• About Us
    • Disclaimer and Policies
  • Giveaways
  • Features
    • Pre-Order Deal Incentives!
    • Author Talk Podcasts
    • Flashback Friday
    • Whadda YA Know Wednesday

Fiction Fare

  • Banners
  • Reviews
  • Contact Us

The Gilded Cage by Lucinda Gray

July 28, 2016 by Erin Leave a Comment

The Gilded Cage by Lucinda GrayThe Gilded Cage by Lucinda Gray
Published by Macmillan on August 2nd 2016
Genres: Historical, Romance, Young Adult, Young Adult Fiction
Pages: 256
Add This Book to Your Goodreads TBR
three-stars
After growing up on a farm in Virginia, Walthingham Hall in England seems like another world to sixteen-year-old Katherine Randolph. Her new life, filled with the splendor of upper-class England in the 1820s, is shattered when her brother mysteriously drowns. Katherine is expected to observe the mourning customs and get on with her life, but she can't accept that her brother's death was an accident.

A bitter poacher prowls the estate, and strange visitors threaten the occupants of the house. There's a rumor, too, that a wild animal stalks the woods of Walthingham. Can Katherine retain her sanity long enough to find out the truth? Or will her brother's killer claim her life, too?

The Gilded Cage by Lucinda Gray is one I have had my eye on for a while.  I mean, look at the cover!  Also, the story itself was one I found very interesting.  First, it is historical.  Second, it is about a girl thrown into a life that is very unfamiliar to her and she does her best to survive.  I will do my best not to spoil anything with this story but as a warning, there are some things I might happen to give away in the review.

Katherine is sixteen and finds herself moving from Virginia to England with her older brother.  Due to the death of her paternal grandfather, they go from having almost nothing to being the wealthy owners of Walthingham Hall along with a title.  Along with the house comes their cousins who at first appear to be there to help but I admit it, I figured something was up with these two.  When her brother mysteriously drowns, Katherine finds herself very alone and unwilling to give up figuring out what really happened to him.

I did like Katherine as a main character.  She never wanted the money, title, or lands ended up in their hands and it has been somewhat of a curse to her.  All she ever really wanted was her parents and someone to love her like they loved each other.  As she is introduced to the nobility around her and gets a better picture of what her cousins are really like, she knows she doesn’t really belong or even recognize herself any longer.  With all of that said, she doesn’t lose her drive and/or motivation to find out the truth of things.  When her brother dies and when John mysteriously dies and then is accused of some terrible things, Katherine knows that there is something happening that she needs to dig deeper into.  Admittedly, she probably should have put more thought into some of her reactions/actions but as she is only sixteen, I figure most of them were due to her age.

As Katherine digs further into what is really going on at Walthingham Hall, she meets some interesting characters.  First is William Simpson, a lawyer for her estate.  I liked him but felt like he wasn’t fully developed.  Pieces come out later in the story that reveal more but I wanted to have more about why he and Katherine connect.  It wasn’t a quick development in any way but the interactions felt too few and far in between to really believe that these two loved each other.  Bottom line…I wanted more of these two together.

There are also her cousins – Grace and Henry.  It is clear they both have their own motives.  Henry more so than Grace but they are both still horrible people.  Grace clearly sees herself as better than everyone and tries to influence Katherine to follow in her footsteps.  Henry is worse.  He feels owed for everything and his payment should be Walthingham Hall and all the rights that and the title should bring to him.  He does things without remorse and his sense of entitlement is frightening.

As Katherine digs into what happened to her brother, she finds out some things she was probably better off not knowing.  When Henry finds out he has no chance of getting what he wants with Katherine in the way, he does what he does best.  Plots and plans to get her out of his way.

Overall I thought Katherine was pretty well developed but wished we would have had a bit more of that with the characters surrounding her.  The story itself was good but at times predictable.  It was a fairly quick read and I did enjoy it.  I do look forward to checking out more by this author and if you are looking for a historical YA, consider checking this one out.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!

About Lucinda Gray

Lucinda Gray is the pseudonym of an American novelist who lives in New York.

Related Posts

  • Related Posts
  • Same Genre
  • 3 Star Books
Sting by Cindy R. Wilson
Thumbnail
The Devil You Know by Trish Doller
This Is Not The End by Chandler Baker
Thumbnail
Riot of Storm and Smoke by Jennifer Ellision
Fiction Fare
Review: Jaime & Erin Review The Collector (Dante Walker #1)
Flashback Friday: The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker
The Ones Who Got Away by Roni Loren
Thumbnail
Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
Flashback Friday: A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
Thumbnail
I Am Her Revenge by Meredith Moore
The Marked Girl Blog Tour
Thumbnail
The Haunting of Sunshine Girl by Paige McKenzie
Web of Frost (Saints of Russalka #1) by Lindsay Smith
Thumbnail
I Am Her Revenge by Meredith Moore
The Women in the Walls by Amy Lukavics Blog Tour

Filed Under: Book Review Tagged With: Historical, Reviewed by Erin, Young Adult

About Erin

In no particular order, I love books, music, and sarcasm. Traveling is one of my most favorite things to do and there are 3 crazy cats that basically run our house. I sometimes talk about all of these things!

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • pinterest
  • bloglovin
  • custom1
  • goodreads
  • rss
  • custom2

Get Our Updates!

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

E-Book Deals!

E-Book Deals!


Author Talk

 photo author-talk_zpscsw6iy8a.png

Archives

What We’re Currently Reading

Jaime's bookshelf: currently-reading

The Trouble with Destiny
0 of 5 stars
The Trouble with Destiny
by Lauren Morrill
The Beginning of Everything
0 of 5 stars
The Beginning of Everything
by Robyn Schneider
Forget Tomorrow
0 of 5 stars
Forget Tomorrow
by Pintip Dunn

goodreads.com

Erin's bookshelf: currently-reading

Endure
0 of 5 stars
Endure
by Sara B. Larson
The Unquiet
0 of 5 stars
The Unquiet
by Mikaela Everett
Twist
0 of 5 stars
Twist
by Karen Akins

goodreads.com

Upcoming Reviews

None yet!

Ebates Coupons and Cash Back

Challenge Participant

Recent Comments

  • Lisa Loves Lit on Waiting on Wednesday: The Queens of Innis Lear By Tessa Gratton
  • bookbunny68 on Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Have Been On My TBR the Longest and I Still Haven’t Read
  • Kristy Petree on Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Have Been On My TBR the Longest and I Still Haven’t Read
  • MischaS_ on Cover Reveal: Beyond Pain by Kit Rocha
  • Maggie @ ReadingDiva's Blog on Blog Tour: Tempests & Slaughter by Tamora Pierce

Recent Posts

  • People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
  • Flashback Friday: Blood and Sand by C.V. Wyk
  • Our Top Ten Most Anticipated Books to Screen Podcast Episode
  • Flashback Friday: The Highwayman (Victorian Rebels #1) by Kerrigan Byrne
  • Podcast Episode 81: #FicNews–March 2021

Recent Reviews

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
The Heiress Gets a Duke by Harper St. George
Crown of Bones (Amassia #1) by A.K. Wilder
Courting Trouble (Goode Girls Romance #2) by Kerrigan Byrne
Eventide by Sarah Goodman
All Scot and Bothered (Devil You Know #2) by Kerrigan Byrne
Deadly Curious by Cindy Anstey
Review: Rebel Spy by Veronica Rossi
The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant
A Dark and Stormy Knight (Victorian Rebels #7) by Kerrigan Byrne

Copyright ©2010-2015 Fiction Fare « All Rights Reserved « Site Design by The CreativeB « Login