The Gilded Cage is the second book in Lynette Noni’s The Prison Healer trilogy. The series follows Kiva as she navigates life outside of the prison that she has spent most of her childhood and youth in. After the cliffhanger revelations at the end of the first book, she has to grapple with the tensions between her rescuer prince and her revolutionary family. This series is textbook YA fantasy – fun, easy to read, entertaining, with a sprinkle of romance and betrayal. But it isn’t necessarily a series with a TON of substance (which isn’t only negative! It’s great escapism). Kiva is a survivor and used to relying only on herself, which leads to interesting issues in her relationships. I thought that this second book had leveled up from the first one, and it’s definitely an enjoyable series that I will finish when the last book is released. It also ends with a huge bang, so I am quite upset about the wait now… Good thing they’re coming in close succession.

The Prison Healer series is absolutely incredible so far. The Gilded Cage continues the story a couple of months after The Prison Healer ended and this time we get to explore the wider world in which the series is set. I was absolutely enthralled from page 1. I adored the characters in the first book and was delighted to learn more about them in this second book, the character development is supremely done! Each and every single character, even the new ones we meet in this book, is well rounded and 'feels' real. The writing style and the descriptions of the world were done so well that I really felt totally immersed and could imagine everything playing out like a movie in my head.
In this book Kiva finds she has to deal with the conflict of what her family expects her to do and the new life she wants to lead. She has her heart on both sides and her inner battle is heart breaking. And let's just not even talk about Kiva and Jaren because that will they / won't they romancy angst between them was KILLING me! I mean... for crying out loud Kiva, just kiss the dude!
Again I absolutely adored this book, just as I expected to. I love that the world and the characters are growing as the series progresses. I'm so incredibly excited to read the next book and also so incredibly upset that I have to wait until 2022! ha ha ha....
P.S. I still want to be Kiva ha ha ha.....

I always find it so incredibly difficult to review follow up books in a series without any spoilers but here I go!

Another absolutely excellent book! It was again, a slow burner but with always enough action to keep you enticed. I loved all the relationship growth in this one. While book 1 revolves around survival, book 2 revolves around love and friendship.
Kiva and Tipp in particular are the cutest little pair.

I also loved the book club! I was cracking up and honestly, just wanted to be a part of it.

I think comparing the two book, I did prefer the prison as a setting rather than the castle but only because it was so new and different for me.

Another brilliant book, another painstaking ending and now, the wait begins for book 3!

After the ending of the first book I had to read this one immediately. It was more slow paced than the previous book, but still it was amazing and surprising. In the Gilded Cage we get to know new people and new locations. We meet siblings of the main character, but also the characters known from The Prison Healer like Caldon (who was amazing btw). The plot was interesting and the ending... Why another cliffhanger? Now I can't wait to read the third book. 5/5⭐

Thank you NetGalley for providing digital advanced copy in exchange for honest review.

Warning! This is the second installment in The Prison Healer trilogy so be aware that the following review may contain spoilers regarding the first book, The Prison Healer of which a review can be found in one of my earlier posts!

Lynette Noni definitely didn’t hold back in any regard when writing the book. In The Gilded Cage, the second book in The Prison Healer trilogy, everything is taken to the next level. The first book was a joy to read but it was clearly just the introduction, the beginning of the adventure which really takes off in The Gilded Cage. The intrigues a deeper, the secrets more dangerous and the plot twists are more twisted than ever. Every single time I thought I had it all figured it out, something happened or was revealed that changed everything. Happiness, grief, betrayal, loyalty and heartbreak - this book’s got it all. It’s hands down one of the best books I’ve read this year.

In The Gilded Cage, we are also introduced to so many new fantastical characters. I love Kiva and Jaren - of course I do - but these new characters truly enhances the story a lot. Especially a certain elderly woman and her book club… Such a brilliant addition that one, just thinking about it makes me smile.

Prepare yourselves because this is the adventure you’ve all been waiting for. The Gilded Cage by Lynette Noni is definitely YA fantasy at its very best!


***I received an ARC of The Gilded Cage through NetGalley (thank you Hodder & Stoughton) in exchange for an honest review.***

thank you netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review. i loved the first book, so i was really looking forward to this one, and i certainly was not disappointed. i absolutely loved this book. because of this i am giving it 5/5 stars.

Did the twist in the Prison Healer shock you? Don’t worry , the Gilded Cage has more twists and is actually better than the first book!! I loved this book and all its themes (romance, found family, revenge ) . It’s hard to review without spoiling the first book but it’s such a good book!! I love a strong female lead with a range of emotions ❤️❤️

Let me just say a massive thank you to Netgalley, Hodder & Stoughton and of course Lynette Noni for letting me read this absolute masterpiece.

