THE SILVER CAGE by ANONYMOUS

4 February, 2018

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Our Review

‘Love is a cage two people build around themselves….now I was trapped with Cal…’

We need a moment to collect ourselves, dry our tears and reflect on this beautifully tragic love story. To love and to be loved is a basic human need, love shouldn’t discriminate, and we wanted Cal to feel free to love without guilt or shame as we experienced such anger at a society and a faith that is so intolerant and so judgemental of a person’s love. Love truly should be love.

‘Cal had said about his faith – that it was like his bones and he would break apart without it – and I resented that bleak prospect, because I wanted him to be free. I had a vision of myself tearing him out of his socially imposed cage.’

We receive a tonne of requests from pseudonyms purporting to be ‘bestselling authors’ not wanting to divulge their real name for privacy which we completely understand, however we tend to overlook these as the number of claims began to feel like a marketing ploy, so it was refreshing to read this review request from an author whose work we have experienced and loved in the past, trusting us to retain their anonymity and expressing the reasons for their privacy request and we immediately took note. This author can most certainly claim the bestselling author tag! It’s just a shame they have to hide their persona because if you wrote this, you’d want to shout about it!

“Sometimes I think these desires I have are like an addiction. If I didn’t feed them, they might sort of fade.”

The story centres around thirty one year old Caleb Bright, a very successful author, responsible for three contemporary classics who he suddenly walked away from his career in 2012, citing stress as his reason for wanting to lead a solitary existence in the Colorado mountains. But what really drove him to give it all up? What had unravelled in his life that made him choose to step away as he did?

Cal agrees, under sufferance, to an interview by The New Yorker as part of their 2016 In Letters issue. It is twenty five year old blogger and gamer, Michael Beck’s job to interview him. Little does Michael know what he has let himself in for as Cal immediately shows he doesn’t welcome the intrusion into his home. However, Michael’s appearance also brings back ghosts from Cal’s past, and despite his aversion to the interview, he soon welcomes Michael’s visits, and the two begin to form a bond.

‘He was strange and spectacular, like no one I had ever met. ‘

Michael and Cal are like chalk and cheese. Cal’s imposing and cantankerous persona is at odds with Michael’s naivety and timidity. Michael is agnostic, Cal is fiercely Christian in his beliefs. Michael is affable and carefree about his eventual feelings for Cal, whereas Cal is consumed by guilt and self-loathing over his feelings for Michael, due to his families’ values and his religious upbringing.

“Tell me more.”
“About God? All right. He is…wealthy beyond your wildest imaginings. Beautiful, powerful, frightening. Passionate. Creative, intelligent. Good. Incredibly demanding and jealous. He doesn’t share. He doesn’t change. His promises are forever.”
“So, he’s Christian Grey?”
Cal laughed and shook his head. “If that helps you think about him, sure.”

It’s hard to put into words the effect this story had on us. We cried, and our hearts were decimated. Love isn’t a sin. It’s beautiful and it’s to be cherished, not judged. We felt so much hurt for Michael and Cal, such sadness that Cal should consider his feelings a sin. It was soul destroying listening to Cal torture himself for his hearts choice, it was gut wrenching witnessing Michael trying to offer him a lifeline of hope and love, hoping that his love was enough to ease Cal’s heart.
Michael and Cal weren’t just characters. They were people to us. Some of us know a Michael or Cal, or we’ve heard real life stories about a Michael or Cal. The writing in this beautifully heartbreaking story was stunning and it is testament to the author that we felt such strong emotion for these characters. We shared their helplessness as though the author had bled his/her words onto each page. It felt real and personal as we heard from both Michael and Cal through alternating POV’s.

‘He had witnessed all of my darkness and he was still at my side.’

Cal and Michaels story was thought provoking, devastating, heartbreaking and deeply moving. It’s a story of faith love, despair and sacrifice, and it’s one that has left its mark on us.

‘Cal lived in his silver cage, though his heart had outgrown it years ago.’

We will never forget this story and want to applaud the author for listening to Michael and Cal, and for telling their story with honesty, gut wrenching honesty. You stayed true to these men, you listened to their words, we listened to yours, and now…we need time alone with our thoughts.

‘When it came to right and wrong. I answered to American legislation. He answered to his God.’

Synopsis

A bitter, mysterious author. A young and naive journalist. A tragic past, a dark secret, and an unforgettable tale of passion and love.

WARNING: The Silver Cage is intended for mature readers; it contains graphic sensuality and strong themes including suicide, sexual identity, and self-harm.

—
Anonymous is a pseudonymous international bestseller. The Silver Cord, a companion novel to The Silver Cage, will be released in the first half of 2018.

