Firstly, as this is the second volume in the Prison Healer Series this review will contain spoilers for the 1st book. I gave vol 1, 4 stars and I really liked the setting. Also, Kiva (the main character) was interesting and I wanted to much to find out more about her family and her magic. So, I was very curious for the 2nd volume.

After Kiva leaves the prison with Jaren, Tipp and Naari they go to the capital and Jaren's home. It was interesting to find out more about Jaren's family and the kingdom as a whole. But... I really wanted to see more Tipp and Naari. We get some new characters as well that are great, but I missed spending more time with the ones introduced in vol 1. A big problem for me in this book was actually Kiva... by the end of the book I could not understand her motives at all. I know the author was trying to show Kiva struggles (the choice between her biological family and this new found family), but I could not stand her a lot of times.

The 2 main things I wanted to find out more about were the ones that disappointed me the most. Kiva's family was just meh and I guessed a lot of the things. And Kiva's magic is ok, but we don't get anything especially new about it. Also, she doesn't want to use her magic, but suppress it.

There were some things I enjoyed: Jaren in general is just so sweat (but trusts Kiva to fast), Jaren's magic (and his family's magic in general) is quite cool (but nothing special) and some of the new characters introduced.

Unfortunately, I don't think I will continue with the series.

Just like The Prison Healer, this book had twists and turns that weren't possible to see coming. This combined with the political intrigue and the impossiblity of choices that Kiva once again faces. This is one of those books that is hard to describe because of just how brilliant it is.

Lynette Noni is a powerhouse of fantasy writing.

Can't help but feel a wee bit conned after reading this one.

While I understand the MC might have some adjustment issues in the real world after living in prison for the last 10 years, the personality change from a strong-willed, fearless survivor to a doe-eyed swooning damsel-in-distress who acts as dumb as a box of hair, was jarring and made the story draaaaaaged. The love interest was just as pitiful and prone to repeatedly making stupid choices, so it was up to the side characters to take charge and keep the story moving forward - which they did admirably, but it wasn't enough.

The major issue I have (like many other reviewers) is I don't this tactic of creating a 450 page book with a few breadcrumbs hidden in its slow moving plot in the first 400 pages and then the last 50 is a frenzied coup. Everything that has been established is upended and irrelevant, lots of red herrings and Chekov's guns all to set up the cliffhanger for the sequel hook. The plot twist at the end of Book 1 worked well, but here, it feels like a con. It isn't sloppy writing, it is intentional hook-and-bait to ensure the cash keeps rolling in. Whether it is a publishing tactic or an authors vision, readers are left with a feeling of being exploited and questioning the motives of the author and if they have a disingenuous attitude of I-can-write-any-old-crap-and-people-will-buy-it. Which is a shame, because it is certainly a quick way to lose one's reader base. We're all here for a good story. It's a very simple transaction: if you give us a good story we will shower you in fame, glory and riches.

Recommended for fans of Sarah J Maas, Holly Black, Emily A. Duncan

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the copy.

A very easy 5 Stars!

I cannot tell you how obsessed I am with this book, these characters... everything! I have to say I found it slightly predictable, however there were some twists that took me completely off guard, and that ending has me DYING.

I neeeeeeeed to know what happens!

Also Jaren and Caldon... in fact all of the family have my absolute heart. LOVE LOVE LOVE!

Following the brutal cliffhanger book one left us I couldn't wait for this one!

Full review to be posted soonish. I'll update review with links to socials.
I would like to thank the publisher and netgalley for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited to start 'The Gilded Cage' after finishing 'The Prison Healer', I was in need of so many answers after that cliffhanger. In this book we meet a lot of new characters which I really liked. Especially Caldon was a really great addition and added some well needed humor and cockiness to some of the dialogue. The pacing of the plot however was a bit slow and I was quite annoyed with Kiva and her indecisiveness and naivety. Some of her actions were just for the lack of a better word.. dumb. However, I am intrigued as to what will happen next as the ending of this book left us with quite a cliffhanger. I have high hopes for Blood Traitor so fingers crossed!

This book was everything I hoped it would be, no second book syndrome here! The change of location kept it feeling fresh, and I loved that we got to find out more about other characters.

This was a tough review to write, because I’m still trying to decide if I like this book more or less than the first instalment! The Prison Healer left a bit to be desired for me personally, but I thought I’d give the sequel a try when I saw it on NetGalley. It wasn’t as fast-paced as the first book, but I did enjoy having more room to breathe and explore the world and characters here. It’s obvious that this is a fantasy world that’s been carefully and painstakingly fleshed out, though I wished we got to see more of it on the page other than through hints and exposition about neighbouring countries. Some of the plot choices left me a little confused (like the only people more gullible than Kiva in this book being the friends who don’t suspect her) and I did feel that certain characters were perhaps missing an added layer of depth. That being said, there were other characters who absolutely got to shine in this book—especially Cal, a prince after my own heart. Overall, this was a good book, but for me it felt just within arm’s reach of being great.

