Love and Other Cages
by Emilia Ares
RATING: 2/5
Love and Other Cages by Emilia Ares is a thriller that blends young adult romance with mafia drama, but unfortunately, it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. While I can see how this book might appeal to fans of darker, tension-filled love stories, it wasn’t the right fit for my tastes, and I feel that my reading experience was influenced by not being the book’s intended audience. If I were a young adult, I might have been more invested in its emotional intensity and fast-paced plot, but as an adult reader, I had a number of frustrations with the novel’s direction and its tone.
The story revolves around Mina, a young woman kidnapped by the Russian mafia, and Oliver, her love interest with his dark passed and his own set of financial struggles. The central premise is certainly compelling—tension, danger, and protecting those you love—but my biggest issue with the book was its treatment of Mina’s captivity. While the novel comes with a content warning for dark themes, the prolonged descriptions of Mina’s torture felt excessive and, at times, difficult to stomach. It dragged on for far too long, creating an uncomfortable and jarring contrast with Oliver’s chapters, which dealt with financial matters and dealing with the police. The juxtaposition of her brutal suffering and his relatively mundane problems just didn’t work for me, especially in a novel that is otherwise grounded in a realistic, non-fantasy setting.
What makes this even more frustrating is that the narrative is told from both Mina’s and Oliver’s perspectives. While I understand the intention to provide a dual POV for emotional depth and to show the story from both sides, it often felt like the two storylines didn’t mesh. Mina’s harrowing ordeal felt so intense and immediate, while Oliver’s sections about money problems and police investigation felt almost trivial by comparison, which made the pacing uneven. The contrast in tone was hard to reconcile, and at times, I found it difficult to stay engaged with the plot as a whole.
Ultimately, Love and Other Cages didn’t resonate with me, but I can see how it might be more appealing to younger readers who enjoy fast-paced romance with an edge of danger. While I couldn’t finish the book, I acknowledge that it has its audience, and if you’re someone who enjoys high-stakes romance with mafia drama, this may be right up your alley. However, for readers who prefer more balanced narratives and are sensitive to the portrayal of violence, it may be worth considering the content warnings before diving in.
* Received for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
Book #2 in the series
