The Ancients foretold of the one with the white flame. She would change the world.
Hidden since birth from her own people, Elsfaer was born with a distinct marking that covered her entire body. Before she could walk, she was seen as a threat to their existence. But there were those who believed that she should be protected at all costs.
With the call for a new Elite, the High Spirit chose Elsfaer as the next to lead the Phoenix people. The very people she’d been told to fear all her life. But unlike the rest of her people who burned either a blue or red flame, Elsfaer’s fire was the hottest of whites.
Her white flame was a sign of change, of a new order for her people. Unfortunately, Phoenixes weren’t exactly open to change, but Elsfaer knows something they don’t. The balance of the Phoenix has been thrown off and if she doesn’t fix it, their flames will burn out for the last time.
Reign of the White Phoenix is a part of the Rise of the Elites Shared World Collection
Collection includes titles by: USA Today Bestselling Author, Jessica Cage Delizhia Jenkins USA Today Bestselling Author, Jennifer Laslie USA Today Bestselling Author, Mikel Wilson E. M. Lacey Kish Knight USA Today Bestselling Author, K. R. Fajardo
Seven Elites will Fall. Seven will Rise. Find out if they survive.
Born and raised in Chicago, IL, writing has always been a passion for Jessica Cage. She dabbles in artistic creations of all sorts but at the end of the day, it's the pen that her hand itches to hold. Jessica had never considered following her dream to be a writer because she was told far too often "There is no money in writing." So she chose the path most often traveled. During pregnancy she asked herself an important question. How would she be able to inspire her unborn son to follow his dreams and reach for the stars, if she never had the guts to do it herself? Jessica decided to take a risk and unleash the plethora of characters and their crazy adventurous worlds that had previously existed only in her mind, into the realm of readers. She did this with hopes to inspire not only her son but herself. Inviting the world to tag along on her journey to become the writer she has always wanted to be. She hopes to continue writing and bringing her signature Caged Fantasies to readers everywhere.
My second read through and I loved the story equally as much. Love the characters, the plot and the overall storyline was awesome. A lesson of loss and working hard to gain it back full force. A powerful story
Slow start, but then I couldn’t put it down. Really enjoyed reading. Has good battle scenes, good characters growth, and a love interest. All good ingredients. Finishing the series.
Elsfaer is special. She has been since the day she was born. She’s the next elite but for her entire life, Zodiac, her guardian, and the others around her haven’t been telling her the truth about who she is, or where she comes from. Unfortunately, that seems to be the entire premise of the novel.
I wanted to love this book. I truly did. The cover was phenomenal, so elegant and ethereal. Depicting Elsfaer as a strong figure with her wings behind her blazing proud. After reading the novel, I feel cover-baited. For an author boasting “USA Today Best Seller” on the cover, I expected more from the novel.
For the entire book, I found myself going back and forth on my tolerance, like, and dislike for Elsfaer. I found myself liking Amy and Jamilla much more than Elsfaer and I knew nothing about them.
While Elsfaer is quick to throw into people’s faces what they kept from her to keep her safe, she is selfish. She never once thanked these people for giving up their lives, leaving their homes to take care of her and keep her safe. I believe the author wants us to feel sorry for her, but it just irritated me that she acted like a selfish brat for the majority of the book since she referred to the secrets so often.
There were only two major things she should have been pissed off about, and yet, they seemed to be the things she got over the quickest.
While Elsfaer has been thoroughly trained and is great at handling herself; because she’s been secluded in Kai Temple her entire life she’s naive to several things. The only man she’s ever seen is Zodiac. When she comes across Kaden, she doesn’t know how she feels about him. Somehow in the short time that she’s in his camp, she develops feelings for him and they share a kiss. However, once Kaden finds out who she really is things go downhill.
When Elsfaer is with Kaden we get to see her develop a bit and become more than the MC that refers back to secrets being kept from her every chapter. While it’s nice to see her development, it only seems to be when she’s around him, it has something to do with him, or on the rare occasion with Amy. I’m not sure if this is because she's naive in the ways of like and lust, or if this was an attempt for the writer to show their “developing” relationship in the brief scenes that we get them together.
When Elsfaer makes it to Phadrial, she discovers that there are many flameless Phoenix, and upon walking around she somehow knows exactly why. With it being her first time there, it was hard to believe she just knew how to fix the problem. She did ask for some records later that evening but it’s never expressly said what she wants them for. I believe we’re just supposed to assume she was doing research on the city. Though, she could have been researching customs because she had a battle coming up.
