The Prison Healer is set in a horrifying prison/labour camp called Zalindov, once prisoners enter they rarely leave alive or even last long for that matter. Kira, our 17 year old protagonist is an exception to that rule. She’s been at the prison for 10 years and as the title suggests, is the Prison’s healer. Her life changes dramatically thanks to the arrival of two new characters to the prison. The first, Jaren, takes a particular liking to our MC, we see him spending a lot of time trying to win her friendship,looking out for her and defending her honour with the other prisoners. Next, the Rebel Queen arrives. She has been captured and sent to the prison to complete an elemental trial to win her freedom, the trial is made up of 4 elemental ordeals, all must be won or the Rebel Queen will be put to death. Tilda (the Queen) arrives very poorly and in no fit state to even get out of bed, never mind participate in the ordeals so Kira volunteers to take her place..

This was my first experience reading a book written by Lynette Noni, but it definitely won’t be my last, I loved her writing style! It flowed really well, the pace was perfect and I enjoyed the world she created. It’s a good length book at 416 pages but it never once felt like a chore to get through.

I think my favourite part was the unique cast of characters, particularly Kira’s little circle- Tipp, Jaren, Mot and Naari, I thoroughly enjoyed their interactions throughout the story.

The Prison Healer is a fresh take on a popular YA fantasy trope, that will keep you entertained and give you a few plot twists along the way. I would definitely recommend this book. I’m already looking forward to book two of the series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing an arc in exchange for a honest review

This book was such an interesting concept to me with the elemental magic, a prison that no one leaves and a Trial by Ordeal. It was a highly intense read with some really gritty moments that really reflect how horrible Zalindov is as a prison( there are some trigger warnings for this book including Tw: sexual assault/ self-harm/ violence).

Kiva is a great protagonist who would do anything to ensure her survival over the ten years she has spent in the prison. This has led her to be ostracised by some other prisoners as she became the prison healer. We see her interacting with numerous new comers to the prison including a new female guard and male prisoner. The friendships that were developed throughout the book were enjoyable to read as you could see Kiva slowly opening up. I'm excited to learn more about the side characters and how the relationships will continue to develop.

There is so much going on in the book that really keeps your attention including Kiva receiving a secret message to ensure she keeps the rebel queen, a new comer to the prison alive. Alongside this Kiva is trying to find information to cure for a disease killing numerous inmates.

I love books where you have the opportunity to workout some plot points by yourself and still be shocked by some of the plot twists and Noni did this perfectly. I cannot wait for the next book in the series.

The Prison Healer is exceptionally well written, with captivating world building and a setting akin to Auschwitz-Birkenau. The premise is that there is an inescapable prison in which Kiva works as a healer, and once you're in you would be lucky if you live for very long regardless of her healing skills. When a Rebel Queen is thrust into the prison and into Kiva's care, she swiftly realises that the only way to save her may be to volunteer to take her place in a series of elemental/magical trials which allegedly ascertain if you are guilty or innocent. Not that it really matters, since you'll probably die before you win a trial.

Kiva, having spent ten years within the prison, has notoriety which keeps her safe. Her cunning and general acceptance of the situation she finds herself in, and the hopelessness she therefore shares with others, is the kind of resign that you will often see in period literature or WWI/WWII fictionalised texts. It has a really unique and believable undertone which just smacks of that sort of writing and this made the opening few chapters, or perhaps even the first half of the book, completely and utterly compelling.

But once the trials kick in towards the second half, and Kiva begins fighting for the rebel queen's survival instead of her own, the story started to feel a bit too convenient, with lucky escapes and the classic "protagonist passes out at the most opportune moment and can't remember what happened' plot devices thrown in, which invariably rescues the author from having to create a plausible explanation for what actually happened.

I liked Kiva quite a lot. Her resilience and resolve were admirable and certainly made for a less than typical approach to "the hero" of the story. But there were plot points and dull moments which felt too predictable or just unbelievable to really work in such a stark setting; I thought the magic would take more of a forward focus too, and actually it was just a small feature in the novel. As the novel progressed I found myself wondering if it was a joke that Kiva kept finding unsurvivable situations far too easy to survive, with others intervening and convenient saves which meant she actually didn't ever have to save herself.

Ultimately, the setting is what makes this book great and certainly worth a read, but the plot leaves a lot to be desired. Maybe I'll come back to this novel at a later date when I'm feeling more patient and see if it has a different ring to it.

