Carlo and Tammo are an unlikely pair at the boy’s school. Carlo, a talented singer, is a rule follower and strait-laced pupil. Tammo, a flutist, is a charity case for the school and isn’t well-accepted. Their love of music and birds brings them together to reach their full potential. However, when the boys get carless after achieving great success, they are torn apart and lead separate lives for many years. It’s only their love of a mutual friend and devotion to the patron saint of the city that reunites them in the end.
Elizabeth Hopkinson’s new release Cage of Nightingales delivers a beautiful historical fantasy that shows how rush judgements can not only be wrong, but life changing. The 18th century world Hopkinson builds for this story is both beautiful and terrifying – the love of arts is central to the community, but the strict rules and societal norms dictate all actions. Known for books like Asexual Fairy Tales, Hopkinson’s is an expert in crafting magical realism in her works and this book is no exception.
I give Cage of Nightingales 4 out of 5 stars. I enjoyed the main characters of this book and their personal struggles to come to terms with what brought them to the school to begin with. I did find it a slow start and difficult to get engaged in chapter one. However, I would encourage readers to stay with the book – by the end of chapter two, I was hooked! I did note a few editorial mistakes, but nothing that changed the meaning of the book. Coming from a small publishing house and independent team, I found myself impressed with the cover art and styling of this beautiful book, too!
I recommend this book to readers who enjoy magical realism, historical fiction, and fantasy works. With light discussions of personal tragedy like the loss of family and illness, this book may be best directed at audiences over the age of 13. I’d also find this book a great book club recommendation with plenty of opportunity for discussion of the characters’ motivations!
A few weeks ago, the author and I connected on Threads while discussing this upcoming read. When I was offered the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book, I jumped at it! The premise of this book drew me in immediately, as well as the cover art. I found it appealing that the author’s page on the publisher’s website reveals she is “a romantic asexual and is committed to asexual representation in fiction” – as the parent to a college student in the LGBTQ+ community, I appreciate the representation in both the author world and in the literature available to read.
Cage of Nightingales hits shelves today – you can order your copy of this great book at any of the sources listed on the publisher’s website here!
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What I’m Reading
- Current print book: My Side of the River, Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez
- Current audio book: Still Me, Jojo Moyes
- Book I’m most looking forward to: Same Time, Next Year, Debbie Macomber
Read With Lindsey 
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