I will say that I enjoyed the fight scene during the Phoenix challenge. It was much better than the others that preceded it. Those felt like the author wrote them because she thought Elsfaer needed to prove her strength in some way, or as a way to fill in space. The challenge fight scene was well detailed, and I could picture exactly what was happening. The ones before it could have been taken out and that one would have been enough to show how good of a fighter Elsfaer was.
If it wasn’t for the cover image, I wouldn’t have any clue what Elsfaer looked like. Other than the fact that she has markings on her body and that her wings are white, we aren’t given much more about her. With that being said, I have no idea what the other characters look like either. We don’t get the faintest description of them. Granted they aren’t the MC but we see them quite a bit, so when I picture them, without any description given, I envision clothes on an invisible body.
There’s so much more I could say, but I’d give away the entire book.
The premise behind the book has potential, but the execution fell just short. At least for the audience, I think this novel is meant for, which I believe is an older audience since it wasn’t made clear. However, it feels like a teen novel instead. If that is in fact what it is then I could understand why particular things happened. Since I’m sure whom the novel is aimed at, it seems fair to average the rating I’d give it for each audience.
Elsfaer has been raised in an isolated monastery, impatient for the time when she will mature and get her phoenix wings. But all her plans for freedom and traveling the world are put on hold when a secret destiny is revealed. Reign of the White Phoenix by Jessica Cage is part of the Rise of the Elites series – seven books by seven authors, all set in Penumbra and various locations on Earth. The High Spirit has decided that things are out of balance, and seven Elites (leaders of various factions) must fall, and seven new leaders will rise. Elsfaer has no idea about any of this, but she has to get over her anger at being lied to all her life if she is going to prove to her people and herself that she is a true leader.
Reign of the White Phoenix is the first book I’ve read by Jessica Cage. I loved the setting, starting off in a monastery on Earth, then following Elsfaer through the portal into Penumbra. You get to learn about the phoenix people through her eyes – how they have divided themselves into clans, becoming increasingly weaker. More and more phoenixes are being born without wings, and only Elsfaer can unite them again. I personally thought the plot relied a bit too heavily on people keeping secrets from Elsfaer, but it is still a really fun adventure. I loved the worlds and the divisions of the phoenix people. I also really liked the level of romance in this book. Once Elsfaer meets someone special, it never overwhelms the main narrative, which was great!
This book was just an okay read for me, but there were things I liked about it and I felt it had a lot of potential. The storyline was interesting and very creative. I liked the magical elements and creatures. And, while I didn’t have a favorite character, I did enjoy the mix of different characters.
The story was very fast paced from start to finish. I don’t usually have a problem with that, but in this case, I felt that the pacing made the story feel rushed. I found myself constantly wanting more... more depth, more details, more world building, more character building, more knowledge/presence of the villain, etc. Perhaps slowing down the pace a little would have allowed room to expound in these areas.
In all fairness, I am a reader who loves a nice long 1000 page fantasy book. It could certainly be argued that I’m not likely to find any fantasy book of this length to be detailed enough for my personal reading taste. So if you are someone who loves a fast paced story without a lot of minutia, then this might be right up your alley.
There were a few editing issues sprinkled throughout as well.
While I often enjoy MS. Cage's writing, all of her publications that I have read to date are rife with errors. This makes the reasons less enjoyable when you must stop in the flow of your reading because of grammatical and other errors. There seems to be an average of approximately one error per page, per book.
*I received an ARC from Booksprout for my voluntary and honest review.
Elsfaer has been in hiding since birth. When she was born she was covered with white markings that marked her as part of a prophecy to be the next leader of the Phoenix people. And because of that she was raised in a temple of Earth under the supervision of Zodiac. In her home world of Penumbra the High Spirit has decided it is time for a change and Elsfaer is called on to be the next Elite. But she is an outsider no one knows and special. Unlike most of her kind who have blue, red or no flame Elsfaer has a white fire. And she will need to use it to reunite her people and try to bring the world back into balance.