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18 Comments:

12 March, 2018 at 12:03 pm
Jule said:

i like your review a lot. especially the part where you say that the author listened to both characters. i had the same feeling. the ending is heartbreaking but i couldn’t picture another outcome for them. the author really stayed true to their characters. anything else would have had a fanfiction vibe. it seems that you know who the author is. at first i was so curious and wanted to know the name so that i would be able to read all the other books but somehow i am happy with the idea that i read this wonderful story written by an anonym author. but it’s also a bit frustrating because i have no idea how i should find out about the second book. do you know if the author will mention a publish date to his/her fans who are aware of the authors name? i just don’t want to miss it. i hope my english was alright. i’m not a native speaker

Reply ↓
1. 13 September, 2018 at 1:28 pm
  TotallyBookedBlog Post author said:
  
  Hi there, we are still none the wiser on a release date but as soon as we are we will post everywhere on social media and on this blog. xx
  
  Reply ↓
2. 4 October, 2018 at 8:24 am
  TotallyBookedBlog Post author said:
  
  Hi There Jule, great news the Silver Cord is now LIVE! The links are in the review post above. Enjoy ♥
  
  Reply ↓
16 April, 2018 at 12:25 pm
Dale Morgan said:

I understand you know the Author of The Silver Cage and I am not asking for that information but as the person above questioned, how will we know when The Silver Cord is released or when it will be released. I checked your upcoming releases page and did not see it listed yet it’s noted on sites that it would be released the first half of 2018. Any info on this would be great and thanks in advance.

Reply ↓
1. 13 September, 2018 at 1:29 pm
  TotallyBookedBlog Post author said:
  
  Hi there, we are still none the wiser on a release date but as soon as we are we will post everywhere on social media and on this blog. xx
  
  Reply ↓
2. 4 October, 2018 at 8:25 am
  TotallyBookedBlog Post author said:
  
  Hi There Dale, great news the Silver Cord is now LIVE! The links are in the review post above. Enjoy ♥
  
  Reply ↓
28 April, 2018 at 12:26 pm
Erica Russikoff said:

Completely adore your review. You hit the nail on the head when you talked about needing time to reflect after reading TSC. That’s so true. Thank you for being candid and for promoting this unique story. I can’t wait to read your other posts.

Reply ↓
1. 13 September, 2018 at 1:29 pm
  TotallyBookedBlog Post author said:
  
  Thank you. It’ll stay with us for sure! xx
  
  Reply ↓
2. 4 October, 2018 at 8:26 am
  TotallyBookedBlog Post author said:
  
  Hi There Erica, great news the Silver Cord is now LIVE! The links are in the review post above. Enjoy ♥
  
  Reply ↓
2 May, 2018 at 12:23 am
Elise said:

Great review, as always. Absolutely adore the author’s writing and raising of the bar in the romance genre. Few do it better. I struggled with loving this one, but I appreciated the guts required in its execution. I will always look forward to this author’s next offering. Been a fan for awhile and have confidence much more is in store for readers.

Reply ↓
1. 13 September, 2018 at 1:30 pm
  TotallyBookedBlog Post author said:
  
  Thank you x
  
  Reply ↓
2. 4 October, 2018 at 8:27 am
  TotallyBookedBlog Post author said:
  
  Hi There Elise, great news the Silver Cord is now LIVE! The links are in the review post above. Enjoy ♥
  
  Reply ↓
15 July, 2018 at 11:34 pm
AJ said:

I also need to know if/when The Silver Cord will be released! It’s July 2018, now, so either it’s been released and I don’t know how to find it, or its release date has been pushed back. Where can we find updates about it, or sign up to be notified when it comes out? I’m dying, here.

Reply ↓
1. 13 September, 2018 at 1:33 pm
  TotallyBookedBlog Post author said:
  
  Hi there, thank you so much. We are still none the wiser on a release date but as soon as we are we will post everywhere on social media and on this blog. xx
  
  Reply ↓
  1. 4 October, 2018 at 8:26 am
    TotallyBookedBlog Post author said:
    
    Hi there AJ. Good news! The Silver Cord is NOW LIVE! Link is in the review post above. xoxo
    
    Reply ↓
7 September, 2018 at 11:17 am
Ricki said:

I literally just finished this book… my heart is broken… I need answers and I need to know *** is ok!! I’ve googled, I’ve good reads, I’ve facebook stalked to try and find any info on when The Siler Cord is being released and I can’t find anything… it’s September ?

Reply ↓
1. 13 September, 2018 at 1:34 pm
  TotallyBookedBlog Post author said:
  
  Hi there, thank you so much. We are still none the wiser on a release date but as soon as we are we will post everywhere on social media and on this blog. xx
  
  Reply ↓
  1. 4 October, 2018 at 8:25 am
    TotallyBookedBlog Post author said:
    
    Hi there Ricki. Good news! The Silver Cord is NOW LIVE! Link is in the review post above. xoxo
    
    Reply ↓

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