I was so excited to receive an ARC of this as The prison healer series is looking to be one of my favourite reads of this year . The Gilded Cage is a truly stunning sequel that does not suffer at all from book 2 syndrome, this is absolutely fantastic , it will keep you guessing, this follows on from the first book and Kiva is in the Capital and is caught between the boy she loves and duty. The writing is wonderful and there are so many unexpected plot twists to hold your attention. The slow burn romance takes an such a twist at the end and I really need the final book now. That end !!

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Wow... what an amazing follow up to The Prison Healer!

I was a bit anxious going into this as the setting was so different to the first book, but I was gripped from page one. I grew to love some characters even more and to hate others...

I can't wait for the final part of the trilogy after that amazing cliffhanger!

Argh! This series. Where is book 3?! 🤣 my feelings: hurt. My heart: crushed.
I adore this series and storyline but the characters just make it for me. I am so attached and so rooting for everyone (well not everyone. You know who you are 👀)
I was utterly immersed in this book and highly recommend this series to anyone who loves fantasy, magic, royalty, found family and scheming!!

This was disappointing and I’m really hoping that’s a me issue because I loved The Prison Healer.

I think my problems with this book are easily broken in to 3 categories; lack of character growth, pacing, and the book being misrepresented by the author sharing excerpts on social media.
I read The Prison Healer in an afternoon and immediately followed the author on Instagram and watched some of her online events for that book and the distinct impression I got from what she’s said about book 2 was that it had a swamp setting and after the plot twist at the end of book one, I was excited for that. That’s not what this book is and subsequently I spent the first half of The Gilded Cage waiting for the plot to develop and get to that setting and then I realised that wasn't going to happen. I take full responsibility for the mistake, but the strength of the first book was the setting and this one was dull to be frank (and incredibly disappointing compared to the idea I had in my head.)
In regard to the pacing I felt that this book spent so much time trying to ensure there was enough left for book three that I had no interest to pick it up whenever I put it down. It took me two full months to read, compared to the first one taking a day and that is 100% because nothing that was happening was suspenseful. I never felt any of the characters were truly in danger and I read most of the book waiting for a plot twist. Most the chapters felt the same as well, and things were repeated, and although I know this does follow more of a routine, did I really need to be told every chapter that Kiva did her morning training and then took her muscle soothing herbs (when we were shown very little of her training)?
Then we’re left with the characters. Kiva had no character growth and went from being strong minded and determined in the first book to being meek, so maybe she really had character regression. Her relationship with Jaren felt like it was being dragged out purely so this book could still be marketed as enemies to lovers, and the lack of development between them honestly made their scenes together feel juvenile and a tad sterile. Everyone else either became irrelevant or was under developed, some of the motives of side characters genuinely didn’t make sense and most of their actions could be best described as convenient. The biggest tragedy of all is how Tipp has become a character to be used as an easy out to obvious plot holes, and is portrayed as being the most gullible and trusting kid ever, he may be naive but he grew up in a death prison so please give him some credit.
I’m not sure the plot twists actually made sense, and there certainly didn’t feel like there was any foreshadowing for any of them throughout the book. I’m really hoping this book is the odd one out of the series and I love the next one, but I have a feeling The Prison Healer may have been a fluke.

I'm just gonna start by saying Noni must reallly hate her readers to keep leaving us with killer cliffhangers like the one in this book. If you thought book one's was bad then be sure to brace yourself. After managing to free herself from Zalindov, Kiva is determined to find her family and start enacting her plan to re take the throne. But things are never quite as easy as they seem, the more time she spends with Jaren, the more she can't deny her growing feelings. She doesn't want to betray him or his family, but her brother and sister are relying on her, even if Kiva thinks they're not telling her the whole truth. Alliances are forged and deceptions are brought to life but before long she will have to decide between the family we get through blood, and the one we get through choice.

I seriously loved Kiva's character growth in this book. She ended book one so determined to help the rebel cause, to find her brother and sister and do what she could to help them to take the throne back. But the more time she spends in the palace with Jaren and his family, treating her like one of them, like a friend, the more she realises that they aren't the 'bad' people she always believed them to be. She start's to question her decision, and spends a good portion of the book split between wanting to help her family, and not wanting to betray the people she is coming to care for. She's fierce and unwilling to bend in so many ways, but she's also still the girl who longs to be accepted by the family she hasn't seen in years, no matter the cost.

