2.75 rounded to a 3. This story was quite slow for about 60% of it, and definitely not as exciting as I thought it might be. I liked the premise, the story starting in the prison was interesting.

The worldbuilding is a bit confusing and we don’t really know what the characters are fighting for, what drives them, until the next of the book. It was quite vague as to their motivations and even as some of the ‘reveals’ happen, I found myself not impressed by them. It was a bit cliche, like of COURSE Jaren has to be a Prince. And OF COURSE she had to have powers laying dormant!

The writing was quite repetitive, for example how many times it repeated Kiva had been there for 10 years.

10 years.
10 long years.
She paused.
TEN. YEARS.

This part of the writing wasn’t for me either, I know it was for emphasis and drama but personally it drove me crazy and took me out of the story because it was used so frequently.

The ending was really good and I think the next book might be a lot better as the cast is now set up. However I am in a minority for this review, so please check out some others before making your decision. If you like a slow fantasy you might really enjoy this!

Thank you to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group for the ARC.

This book is most definitely aimed at the YA market but it does contain adult themes including sexual abuse, physical violence, torture, drug use and even self harm. Admittedly most is more tell not show but I actually thought it fitted the story which shows a shocking and cruel side of humanity.
Kiva has survived in prison for ten years and as the leading healer has the ear of the coldly, pragmatic Governor. Her fellow inmates resent her but things come crashing to a head when Tilda, a woman dubbed the Rebel Queen is sent to the infirmary plainly close to death. Kiva has always held herself aloof fearing the consequences of losing anyone she might care for but recently she has started to let herself feel and that makes her a target for blackmail. Tilda cannot stand, is barely conscious so incapable of taking part in the four deadly trials she's been sentenced to complete so in order to save her patient Kiva puts herself forward as the Rebel Queens champion . Sadly in doing so Kiva puts herself in mortal danger !
I won't rehash the plot but I will say this takes a more leisurely pace at times. I feel some might find it slow and crave more action but upon reflection I think the everyday miniature and oppressive situations actually worked as in prison life would feel interminable, boring and endless.
I liked Kiva and she is bravely doing whatever she can to be the best healer she can be and indeed her resources whilst obviously limited added a lot to help set the scene. She does meet characters who are not quite what they seem which whilst obvious to the reader still had the capacity to surprise when the final revelations happen. As Kiva slowly allows her emotional walls to be breached the author teases her readers with the possibility of a future romance but sadly this book hasn't quite finished toying with the reader ! No there is still more shocking revelations as it ends which left me wanting to kick myself for ignoring a very obvious clue but that's why I will be anxiously waiting to read the next book in this series.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

This was good. And the premise wholly original, thank god, not just another mary-sue young adult heroine being awesome in every way and oh -- so --perfect. I really liked the prison setting and enjoyed the non-stop action and suspense. This is a great one for fans of SJ Maas!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I accidentally received another copy from Edelweiss+ earlier, so this is the same review.
This book is stunningly written, and there was stunning worldbuilding. I loved how well the characters were done, and they were so intricate and how they had such astonishing backstories, and the cliffhanger at the end was AMAZING! My only issue with this book was that it got slow at some points and that it got a bit hard to follow at one or two points in the book. Other than that, this was marvelous. Five stars from me!

3.5 stars -- OK, so the ending of this book was WILD. Like, it's worth reading purely for that IMO (though maybe that's overselling it? Don't expect like some 6th Sense level reveal, but it's really fun & I didn't see it coming). So this is a solid first entry in a YA fantasy series, where we've got our MC who is a gifted healer but she's stuck in an awful prison in ye olde fantasie world. She's survived by hook or by crook for the last 10 years, though most die in this prison within the first 6 months, and now she's the healer in the infirmary. Lo and behold, a queen is leading a rebellion comes into the prison, and Kira gets roped into trying to save her by standing in her place for the equivalent of trial by ordeal. The writing is very strong, but I felt like a lot of the book was pretty slow and felt like a prologue to the real story. The pay off at the end was worth it for me, and I will continue in the series

I had a mixed reaction to this book, but it's hard to tell if it was my pandemic-induced brain fog, or if this just wasn't a book for me, or what. To be clear: it was well written with good pacing and intriguing worldbuilding, and I would recommend it to a teen looking for a fantasy adventure with some romance (but not too much romance). Absolutely. On a personal level, though, I found myself a little indifferent. The gradual unraveling of Kiva's backstory was a little TOO slow, and it left me with too many questions for too long. There was a bit of a nicely foreshadowed twist at the end, and readers who enjoyed this one will definitely be clamoring for the sequel.