Well i did enjoy this book very much i did find the pacing to be a bit off. The beginning seems to take a bit to get to the main story and Elsfaer’s discovery of who she is. Then it picks up to introduce characters, the world, and all the division between the people of the world only to rush through the big battle at the end. It seems to end too quickly. However I did like the FMC. She was well written and a strong willed woman. Though it felt like the rug was always being pulled out from under her, so many secrets. The world does seem interesting and I probably will check out the rest of the series.
3.5/5 stars This book is less than 300 pages, but quite a lot happens. Almost too much. I don't mind a book with fast pacing, but after the main climax of the story occurs, I kinda wished the story slowed down instead of constantly throwing crazy plot twists till the end. I liked the protagonist a lot, but I felt like the fast pacing didn't allow the story to be as emotional as it could've been, which would've made the action and plost twists of the story more intense. A bit more world building, a lot more character development, and giving important scenes, especially the emotional ones, a longer moment would've been amazing. I think to fit everything that happened at a better pace, this would've been closer to 500 pages, or cutting out some of the events in the 2nd half to keep it at its current length. I don't want to give any spoilers, but this was a lot of fun to read and very interesting. I am curious how the other authors in this collection build this interesting world. Reign of the White Phoenix was an easy read and a lot of fun. I'm excited to read her Djinn Rebellion series next!
The concept made for a good story and I enjoyed that there were so many characters that were POCs. However, the heroine, Elsfaer came across as a whiny Gen Zer who was emotional and reactive when things don't go her way. I understand her disappointment and hurt that comes from all of the secrets but she also comes across as selfish because she rarely tries to view from another perspective without being prompted. In addition to the flawed heroine, there were an astronomical number of grammatical errors. Examples include using the incorrect verb tense and transposing words like (she were vs she WAS), they were expose vs they were exposeD) and (the and journey begins vs AND the journey begins). While there weren't a lot of misspelled words, they are in the book. The numerous errors made the book read as a revised rough draft instead of a published finished product.
This was my first read from the author Jessica Cage. I didn’t know what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. I was drawn in within the first couple pages of the epilogue. I loved the idea of the fall and rise of the Elite took place. The character development was great as well as a solid plot. I was expecting a little more romance however, I found that I didn’t miss it. The only thing that I didn’t like was that there was a great build up to a battle However, once it arrived it fell flat for me. It was short and only a minor struggle. I felt that if the enemy would be that easily defeated then the energy should have been focused elsewhere. I also don’t believe the ending was complete, I still have questions. I wonder if there will be a follow up. Overall a great read though.
This book pulled me in and held its grasp until those fatal words, "THE END."; Every relationship and character in this story was like peeling back an onion to discover more and more mastery. The strong female lead experiences self doubt and hesitation, just as we do in our day to day lives. Despite being a world of fantasy, the characters are relatable and the struggles hit to the core. The shared world is gorgeous and to the mind of an avid reader, I was brought to a world of magic and wonder. I loved the imperfections and hypocrisy the world faced much like our own.
I recommend this book to any reader who loves fantasy and strong female leads. I am hooked and wanting more.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I was instantly hooked!!! Let me first say, that I am a fangirl for all the series from this author! When I first saw the cover art of this book last summer; I knew that I had to get a copy of this book. I actually preordered the book and then I was fortunate to get the opportunity to be an arc reader. This was the first ever fantasy book I have read featuring a Phoenix and Elsfaer was such an intriguing character, who is on a quest of self discovery, and I was rooting for her the whole time. This was such a dynamic world that we got a peek of. I loved seeing the growth of Elsfaer. I definitely can’t wait to see what else is in store for this series. What a great start!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This particular genre is slowly making it's way into one of my favorite genres. This is my first read from Jessica Cage. I learned about this series through Jessica's TikTok page. I was not familiar with her and decided to give it a try. Well, let's just say I was NOT disappointed. The book captured my attention from the beginning. I loved all the twist and turns, getting to know the characters and the meaning of the story.. Reign of the White Phoenix set the precedent for the rest of The Rise of the Elites series. I can't wait for the next book in the series. And I also can't wait to dig into more of Jessica's books!
I became completely invested in the story of the White Phoenix from the very beginning. The elaborate description of the fantasy world was easily my hook. I found myself wanting to know more about this magical world and its connection to earth. Every twist and turn kept my interest, and with every page I read my fascination grew. I caught myself yelling at the book when the strong female lead character ran into a new and mysterious dilemma. Although the story can stand alone, with my overactive imagination, I definitely crave a sequel.