Author: Lynette Noni
Genre: Fantasy
Age Range: Young Adult
Format: Hardcover
Published: 12th October 2021
Pages: 429
Rating: 4 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.

CAWPILE

Characters - 7
Atmosphere - 7
Writing Style - 7
Plot - 8
Intrigue - 8
Logic - 8
Enjoyment - 8

Overall: 7.6

Review

Trigger Warnings: Death, Addiction, Blood, Violence, Murder and Sexual Assault.

This review may contain spoilers.

I read The Prison Healer earlier this year and loved it so I couldn’t wait to get to the sequel, especially after the reveal at the very end of the book. My favourite aspect of this novel was the plot, it completely held my attention, and I flew through it due to being so engrossed in what was going on. There was also lots of political intrigue which I love in books, so this definitely added to my enjoyment of the story. There were also so many twists that took me by complete surprise, especially the reveal at the end – I never trusted Zuleeka but I never expected Mirryn to be involved too. I also thoroughly enjoyed the characters in this novel, Kiva is a great main character and I love following her journey and I admire her determination to do the right thing and I enjoyed reading about her internal conflict about betraying either her siblings or Jaren and his family. Caldon was another character that I really loved, he was such an interesting character and I hope we see more of him in the next book. Another aspect of The Gilded Cage I enjoyed was the writing, Noni does a great job of capturing the intensity of the plot and makes the reader question who can actually be trusted. At the end of the book, Kiva is sent back to Zalindov, which was so heart-breaking to read so I’m highly anticipating the final book in this series ‘The Blood Traitor’ and finding out how this series ends.

Overall, this was a great YA Fantasy novel with an intense plot and unexpected twists. I look forward to picking up the final book next year.

I LOVE THIS BOOK. I am so addicted to these characters. Utter heartbroken at this ending but it was worth it for such a thrilling journey!

This book was so good, I couldn’t put it down! It was fast paced and filled with twists that had me on an emotional roller coaster!!!

Kiva drive me crazy at times, sneaking around and making bad decisions..I was so worried which side she would choose! Jaren and his family are amazing, I was rooting for them! The rebels, including Kiva’s awful sister, don’t deserve the throne one bit! After that ending though, I can’t wait for the final book to see what happens!!!

Oh my gosh, I am officially obsessed with this series! How am I supposed to survive until June 2022 for book three?!

By the time I reached the end, I felt as if a truck ran over me, bruised and battered and barely alive. Another rollercoaster! I did not see some of the plot twists coming, and that ending had me screaming in shock! Lynette Noni certainly is the queen of endings.

I absolutely love both Kiva and Jaren. Jaren is an absolute sweetheart and I can't wait to see what's going to happen in book three. I loved the fact that we just came full circle! That bitch Zuleeka better get what she deserves!

The Gilded Cage is an amazing continuation of The Prison Healer, that doesn’t suffer from second-book-syndrome in the slightest.

The Gilded Cage picks up almost immediately after The Prison Healer ended. We’re once again following Kiva, who is trying to navigate a different kind of prison this time around.

Without spoiling too much, I’ll say I absolutely loved the dynamics between all the characters - both old and new. There was enough action to keep me hooked, and enough downtime to not overwhelm me.

The book does a good job preparing for the third part in the series, once again ending with an almost painful cliffhanger, but creating a situation that could go anywhere and makes you want the next book immediately.

The only point of criticism I have, is that a lot happens in the book, but also seems to take place in a period of less than a month. And with Kiva’s obvious struggle with what happened in the first book, I would have expected her to react to all the things a bit more. She seemed to shrug off her trauma pretty easily - the mental trauma didn’t really come as much forward as I would have expected.

Other than that, I absolutely adored the book and I can’t wait to read The Blood Traitor next. Noni created a wonderfully dynamic world with characters that are easy to love and hate, and I can’t wait to continue their stories.

I am so angry at Lynette Noni, how can you leave me like this with so long to wait before I can read more ?!😭

I LOVED THIS AND WILL NOW PROCEED TO RAVE TO ANYONE WHO WILL LISTEN TO ME ABOUT THIS SERIES.

If you think you might like this from the synopsis, you've read Maas/Bardugo/Garber then just get on the Noni train. (apologies Lynette Noni, I'm still pumped from the last page)

Yes! This was such a perfect and brilliant follow up to The Prison Healer- it answered so many questions but gave me even more! I need the final book now!!

Life outside prison may be more comfortable, but it′s also more complicated.

Kiva has left the Zalindov prison and is living in the royal palace with the ruling Vallentis family. Unfortunately Kiva is part of the Corentine family who were deposed as joint rulers and are now rebels trying to win back the throne. She manages to reconnect with her family, but it′s not a completely joyful reunion. She is torn between her loyalty to brother and sister, and the growing affection she feels for the Vallentis family, particularly the crown prince Jaren. The healing magic that is her legacy is becoming more difficult to control and its revelation would reveal her identity. Her sister is grieving for their mother and has become a ruthless leader of the rebels who doubts Kiva′s commitment to the cause. Her brother is a gentler soul even while he was forced to become a fierce warrior and remains loyal to the rebels even while he has doubts about their methods. As the story unfolds the history of their family both recent and past creates new challenges for them.

