Format: Hardcover, 304 pages
Release Date: February 23, 2021
Publisher: Gallery / Saga Press
Source: Publisher
Genre: Fantasy / Dark Fantasy
#1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author
Charlaine Harris is at her best in this alternate history of the United
States where magic is an acknowledged but despised power in this third
installment of the Gunnie Rose series.
Picking up right where A Longer Fall
left off, this thrilling third installment follows Lizbeth Rose as she
takes on one of her most dangerous missions yet: rescuing her estranged
partner, Prince Eli, from the Holy Russian Empire. Once in San Diego,
Lizbeth is going to have to rely upon her sister Felicia, and her
growing Grigori powers to navigate her way through this strange new
world of royalty and deception in order to get Eli freed from jail where
he’s being held for murder.
Russian Cage continues to
ramp up the momentum with more of everything Harris’ readers adore her
for with romance, intrigue, and a deep dive into the mysterious Holy
Russian Empire.
The Russian Cage,
by author Charlaine Harris, is the third installment in the authors Gunnie Rose series. This series mixes historical fiction, urban fantasy, western and alternate history. In this world, the
former US has broken down, and has been separated into five other countries. Each has its unique identity –
New America, Holy Russian Empire, Texoma, Dixie, and Britannia. The story
picks up soon after A Long Fall with Lizbeth Rose receiving a letter
from her half-sister Felicia who was sent with Eli to the Holy Russian Empire because of her blood and the fact that she's a grigori like Eli.
The story begins in Lizbeth's home of Segundo Mexia, Texoma (which is Oklahoma and Texas), but it largely takes place in
San Diego which is now part of the Holy Russian Empire (HRE) (which is California and Oregon). Lizbeth has some challenges right off the bat. She has no crew, she's not allowed to carried any of her guns, there is magic everywhere, and she has to avoid letting anyone know that she has some of the same blood as Felicia thanks to her alleged father. Her only real backup is Felix who Eli saved but she needs help getting in to see Eli and finding a way to save him.
You'll have to forgive me if spoilers gets through. It is not my intent, however, there has been a whole lot that has happened to Lizbeth as well as Eli in the past several installments which is why you should read these books in order. Lizbeth comes face to face with Eli's family including his mother Veronika, brothers Peter, Bogdan, Dagmar, as well as sisters Lucy and Alice. In case you are not up to date, Lizbeth
Rose is a gunnie, offering paid protection to escort precious cargo
across the continent, which is how she met Eli and was pulled into his
life, where she found a little sister she never knew existed.
She's not, how you say, lucky. She's often the only member of her crew left alive by the time the first chapters are finished. Felicia, who is studying at the Rasputin Grigori School, has some secrets of her own. Even though she is sequestered in an academy where
she learns how to handle her magic, while also providing the life-saving
blood transfusions for the hemophiliac Tsar Alexei Romanov, she's more than capable of offering some much needed help to Lizbeth in her own way, and has made some valuable contacts as well.
Along the way, Lizbeth also ends up meeting the Tsar, as well as his wife Catherine who both have no ill regard for Eli even though his father was a traitorous villain. Lizbeth's connection to Felicia and Eli is strong. Her selflessness, her need to sacrifice to protect
them, and her unconditional love and desire to make sure they're happy.
Lizbeth and Felix put animosity aside and do everything in their
power to save Eli, which draws them into a political conspiracy, a plot
to protect the current Tsar, as well as
protecting Eli's family from his older half brothers.
As the story is once again told in the first POV, the story is more sedate and reflective as Lizbeth tries to keep everyone from knowing who she really is. She is almost 21 and has been adulting since she turned
16, and she joined her first gang. But she has been too busy protecting
her heart, soul, and everything of personal importance to truly let
readers in. Her relationship with Eli, even with Felicia, opens the world to a better understanding of who Lizbeth really is and could be if she let's people into her life, and not constantly pushing them away.
The ending feels like the end of a series. Lizbeth and Eli are in a good place. Although there is probably some blow back coming for Lizbeth for her actions in this book, I can't see any reason to keep the series going unless the publisher trusts the author not to drag the series on with unnecessary heartbreak and loss. Readers
will probably want to read the previous two novels featuring Lizbeth
before this one, as it relies pretty heavily on the events of the
earlier books. As I said, when a book picks up right where the events of the previous one did, you absolutely want to understand what happened to lead Lizbeth, Eli, and Felicia to this point in their lives.
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