I want more of Nell’s romance story!!!! The book is beautifully written and characters flowed together well.

I enjoyed reading this book, it was a bit of a slow start but I did enjoy what I read, I do enjoy historical novel and was glad I was able to read this.

I love historical novels but this one was a slow read and one that was difficult to get into. That's not saying it wasn't a good book, it was just hard for me to get engaged and really dive into the book. That being said, I'm so glad I was able to get the ARC.

This is a nice book about life in Chicago in the late 1800's. It is interesting to read about the class distinction of society. But this was a slow to read book. It wasn't until the last third of the book that it became interesting for me. I have not read the other books in the series and it is possible I would have been more interested in the story had I read them.

My thanks to Jane Steen, Aspidistra Press, and Net Galley for the ARC of THE JEWEL CAGE. I felt at a distinct disadvantage when reading this book as I hadn't realised it was part of a series. There were parts I really enjoyed, but the final crime was a bit tame bearing in mind it was alluded to throughout the book. I can't say I took to any of the characters, Nell not at all. For someone who had been through what sounded an awful time, she came across as rather smug and entitled. The Lombardi children were horrible and I couldn't help thinking that neither of them deserved help. Not sure.

The Jewel Cage by Jane Steen is part of a series (book 4 of The House of Closed Doors). Reading it as a one off, I was shown insights into Chicago society in the late 1800s. It is all very fancy, with beautifully designed dresses by the main character Nell and she compares and contrasts her life now to her former life on the poor farm. Would make a lovely tv series.

Nell is happily married to Martin, a successful dressmaker and designer and partner in a thriving business. her life should be complete but it isn't. Her husband makes no secret of his desire for a child and their wealth sits uneasily with Nell given her background. When the opportunity arrives to help the children of her now-dead friend, Nell jumps at the chance but Teddy and Thea are not easy to help. Chicago in the late 1870s is not an easy place and Nell needs to reassess to move forward.
This is the fourth book in a series and not having read the previous three I was definitely at a disadvantage. The storyline is promising, Chicago in the 1870s, on the cusp of industrial greatness but with progress moving at a pace. There is some excellent background material here but the book disappointed in the fact that it focused more on the minutiae of emotions and repetition of the back story than it did on key events. The strikes and riots were severely underwritten and the final crime seemed rushed, even though the book had been leading up to it.

This was kind of hard to get into. I haven’t read the other 3 books in the series, and most of the main characters have already found their happiness (or so it seemed).

I skimmed some parts as to me it was not fast paced enough.

It was an ok read, considering that I am missing Nell’s whole story from the first three books.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Aspidistra Press for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review.