Similar to the first book, Noni treats us to a stand out cast of side characters. Some making a reappearance from book one, and others that are new to this book. My favourites being Caldon and Tor. Caldon is Jaren's cousin and the person who pretended to be him in book one. I really enjoyed seeing the progression of his relationship with Kiva and, although not romantic, it seems like the author focused more on furthering this relationship than that of Kiva and Jaren. He know's how to rile her up, but is also one of the few people she can trust with her truth, something that Kiva has spent a long time looking for. Tor is Kiva's brother, the sibling she was the closest too growing up and I'll admit to getting a little emotional at their reunion scene. His heart isn't 100% in the rebel cause but, like Kiva, he has a loyalty to his family that is hard to shake. We also meet Kiva's sister Zuleeka who I had a, let say more complicated relationship with. She's a little more held back than Tor, keeps a lot of things close to her chest and I just never quite trusted her throughout the whole book.

The Gilded Cage was the perfect sequel and middle book to this duology. With the first book being set solely in Zalindov prison we lacked a little of the world building that I love when reading, something the author gave us in spades with this book. I thoroughly enjoyed going with Kiva on her little escapades throughout the Capitol and the towns surrounding it, and enjoyed learning more about the political climate of the world, though Kiva's information gathering. Though there was still plenty of action and plot twists this book was a little quieter than the first, we got plenty of small and quiet moments between all the characters which I loved, and really helped with the character growth. It was the perfect set up to what I'm sure will be a firework filled final instalment.

Now for the romance, I loved Jaren and Kiva's relationship in the first book and it was just as slow burn and tension filled in this. Their scenes together were brilliantly written and went to show just how much Jaren cared for her, that he never tried to make the Palace another prison, giving her free reign as well as his utter trust, but I do feel like it took a bit of a back burner to the other relationships in Kiva's life. We get to see more of her relationship with Caldon ( love triangle haters fear not, it's absolutely platonic), as well as diving into the complicated relationship between her and her siblings. I really think the author balanced all the relationships really well, new and old, and though I loved the scenes between Kiva and Jaren, I also found myself longing for the more 'friendly' ones.

I mentioned it above but, although I did have a good guess as to how the book would end, Noni still managed to throw a whole bunch of spanners in the works that ensured the ending was still a surprise... and what an ending it was. Action packed, plot twist filled and a cliffhanger worse than book one. I'm seriously looking forward to getting my hands on book three, if only to make sure all my faves are safe! If fast paced fantasy is your style, with slow burn romance and brilliantly written characters then this is the series for you.

Real rating 4.5*

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this e-Arc.
Wow what an incredible book! I really enjoyed this and was dying to know what happened after the cliff hanger of the first book. This was much faster paced and I was kept on the edge of my seat the whole time! I really did not see some of the twists coming and normally i'd say i'm pretty good at figuring them out. Cannot wait for the next book, I am sure it will be just as great as the other two.

I absolutely loved diving back into the world of The Gilded Cage and to see what Kiva gets up to next. I loved the relationship between Kiva and Jaren. I loved the twists that still occurred and I loved travelling the world. I cant wait to see what happens in The Blood Traitor it has been set up to be an amazing book.

Had to sit with this one for a bit. I liked this book as much as I liked the first one. We start from where we left off, Kiva is out of Zalinov and living with Jaren and his family. I love how their relationship evolves and how much you can see they care about each other. I love the new characters we meet - especially Caldon and Rhessia.

Kiva spends a lot of time in this book struggling with her purpose vs her real emotions. Should she support a clause she doesn’t believe in (and she later realises is hurting people), or forget her family and protect her new found family? For someone so duplicitous, she’s surprising naive when it comes to certain situations that any normal person would see a mile off. That being said there was still a lot of action and some revelations that still surprised me.

All in all, a very enjoyable 4 stars.

4.5 stars!

The Queen of cliff hangers is back at it again and honestly my heart can't handle it anymore.

I'm always wary when it comes to sequels, especially when the first book was 5 stars for me, but The Gilded Cage delivered so well that it's now impossible to be even more in love with this story.

After the shocking ending of The Prison Healer, The Gilded Cage picks is back up quickly and does an amazing job at creating tension unrest. No one is safe, no one knows what's going on, and FOR SURE no one knows how this is going to end.

I want to go on and on about Kiva and Jaren and about how amazingly fleshed out they are as characters but then someone like Caldon comes in and steals the show. All the characters in this are amazing and I wish we had endless interactions between them all.

