The Prison Healer by. Lynette Noni | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Prison Healer (#1)

Author: Lynette Noni

Format: eBook (own)

Pages: 416

Publication Date: 4/13/21

Publisher: Clarion Books

Categories: Dark Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult

Seventeen-year-old Kiva Meridan has spent the last ten years fighting for survival in the notorious death prison, Zalindov, working as the prison healer.

When the Rebel Queen is captured, Kiva is charged with keeping the terminally ill woman alive long enough for her to undergo the Trial by Ordeal: a series of elemental 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, containing a single order: “Don’t let her die. We are coming.” Aware that the Trials will kill the sickly queen, Kiva risks her own life to volunteer in her place. If she succeeds, both she and the queen will be granted their freedom.

But no one has ever survived.

With an incurable plague sweeping Zalindov, a mysterious new inmate fighting for Kiva’s heart, and a prison rebellion brewing, Kiva can’t escape the terrible feeling that her trials have only just begun.

I wasn’t sure why I bought this book. I was craving something, a dark fantasy, something with a little romance and just a different setting than the fantasies I have been reading. I’ve always been attracted to this book cover and the reviews I’ve read so far have been really good so I took the plunge and bought it.

I read this in one sitting and it had everything I was looking for! It’s a dark story, with Kiva living in a death prison – she is the prison healer so she’s seen it all. The book doesn’t shy away from pain, violence, and all the scary things that would happen in a prison. We get to know Kiva, she is strong, she has lived through trauma and she is a survivor. Kiva also has some secrets she keeps very closely guarded.

The setting of the prison was basically that but I didn’t feel trapped there. I felt like with the mysterious illness going on and Kiva trying to investigate it, we get to explore the prison grounds more. There is also the matter of the Trials of Ordeals that Kiva takes on to help save a prisoner, the leader of the rebel group planning against their kingdom. Tilda, the rebel is barely coherent to take part in the trials so Kiva takes her place. With those two things going on in the story, prison life was definitely not boring.

I enjoyed getting to know the other characters in the prison as well. I love her little assistant, Tipp. Kiva makes new friends with a guard Naari, who is awesome and a new prisoner Jaren, who I love so far. I found Jaren strangely flirty for a new prisoner in a death prison, which made me suspicious of him haha but yes there is a little bit of romance between them but it’s not the focus of the story – Kiva is trying to keep everyone and herself alive. Still, I love how their relationship is a slow burn.

I love the twist at the end – it wasn’t a shocking surprise because throughout the book I was suspecting everything and anything, but it was still cool how it was executed and how it made me second guess certain aspects of the book. Still it was quite a cliffhanger for the story, it makes you want book two asap!

Content Warnings: self harm, violence, torture, whipping, blood, mentions of rape and assault, drug use, death

This is a dark story and it has a lot of stuff mentioned in the content warnings above so beware.

I felt like the Trial of Ordeals was a tad bit underwhelming – not the tasks in itself because some were pretty crazy, they were meant to kill her of course. I just thought she was pretty calm about facing each ordeal but I guess she had a lot on her plate with her secret messages, keeping people alive, trying to find out the origin of the virus taking place and just surviving daily. I wanted some panic and planning at least but I guess she couldn’t do much about it.

Why you should read it:

• you enjoy dark fantasy with a little bit a romance
• a wonderful cast of characters
• a good twist at the end

Why you might not want to read it:

• too dark (read content warnings)

My Thoughts:

I absolutely enjoyed this book because it had everything I was craving! I want to know more about Kiva (after that ending) and I love all the other characters so it makes me want to read book two ASAP. I’m lucky that the next book comes out very soon.

📚 ~ Yolanda