The Prison Healer: A dark, gripping YA fantasy from bestselling author Lynette Noni

This hooked me in instantly and the twist at the end (of many in between) had me throwing the book across the room (in excitement not frustration!!) it's classed as YA, which means low-no spice but I did not miss it at all and it did not feel juvenile at all. The topics it explores (oppressive monarchical society, labour prisons, male violence against women (check triggers for attempted male sexual assault on a woman - nothing graphic though)) are all explored with substance, empathy and without black/white portrayals. The characters are SO likeable you'll want to dive right in and save them all. The romance is addictively sweet, authentic and doomed - in the most heart-wrenching way. I was completely immersed reading this and recommend it to everyone. Can't wait to finish the trilogy.

This story was a great read. Really good young adult fantasy read. I really enjoyed the characters and the pace. I thought there were some great side characters - shout out to Tipp, Mott and Naari. Excited to see where the next book takes us.

Yet again, I have found a book that has replaced a SJM book as my favourite of the year! (so far). We follow a girl called Kiva who has been in surviving in the notorious Zalindov prison for 10 years. Kiva is the prison healer and one of the most necessary prisoners. During her time in Zalindov, she has received messages from outside, telling her that help is coming and to stay alive. Then the prison gets a new prisoner: The Rebel Queen, with a note telling Kiva to keep her alive. The Queen is facing the Trial of Ordeals, four elemental challenges only charged to the most traitorous and dangerous of criminals. Kiva knows the queen is too sick to survive even the first trial so she volunteers to be the queens champion and taking the trials herself, granting herself and the queen freedom if she survives all four trials, the only thing is....no one has ever survived all the trials. With chaos invading the prison in all sorts of ways, Kiva is in for the most challenging time of her life at the prison. This was one hell of a book. As horrible and dark as the setting is, I absolutely loved it. The prologue had me immediately intrigued and I could not put this book down. There were so many characters that I adored in this, they all seemed to have such a good sense of humour in a place that is soul-destroying for most. Naari and Tipp both have a special place in my heart. (also I will never stop shipping Naari and Kiva, the chemistry is so strong!). Tipp is just an adorable little thing that needs to be protected at all costs, he's too precious. I enjoyed Jaren's character but honestly up until the end I wasn't that bothered if he got sick or not. Also there's a certain hand joke made that absolutely cracked me up. At one point I did think that Naari was the rebel queen but that theory very quickly got put to rights. From then on I really did not have a clue about anywhere this story was taking me and I didn't mind because the affect the ending had on me was worth it. So the ordeals were actually insane one of them, Kiva was locked in a CREMATORIUM for 10 minutes and I was so shook when I read that. The other ordeals are still crazy but this one was definitely the worst in my opinion. Then we move onto boring Jaren who turns out, he has all FOUR elemental powers and then it turns out he is also the prince who came in undercover to interrogate the Rebel Queen. Then Tipp almost DIES and I was honestly about to riot this book! Then the final and best part of this ending was that KIVA IS THE REBEL PRINCESS! Honestly I love this and she's going with Jaren (the prince) and infiltrating the royal family that tore her family apart and I can not wait for more!

A nice easy read, great book looking forward to reading the sequel :)

4.5 stars This is such a unique story that I was drawn into it immediately, Kiva is a strong yet relatable main character that you do root for. I do love trials in a book and this definitely had those. I also love twists and turns and this book once again had plenty of those. Some of the book felt a bit slow or dragged out, but the plotline and the well written characters made up for it. There were so many great characters, some you love immediately and some sneak up on you. There were moments that made me shout out loud and others than brought a tear to my eye and some that made me laugh. And the ending!! Oh my goodness the ending!! I will definitely be reading the next book for sure.

Seventeen-year-old Kiva Meridian has spent more than half her life in Zalindov death prison, forced to heal and treat her fellow inmates. When the Rebel Queen is imprisoned in a bad state, Kiva must keep her alive long enough to complete her Trial by Ordeal: a series of challenges against the torments of air, fire, water and earth, assigned to only the most dangerous of criminals. Then, a coded message from Kiva’s family arrives, “Don’t let her die, we are coming.” Aware that the trials will kill the sickly queen, Kiva must take her place. If she succeeds, both Kiva and the Rebel Queen will be granted their freedom. But no one has survived the trials. Ever. And with a deadly sickness spreading through the prison at an alarming rate, Kiva doesn’t know if she will ever make it out alive. I thought this was great. I’ve never read a book like this before; the prison setting was really interesting and unique. The only thing I think I didn’t like about it was that we don’t get to find out much about the outside world, but I’m certain that we will in the next book, which is set outside the prison walls. The characters were written well, but I couldn’t help but be annoyed at Kiva at certain points of the book. I’m also torn between being underwhelmed and impressed by each of the trials - I was expecting them to be much more epic than they were, as they weren’t that exciting, but they were also so simple and managed to do what they were intended to do. I honestly had no idea how Kiva would survive them. There’s some romance in the book that develops very slowly, but the last few pages left me with no clue how this is going to continue in the second book. I’m really not sure where things are going to go next but I’m really looking forward to reading book two.

J’ai découvert ce livre sur YouTube et franchement si vous parlez bien anglais lisez le parce que c’est une histoire vraiment captivante et prenante

So I started this book with high expectations. Midway through, it was pretty much the same, being dragged on a bit, but it was still quite good and I enjoyed the plot and character building (which the author does beautifully btw) but anyways I get to the last hundred pages holy mother of cows. This book turned into a nice little read to a literature masterpiece. And the last page? My jaw was on. The . Floor. I'm really really looking forward to the second book, because oh my gosh. Notes: this book is incredible slow. It has so much character building and a slower burn romance then holly jackson books. It takes a while to become invested, but if you enjoyed books like a cruel prince read this, because it has a similar pace. Other than that I'd highly recommend, gonna go find therapy now. (

Easily my favorite fantasy book ever, the plot twist had my jaw on the floor! all three books are amazing and I highly recommend.

This was a great read. I absolutely was Gob smacked with the twists and that ending- I did not see that coming. 💕 I have already got the next book I. This trilogy.

We follow Kiva, a girl that has spent last 10 years of her life in Zalindov, worst prison there is. At first I was surprised by how dark it is. Not very common for YA book. Incredible settings, infringed, lowest layers of society all looking just to survive. Dark and atmospheric, depicting all sides of human behavior. You will find the worst of the worst in Zalindov. Kiva is navigating this world for years, do what need to be done, trust no one, don’t bond or make connections, and all in order to survive. She is a testament to human resilience and silent bravery, all while being utterly humane and just. I was worried i would enjoy this book, and it did take me a little to get into it I’ll admit. But when it starts, it starts, Story is rich and layered. Characters complex and compelling. All i can say i cannot wait for book 2, so happy its also coming in 2021!