The only reasons this is 4.5 instead of 5 stars is because there was a bit of the book around the middle part that was feeling too dragged on and that was making me reconsider whether I was enjoying this story or not. However is picks back up again after the middle part and then it's just suffering all through the ending.

THE ENDING????? WHAAT!!!

My point is, this is an incredible sequel and the story only keeps getting better and better. Please do yourself a favour and pick these books up, you won't regret it!

Having loved “The Prison Healer”, the first book in the series, I was so excited to start “The Guilded Cage” the second book in the trilogy.

Sadly, it didn’t enthral me like the first book did. I struggled to get back into Kiva’s world again. She has turned from a resilient and intriguing character, into an weak and irritating one. The pace for the first half of the book is slow and when the action does come, the motivations and actions from some of the characters are unbelievable.

I did laugh at the Nanna’s smutty book group and I thought the portrayal of addiction was well done.

With that ending, I will be back for the final book in the trilogy, but with a lot less excitement and anticipation than I had for this book.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest opinion.

I loved The Prison Healer- the plot, the characters, the prison setting.
Unfortunately, this felt nothing like that book. A sequel where the characters behave totally differently to the first book? That was my first issue with it. Kiva had a personality transplant mid-series.
Secondly. it was so much slower paced than the first book. The prison world, the mysterious patients, the Trial Ordeals drew me into the world and I raced through it. I realised after about half that nothing had really happened! It took me over a week to finish and if I love a book I can read it in a day.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publishers for a free ARC in exchange for a review. I was dying for this book, so this was an actual dream come true.

Lynette Noni better be paying for my therapy after this.

This book was fantastic. I'm going to try not to spoil it in this review, as there a Lot of New Information!

I found it so interesting that <spoiler> Kiva wants her family to rule, but they seem so uninterested in actually ruling! As the book goes on, she begins to realize that the best thing for the kingdom may actually not be what Kiva is gunning for throughout the book </spoiler>.

The new secondary characters are fantastic. Kiva and Caldon's friendship is so beautiful, and he is absolutely fascinating. I would very much like to join Delora's book club also. Where can I find a group of crazy women in the woods who read romance novels? The book also continues to add more depth to our regular characters, like Naari.

Jaren and Kiva are, as always, just the best romance ever. They're such good friends, and their relationship evolves gorgeously.

The cliffhanger. OH GOD. I genuinely screamed out loud, and my housemate laughed at me. From the moment I met her, I did not trust <spoiler> Zuleeka </spoiler> BUT OH MY GOD. That reveal at the end. Once again, Noni leaves us with one revelation after another and then a huge cliffhanger I did not expect. This is one of my absolute favourite series, and I am desperate for the next book.

Please please please. I'll give you my email, Miss Noni, please give me the next book right now, I beg you.

Five stars.

Just like it's predecessor, The Prison Healer, The Gilded Cage did not disappoint. After that mind blowing ending in The Prison Healer I had to get my hands on this book as soon as possible. Thank you so much NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for accepting my request to read this book.
This series is slowly becoming one of the most thrilling fantasy series I have read this year. I discovered Lynette Noni's books this year, through The Prison Healer actually, and after just reading these two books, I'm gonna outright say that her books are massive attention grabbers. They will not fail to entertain. The Medoran Chronicles and The Whisper book series are really high on my TBR right now.

So let's get on with The Gilded Cage.

Kiva is finally free from Zalindov. Jaren's family happily accepted her and welcomed her into the Royal Family.
Now her main task begins. That is to spy on the royal family and help her family take over the kingdom as revenge for what happened to their ancestor.

Though this book is a bit on the calmer side and mostly focuses on Kiva's character development, The Gilded Cage is as thrilling as The Prison Healer was.
Kiva's character development was beautifully written. Even with all the spying and betrayals this book portrays how family members influence each other. That sometimes the influence is good and sometimes it's shadowed and wrong.
It also shows that sometimes the cause you are supporting might be wrong and that stories are changed over time, some facts get foggy. It gets difficult to understand which story is actually correct.
I loved Kiva. She is really thoughtful and caring, she is smart but a bit too trusting I think; because of that trust the betrayals and the mess that happened was really hard to experience. It was really painful.

Jaren is… uuff what can I say… he is the most perfect specimen of a man who is utterly in love. He is a swoon worthy, gorgeous man, who loves his people and would be an amazing king.