ARC provided from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Prison Healer is arguably the next Throne of Glass. With a similar writing style, it's a perfect fantasy novel for fans of Sarah J. Mass. We follow seventeen year-old heroine Kiva Meridian who is imprisoned at the notorious prison Zalindov and who has taken the mantle of "prison healer". Her only goal: to stay alive. At 416 pages, The Prison Healer is slightly longer than it needed to be, but it does have loveable side characters, elemental trials, magic, prison rebels, found friendship and a sweeping romance as well as a killer ending. Off-page rape scenes (and on-page scenes with the victims) were uncomfortable to read and ultimately reduced my overall enjoyment of the story. I would recommend a trigger warning is included for these.

Review to be published on Goodreads Spring 2021.

The Prison Healer has one of the most exciting premises in young adult fantasy. I'm a sucker for books set in inescapable prisons, and that's what we're dealing with here. Mix a set of magical trials, a rebel queen, and a darkness not often found in the genre and how could it go wrong! Unfortunately, the pacing was slightly too slow and repetitive for me, which stopped me from enjoying it as much as I wanted to. Regardless, it's an amazing set up for a series, the ending was fantastic, and I can't wait to read more in this universe.

Kiva Meridan has spent the last ten years fighting for survival in a notorious prison, Zalindov. When the Rebel Queen is captured she’s charged with keeping her alive long enough to go through the Trial by Ordeal. When a coded message from Kiva’s family arrives, telling her to keep the Queen alive, Kiva has to volunteer for her place. If she wins the trial they’ll get their freedom, but no one has ever survived…

The feature the drew me to this book in the first place was the prison setting. I'm always after grittier young adult fantasy, and this doesn't disappoint. At some points, I was surprised by how much it tested the boundaries of how dark the genre could go. Even with Kiva living in the relative safety of being The Prison Healer life in Zalindov is nasty. The book doesn't stray away from the realities of prisoner abuse and the horrors of continuous manual labour in dangerous situations. Kiva see's everything as she's the one tasked with keeping people in relative health. She dreads seeing a muscular newcomer, knowing they'll be dead in six months if they're given the more dangerous roles. I'm not a fan of darkness just for the sake of it, but prisons truly are horrible places. Zalindov might be a more extreme example, but it's not as far off from reality as I would like, and for that reason, I'm glad the author didn't gloss over the abuses that take place.

I was a little disappointed to find out the magical trials were less at the forefront than it appears in the blurb. I was excited to watch our main character use her wits to best complicated challenges, but that wasn't the case. She didn't really do anything to save herself, and the challenges were mostly 'throw her into a situation she won't survive'. I would have enjoyed the book more if my expectations didn't cloud my thoughts, so if the tournament is what interests you, know it's not as prominent as it might seem.

Although the book is quite slow, and the format can become a bit repetitive, the ending was full of amazing twists and turns. I'd figured out some of it, but I was hazy on the details. I'm so excited for the next book after what was revealed!

At the same time, it completely changes everything a character does. It made me feel distanced from them because their motivations were tipped upside-down. I can't tell if I think that's brilliant or not! Either way, I need the next book to know more.

I loved some aspects of this, wasn't completely sold on others, but overall it was an entertaining read! I think people who enjoy popular young adult fantasy would have a good time with this, so definitely pick it up and let me know what you thought of the end!

I found this a very compelling book. The premise felt fresh and interesting, and even later, when it did stray closer to more well known tropes, the outcomes of some of the mysteries were surprising. Considering the first third of the book largely takes places in one setting - the infirmary - it had me hooked and by the latter third of the book, I was racing through to see what was going to happen, and if my guesses had been correct. Some were and some weren't. I wasn't too taken with Kiva, but even if I didn't like her all the time, I was always interested in what was happening to her and what she was going to do. We don't always have to like characters to be engaged in their story - and with Jaren, Tipp and Naari as secondary characters, there were plenty of others to like. The development of Kiva's emotions around forming attachments with them and whether or not she was foolish to maintain hope, really did draw me in. I'll also be very interested to see how her character changes in the next book given some of the revelations at the end!