**Contains Spoilers**


After reading and marvelling at the complex but very much magical first book The Prison Healer I fell in love with Noni’s writing style. Whilst it is jam packed with information and hidden plots it is super easy to read and The Gilded Cage was no exception to this.
The Gilded Cage for me was completely different in storyline to The Prison Healer. The Prison Healer was full of action and drama whereas The Gilded Cage was full of background, family, love and of course a bucket load of angst.
I so desperately wanted Jaren and Kiva’s relationship to progress into something so so much more but alas taking over a throne isn’t that easy. Throw in her rebel siblings and a half decent amount of betrayal it makes it even harder for her and Jaren to become more.
Tipp of course is just far too adorable and I have to say even Caldon was a firm favourite character of mine too!

One thing I will say is what the fu--- was that ending???!!!!!! Another impressive cliff-hanger leaving me absolutely reeling in the aftermath of a Lynette Noni spectacular.

After finishing this book I was once again left a little bit empty because I don’t have book three (The Blood Traitor) to immediately dive into…. I am praying for an early release or even the E-ARC of that book just to receive some closure (like a relationship you never want to end but can see the finish in the distance).

The Gilded Cage by Lynette Noni✨


Now, when I read The Prison Healer I was immediately obsessed. That book is pure perfection - so I was worried where this one was going to go…

…but there was no need to worry. Not at all. This sequel is EVERYTHING. I physically couldn’t put it down.

The writing is stunning, I was enraptured from the very beginning- dying to know what happens after the cliffhanger from the previous book.

The characters are exciting and well developed, all of our favourites from book one make an appearance with some others becoming firm favourites.

I love how the idea of found family is so prominent in this series, the relationships are so natural and well written. And Kiva? I love her. Want to shake her sometimes, but she’s definitely one of my favourite protagonists. Her character growth is on point!

The book gives you answers, and bounds of new information. I’m almost terrified of what is going to happen next…

AND I thought the first cliffhanger was painful, this wait is going to hurt. I need to know what happens next. I’m stressed okay😅

Out in October (UK) - believe me, this is a book you want to preorder. It’s so worth it😍

HOW DARE LYNETTE END THE BOOK IN A CLIFFHANGER? WHAT, WHY, WHEN, HOW??

This book is the best out of the series so far; the characters had a better build-up, the direction the plot took was quite addictive. I'm so excited for the final book!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/ 5

publication date ; 0ct 12

This book was a perfect sequel , picking up right from it left in the first book the prison healer , fast paced and even more complex. Now that kiva was out of the prison the problems for her have increased as her life isn't just constricted to the prison but beyond those walls, in a much larger kingdom which she wants to regain . but due to her growing affection for the crowned prince due to which she is in a conflict who to show her loyalties towards , whether to complete what her mother wanted from her or side the people who have treated her like family now that her own siblings are hiding things from her , well 10 years of separation can do it .

the characters showed so much development from the first book , from kiva who was now now learning the extent of her magic and what all it cam do and what it did in the past with people who possessed it , learning secrets which were hidden from her for all those years,
Jaren my god I waited for him , every scene with him had a different light to it , and after that ending I want to what becomes of him in the final installment.

The amount of plot twists in this single book were mind blowing and I couldn't see a single of them coming specially the last one which made me scream . ALSO THE ANGSTT , IT . WAS . KILLING . ME . but yes to more of it in the 3rd book .
In short this book was perfect and you should read it .

trigger warnings; mentions of death , violence [ knife ] , imprisonment , drug abuse .

thank you netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing me an arc of this book .

Thank you to Hodder and Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me with an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Where to start? This book was so good and left me with three words upon finishing - "what the fu--??".

The Gilded Cage is the second instalment in The Prison Healer trilogy. The Prison Healer quickly became one of my favourite reads of 2021 when I finished it recently and The Gilded Cage certainly doesn't disappoint. Kiva has survived not only Zalindov - "The Death Prison" but also The Trial by Ordeal - both of which people never survive in. Now that Kiva has left - or rather escaped - Zalindov, she is living in the palace of the very people who put her in Zalindov in the first place. Now Kiva has to decide where her loyalties really lie; to the royal family who are nothing like the rebels led her to believe, or to her brother and sister, the people now leading the rebel mission.

Picking this book up, I was thrust right into the story following Kiva's escape. There's no journey to the palace which I quite liked otherwise I feel like it would have been boring and it would have taken me so long to get into. At the start of this book we go to the roots of Kiva being a healer and the story behind her father too.

The story is quite slow paced but this did allow the story to be told in a bit more depth and allow for a little bit of character development.

Like in The Prison Healer, Tipp is adorable and still deserves the entire world and I swear to almighty god, if Noni kills him off in the last book, we're gonna have a serious problem. I loved the character of Prince Caldon, Jaren's cousin. He's the perfect example of how people can seem perfectly fine on the outside and be a fearsome warrior and appear that everything is fine when in fact, internally, they're fighting some really tough demons.

