Book Review: To Cage a Wild Bird by Brooke Fast

To Cage a Wild Bird (Divided Fates #1) by Brooke Fast

Genre: Adult Fiction (Dystopian/Fantasy Romance)
Date Published: September 9, 2025
Publisher: Avon

Enter the brutal world of Endlock, a prison where the wealthy hunt the inmates for sport. The first novel in an electrifying dystopian romance series, this high-octane debut about forbidden love, found family, and a fight for survival will leave you breathless.

In the city of Dividium, the law is simple: commit a crime, and your punishment is a life sentence in Endlock.

Raven Thorne is Dividium’s most notorious bounty hunter, living on the edge of society. But when her younger brother, Jed, is sentenced to Endlock, Raven will do anything to save him—even if it means getting herself arrested.

Now trapped in a prison where danger lurks around every corner, Raven must use all her cunning and strength to protect Jed—and herself if she is to complete her perilous mission. But there’s one obstacle she never expected: the prison guard who stirs something deep inside her. The man she should hate. The man whose true motives seem impossible to pin down.

In a world where trust is a weapon and love is a liability, Raven must decide if she will risk everything to tear down a vicious system.

To Cage a Wild Bird is the first book in the Divided Fates series by Brooke Fast. This one is a little bit Hunger Games, a little bit The Running Man, except like both of those, these events aren’t televised. I’m actually surprised they’re not. Anyway, this was fast and action packed. I enjoyed the main character for the most part. There was a forbidden love in the mix. I’m hoping Vale gets fleshed out more in the next book. I read it pretty quickly, and it hit the dystopian spot quite well.

The ARC of To Cage a Wild Bird by Brooke Fast was kindly provided to me by the publisher through NetGalley for review. The opinions are my own.

Brooke Fast is a lover of dystopian, fantasy, and all things romance. When she’s not writing new worlds, you can find her curled up on the couch with her husband and their pups in their self-built tiny house in the mountains of Maine. She’ll either be consuming copious amounts of coffee and thumbing through the latest romantasy release or sharing book reviews and writing snippets under her alter-ego, @librarybrookes. To Cage a Wild Bird is her first novel.

To learn more about Brooke Fast and her books, visit her website. You can also find her on Goodreads & Instagram.

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Book Review: Second Rite by Geneva Lee Albin

Second Rite (Filthy Rich Vampires #2) by Geneva Lee Albin
Genre: Adult Fiction (Paranormal Romance)
Date Published: October 4, 2022
Publisher: Estate Books

He wore darkness with such graceful ease…

Thea Melbourne has a broken heart. A month after her world turned upside down, she’s struggling to return to the life she left behind. Her mother is in a coma, she’s selling off designer gowns to pay the bills, and her roommates seem to think she’s made of glass. But when the vampire who broke her heart shows up at the hospital, she learns a devastating secret.

To save the love of his life, Julian pushed her away. Now he has to live with the pain and regret or find someone to put him out of his misery. When it becomes clear that Thea is still in danger, he has a choice to make. He can stay away like the Council demands or risk everything, including their lives, to win her back.

Convincing her means facing his own dark secrets and resisting the temptation to claim her as his mate once and for all. But Thea isn’t going to make that easy for him.

Return to the seductive world of Filthy Rich Vampires with Second Rite, the thrilling, sensual continuation of Julian and Thea's story.

Second Rite is the second book in the Filthy Rich Vampires series by Geneva Lee Albin. I was worried it was going to fall into that Second Book Syndrome at first, but it redeemed itself as the book progressed. Thea and Julian are coming to terms with things in their bond.. sort of. I wish she would have made him fork for forgiveness more than she did. HE needed to grovel more. There are a lot of revelations this time around, lots of action... a surprise or two too. Not sure how I feel about the cliffhanger, but I'll be reading the next book anyway.

Check out the first book in this series!

Geneva Lee Albin is the New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author of over thirty novels. Her bestselling Royals Saga has sold nearly four million copies worldwide. She's shamelessly addicted to recovering alpha males, headstrong heroines, and drop-your-jaw plot twists. People Magazine calls Geneva's books "convincing with fluid writing that's full of drama." When she isn't writing or reading, you might find her on another adventure with her real-life hero and their three kids. 

To learn more about Geneva Lee Albin and her books, visit her website. You can also find her on Goodreads, Goodreads, Facebook, & Instagram.

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Book Review: Maybe This Time by Kasie West

Maybe This Time  by Kasie West
Genre: Young Adult Fiction (Paranormal/Fantasy Romance)
Date Published: July 9, 2019
Publisher: Point

One year. Nine events. Nine chances to . . . fall in love?

Weddings. Funerals. Barbecues. New Year's Eve parties. Name the occasion, and Sophie Evans will be there. Well, she has to be there. Sophie works for the local florist, so she can be found at every big event in her small hometown, arranging bouquets and managing family dramas.

Enter Andrew Hart. The son of the fancy new chef in town, Andrew is suddenly required to attend all the same events as Sophie. Entitled, arrogant, preppy Andrew. Sophie just wants to get her job done and finish up her sketches so she can apply to design school. But every time she turns around, there is Andrew, getting in her way and making her life more complicated. Until one day she wonders if maybe complicated isn't so bad after all . . .

Told over the course of one year and following Sophie from event to event, this delightful novel from master of romantic comedy Kasie West shows how love can blossom in unexpected places.

Maybe This Time by Kasie West is a cute stand alone enemies to lovers story. They started off as enemies, then they developed this cute sort of friendship thing, all the while they had the attraction to each other. It was definitely there from the start. They were pretty adorable. They come from two different worlds, and they said some not so nice things to each other. They both had some growing to do as they figured each other out along with their own selves. This was a fun little love story, and it would make a great traveling read.

Check out my review of other books by this author!

I write YA. I eat Junior Mints. Sometimes I go crazy and do both at the same time. My novels are: PIVOT POINT and its sequel SPLIT SECOND. And my contemporary novels: THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US, ON THE FENCE, THE FILL-IN BOYFRIEND, PS I LIKE YOU, and BY YOUR SIDE. My agent is the talented and funny Michelle Wolfson.

To learn more about Kasie West and her books, visit her website. You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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