Both Jaren and Kiva are great but they are not my favourite character in the book. My favorite is Caldon, he's Jaren's cousin. He's the cocky flirt. Yeah… the moment he came in to save Kiva, I was done for.. totally. Damn I love him.

Anyways… please forgive what's going to come next. I've been holding it in for some time now.

WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT LYNETTE?!!!
The ending!!! WHY?!!

I am hurt. Really hurt. I wanted to throw the Kindle at the wall. But I couldn't do it. I need my Kindle. I have read the last 3 chapters again and again and again thinking that maybe what I had just read didn't happen. So I needed confirmation not once, not twice but three times! I am shattered and completely broken.

Readers I am warning you guys, if you want to read this series please wait till all the books are out. You will die because of the endings.

I need The Blood Traitor ASAP. I am going crazy here.

This sequel was so much better than the first book, the first book being a 4 ⭐️ and this a 5 ⭐️ But I feel you need to read the previous book to fully know the backstory of the characters and the whole plot of the book. This book also answers a lot of questions from the first one and also keeps you gripped at a pretty fast pace, so much happens. I loved all the main and supporting characters which is rare since there tends to be a character or two you dislike. Can’t wait to find out what happens next (even though it might be a year or so ☹️) highly recommend for sure.

We are thrown right back into Kivas escape from prison, you are saved from the travelling to the Palace which was a win as it wasn't really needed. We find out more about Kivas and her fathers healing in this instalment. I loved how the pace of this book slowed so we could take in the depth of the storyline and the development of the characters, Prince Calon is a perfect example of showing great strength and leadership on the outside whilst fighting demons within. I can't wait for next book!

What a great sequel!

After everyone kept raving about The Prison Healer and enjoying it immensely, I knew I had to read the sequel quickly to avoid spoilers, and wow this book will blow your mind! I loved our characters' development. The twists had me reeling and I loved the deeper world-building we got from this book.
Overall, such a great follow up!! Highly recommend for Noni's terrific writing!

The Gilded Cage ( The Prison Healer book 2) by Lynette Noni (@lynettenoni
On insta)

(⭐⭐⭐⭐💫) Beyond 5 stars

After escaping Zalindov Prison after the trial of ordeals, Kiva is now staying in the castle with characters such as Tipp, Jaren and his family (some great new character development here). We also delve into Kiva's relationship with her brother and sister who also playing a bigger part in this book. This book shows more political drama and secrecy but still packs a punch with shocking twists and an enthralling plot. After I LOVED the first book I was nervous the second wouldn't live up to the hype of the first but it really does. This series is definitely becoming one of my top favourites!! And I've already purchased a physical copy to add to my collection

This ebook was kindly gifted to me via NetGalley but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved everything about this book, the cover is stunning, the writing is great, the characters are sublime and it was twisty and unpredictable. I loved it

Just when I thought The Prison Healer was one of my top books of 2021 The Gilded Cage comes along and blows me away.

I could not put this down, every single chapter has me hooked, the dialogue, the characters, the relationships formed. I was obsessed with it all.

If I could give this more than five stars I would, I can’t wait to re read it and I’ve only just finished it.

The Gilded Cage by Lynette Noni is the eagerly anticipated sequel to The Prison Healer, which I read earlier this year and immediately added to my top books of the year list. To say I was excited to get my hands on a copy of this book is something of an understatement, and I am happy and relieved to say it did not disappoint.
Firstly I have to say that this is a book series that needs to be read in order, so if you have not read The Gilded Cage go do that first and then come back.
To give too much detail about the plot of this book would be a crime, the author has gone to great pains to take the reader on an exciting journey with plenty of twists and turns, and a couple of surprises along the way, most notably a cliff hanger ending that will leave you wishing that you had the next book to hand. Knowing how good these two were, I have no doubts it will be worth the wait.
Many of our favourite characters from the first book are back, and a good portion of the book is focussed on the development of the characters and the relationships between them. The romance between Kiva and Jaren becomes more nuanced, but the most important relationships are those between Kiva and the family members she becomes reunited with, leaving her with some very tough choices to make. The pace picks up in the last third of the book as the various strands of plot are woven together, and the dramatic conclusion is nothing short of spectacular. I loved the book so much that I am even willing to forgive the cliff hanger ending, something that I usually dislike intensely.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.