Elemental magic, a mysterious prince, a smug prisoner, a friendly guard, a brewing rebellion, and our prison healer 🖤
This book follows Kiva- the prison healer of Zalindov aka the most notorious prison in the kingdom.
Most people do not survive the first couple of weeks in Zalindov. Kiva, however, has been a prisoner for 10 years after being arrested with her now deceased father.
Kiva is tasked with marking the new prisoners and making sure they stay alive but she also secretly send messages to the rebel cause where the rest of her family resides.
One day, Kiva’s world is flipped when the Rebel Queen gets admitted in the prison with a simple note from the rebels: don’t let her die. We are coming.
Although the Rebel Queen is on the brink of death, she gets sentenced to the Ordeals- 4 elemental tasks that no one has survived but if she does she will be free.
Empathizing with this deathly ill woman, Kiva steps up as her champion and courageously makes the decision to face these trials in stead of the Rebel Queen, and thus this adventure begins.
Although I enjoyed the book, I will say I came into it with different expectations, but this book was a very different take on a typical elemental magic fantasy read. This book mostly focuses on Kiva- her empathy, her endurance, her selflessness and the hope she has of leaving the prison and keeping the Rebel Queen alive. There is also a subplot surrounding a strange virus that is killing the prisoners and Kiva is determined to find the source of the virus and saving the prisoners.
I will say, it was a very slow read at times And it was hard to stay engaged in the virus subplot. I wish the elemental trials were the center of the story but since they’re all spaced weeks apart it was clear that this isn’t the center of the story.
There are also some trigger warnings that I wish I knew beforehand (self harm, sexual harassment) and I feel I would’ve enjoyed it more if I hadn’t based it on the premise and came to my own conclusions.
HOWEVER, at around 80% the book got GOOD. Like, super good. Like, I CANT STOP READING, GOOD. The twist was immaculate and I loved the dialogues between Jaren and Kiva. And y’all the ENDING!!!! I WAS NOT FREAKING READY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT A GREAT TWIST AND WHAT A WAY TO END THIS BOOK!!!!! HOLY COW!!!! *standing ovation*
All in all, the pacing was a little off and some details could’ve been handled better but I still ended up enjoying the book!
4/5 stars from me

Thoroughly enjoyable characters and great world-building had me sucked in from the start. I love a good prison environment story and this didn’t disappoint!

I have very little complaints. One I can think of is just wishing Kiva had been better at helping herself as opposed to letting Jaren save her.

But the ending was WHOA! I can’t wait for book 2!

After reading this book I was so upset that it was over! It did leave off with a cliffhanger so I am anxious to read the second one. This book's plot was very different from what I have read before which made it so much more exciting. I can't wait to read the next one.

This is a 5 star read. There is literally nothing I can say that will take away from the fact that this book blew my mind and any expectations I had had out of the water. It was that good. So good in fact, that I would have nothing remotely “meh” to say if it hadn’t been for the last page of the novel. And that frustrates me. But I’ll get into that in a second; first I’m going to sing the books praises.

Scratch that-- first I’m going to summarize this bad boy, then I’m going to sing it praises.

The Prison Healer takes place after our heroine Kiva’s family was ambushed by soldiers. She and her father were then taken to the most feared Hard Labor Camp/Prison in the kingdom: Zalindov. From there, Kiva has become a quiet force of nature in the form of a healer, but even her skills are tested when The Rebel Queen-- an opposition to the current kingdom’s regime-- comes to the prison dying. In no position to stand trial, and yet forced to undergo a series of deadly tasks to attempt to prove her innocence, Kiva steps in for her as champion. So now, juggling her duties, a new mysterious prisoner, and an even more mysterious sickness sweeping through the prison, the course of Kiva’s life is changed.

This book doesn’t shy away from anything. And I mean that in the best way. Oftentimes, YA books tend to be hesitant over how much.. brutality and grittiness they allow themselves to show, even when the occasion warrants it. This book does no such thing and that, more than anything else, adds to the atmosphere of the novel. It transports you into the hell that is Zalindov. The guards, the sickness, the inmates, there is nothing sanitized about this novel and that is to it’s credit.

The characters-- and I mean every. single. one.-- had depth and purpose to the novel. Shoutout to Jaren (god bless him he was genuinely kind and not annoying at all) and Naari (a badass with actual personality) to being the perfect side love interest and quiet guardian. And Tipp. Tipp rocked my world. A lot of child characters are just kind of there or are annoying-- my boy Tipp is none of that. He has character and purpose and I adored him.

Kiva is also the perfect mix of quiet wittiness, veiled in caution and maturity. Apart from the last page of the novel, I thought her every word and action was consistent and likable. Her drive to do the right thing in even the harshest conditions was admirable.

The pacing was efficient; enough to always know something is going on, but slow enough that you get to learn the day to day motions through the prisons. The Trials were thought out and made sense for the plot of the story.

The plot twists, one which I expected and the other that I had an inkling, but still took me by surprise, are carefully layered. They’re peppered in with phrases and actions that seem like one-offs, but definitely paint a clear picture as you go on through the story.

However. The reveal of the final major plot twist-- the one which I had that vague inkling-- was frustrating. The pesky last page. For a book whose strategy was so meticulous in planting clues and trusting its audience to pick up on what’s not being said, that strategy was thrown out the window in a bit of a heavy-handed (and maybe slightly out of character) fashion. I knew that that specific reveal had to come into play in order to further the series, but I did not love it being just spit out at us in the most cheesy of ways. It could have been a little more smooth, but I do understand that it was meant to have a punch-gut feeling.

Don’t get me wrong though, I positively adored this book and I can’t wait to see where it goes as we get deeper into the world and politics of Vallenia and Evalon. Not even that *clenches fist* last page can change the fact that this is a novel where every detail is placed for a reason and still the journey is worth every second.

5/5

This book has been one of my most antisipated read and i am so thankful to the publishers and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for this honest review.

'The Prison Healer' is Lynette Noni writting in her finest form. The world buiding is phenomenal, the writing is brilliant and enables you to conect to her characters. I cried with Kiva, i felt her worry, her fear and her happyness and relief . 'The Prison Healer provided an indepth story and just when i thought we had hit the big twist, Lynette blindsighted me with another. While only being an ARC this book has been my top read for 2020 so far and i cant wait to revisit this story on official release.

Set inside a notoriously gruesome death prison, 'The Prison Healer' is a fascinating investigation into what makes someone a survivor. Is it the ability to maintain emotional distance from others? Is it having the gift to heal others? Or is it about having the self-awareness and bravery to take care of yourself?

Kiva Meridan has been in prison for ten years--since she was seven years old--and she hasn't made it a decade behind bars without knowing how to play the game, and play it patiently. But soon she'll be tested in ways she never could have imagined, leaving readers on the edge of their seats wondering, "How can she get through this?"

Lovable characters, a shocking twist ending, and the promise of a new era make this a promising start to a new YA series for fans of 'The Hunger Games', 'Children of Blood and Bone', and 'Ash Princess.'

#ThePrisonHealer #NetGalley
An excellent start to a good young adult fantasy. I think fans of Marie Lu and Traci Chee will enjoy this novel.