The writing, the plot, the characters, the world in this book are just phenomenal and I'm excited, yet scared, for the final instalment.

This review has been taken from my blog, which will be published on https://princessofink.wordpress.com on September 21st 2021 at 9am UK time. Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for the eARC, which was provided to me in exchange for this honest review.

My actual rating for this book is 4.5 stars (not 5).

The Gilded Cage is a stunning, action-packed sequel to The Prison Healer that will have you on the edge of your seat. With a signature Lynette Noni cliffhanger, this book will leave you desperate for the last instalment in this thrilling trilogy.

The Gilded Cage blew me away. There are tons of twists in this book, some small and some big. Every time I thought I knew what was going to happen, Lynette Noni proved me wrong and made something even better happen. The reveals in this sequel are peppered throughout, always leaving you wanting the extra bit of information the characters carefully withhold. Between the overall plot of this book and the clever way hints and important things are hidden in plain sight, The Gilded Cage cements Lynette Noni’s status as a masterful storyteller. I’m genuinely afraid of what’s she’s cooked up for The Blood Traitor, given the twists and turns these first two books have taken.

After the events of the first book, Kiva, Jaren and co find themselves in Vallenia, the capital city of Evalon. With this change in setting came a whole new host of supporting characters, including Kiva’s older siblings and the rest of the royal Vallentis family. I loved all of the new characters this book brought us! Though I presume you’re meant to dislike – or at least, distrust – some of them (and at times, I certainly did), I really liked the complexity and tension they all added to Kiva’s life. Throughout the book, she struggles with her promise to help her siblings bring down the Vallentis family while feeling drawn to the warmth and kindness Jaren, his siblings and even his parents offer, and that was really interesting to see play out and affect the choices Kiva made.

For some reason, I wasn’t as keen on the romance between Kiva and Jaren this time around. There’s not much of it (the main plot definitely takes centre stage), but I found it a bit cringey whenever Jaren would call Kiva pet names, like “beautiful” or “sweetheart”. I didn’t have a problem with him being “the nice guy” in the first book, so I’m not sure what prompted this feeling in The Gilded Cage. It just made me feel… icky.

I loved the expansion of the world that this plotline gave us. Now she’s out of Zalindov, Kiva was able to properly explore (some of) the kingdom outside the prison walls. If you thought Noni’s vivid imagery with Zalindov prison was impressive, you’re not ready for the likes of the River Palace, Silverthorn Academy and all the other places Kiva’s mission takes her.

We also get to see more of the elemental magic system in The Gilded Cage, which is featured more prominently than in the first book. As a huge fan of elemental magic systems, I really enjoyed this! It was great to see the different ways both new and returning characters (such as Queen Ariana and Princess Myrrin) used their magic, especially against each other in a particular action scene.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed The Gilded Cage. I adored all the political intrigue and complex situations Kiva had to manage and the resulting twists and turns. The tension from some of the reveals had me feeling so tense and slightly breathless at times! The only reason why I have rated this book 4.5 stars and not 5/5 is because of Jaren/his pet names and the romance subplot – but that shouldn’t sway you from reading this book! You absolutely should!

I've read The Prison Healer and obviously the ending got me so exited for the second book and well it did not disappointed my expectations.

The plot was even more intense than in the first book, with a more vast world than just the prison, it leaves room for a lot of things to happen and it did happen. We started to hear about more kingdoms and their impact on the royal family and that was so interesting. Also, I loved discovering the capital and the places that become very important in the book. The plot twists were quite surprising even though you can guess pretty much what might happen, I still really liked the revelations that occurred in this second book.

As well as expanding the world, this book also introduces you to a lot of new characters and develops some characters that were already in the first book. This part was my favorite because you get to know a lot about Kiva's sister and brother, Caldon (who clearly became my favorite character), Jaren's cousin, and the whole royal family. You grow fond of Jaren's family so it really helps you understand Kiva's indecision throughout the book.

The ending, unsurprisingly, was amazing!!! I can't wait to hear more about Kiva and Jaren and to know how this will end up for them in the final book of this series I've quite enjoyed for the moment.

“You say you became the darkness, that it consumed you, […] but I can bull on that. I’ve never met anyone who shines as brightly as you do.”
•
Not only Lynette Noni broke my heart (again) but she left me with this huuuge cliffhanger (AGAIN) and I really don’t know how I can cope with it 😭. I devoured this book and didn’t want to let it go. Kiva’s journey is so interesting and difficult, not only because she has to struggle to find a way to live after 10 years in prison, but also because she doesn’t know what to choose between her family and her heart. I loved seeing her interact, not only with Jaren, but also with the Vallentis family and, of course, her own family…. (Okay I won’t comment on her sibilings because I could become offensive 🤬). She needs to hide her power and her past, but also try to start following her dreams, because now that she is free, she can! And Jaren is so supportive in that, I would say it’s even annoying at time how perfect he is but after that ending I am not ready to speak about him 😰. Basically the only thing I can do is crying and tick off the days till the new book is released. It doesn’t happen very often that I want to yell at characters but this time it did happen and after hours I still want to take two characters, bring them to life and hurt them badly.. so much for those who say reading is relaxing 😂!