The change of scene from the prison gives more scope to the story, and the introduction of new locations and people sets up interesting dynamics. But I think I did prefer the focus of the prison, and although Kiva remains a well-drawn character, I felt that Jaren became too perfect. If nothing else his time management is astonishing considering all the activities he is personally involved in.

I feel this is a bridging book in the trilogy, like many middle books. It′s still a good read, but there is a lot of preparation for the next part of the story. Characters are mentioned who do not appear, but look like they could play a big part in the plot going forward. And several characters are left in serious situations at the end of the book.

I had a copy of this book early through Netgalley.

I was a little worried after loving The Prison Healer so much that the sequel wouldn't live up to my expectations! Though the book struggles a little with its pacing (takes about 150 pages to really get into the meat of the story), I felt like the slower pace was completely necessary for us to get to know all of the new characters and the ending definitely made up for the slow beginning.
The characters in this installment are even more enjoyable than the first. We got to meet some new characters and got to know some minor characters from the first book which was really fun. (Caledon was my favourite by far!! Love him!!)
I genuinely think the characters are what make this book series so fantastic - though the plot is also great with all of its twists and turns. Noni writes characters that are so well crafted that the 'good' ones are easy to root for and other characters where you're constantly trying to guess their true intentions and whether they're lying or not.
Noni is also an expert at writing shocking endings. The last few pages of this book have me shook and I genuinely don't know how I'm going to be able to wait until next summer to finish the series.

I read The Prison Healer earlier this year and I had really enjoyed it (minus one element I still haven't gotten over!). So I was really looking forward to reading The Gilded Cage and seeing where Kiva's story would go next. And I was not disappointed!

The Gilded Cage is a very strong second book in the trilogy and does a great job of carrying the story forward. Kiva and her friends managed to escape from Zalindov and we now get to follow her as she tries to navigate her new life outside of prison... living with the very people she has vowed to destroy.

I really enjoyed the introduction of Jaren's family as well as Kiva's siblings, as both added depth to these characters. Twists and turns and lies abound as Kiva struggles to decide whom she can trust - and I wondered it with her. There were a couple of things I could absolutely see coming from miles off (fantastic foreshadowing!) but as always the author managed to surprise and threw in a massive bomb right at the end. I don't know how I'll manage to wait until the last book in the trilogy!!

This book does not suffer from middle book syndrome at all, delivering a very strong and compelling plot, finally giving us some great worldbuilding and introducing some memorable secondary characters. Kiva remains a compelling character, especially as she is torn between her feelings for Jaren and her loyalty towards her family. Her struggle is very real and understandable, but at the same time it drags on for a long time and ends up being quite repetitive, as she goes around in circles, makes decisions she never acts on and starts right back at the beginning again. Not going to lie, I was incredibly annoyed with her for most of the book because of her indecisiveness, and what looked like a devolution on her part.

Still, The Gilded Cage had me racing through, utterly gripped to the pages and desperate to know where it all will lead to. Can't wait for the final book!

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own*

Characters
I really love these characters. Particularly Tipp. And perhaps it's because we didn't get to spend as much time with my faves that this fell a little flat for me. That being said, the new characters we were introduced to were interesting and I would be lying if I said the romance didn't have me swooning. But I'm a sucker for enemies/friends to lovers. At times I was reminded of the characters in another fantasy series where a person in a castle is trying to hide her true identity and powers from a prince and a warrior, which is worth mentioning in case that's right up your alley. I did find some of the character arcs a bit unbelieveable - particularly when it came to hiding said powers from others for years and going undetected. I really appreciated the rep in the side characters. Overall, enjoyable, but nothing new and outstanding.

Plot
This definitely felt like it suffered from the dreaded second book syndrome where it lulled. Everything was very predictable, right down to most of the twists at the end. Only the final 20% felt like a 4 star read, which is why I've restrained myself and kept this at 3 stars. I have a tendancy to get overexcited at the end of books and upgrade their ratings since I forget about the orientation and central problems haha. This was definitely a different pace to the first book, and a very different mood, which was probably expected with the drastic change in setting. There's nothing wrong with this, of course. It was still a pleasant and enjoyable read, but just not quite as good as book 1. I'm expecting that book 3 will again have the high stakes of book 1 and we will be thrown into emotional turmoil.

Content warnings: Drug abuse, PTSD, death of a parent (past), terminal illness, stabbing, blood and gore

I absolutely loved the first book in this series and the next book didn't disappoint. This played with my heartstrings and then just tore them apart! I was gripped from start to finish and it was so twisty and unexpected I often had to stop to process what was happening.

I love the way the author writes. It sucks you in and makes you feel things, keeping you turning the pages just to absorb everything. I cannot wait for the next book and I'm almost devastated I have to wait so long to read. it! Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author for a chance to read and review this fantastic book.