for the characters to at least admit that they were at fault instead of justifying their decisions.
More:
Book 1 in the Reign of Secrets series is Cage of Deceit (4 Stars)
Book 3 is Cage of Destiny (4 Stars)
Book 4 is Oath of Deception
Book 5 is Oath of Destruction
I have read and reviewed the original trilogy on Goodreads. See the links above for more information. These definitely need to be read in order.
On GraceBought
If you missed my thoughts on the first book, check it out below! And stay tuned next week to see my review of the next book in the series!