The first book in an epic series, The Prison Healer by veteran author Lynette Noni, is a page-turning adventure to unexpected places. Young Kiva Meridan is the prison healer and has spent the last ten years fighting for her survival. When the Rebel Queen arrives in her clinic barely clinging to life, Kiva is tasked with keeping her alive so that she can undergo the Trial by Ordeal, a punishment no one has ever survived. Suddenly the clock is ticking and no one and nothing is as it appears. With each exhilarating revelation, Noni draws her readers into a world where magic exists, the impossible is possible and freedom is merely a state of mind.

I expected the usual YA dystopian novel. Instead I got a book filled with twists and turns, moments of actual fear, and shocking reveals that make me desperate for the next one. The main character is prickly but necessarily so, and therefore never off-putting or unlikeable. The prison feels oppressive and inescapable, the guards are terrifying, and the Warden's hat is firmly gray, The stakes are always high and THAT ENDING...wow.

Fans of Throne of Glass and Red Queen will love this new exciting fantasy story!
Kiva has lived within the prison Zalindov for over half her life; she is the prison healer and has done everything she can to survive until her family can come to rescue her. But surviving may not be an impossible task as she is forced to keep the rebel queen alive, long enough to complete Trials that will either grant freedom or death. With threats all around Kiva will have to use everything she has to keep both of them alive.

I adored how this world was built; it didn't rush information given, it was just so natural. The world-building and character-building made sense, and I really connected with the characters -even with relationships created before the book, I felt so invested in them.
The Prison Healer has magic, a threatening war, two sides that you can see their points of view on, and it really tears into what side you are on. Plus we have an intelligent heroine that is smart and ready to do what she has to do to survive!

ALSO THAT ENDING?! Book 2 can't get in my possession soon enough.

This book reminded me a lot of SJM's Throne of Glass series - especially the beginning of the book. Overall, it was really fun to read and I appreciated that it deviated from the traditional tropes of YA female heroines.

This was a captivating and page turning story. I was almost immediately invested in the main characters. I anticipated some of the twists and turns. However, by the end of the book I almost think that the author intended for the reader to predict or suspect some twists just so that she could drop whopping plot twist right at the very end. Colour me surprised by that ending. Looking forward to the sequel!

I was so happy when I got approved to read The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story - the scene was set straight away as you read this book. This book took me in right away and I just devoured it. Kiva is a prison healer, who meets the rebel queen - who is carried to the prison on deaths door. Kiva is forced to heal her to make sure she can face trials by ordeal. Kiva is demanded to keep the queen alive via a secret note. So she takes the rebel queens place. What follows is a real adventure! I won't say any more so I do not spoil what happens but I adored this story and the action. The characters were drawn to me and were relatable at times.

This book was SO GOOD!! The story drew me in right away but Kiva, Jaren, and Tipp kept me reading. I loved the brother/sister relationship between Kiva and Tipp. Baby Tipp needs to be protected at all costs.

I don’t want to say and spoilers but HOT DAMN those two twists??? Stunned. One, I expected and kind of thought would happen from closer to the beginning. But the other caught me out of left field. I cannot wait for the rest of this series!! I need it now!

Kiva is a prison healer at Zalindov, where she has been imprisoned since she was 7. Her life begins to change when the Rebel Queen is captured. Kiva is tasked to keep her alive to go through the Trial of Ordeal, a set of elemental challenges assigned to the most dangerous criminals. Kiva risks her life to volunteer in the ill queen's place in the trials to earn their freedom.

This was a uniquely written fantasy novel. I found it to be a bit slow at times but overall did enjoy it. I liked how complex the characters were and learning more about them as the story progressed. The plot twist at the end was unexpected for me, and I would love to see where this story goes in the sequel!

Thank you, NetGalley and HMH Books for Young Readers for letting me read an arc of this book!

Interesting premise. Likable/hated characters. Cool plot. I would recommend this story to others. Some spots I found that didn't hold my attention, but overall, I still liked it.

