Book Review: To Cage a Wild Bird by Brooke Fast
ARC Review: Thank you to Netgalley & Avon and Harper Voyager for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Date of Publishing: September 9, 2025
Series: Divided Fates #1
Genres: Adult // Dystopian, Romance
Rating: ⭐️⭐️
Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
Quick Thoughts: Overall, To Cage a Wild Bird had a lot of potential but it just fell flat for me. The characters were stock characters and the insta-love romance was a major distraction from the story. If you’re in the mood for a fast paced book with not a ton of complex world building or character relationships, this might be a good book for you!
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Discussion about death of parents
Death of friend
Grief
Description of traumatic injuries
Blood
Bullying/Violence
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“He’s her superior” trope
Forbidden Romance
Prison setting
Dystopian setting
Found Family
What is To Cage A Wild Bird About? (Spoiler Free Summary)
A deadly prison. A forbidden romance. A fight for survival.
THERE’S ONLY ONE RULE IN OBEY OR DIE.
In Dividium, all crimes are punishable by life in prison. A prison that’s a life sentence in more ways than one. Where the wealthy can hunt the inmates for sport.
Raven’s mission is infiltrate the infamous and deadly Endlock Prison to save her brother.
There’s just one Raven has a target on her back. Her reputation as the most ruthless bounty hunter in Dividium precedes her, and the inmates she’s sent to Endlock want their revenge.
So when the prison guard she’s sworn to hate becomes her only chance to survive, Raven has no choice but to trust the one person she shouldn’t…
Pre-Read Thoughts
As someone who never outgrew my Katniss Everdeen phase, I was immediately drawn to To Cage A Wild Bird by Brooke Fast when I saw it marketed as perfect "for fans of the Hunger Games." While it didn't quite hit the mark I was hoping for, there's definitely something here for the right reader.
To Cage A Wild Bird Review
Before I dive in, I found out after finishing the book that the author has a established bookstagram. I think it's awesome when creators become authors but I feel like it’s important to mention that I did not follow the author on social media before I read this.
The book's premise is unique and the worldbuilding is easy to follow. The plot is centered around our FMC Raven escaping Endlock, the prison that holds all criminals for life and one where the wealthy can visit to handpick inmates to hunt and kill. The author does include some politics from the world outside the prison, but it's nothing too complicated.
The storytelling is streamlined and doesn't bog readers down with a lot of complexity. I love this kind of straightforward storytelling in young adult books, but because this is an adult novel, I would have preferred more complex character/plot development and connection to the rest of the world.
In a similar vein, I also felt like too much of the relationship and trust-building between the characters happened off-page, which undercut what could have been a wonderful found family story arc. I wish the author included more scenes that actually showed the tension between characters and how Raven worked through it to gradually earn their trust.
The romance between Vale and Raven developed way too quickly for my tastes, but the book wanted you to believe it was genuine love. The whole book would have been stronger if this was in Dual POV or if Vale’s background story was revealed closer to the beginning. Uncovering Vale's backstory earlier could have served as a more natural foundation for the romance. As it stands, the romance is a distraction from the main plot rather than a complement to it.
This book is perfect if you are looking for a fast-paced adventure, but, for me, it really struck out in terms of execution.
Check out this review on Goodreads or Storygraph.
Happy reading!
Kim
To Cage A Wild Bird FAQs
Some of the answers may be spoilers if you haven’t read it already. Proceed with caution!
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Yes. To Cage A Wild Bird is part of a series. It is the first book in Divided Fates. As of the writing of this post, the release date of book 2 hasn’t been announced yet.
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Yes, To Cage A Wild Bird has a few spicy scenes. Some chapters just include kissing. Those chapters are marked with a bell pepper (🫑).
Here are the spicy chapters:
Chapter 3 🫑
Chapter 18 🫑
Chapter 21
Chapter 24
Chapter 29
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In the literal sense, no, they end up physically apart but they are still in love at the end of the book.