#ATBR2020 Review: The Golden Cage by Camilla Lackberg @aaknopf @camillalackberg @jessmapreviews
The Golden Cage
by Camilla Lackberg
Thank you so much to Knopf Publishing Group for this gorgeous copy!
Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
Publish Date: July 7, 2020
Hardcover
352 Pages
Standalone
Genre: Thriller, Suspense
An exhilarating new novel from a global superstar--a sexy, over-the-top psychological thriller that tells the story of the scorned wife of a billionaire and her delicious plot to get her revenge and bring him to his knees.
Faye has loved Jack since they were students at business school. Jack, the perpetual golden boy, grew up wealthy, unlike Faye, who has worked hard to bury a dark past. When Jack needs help launching a new company, Faye leaves school to support him, waitressing by day and working as his strategist by night. With the business soaring, Faye and Jack have a baby, and Faye finds herself at home, caring for their daughter, wealthier than she ever imagined, but more and more removed from the excitement of the business world. And none of the perks of wealth make up for the fact that Jack has begun to treat her coldly, undermining her intelligence and forgetting all she sacrificed for his success. When Faye discovers that he's having an affair, the polished facade of their life cracks wide open. Faye is alone, emotionally shattered, and financially devastated--but hell hath no fury like a woman with a violent past bent on vengeance. Jack is about to get exactly what he deserves--and so much more. In this splashy, electrifying story of sex, betrayal, and secrets, a woman's revenge is a brutal but beautiful thing.
Faye has loved Jack since they were students at business school. Jack, the perpetual golden boy, grew up wealthy, unlike Faye, who has worked hard to bury a dark past. When Jack needs help launching a new company, Faye leaves school to support him, waitressing by day and working as his strategist by night. With the business soaring, Faye and Jack have a baby, and Faye finds herself at home, caring for their daughter, wealthier than she ever imagined, but more and more removed from the excitement of the business world. And none of the perks of wealth make up for the fact that Jack has begun to treat her coldly, undermining her intelligence and forgetting all she sacrificed for his success. When Faye discovers that he's having an affair, the polished facade of their life cracks wide open. Faye is alone, emotionally shattered, and financially devastated--but hell hath no fury like a woman with a violent past bent on vengeance. Jack is about to get exactly what he deserves--and so much more. In this splashy, electrifying story of sex, betrayal, and secrets, a woman's revenge is a brutal but beautiful thing.
My Review:
OH Camilla, you seductive and revengeful mynx. First of all, it's no secret that I'm a huge fan of Lackberg so it's probably not going to be a surprise to you that I absolutely LOVED this book. While y'all know I'm a binge reader, I stayed up LATE to finish this one because I absolutely needed to know what was going to happen. And honestly, I felt like I should've seen a lot of it coming because as a domestic, sexy thriller, we've seen this storyline before - but we haven't seen it done THIS well. Instead of trying to figure it all out, I was simply was absorbed into the pages and am still a bit hungover.
Within these 350+ pages, Lackberg has us deep within Faye's life. The very first page has us knowing that her ex-husband Jack has killed their daughter. This isn't a spoiler, this is the FIRST PAGE. So WTF has happened? Immediately I'm drawn in. We already know that this is a revenge thriller and personally, I find these stories SO satisfying if they're done right and Lackberg, for me, is never wrong. SO.... we follow Faye's story in how she meets Jack, their tumultuous marriage and everything after. It's hard to go into anything without spoiling, as most reviews tend to go right? So I'll try to keep it as simple as possible.
Faye is a HARD character to like... at first. You want to throttle her. I rolled my eyes and clenched the pages so many times! And then the revenge process begins and personally.... YOU GO GIRL. While she may seem single focused and selfish, she also remains violently loyal to those she does let into her life and this is where the book SHINES. Her relationship with her best friend, Chris... OH MY HEART - seriously, this was probably my absolute favorite part and I'm still having all the feels.
Some people might consider this a book about female empowerment because it touches on the very real topic of how the world is skewed in favor of men... but we also see how women have this ingrained feeling to adhere to the men in the world. I most certainly have lost myself within a relationship or have felt about *this* big from being emotionally abused. But I digress....
At the end of the day, Lackberg brings us complex characters who we most definitely have love/hate relationships with. Jack can go fuck himself and unfortunately is so real in men I have known (not in the biblical sense thankfully). I could go on and on about SO many things so I'll end here - if you like sexy domestic thrillers even in the slightest, READ THIS BOOK.
★★★★★
Jessica's Review:
This was my introduction to Lackerg and all I can think is why the hell didn't someone tell me to read her books sooner?? I have a couple on my shelves, but damn, they needed to be much higher on that TBR. THE GOLDEN CAGE is a sexy domestic thriller and I think it's perfect for those newer to the thriller genre. While certain things were inevitably predictable, I didn't even notice. I found myself so engrossed in the story that I wasn't trying to figure out how things were going to end. Normally I'll find myself almost taking a pause to try and work out in my mind how it'll end or who is behind it all, but not with this one! Set aside some time before you start this one, otherwise you'll be up way past your bedtime like I was.
Man, this is one of those books where you don't particularly like any of the characters. Faye is one hell of a woman. You don't want to like her but then the revenge portion begins, and then you want to cheer her on. She's such a complex character and I loved how Lackberg developed her throughout the book. We get glimpses of her past as we get to know Faye and her current situation with her husband, Jack. Faye has everything she could ever want - she's married to her incredibly successful husband, they live in an upscale area of Stockholm, and they have a beautiful daughter. The seemingly perfect and happy couple image shatters when she finds out he is having an affair. Well, you know what they say, hell hath no fury.
This story of revenge, sex, and secrets was a crazy ride. Once the revenge portion begins the pacing doesn't quit and you just can't stop from flipping those pages. The story is so expertly woven together and I loved how everything came together in the end. Definitely twists to keep you on your toes! The short chapters made this 350+ page book fly and I would highly recommend it!
5 stars
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