Lynette Noni drew me to this book with the title and the beautiful cover and although it became completely obvious that this YA Fantasy genre was out of my comfort zone I became enthralled by the main character and the beginning of her adventure. All I can say is WOW - I fell into this realm and didn’t want to come out again I can’t wait for the next book and thanks to netgalley for the advanced copy.
Kira is a seventeen year old girl who has been a prisoner at Zalindov for the last ten years. She was given the job of the prison healer following the death of her father. Part of her job includes her overseeing all new prisoners to the camp and marking them by burning a Z on the back of their hand.
Outside of the prison there is unrest as the rebels are fighting and causing riots as they try to reclaim ‘their kingdom’. One day the Rebel Queen is captured and although she is gravely ill she is brought to Zalindov and put into the care of Kiva. At the same time there is a virus going round the camp which despite Kiras ministrations the prisoners are dying. The rebels within the camp and Kiras own family who on a rare occasion manage to get an encrypted message in to her are clear - Keep The Queen Alive.
The Rebel Queens punishment is to complete 4 trials by the elements Air Fire Water and Earth - nobody has survived before and as she is so ill Kira feels she must volunteer to do the trials on the understanding that if she is still alive at the end then both herself and the rebel queen will be free but if she fails they both die.
This was a fantastic read and I really did not want it to end - if I could give it more than 5 stars I would.

I absolutely loved the author's writing style for this book. The words seemed to flow perfectly and I became enthralled in the plot and fully immersed in the universe that the book is set. There was the perfect balance of mystery and action weaved into the storyline and I was greeted with plot twists around every corner. The characters have been developed extremely well and I connected with each of them brilliantly.
Overall an extremely successful read and a brilliant book. I will definitely be purchasing a physical copy and I'm looking forward to seeing where this story goes next.

TW: mentions of rape, descriptions of torture, murder, drug use

Kiva Meridan has been in Zalindov, the prison nobody escapes, for ten years. She has fought for her survival, even when that meant lowering her head in the face of injustice and abuse. As the prison healer, she even consents to brand all new prisoners with the prison's trademark Z. Refusal only means punishment anyway. But Kiva's structured semi-life changes when new prisoners arrive. One is a young man who befriends her despite her refusal to form attachments, and the other is the Rebel Queen, leader of the resistance. However, when the Rebel Queen arrives she is deathly ill, and doesn't stand a chance of surviving the Trial by Ordeal: a series of elemental challenges against the torments of air, fire, water, and earth. And when a secret message makes its way to Kiva and tells her to keep the new prisoner alive at all costs, Kiva only sees one way forward: to name herself the Rebel Queen's champion and take on the Trial in her place.

To be honest, it's been a while since I read a YA fantasy where the characters felt fresh instead of a recycled version of the same old character traits you'll usually find, and I have to say that I didn't miss Strong Female Character at all. I wouldn't call Kiva weak by any means; she has survived untold horrors and mentally she's extremely strong. Physically, not so much. She's a healer, not a fighter, but it makes for a pleasant change. And being strong also doesn't mean she doesn't suffer or break down. She felt like a well-rounded, well-written character. In fact, they all did.

I had a couple of predictions about where the story was headed, and I managed to guess a couple of the big reveals about halfway in (some of them in full, some where I got the core right but the details wrong). It honestly doesn't detract from the enjoyment for me because I thought the foreshadowing was really well done and pretty subtle for some aspects. The writing is really good and I was interested in the story and invested in the characters. There's a beautiful, heart-wrenching found family that starts off with just Kiva and Tipp and then slowly grows to include Naari and Jaren. The romance was sweet too. I wouldn't call it a slow build, it's just something that steadily grows.

The Trial was probably the part I enjoyed least and I didn't find myself curious about what Kiva would face in each trial. I guessed one of the trials correctly and was honestly surprise Kiva didn't realize it way beforehand.

The other thing I'm not too sure about yet is the ending. There was a certain tonal shift in one of the characters that I didn't see coming, even though maybe I should have. It does mean the sequel probably won't be what I'm expecting, and I'm definitely intrigued enough that I want to read the rest of this story and see where it goes.

Review has already been posted to Goodreads and will be posted to Instagram this week (I'll add a link once I have it).

Thanks to NetGalley for the free ARC of this book, in exchange for a review.

This book blew me away. I am in love. I'm so mad I have to wait for the sequel.

To start off though, I do want to give a quick warning that there is some disturbing imagery in the book, put here under the spoiler tag. Trigger warning for [ attempted live cremation, body horror, and pandemic-y situations (hide spoiler)].

To start with, the page design is gorgeous and really heightens the atmosphere of the book at the perfect moments. My ARC didn't contain a map yet, so I'm really looking forward to doing a reread with the map in mind when it comes out. Although the book is very high stakes and serious off the bat, it manages to be really funny and sweet at times.

I love the differently abled rep and the normalization of gay relationships in a fantasy world. If you're gonna create a world, make it inclusive! Noni easily ranges her characters as diverse and inclusive and it is so refreshing to see!

The protagonist, Kiva, is a survivor with a heart of gold. She's a great protagonist and you want to root for her. Jaren, our charming new prisoner, is a great counterpart for Kiva. He recognizes her power and offers to stand beside her, rather than fight her battles for her. I loved Tipp and Naari as well, but my surprise favorite was Mot. He was such a compelling character and I really enjoyed all of his moments.

The biggest thing for me though, was the last 10 pages or so. The reveal!!! It was incredible. I didn't see it coming at all and I LOVED it. I think it gives a fantastic set up for the next book, and it suddenly makes everything make sense. I get a little used to being able to guess most major plot points in books, so to be so shocked and then smacking myself for not realizing was actually super fun.

As you can tell, I really loved the book. The Prison Healer is definitely a 2020 favorite, and I am frothing at the mouth to get my hands on book two. Five ginormous stars. This book is currently available for pre-order, so I urge you to go do so right now. You'll thank me, I promise.

This book was actually AMAZING. I cannot recommend it enough!
Kiva is in a deadly prison where she's the prison healer, when suddenly the Rebel Queen arrives and Kiva volunteers to take her place in the Trials which will try to kill you in four different ways by air, fire, water, and earth. Not only does she receive unusual help in the trials, nothing is as it seems. This book has a magic, political dealings, royalty, and amazing characters.
Not only is this book absolutely unpredictable, where I could not guess a single thing that was going to happen; it has a massive plot twist at the end.
The writing style of the author is so easy and gripping; it will absolutely enthrall you into the story from the first few pages.
I cannot recommend this book enough, it's become one of my absolute favourites books and I cannot wait for the next book in the series. Absolutely addicting!

"Never forfet, little mouse: not two people look the same, but we are each beautiful in our ways. The human body is a masterpiece that deserves our respect, always".

Okay, first off, I just want to say a HUGE thank you to Netgalley and Hodder Publicity for providing me with an ARC to review.

I loved this book! I am definitely will be a physical copy of this book when it comes out and I can honestly say that I can’t wait to reread it when it comes.

This book is set within a prison (obvs with the name of the book) and there are some dark scenes woven in throughout the book, but I think it’s done very delicately (still a small trigger warning would be advised).

Kiva is a strong female character, and even though this book is written in her point of view, she still remains a mystery. The plot twists within this book are awesome, well one of them I guessed but the other I was like “huh” and I felt like I had to go reread the parts of the book to see if there were any hints.

The male protagonist was swoon worthy, and I adore his interactions with Kiva. Her character came kept him at arm's length and was a little dry towards him but he was not having it. Basically, he was super endearing and lovable.

I loved the side characters in this book too. Usually when I read a book, side characters don’t really grab my attention nor do I care about them that much- but here I just adored them and I even cried a little.

Basically, this book is for anyone who likes strong female characters, good banter, a mystery seeped within a mystery, stories about royals and morally grey characters.

I am super excited about the next book in the series (this book ends in a small/shocking cliff-hanger) - It was super fun to read

ARC received in exchange for an honest review, and honest I shall be.

What was this? This felt like a book written for 12 year old girls.
All the character and place names are weird, I mean that's ok but at least let them roll off the tongue. I mean 'Tilda'? (As in basmati rice??) Zalindov? Kiva? Stellan? The list goes on.. The characters themselves are tedious.

I didn't enjoy the narrative, quite 'block-y' and boy did it drag. This book was just SO CHEESY, I could feel myself getting more and more irritated with every turn of the page.

I could sense the upcoming terrible ending. The rebel-queen, Tilda, (I'm sorry I can't stop thinking of the long-grain rice) has to undergo four elemental challenges to free herself from the prison, 4 tasks that are apparently super difficult and nobody has ever completed before, BUT GUESS WHAT I BET SHE MIRACULOUSLY DOES! (It wasn't worth sticking around long enough to find out).

DNF'd about 20% of the way through.

0 stars.