Title: The Gilded Cage (The Prison Healer #2)
Author: Lynette Noni
Publisher: Clarion Books
Publication date: October 16th, 2021
448 pages
5/5 stars
Goodreads Synopsis
Kiva trades one cage for another when she leaves behind a deadly prison for a deceptive palace in this dark and dangerous sequel to The Prison Healer, which Sarah J. Maas called “a must-read.”
Kiva Meridan is a survivor.
She survived not only Zalindov prison, but also the deadly Trial by Ordeal. Now Kiva’s purpose goes beyond survival to vengeance. For the past ten years, her only goal was to reunite with her family and destroy the people responsible for ruining their lives. But now that she has escaped Zalindov, her mission has become more complicated than ever.
As Kiva settles into her new life in the capital, she discovers she wasn’t the only one who suffered while she was in Zalindov—her siblings and their beliefs have changed too. Soon it’s not just her enemies she’s keeping secrets from, but her own family as well.
Outside the city walls, tensions are brewing from the rebels, along with whispers of a growing threat from the northern kingdoms. Kiva’s allegiances are more important than ever, but she’s beginning to question where they truly lie. To survive this time, she’ll have to navigate a complicated web of lies before both sides of the battle turn against her and she loses everything.
Review
I absolutely loved The Prison Healer so I knew I desperately wanted The Gilded Cage as an ARC to read it ASAP and it did NOT disappoint.
I love everything about this series. The characters, the plot, the magic system. There were so many new elements introduced in this book because the setting is very different from The Prison Healer. New characters like Kiva and Jaren’s families, more about the rebel plot, and much more about the magic system. I was on the edge of my seat through the whole book and I never wanted to put it down.
If you read the first book, you may also understand when I say the ending hurt my heart but I also expected it to so I somehow survived. Reading this series is not for the faint of heart, Lynette Noni takes you on a wild ride you simultaneously want to draw out for maximum enjoyment and finish as quickly as possible.
There is a smidge of middle book syndrome in the middle. Noni does a good job of keeping the plot moving quickly throughout, but it’s hard to ignore that it is a middle book in a trilogy so a lot is set up for the final book. Besides that, I have zero negative or even neutral comments to make – everything about this book was amazing and this series continues to amaze and surprise me.
I cannot wait for The Blood Traitor. I highly, highly recommend this series for SJM and YA fantasy fans.
Thank you to Clarion Books and Netgalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.
Happy reading, folks!
Baltimore Bibliophile 