After how tph ended I couldn't wait to get my hands on the prequel. Although I was a bit scared that The Gilded Cage would disappoint me THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN AT ALL!

This is a totally different setting than the prison and I was a bit scared at first, if I would still have the same feeling as I did with tph. The way Lynette describes everything is sublime. I love her writing style and I love the way she makes you feel so connected to the characters. Even more in this book which I thought wasn't even possible. So I was a scaredy cat for nothing, haha.

What can I say without spoiling? Expect the drama and the secrets 🤫 I'm sure if you enjoyed The Prison Healer you'll enjoy this book even more.

Let me cry in a corner now I'll have to wait for the next book! ;-)

The thing I loved most about the prison healer was the prison setting which made it quite worrying to know that the gilded cage would in fact not be set there. I was constantly worrying that it would change the feeling of the story and I wouldn't enjoy it but honestly I couldn't have been more wrong. This books setting was perfect, for the most part we see the city and that alone was great but the surrounding villages were perfectly described and I could clearly see everything Lynette Noni was trying to convey to me

The characters are so fleshed out it's really well done, I felt I knew everybody so well. Not just the characters that were in book one but also all of the new characters we were introduced to. A character that we saw a very brief glimpse at in book one, Caldon, has a much bigger role in this second installment and wow, he is the epitome of perfection. Forget Jaren, I want him!! I was extremely dissapointed however with the lack of Naari content. She was someone who really brought the spark to the prison healer and all I did was fangirl over her but unfortunately there was a severe lack of Naari content, I hope that this is rectified in book three as she does bring such a charm to the story. Ironically, the two characters in this book that are the least engaging are the two main characters, Kiva does annoy me at times with her constant indecision and Jaren feels more like a puppy than a human. This and the at times, slow pacing is the only reason this book didn't get a 5 star rating from me,

I expected a twist ending considering how the first book went but I still was not prepared for this book, filled with twists and turns, I was in a constant state of shock whilst reading. I loved this book so much and I cannot believe I now have to endure this painful wait for the next one.

I opened this book with a sense of dread! Hear me out! I knew what was at stake here for Kiva and I really didn't want her to go down the path she intended....but I knew this was going to get my stomach in a knot!

And it did. So badly! But I loved every minute of it!

We saw more of the world outside of the prison, in Evalon, where Kiva now lives in the palace with all the luxury and comforts she could want. We see the Royal family and we also are introduced to Kiva's family and we hear about the politics of their world.

Jaren, Tipp and Naari are back and we also see more of Caldon and the Royal family dynamics which were actually very heartwarming for the most part. Talking of Jaren. I love him! I want him to be mine!

I really don't want to say more about the plot but you can expect drama, family reunions, secrets that are revealed, twists and an ending that will make you want to scream!!!

'Be the light in the dark, Kiva.'

This book blew me away. After devouring The Prison Healer, I wanted to get my hands on this as soon as possible. That ending of TPH left me needing more and I was so lucky to get this on Netgalley. In the sequel, we follow on from the ending of TPH and continue to follow Kiva on her revolution. Kiva continued to grow on me as a character, as did Jaren. And who doesn’t live Tripp!? I loved exploring learning more about Kiva’s family, more about the Royal Family and more about elemental magic. Like TPH, this books dropped hints throughout it in advance of any twists and I loved that. I’m keeping this review spoiler free so won’t go into too much detail. I continue to love Noni’s writing style and I cannot wait for book three. The endings that Noni gives us are just incredible. If you haven’t guessed, this series is by far one of my favourite ever!

ALL THE STARS!!!

When I first started out with The Prison Healer I was honestly asking myself why the bloody fuck people were raving about it. I didn’t understand whatsoever. And then I got to 50% in and boy did things start getting real.

The Gilded Cage is the second instalment in The Prison Healer series and I can honestly say I enjoyed it a lot more than the first book. This book is more fast paced and instantly gets to the interesting action which is something that I particularly enjoyed.

One thing I absolutely adored was seeing and experiencing Kiva’s inner turmoil about who (and where) her allegiance laid with. The high stakes she faced trying to figure out who she wanted to be in this new world of hers was absolutely insane.

I’m going to be honest, this review is all over the place because it’s been a week now and I am still reeling over that twist ending. I am in shock, I cannot cope and I am all up in my feels.

What happens next?!? 😭