What do you think?
Rate this book
Angelio #1
Cage of Nightingales
In a highly-structured eighteenth-century society, the city state of Angelio is known for two its music, and its guardian, the Archangel Michael.
At Angelio’s music school—nicknamed the Cage of Nightingales—castrato singer Carlo is headed for fame at the opera … at the price of personal freedom. Charity pupil Tammo hates the school and everyone in it, and wants to live in the woods, charming birds with his flute.
When Tammo meets Carlo, their lives change forever. With the help of the Archangel, they can grant to each other whatever their hearts desire. But staying true isn’t easy, and their choices will affect not just their futures, but that of Celestina—a young aristocrat destined to be the third person in their relationship.
At Angelio’s music school—nicknamed the Cage of Nightingales—castrato singer Carlo is headed for fame at the opera … at the price of personal freedom. Charity pupil Tammo hates the school and everyone in it, and wants to live in the woods, charming birds with his flute.
When Tammo meets Carlo, their lives change forever. With the help of the Archangel, they can grant to each other whatever their hearts desire. But staying true isn’t easy, and their choices will affect not just their futures, but that of Celestina—a young aristocrat destined to be the third person in their relationship.
- GenresQueer
291 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 5, 2023
2 people are currently reading
65 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Hopkinson
24 books36 followersElizabeth Hopkinson is best known for Asexual Fairy Tales, Silver Hands, and a range of short fantasy stories and original fairy tales.
Elizabeth describes her writing as, "seeing the magical in the ordinary". She has loved fairy tale and history since studying English Literature at Leeds University;.
She has lived all her life in Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK (home of the Bronte sisters and the Cottingley Fairies) and couldn't imagine living anywhere else.
Elizabeth has been writing ever since she used to make books out of scrap paper in wet playtimes at school. She has had around 100 short stories and articles published, and has won prizes in the James White Award, the Jane Austen Short Story Award, the Historic House contest and the Liars' League National Gallery Inspiration contest.
She has spoken at Swanwick Writers' Summer School, Ilkley Literature Festival Fringe and University of Leeds Careers Expo. Among her loves are coffee shops, the piano, and the Yorkshire arts scene.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 7, 2023
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!
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!
April 1, 2024
It was an alright book, just not what I expected. I didn’t hate it, it was a nice read!
Sometimes I thought it was a little weird - maybe it’s the way the characters spoke or that there was kinda magic in it.
I expected the characters to be older than they were.
Nothing much happened but when something finally happened, I was hooked.
I’m not for insta-friends, so I liked carlo and tammos friendship the more I read about them. Their friendship with Celestina was also a little weird in my opinion. I didn’t care for the jealousy.
Some of the information we got wasn’t very clear, I’m not sure if I understood some of the things correctly. I tried to google some words and phrases to understand better but some things I couldn’t find any information about.
Too many names with C and G, I got confused often.
The cover is so, so beautiful!
Sometimes I thought it was a little weird - maybe it’s the way the characters spoke or that there was kinda magic in it.
I expected the characters to be older than they were.
Nothing much happened but when something finally happened, I was hooked.
I’m not for insta-friends, so I liked carlo and tammos friendship the more I read about them. Their friendship with Celestina was also a little weird in my opinion. I didn’t care for the jealousy.
Some of the information we got wasn’t very clear, I’m not sure if I understood some of the things correctly. I tried to google some words and phrases to understand better but some things I couldn’t find any information about.
Too many names with C and G, I got confused often.
The cover is so, so beautiful!
December 28, 2023
Not bad at all, just rather boring for my tastes.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews