Thank you so much Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the opportunity to read the final book of this heart rending series.

What an amazing finale this was. I'm still a little bit amazed by how well this book ended given how the second book ended. Although the passing of this book was a little bit slower compared to the other ones (it took me almost one whole month to finish this book while I finished the other in a couple of days or so) I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
That betrayal plot twist at the end was so so good I was not expecting it at all but I guess with this series I should've expected at least one plot twist but the way it happened it really caught me off guard.
I'm now feeling a bit sad that this fantastic heartstopping series is over but to be honest I'm really hoping for the author to write more books in this world.

Ah the conclusion! After the ending of book 2 this book couldn't come out sooner! We kick right back off straight into the action and it pretty much didn't stop all the way through! Kiva and Jaren have my heart forever. And I did not see that twist at the end coming!

It was an alright finish to an otherwise superb series. I felt there were moments where the plot development felt too rushed, things wrapped up neatly in a fast ‘I need to finish writing this’ kind of way.
This will not stop me at all from recommending this series, it’s a brilliant young adult read that is sure to keep readers engaged and delighted (and heartbroken at times too).

I was apprehensive to read this conclusion to the Prison Healer trilogy after the twist in book 1 and, well, every enraging thing that happened in The Gilded Cage (!!) but I also did want to see how the author Lynette Noni resolved the absolute carnage the previous book ended on.

The Blood Traitor is definitely an improvement and a large number of the issues are resolved, wrapping up the story nicely and resolving a lot of the drama created. My main concern was that Kiva, as the main character to this series, would not be held accountable for her involvement in a lot of the pain and drama caused and that is not the case

The redemption/forgiveness arc, while necessary following the actions of the previous book, isn’t handled quite as I’d liked. Kiva mopes for the majority of this book, often just wanting to be forgiven not because it will mean that the people she has hurt have healed and are OK, but because she wants what she had before she betrayed them, it’s still about her and what she wants. Caldon is still a fun character but doesn’t feel very complex at all, he’s too nice that it doesn’t feel real. Jaren, meanwhile, is just confusing and while I fully felt he was entitled to his anger, it felt very unhealthy, toxic and confusing how it was handled. Tipp also, it was anticlimactic. It just didn’t feel enough or real by anyone.

Cresta is a brilliant addition (I say addition but she has featured previously), she actually holds Kiva accountable and doesn’t let her get away with moping and being self serving, challenges her and has her back. Cresta was fun, bada$$ and has real potential, this series definitely needed more of Cresta like this and I really enjoyed her scenes and dialogue. Ashlyn too had real potential, I just wish we had more of her.
Talking of characters, Navok feels an absolutely pointless part of the book, when he is first introduced he comes across pretty menacing but it just doesn’t pay off. Zuleeka too was really built up as a formidable character in The Gilded Cage but the content is just lacking here, we don’t understand her better or really spend any time with her beyond an underwhelming final confrontation.

My main issue really is just that there is real potential here, to challenge ‘good’ characters who do bad things, to tackle facing your mistakes and the people you have hurt, forgiveness, loving ‘bad’ people etc, and yet it’s just not handled deep enough for me. Like I said, Kiva is the only character we really get to ‘know’ and yet I really wanted to know how Jaren felt after being betrayed, mourning family, losing power etc, the issue between Caldon and Ashlyn, Tipp and Kiva, Cresta’s backstory, the LGBT representation, the conflict of Zuleeka and Torell being on different sides, Naari’s disability … things have so much potential but just don’t feel committed to enough for me to really be explored or challenged.

This isn’t a bad book, or a bad series, and Cresta really was amazing. But it’s just not life changing or particularly different to anything else out there. It’s definitely a big improvement and I did enjoy it, I just wanted more.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review

The Blood Traitor picks up exactly where the previous book had left us, with Kiva right back in the place she had so desperately tried to escape. I hadn't re-read the previous books in preparation for this one, but it was fairly easy to pick up the thread again, and there were plenty of reminders here and there of previous events and characters.

Kiva's character has been a constant high point in this series for me, and she continues to shine in this book as well. We find her hitting rock bottom at the beginning of the book and follow her journey to (self-)forgiveness throughout. I really liked how she was portrayed even in her most vulnerable moments, and the fierceness, compassion and loyalty she keeps displaying, and her character arc was very satisfying.

I also loved reconnecting with old favourites (looking at you, Caldon and Tipp!) as well as meeting some new characters and getting to know others better. As in the previous books, the group dynamic works really well and I love the found family trope here: there is always a real sense of connection and true affection between the various characters, and it is just delightful to see it play out even in very challenging circumstances. The antagonists are, by contrast, quite bland and end up being stereotypical villains that could almost switch between themselves without anyone noticing, which is really a shame as they had so much potential for nuance.

One major issue I had with this book was the way Jaren's character changed from previous books. While I completely understand he is also still reeling, processing the traumatic events from the previous book, and coming to terms with the consequences, I found his behaviour towards Kiva to be absolutely horrible and definitely not in line with the Jaren we've come to know in the rest of the series. He is borderline abusive and full on gaslights her, and I found it very hard to accept how this was just glossed over and completely accepted by Kiva in the name of love, using his suffering and trauma to justify his whole behaviour as if she weren't suffering and traumatised herself. I am also not a fan of the miscommunication trope and found it to feature much too heavily here for me to truly enjoy their attempts at reconciliation.

There was also a quest in this book, which I generally enjoy immensely, and it provided a great opportunity to develop the world further, taking us beyond Zalindov and Evalon. I loved the vivid descriptions of the other realms and how uniquely they were characterised. If anything though, the journey felt extremely rushed as, to be honest, did most of the book. We were constantly jumping from one place to the next, to the point that I didn't feel I could really take in all that was happening and the different realms just sort of meshed together. The book was quite literally packed with action, which might be perfect for other readers but didn't quite work for me.

If you read my reviews of The Prison Healer and The Gilded Cage you'll already know I have a difficult relationship with the plot twists in this series, of which there are many. And this book was no exception. Some of the reveals I had guessed thanks to good foreshadowing, while others seemed to come out of nowhere, but even more so that in previous books they mostly seemed like a convenient way out of sticky situations.

Overall, this was a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy and an enjoyable read despite its issues.

I loved the first two books in this series so was so excited when I started reading this book. The first two books managed to leave me shocked at the end so this book I was determined to guess the ending but yet again I was shocked!!

This book pulled at my heartstrings and there were several times I wanted to throw my kindle across the room.

Overall this was an amazing ending to an amazing series and I’m kind of sad that it’s over!

A 5 star series for me!

An absolutely sensational finale to the tribology- this was a highly anticipated read for me and I have to be honest, I was worried about it potentially letting me down. I shouldn't have worried, however, as it was everything I wanted it to be and more. It's hard to give completely spoiler free reviews without spoiling the first two books but we find ourselves either unexpected allies here and desperately trying to make amends for what happens in book two! The story starts right at the end of book 2 so I would suggest a reread. 100% recommend.

The final book in the Prison Healer trilogy and it was a great book, everything I wanted and the ending was great!

An absolute devastating ending to a trilogy that I have adored.
This author has quickly become one of my favourites due to the world and characters she has created here.
You do need to read books 1 and 2 before this one otherwise it wouldn't make sense. The characters and world building remain strong in this finale and I cried a little on the last page because it's over.
Loved it.

Kiva thought she knew what she wanted-revenge. But feelings change, people change . . . everything has changed.

After what happened at the palace, Kiva is desperate to know if her friends and family are safe, and whether those she wronged can ever forgive her. But with the kingdoms closer to the brink of war than they've ever been, and Kiva far away from the conflict, more is at stake than her own broken heart.

And just like that, a fantastic trilogy ends… and I would happily have gone back over and over to this world.
The trilogy has all the traits of a traditional fantasy trilogy and that’s part of its beauty and how it hooks you. It’s got it’s ups and downs and, as the books and the writing advances, it just becomes stronger and more addictive.
While I though Jaren and Kiva’s story was going in circles a bit in this book, it is still a great love story, a great story of found family, of hope, of self discovery… and it’s got Caldon in it which just can’t be topped!
I will sorely miss this world and these characters and can’t wait to see what Lynette Noni comes up with next!

The final instalment in The Prison Healer trilogy which I have absolutely adored, I’ve been flying through the books because of the fast pace and the writing just flows. I loved The Blood Traitor, it felt realistic, the characters had all been through a lot and were feeling emotionally different from the previous books, which was to be expected.

Kiva has been through SO much, I really felt for her and the distance created between Jaren and Tipp. I enjoyed reading about all the other secondary characters too from Cresta to Navok.

I liked the classic fight between good and evil, the adventure and quests, the betrayals. I could easily guess certain plot twists but I didn’t mind this too much.

I thought this was a great ending to the trilogy, although of course I want more! I’ll take a novella, anything!

5/5 stars.

So disappointed to say that this is completely unreadable on both my kindle and phone.

I have given both of the previous books 5 stars and I shout from the heavens about Lynette, but the formatting in this copy is so bad that I can’t read it.

I’m glad I have this book on pre-order from Fairyloot - I guess I’ll just have to wait longer to be able to read it.

Lynette Noni provides a well-wrapped - yet not wholly satisfying - end to this fantastic trilogy.
I enjoyed the storyline and all the tension and angst. Generally, I'm not a great fan of the miscommunication trope, but Lynette dealt with it masterfully here, making me crave a reconciliation between Kiva and Jaren.

Compared to the first two books, however, in this one, some passages (and the ending) felt too rushed, while others dragged on. Moreover, one too many plot twists seemed a bit too convenient, giving the impression that the author was repeatedly choosing the easy way out.

All in all, I loved this journey and I'm quite sad that it's over. While this book is my least favourite of the three, I have loved the world and its characters too much not to recommend this series.

This was a decent end to the trilogy but not really a strong one. I have loved the first two books and my connection with the characters run so deep by this point that I don't think it would be possible for me to hate this book no matter how much the author seemed to try and make me.

Firstly, the beginning at the prison was so rushed I was incredibly dissapointed after being so excited to see that setting again but I could understand that maybe there was too much content to be included to spend too much time here but upon finishing, I don't think that's the reason.

Personally in my fantasties, I LOVE a journey, they are one of my favourite parts of books and I feel a bit sad that these were skipped over each and eveytime but I can understand that it is the authors writing style to skip those but I was dissapointed.

My biggest criticism is the lack of editing that clearly happened, Cresta was described as 'readhead' a total of 31 times in this book and that is once every 12 pages which is probably every single time she was brought up and that is incredibly annoying and made me dislike a perfectly good character that I could have loved.

Overall a very disappointing end to a great series but I would still recommend everyone picks it up but know there will be a rushed ending that doesn't live up to the suspense of the past novels.

I loved The Blood Traitor! It was the perfect finale to one of the best YA series I’ve ever read and I loved to see the character relationships develop. Also, the addition of some new faces that we all fell in love with of course. With a satisfying ending, lovable characters and complex relationships, this book did not disappoint!
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

WHAT A BOOK,

Honestly this series is nothing short of magic. It’s addictive and the writing style is truly wonderful. Every single character gets under your skin by book 3, and in the best ways.

The storyline was great, I loved the tension and angst all the way through, the miscommunication trope really worked for this one. My heart threatened to break several times and it was a rollercoaster from start to end.

I’m going to miss this series and all of the characters! I 100% recommended this trilogy which has been wrapped up beautifully.

Thank you Netgalley for my advance copy, in exchange for an honest review. Truly wonderful book!

I gobbled this up in one sitting. This book was phenomenal and it was the perfect ending to an amazing series. I love this book and am so sad it has ended, but can walk away happy. The growth of the characters throughout the series is amazing and I just love it all.

I have absolutely loved this trilogy and the final book did not disappoint. We return to the prison where it all began but this time Kiva is in real trouble, she is going to work in the mines and has an addiction to angel dust. She finds an unlikely ally in Cressida who keeps her alive.
How will she ever make it right with what she has done to Jaren?
The story unfolds just like the previous two with surprises and plot twists that at times leave you reeling or devastated. I loved this trilogy so much and know they will be books I come back to and re-read.

I finished this book in May but have been struggling to write a review for it because I cannot put how much I loved this into words. Do I blame this book for putting me in a slump and not being able to read any fantasy books cause I think nothing will live up to it? Yes, yes I do.

‘We can look at the darkness and let it consume us, or we can recognise that it’s only temporary, trusting that once it passes, the light will return.’

The Blood Traitor follows on from The Gilded Cage and so much goes down in this book! Kiva is back in Zalindov after the events of the previous book and quickly finds herself in a mentally dark place. She has no motivation and succumbs to addiction very easily. Surprising friendships are made and Kiva begins to lean heavily on Cresta, her once sworn enemy in Zalindov. This friendship quickly became one of my favourites of the trilogy and I loved how the author wrote their story.

‘You’ll never be able to move forward until you conquer the past.’

It’s so difficult to write about the parts I loved in this book, because some of them are major spoilers! In the final instalment, we get to see more of the kingdom and are introduced to a few new characters, some of which I loved and others I hated. It’s not a Lynette Noni book, if there’s not a surprise twist that I did not see coming! The last time Kiva saw Jaren, they were not on good terms, so once they meet again in this book, things are very tense. I won’t lie, I loved it because it created a great build up. However, I do wish we had gotten a bit more romance as it was the final book.

‘I did fall in love with a lie, but that lie was you. I fell in love with you, Kiva.’

Caldon remains to be one of my favourite characters and there were so many moments that I loved with him. I think I loved him in this book, more than the second one (probably because in the sequel, I was stressed about love triangles!). One of my favourite parts of this book was definitely Kiva’s journey with her mental health and addiction. If you plan to read this, definitely check trigger warnings as this book can get pretty heavy at points. Noni wrote Kiva’s story so well.

This book was so damn good!! I know my review has not done it justice, but all I can say is please read this trilogy!