Format: Kindle, 219 pages
Release Date: April 4, 2017
Publisher: Reign Publishing
Source: Blog Tour
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
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.
Cage of Darkness is the second installment in Jennifer Anne Davis's Reign of Secrets series. Picking up right where Cage of Deceit left off, Allyssa, Princess of Emperion is in a whole lot of trouble. She, along with Odar, Prince of Fren, have been spirited away from Emperion by an assassin who has already left bodies in his wake. The why becomes quickly apparent as is the identity of the assassin. The assassin plans on taking the two to the Kingdom of Russek. The same Kingdom that is currently marching towards a full-out war with Emperion.
Cage of Darkness is not a light novel by any means. Upon arriving in Russek, Allyssa literally finds herself fighting for her life. She is tossed into a cell. Abused (no, not sexually), tortured, and all the while, her supposed paramour, Prince Odar, is no where to be seen having made his own choices without letting Allyssa in on his plans. Allyssa soon finds that everything she has been trained for, all her nights as her secretive alias, are all needed in order to survive the days to come. Allyssa is at the mercy of the Russek monarchy who, simply put, hates everything about Allyssa, and her family and want them all dead.
In Russek, readers are introduced to King Drenton, Empress Eliza, Princess Shelene, Prince Soma, & Queen Jana whose hatred of Queen Rema of Emperion is legendary. If you think your family has issues, wait until you meet these characters. But, there is also an internal struggle happening which puts Allyssa in the middle of a politically charged situation and in the same corner as the King's own son, Prince Kerdan. Kerdan wasn't exactly my favorite until he was. He turns Allyssa's struggle against the King & Queen, into his own.
He finds a way to use her to his benefit, while also protecting her from Soma, and Jana who are eager to kill her. And, in the end, I actually liked Kerdan a whole lot better than Odar. My reason? Events that happen after Allyssa and Odar are helped to escape by Kerdan. I won't divulge any more than that. Needless to say, Allyssa is left with a whole lot of options at the end of this book. Where the author takes Allyssa in the next book called Cage of Destiny, is anyone's guess.
Cage of Darkness gets my 4 star rating because it didn't fall into the sophomoric let down phase that many others have. It keeps a steady pace, has some really intriguing twists, and revelations, and yes because it is dark. I am an absolute fan of dark novels but without all the sexual violence. Davis's ending does leave readers with questions to ponder, but I have no doubt they will be answered in the next installment. I have absolutely let myself down by not reading the True Reign series first. After all, the events of True Reign have led to this point.
About Book One:
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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.
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Jennifer Anne Davis is the award-winning author of the bestselling TRUE REIGN series. After graduating from the University of San Diego with a degree in English and a teaching credential, she married her high school sweetheart. Jennifer is currently a full-time writer and mother of three highly energetic children. Her days are spent living in imaginary worlds and fueling her own kids’ creativity.
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Thank you for taking the time to read and review. Glad you enjoyed the book.
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome, Jennifer! Can't wait to see what you do with the third installment!
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