This book portrayed that it was going to be good, it had acted like it was going to be riveting and engrossing, and it was recommended by Sarah J Maas and for fans of hers. But alas, it fell utterly flat, my frustration with this book is pretty high.
We meet Kiva who is the Prison Healer, and she has definitely had quite the horrible life and is trying to just get by until her family comes to save her. The writing had it's good(ish) moments and had the hope of being a good read. About half-way in, I felt something had to change, whether it's getting out of this prison, or plot, or twist, something, but it really was not enjoyable and felt boring. There was just a lack of story that didn't pull you back into wanting to continue reading. That in itself led the book to be a slow read with whiney and creepy characters.
The trials were their own thing, but honestly they were a little weak and hard to care about and just dark. The characters were ok, Kiva was hard to root for, she was pretty depressing (and yes, I get it she's in prison barely holding on), the main guard and prince and all, not great, the kid was probably the one you wanted to make it out though! But the rest of the cast were just gross and it felt like the author was trying to be dark just to be dark. No real purpose for a lot of it.
The last 10 pages or so was probably the most exciting of all of it, you got some answers and then frustrated with the answers, followed by being left to be like how much do I care to find out any more of this book series? The "romance" was lacking and annoying, it was so superficial, just ridiculous.
And the ending...ugh...sooooooo frustrating, I found it pretty annoying and not at all riveting. Through this WHOLE book you've had certain abilities? You've been stuck in this prison for how long never trying to figure out how to maybe tap into your abilities to maybe get out? And then all of a sudden you're going to take over certain responsibilities (insert frustrated eye roll here) The frustration is high and for a book that had all these reviews and promotions it was not a good read.
If you're going to reference this to other books like Throne of Glass, you have to deliver, or just don't compare yourselves to it. Overall this was a poor book with lack of story and plot, wouldn't recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

3.5 Stars
If it hadn't been for the previous reviews that raved about the ending of this book I may not have continued reading after the first quarter. A lot of different kingdoms are introduced without enough context to really understand what the world outside the prison is, but that may be intentional to some degree as the main character has been inside a prison since she was a child, leaving her with little real understanding of life outside the walls beyond her experiences as a kid.
However, the the biggest problem is that each character's motivation feels really vague for the majority of the book, which serves the purpose of bigger reveals later, but I'm always frustrated by stories that bet on readers staying interested enough in vagueness in order for a big payoff at the end.
The are YA novels that do a better job of keeping you invested in the world, rooting and/or curious about the characters while also packing a punch at the end. While I liked Kiva and was rooting for her, the elemental trials and the political currents of the other prisoners ultimately felt like filler. Kiva's participation in the trials always felt so passive.
Over the course of the book Kiva becomes someone you want to root for though and her relationship with Tipp is sweet and engaging. And the first reveal is one you'll see coming, but I have to admit I did not see the very last reveal coming and it's every bit as awesome as the other reviewers indicated. It just takes work to get there. And it's hard to say how excited I'll be to read the second book even with that ending- I want the whole novel to be a great experience, not just the scaffolding that gets us to the powerful part.

This book was such a surprise! I loved it, and it is really difficult to give a review of it because SPOILERS! I will do my best., however. Kiva and her father were sent to a camp/prison because they were suspected of consorting with a group who planned to overthrow the throne. After her father passed away, Kiva became the camp healer for both the guards and the other prisoners. Things are tough, as most of the prisoners will die soon and all she can do is make things slightly better for them without becoming too involved. Her one real friend is her helper, Tipp, a young boy. Things change when a new prisoner, Jaren, arrives. Now, if I tell you more, I will spoil everything. The true import of this book unfolds slowly. I actually thought it was a pretty light read until what I was missing became more clear. The characters are much more complex than they first appear. This is a book that I will go back to, so that I can catch what I missed on previous readings.

I honestly did a big DNF on this one. I did not like it very much. I guessed 2 of the main plot twists about 50 pages in and just found it to be very redundant and tropey. A teen who hasn't read much in the YA fantasy genre might like it, but I wasn't a fan.

Kiva, the heroine of this survival story that evolves to become so much more, is a fully realized character who brings wit, intelligence, and vulnerability together realistically. One of the attributes that sets The Prison Healer apart is Lynette Noni's talent at giving the reader just enough of everything: just enough fantasy/magic to make the world seem believable and to whet your appetite to see what else this world holds; just enough danger and violence to raise your concern and investment in the main character without becoming gratuitous or ridiculous; just enough; just enough political intrigue and behind-the-scenes machinations so that you're dying to know more; just enough romance, secondary characters you want to protect or love to hate; just enough of everything. It really was a great book, a page turner, and a powerful story that in the end just wasn't enough because it does end, leaving the reader itching to keep turning more pages and not wanting to wait for the sequel!