I highly recommend this book!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I like the concept of the story but I didn’t like that she seemed so just devastated by Zodiac who seemed to have been protecting her and it just seemed that her response to the whole situation was drastic. She wso easily persuaded. I was confused by how strong she was supposed to be that throughout the entire book she doubted herself. I did like the connection she had with Kayden and in my personal opinion it’s like she grew only when she was with him like he boosted her confidence. I’m all for a man helping to make you better but I thought she would be stronger than that.
What a great start to a compilation of stories in the series.
Rise of the Elites - Reign of the White Phoenix starts off with a bang and keeps the energy all the way to the end. Who knew all the tragedy and back-stabbing would lead a young woman to become the one person to make change happen. Jessica Cage has a great knack for weaving a story in ways that transports you where the story takes place, and has you standing right in the story. I can't wait to see how this collaboration continues.
I love the cover art. I love the social media content. I love the concepts. I’m not loving the writing. Most of this story felt like a vent in story form. Like she was making an argument for why this whole storyline of telling the hero/heroine nothing and keeping everything from them and talking in half truths and riddles is a weak storyline. So she wrote a book where the heroine told everyone how and why that was a bad concept. The world is interesting but i don’t feel invested in the characters or the story beyond hoping it gets better.
You have no idea how hard it is to find a book with main characters that look like me. Ones where everyone in the book, looks like me. Where were these stories sooner? I loved how new this whole Phoenix population is and brings out a whole new world of fiction. The story flowed well but there were parts that felt a little bunched together and rushed. Lots of dialog involving feelings which was good for character development but I wish there were more parts that elaborated her feelings.
I don't give many five stars but this story captured me from the beginning with the imagery and plot.
It was thrilling to see an Elite rise to power. As I watched Elsfaer face her destiny I empathized and cheered her on as she faced trail after trail. I read it in one day because I really could not put it down. I can't wait to see what happens next in this collaborative series. Jessica started this series off strong! It is a must read.
I loved the entry book into this world. The story sucks you in and pull you in from the very beginning and keep you reading all the way to the very end. The characters are well written and the worldbuilding was magnificent. I really can't wait until I read the rest of the books to see how they all connect with each other. Don't be hesitant about picking up this story. You won't be disappointed.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This book was extremely detailed and rich with the story of what is sure to be a strong female character in this series. I appreciate the history behind the main character, Elsfaer. Understanding her frustrations and internal struggles made this character relatable and become alive in my mind as I read this book. Fantastic work and hope this author will continue to pursue this story line!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
First, I need more Phoenix in my life. This book hooks you from the beginning and just keeps getting better. The character development is on point, the plot is solid, and the story builds and keeps you turning the pages. I cannot wait to see what is in store next for newest Phoenix as she explores her new life.
Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2021 Once again Jessica Cage has built a world I want to visit. Right away I got sucked in. I love the main character, Elsfaer so much. She is strong, determined and smart. You will want to see her come into her own. The twist and turns will keep you engaged and ready to turn the page.
This book grabbed me on the very first page and didn’t let go! It’s one of the best I’ve read in awhile.I look forward to following this series and finding out what’s next for the Phoenix as she explores her new life!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Yet again, I have read a story like no other with unfamiliar magic, but the same old problem of castes. You would think after so many years of doing it wrong, people would get a clue. The plot is convoluted, but easily followed with focus. The main characters are believable, and endearing. I can easily recommend this book for anyone looking for something new to read about.
So there wasn't any smut, but that was okay because the MC was a 25 year old woman who had been kept kind of ironically in the dark for her entire life. What I love about her story is that she became a true leader of her people. She demonstrated time and time again integrity, grit, intelligence and kindness. The MC is a leader whom I would have been happy to follow.
Great world building. Thanks for the map of Penumbra. Light vs dark, flamed vs flameless, elite vs common; every society finds a way to make divisions and there are those who make it a prejudice that have to be overcome. Good characters. Naive but strong heroine. Good cast of teachers\advisors. A good amount of action and intrigue. Good read.
Elsfaer's journey was a struggle, and she overcame obstacles, prejudice, and betrayal, and she even found love. The High Spirit chose wisely. Jessica Cage, thank you for taking us on this journey! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book!! Enjoy your reading!! Blessings
I read this entire book in 2 days. I love the best friend in the story. It had a great story line and the character really came into her own. I wished her love interest made more of an appearance but overall good book.