After the ending of the last book I needed to know how things would progress in this story. This book was incredible and I absolutely loved it and could not put it down. I definitely recommend the prison healer series and after the ending in the first book you will just want to binge read the rest of the series!

*Thank you to netgalley for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. I've already recommend it to dozens of my students.

Overall Rating 4.5 Stars!

The Gilded Cage is the second book in the Prison Healer series. This book picks up after Kiva has escaped the death prison, and she is now living at the palace with Jaren and his family. Kiva’s loyalty is torn between her sister and brother and Jaren.

Plot-

There was a lot going on with the plot in this book. I thought there was just enough political intrigue to keep the story moving but not overwhelm the younger readers. With books that have this many moving pieces, pacing can become an issue, but I thought the pacing was well done with this book. I can’t say I liked this one “more” than the first book, but it had a completely different feel to it. This book moved the plot along with new characters, a new setting, and a lot of plot twists. After the last few chapters, I’m definitely interested in what happens next!

Characters-

I loved getting to know the siblings better in this book. Torell and Zuleeka added tension and mystery to the story. We also got to learn more about Jaren’s siblings, cousin, and other family members. These new characters, even some of them who are incredibly evil and unkind seemed more fun to read about than Kiva. Kiva’s character changed a little too much for me. In the first book she was incredibly smart and strong, and in this book she lacked common sense, intelligence, and couldn’t do anything for herself. This is the same girl that won the trial in the first book?? Her character seemed so different in this book. I’m sure it was to show her conflicting loyalties, but dang…how many times do you need proof your being lied to? I loved the new characters and the story lines they will be bringing to the next book. I just hope I can start rooting for Kiva again.

Setting-

I missed the prison setting, but I can see why the setting needed to change for this book. Being at the palace opened up he world with different allegiances and helped the plot move along.

Overall-

I very much enjoy this series. I would highly recommend this to my students! I’m not the target audience and find myself being pulled into this story. I stayed up late a couple of nights reading just to find out more. I have already started book 3!

Oh my gosh! The anxiety this book gave me has aged me 10+ years I swear. I hated (but really loved) that we were privy to so many of the secrets because it was liking watching a disaster unfold and not being able to look away. It was like when you know how the movie will end and screaming at the TV anyway thinking that will change the outcome. My emotions could not cope, my brain and heart hurt and I almost wanna cry. While this sounds terrible it's actually the best feeling a book could possibly produce in me. The characters are amazing and their relationships just feel so real. Even with knowing and/or being able to guess what is going on it was amazing. At the end where everything is actually revealed I wasn't really surprised by the twists but I still felt like I couldn't read it fast enough. Again, so much anxiety and frustration!

The Gilded Cage, by author Lynette Noni, is the second installment in The Prison Healer series. Kiva Meridan Corentine is a survivor. She survived not only Zalindov prison, but also the deadly Trial by Ordeal with a bit of help from Jaren Vallentis aka Prince Derrick. After escaping the Zalindov prison with Jaren, Tipp and Naari, Kiva found herself free for the first time in ten long years. The author takes readers briefly back in time to that horrible day that Kiva and her father were taken to Zalindov prison. A place where he will eventually die, and she was spent 10 years.

It shows that her mother, Tilda Corentine, was the true Rebel Queen who wanted her bloodline back in power, and to rid the world of the Vallentis. Since her escape, Kiva has made in roads with the Vallentis, especially Mirryn and Caldon, while being welcome by the King and Queen Arianna. Tripp has found a friend with the younger Vallentis, while Kiva grows closer to Jaren, and Caldon decides that Kiva needs to learn how to protect herself. For the first time in 10 years, Kiva genuinely feels wanted, and hopes for a future where she can attend the same school as her father did.

But she's also weary about letting her healing ability be seen by anyone. For the past ten years, her only goal was to reunite with her family and destroy the people responsible for ruining their lives. As Kiva settles into her new life in the capital, she discovers that she's not really safe when an unknown group kidnaps her, and she meets her siblings, Zuleeka and Torell, who have leaders of the rebellion. Soon it’s not just her enemies she’s keeping secrets from, but her own family as well.

These secrets really messed with Kiva and she ends up making some really horrible mistakes. Kiva’s allegiances are more important than ever, but she’s beginning to question where they truly lie. Her siblings drop a major piece of information into Kiva's lap and then expect her to just follow them in bringing down the people who have treated her like family. 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.

The addition of Caldon makes the story even better. I feel as though he has more levels than has been unpeeled by the author. I feel as though he will end up being more of an ally to Kiva with the events that happen than Jarren. I also want Kiva to gain revenge on an assortment of characters who I won't spoil. After Noni pulled the mother of all twists in The Prison Healer, I spent a good majority of The Gilded Cage trying to anticipate jaw dropping plot twists. Noni is clearly a master in the art of deception and misdirection because you couldn't have slapped me any harder in the fact than what the author does to the end of this story.

