TO CAGE A WILD BIRD

A bounty hunter tries to save her brother from a prison where the wealthy hunt inmates for sport in this debut novel.

Raven Thorne has earned a reputation in the city of Dividium for putting criminals behind bars—for a price. In a world where the divide between the haves and have-nots is an ever-widening gulf, people sent to the brutal prison known as Endlock are never seen again. Raven and her brother, Jed, have barely managed to scrape by ever since the deaths of their parents, but when one fateful night lands Jed in the wrong crosshairs, he’s thrown into Endlock without the privilege of a fair trial. Desperate to save him, Raven allies with a group of rebels and agrees to get herself arrested so she and Jed can break out of prison from the inside, but the rebels’ support is contingent on Raven freeing one of their own in the process. Escape is easier said than done, given that Dividium’s wealthiest pay for the privilege to hunt Endlock inmates for sport—and, of course, Raven was personally responsible for putting many of those inmates behind bars. Despite all that, Raven earns a surprising ally in one of the prison’s guards, Vale. Their forbidden romance fuels some of the book’s most gripping scenes, but despite the lust-forward beginnings, their relationship is handled with care, given the unequal power dynamic. The sequences revolving around Endlock’s hunts increasingly build in tension, especially as the found family Raven forges within the prison’s walls strengthens in trust, creating a constantly looming threat of devastating personal loss. While Fast’s dystopian romance feels specifically tailored toward readers who grew up devouring every Hunger Games book, it does plenty to set itself apart from that formative series while ramping up for an intriguing continuation.

This absorbing dystopian romance sets the stage for an even more thrilling sequel.