Audio Book: Gilded Cage

Gilded Cage

By:  Sherry D. Ficklin

Publish Date:  December 1, 2016, Audiobook Release February 14, 2017

Format:  Audiobook - 1 hrs 43 mins
Narrated By:  Meghan Kelly

Genre:  Historical Fiction

Series:  1st in A Canary Club series

Impression:  A young woman finding her way through life with a boot-legger father and speakeasies.

Synopsis:
Masie, the flaxen-haired daughter of notorious boot-legger Dutch Schultz, returns home from boarding school to find her family in crisis. Her mother is dangerously unstable, her father’s empire is on the brink of ruin, and the boy she once loved has become a ruthless killer for hire. To keep her family’s dangerous secrets Masie is forced into a lie that will change the course of her future—and leave her trapped in a gilded cage of her own making. As she watches her world fall apart, Masie must decide whether to take her place in the hierarchy, or spread her wings, leaving the people she loves, and the life she despises, far behind her.

Two worlds collide in Gatsby era New York, in a time of dazzling speakeasies and vicious shoot-outs, of gritty gangsters and iridescent ingénues, where not everything that sparkles is gold.

*This is the first of the Canary Club series and is a short story introduction into the forthcoming novels.

First Sentence:
There's no sound as I pad barefoot down the long corridor toward the headmistress' office.

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Audible

My Thoughts and Summary:
*I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator.

Masie is the daughter of a powerful boot-legger, Dutch, and returns home from the private boarding school when she receives a call her father wanting her home for a family emergency.  She finds there are a few major problems and differences since she left. Her mother's not doing well, mentally unstable. Father's business is on the rocks, standing a chance of falling apart. And the boy she had come to love before she left is now her father's hired hit man. Masie is determined to make a difference in the dangerous, dark illegal work those she loves lives in.

It was great to hear different voices created for each character along with getting the feel of the era they live in. The personality and attitude comes through clear with Meghan's narration. By the end, Meghan was Masie's voice for me, along with other characters. I was stunned at the beginning of the story as Meghan seemed to start off with a faster pace than I expected. But I took a breath, rewound, and started over again. This time I slipped into the story easily with Meghan voicing the characters.

Speakeasies, flapper dresses, alcohol, gangsters, danger, love, and more all in one place.

Masie is mixed up in the dangerous world of her fathers. She didn't realize how explosive her home was until she was sent away, something her mother wanted so she didn't see the life style they were living. Masie has been gone for three years and returning seems as though everything is natural, but it gives her pauses as well.

Masie lives the inside life of being a daughter of a boot-legger. It's not all the fun and glamour people think it is. Masie has to give things up, even people she loves, to carry on. This life is one that's not easy and she always has to be aware of what she's saying and who's around her. Masie is reminded that she's a bit of light and hope in the lives of the men around her - her father, brother, and the boy that she's loved. Masie will not let this life beat her or those she loves. She's determined to save someone, even if it's just herself. But she'll help the family all she can along the way.

There is a romance here. Masie and Vinny. They grew up together as her father took Vinny in when he was abandoned by his mother at a young age. Their relationship started to grow into more before she left, but neither acted on it, and now she sees it is more. Vinny's the hired hand that is dangerous when sent after people, but he's also the bad boy I can't help but love. He feels as he needs Masie in his life, to keep from falling down a very slippery, dark slope.

Masie finds herself on a new path she never expected to take. I'm worried though. There has to be some serious trouble in Masie's future, and with the warning Vinny gave her... will someone get hurt or die in the future books? This is not a cake walk in this business.

The beginning of what seems like a very good new series. Oh how things are going to change for Masie... I can't wait to see all the trouble and excitement she lives through!



**If you found my thoughts helpful, please click Yes at Amazon and/or Audible. Thank you!