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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