If you like drama, romance, secrets, politics, and magic, you'll enjoy this series.

A great instalment to this the series.
Have recommend it to a lot of people and they have also loved it

I'm always scared to read second books, rarely do they ever live up to the hype but this was just if not better than the first one. We get a lot more of the political games that are being played and not to mention the angst.

This is one of the best YA Fantasy trilogies I have read in 2022!!
From the very first page of book one I could not put this down. The characters hit and the plot was so addicting!

I highly recommend this to anyone looking to get out of a book slump.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in an exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

It is often very hard to follow up to such a fantastic first novel but this sequel had just as many surprises with nonstop action! I am hooked

Lynette Noni does it again, giving us a finale to a series that strikes deep in the heart. It's everything the reader could want and brings us into the world in a way we haven't been yet.

I adored this book. The character development, the world building, and the storylines continue to impress me throughout. Just like the first novel in the series, this one left us on a cliff hanger, where my mouth was hanging open as I turned the page to the end. Noni is a crafted storyteller and I cannot wait for the next installment. This is perfect for fans of SJ Mass!

This was good, I enjoyed the first a whole lot more and it kept me more entertained than this one though. Honestly I will probably forget some details from this book. Nothing too memorable sadly.

I enjoyed The Prison Healer and its ending had me excited for this one, but I’m left disappointed.

The plot is predictable and slow. Where I couldn’t put book one down, this one was a dread to pick up.

As many have mentioned, Kiva’s character is not the same as in The Prison Healer, she used to be headstrong and decisive but I see none of that in this book. The side characters were boring, and Kiva’s sister was the worst. Also, I could not care less about the romance.

My one question throughout the book is, why does Kiva’s family want the throne so bad, besides an old claim to it? Kiva goes out of her way to describe how good the current rulers are.

I might pick up book three, but my excitement for this series has died.

If you read The Prison Healer, you know that Kiva is adjusting to a new environment, and this gives The Gilded Cage a lighter feel, but don’t be fooled. She’s torn between her rebel family and the royal enemy who looked after her. I felt both that Kiva was safe and that something was about to go wrong on. Every. Single. Page. There were a lot of plot twists, some anticipated, others a total blindside. The Gilded Cage may be a middle book, but with a balance of intrigue, worldbuilding, developing characters, complex relationships, and an amazing slow burn romance, it’s no filler. I could see glimpses of a life that Kiva could choose for herself outside of Zalindov, but will she make the right choice before it’s too late? Beware: cliffhanger ending. Give me The Blood Traitor yesterday!

Sometimes it's hard for good books to be followed up by a sequel that is just as good if not better. I loved the first book in this trilogy(?). I really enjoyed the plot twist of it all, and the way it set everything up for more, which this book gives us. We're out of the enclosed space, the cage that was but it's still a great gamble and more plot twists happen. Can't wait for the next book!

I absolutely loved book 1 of this series so when I had the opportunity to grab this one i jumped. I am a hugely unpredictable mood reader and after starting this one I put it aside and just haven't yet picked it up again.

I appreciate the chance to read this early and will definitely pick up at a later date.

I received this free eARC novel from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

This has been on my TBR pile for so long, and I'm glad I finally got around to it. I really enjoyed the storyline and seeing the characters change throughout the story was a great character development. The plot was great and kept my attention. I'm glad I got the chance to read this and will be on the lookout for more in the future!

I loved the first book, so I was excited when I saw this as well! It starts pretty much where the first left off, so if you haven’t read that one, I recommend picking that up first. Kiva is out of the prison and living at the palace with the royal family, all the while grappling with the fact that she will betray them. She meets up with her family, which does not turn out at all like she expected. As she learns more about the conflict between her family and Jaren’s, she begins to realize that she no longer has the same fire for this fight as she used to. Her relationship with Jaren and his family is more important, but just as she realizes this, her world is turned upside down- again.

The ending of this book was a cliffhanger for sure, and I will be reading the next one AS SOON AS I CAN. There was a bit of the “miscommunication trope” which I hope is resolved quickly in the next one, it is by far my least favorite. But, I am interested to see how Kiva gets herself out of this, as she ends the book in quite a pickle. If you liked the first one, don’t miss this!

I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own

4 stars

Thank you Netgalley for this arc! This was the sequel to The Prison Healer which was also a 4 star for me. I enjoyed this book- the ending had me gasping!! I really love the main protagonists and this book was captivating. However, if I had to give a small critique I would say that it was a little slower paced and less happened. But that being said I can't wait for the third book, let me know when the arc comes out? :))

WOW just wow this one was so good and kept me on the edge of my seat. I need the next two books asap! Lord this book had me so stressed out over every page.