Book Review for To Cage a Wild Bird by Brooke Fast

 

Divided Fates #1

To Cage a Wild Bird by Brooke Fast

Published:  March 3, 2026 by Avon

Genre:  Dystopian, Romantasy

Taken from Goodreads:  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.

My Thoughts:  A debut dystopian novel… I could not wait to sink my teeth into this story.  At no point was I disappointed.   From the very beginning I was invested in the storyline and the characters.   The author did something amazing; she caught me from the first paragraph and never let me go.   This is the perfect book, and I am excited to see what she writes next. 

To Cage a Wild Bird felt like a YA book with the ending not being a cliffhanger but leaving it open for potentially more to come.   I loved the YA vibes, even better with the spicy parts sprinkled within the story.   The relationships and friendships between the characters made them relatable, making it easy to cheer them on.

I loved this book and cannot wait to talk about it with my fellow dystopian readers.

Thank you Avon for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR : 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.