The Gilded Cage (The Prison Healer, 2)

First of all, I want this review to share everything I loved and there’s no way to do that without spoiling the first book and a little of this one so if you’re here this is your warning that spoilers are ahead.First of all, I loved everything about this book, even as it raised my anxiety and broke my heart. I had so much fun, and I felt almost every emotion possible. I saw so much of myself in Kiva, to be treated that way by your family through to the end, I was so proud of her when she decided she wasn’t going to follow in her family’s footsteps anymore for a cause she didn’t believe in.We are immediately graced in this book with Caldon, Jaren’s cousin, who is easily one of my favorite characters. I absolutely love that he knew who she was from the beginning and gave her a chance to choose who she ultimately wanted to be in the end. I loved the dynamic between these two. Full on Feyre/Cassian vibes but better. Even in the very end, his “RUN” was so much like Aren’s from The Bridge Kingdom that I was losing my mind for him.While at the same time absolutely in agony over Jaren. JAREN, whose only crime was loving his people and his little criminal too much. Considering the fact that Cal got him and Naari out before s**t hit the fan and that Cal knows Kiva’s secrets, I have a feeling (a HOPE) that Jaren might not hate our little criminal for long.Because our little criminal is BACK IN ZALINDOV. Even if he hates her, there’s no way he leaves her there. I was kind of expecting her to be back because when I peeked in my copy of The Blood Traitor after it arrived yesterday, I saw the map of Zalindov. I was holding out hope that it was because we were back to take care of the Warden, but I was so very wrong.Just like I was wrong about Mirryn. I initially thought it would be ironically funny for her girlfriend to be Zaleeka, only to be wrong about that in the most horrible way. I am hoping, though, that her betrayal to her family will be another good thing for Kiva because maybe Jaren won’t blame her for absolutely everything? Although she did literally give up the kingdom’s deepest secret, so he better give her at least a little bit of a hard time.

Currently on Chapter 24 and it's good so far and I expect it to remain so...HOWEVER (and this is my opinion, many readers love this aspect in books) this reminds me why I like to steer clear of YA fantasy. So far, this Jaren character can do no wrong and he's "so loveable" in a cliche manner, like he has no "bad bone" in his body and every instance with him feels like the author is forcing you to "like" him (**SPOILER ALERT, like when we find out he conveniently goes to the children's hospital EVERY week to spend time with the terminally ill kids.)He's Kiva knight in shining armor which is annoying (again, to me) as he's always there to save her when she's in some sort of trouble. Like dang, can the girl figure out how to get herself out of mess first before you come running in.Sorry, but the direction is taking is a HARD eyeroll (for me, and maybe to some others).Still rating it five stars at the moment.

I loved the first book in this series. It had a lot of interesting characters, plot lines and a mostly likable main protagonist. This book I was skimming most of the pages just trying to find something to grab on to that followed the interesting plot lines from the first book. Most of the Gilded Cage is us listening to Kiva's internal dialogue " I love him but I hate his family. I love him but I'm going to betray him" blah blah blah. Super boring. Seriously, most of the book. Somewhere around 60% of the way in the plot finally gets interesting and the twists are revealed. I'm buying the final book hoping it's better than this.

Minor spoilers for book 1. Emotional spoilers for this book too? Idk, don’t read this review before finishing the book maybe.Motherflipper. Godsflippingdangit. Insert every single bleepy word I’m too livid to think of here. Oops, not supposed to do that while reviewing a YA novel? Well too bad, this is how I feel after finishing this book. I am screaming in pain and devastation. After years of reading, you think you can guess the twists, and some of them I did too, but nothing could have prepared me for the sheer stress test that was this book. The last 10% is so full of cataclysmic reveals, both expected and unexpected, that I’m left reeling from an almost heart attack.Based on the beginning and what we knew from the jaw dropping ending of book 1, you can already tell from the first page we’re heading towards a catastrophe, and I couldn’t peel my eyes away. I spent the whole book yelling at Kiva how it wasn’t going to end well. I love Kiva and I did see where she was coming from with most of her actions and reactions, having been raised and conditioned the way she was in a prison of all places, but some of her decisions had me closing my eyes and pleading “oh honey no don’t do it” repeatedly. And my heart hurt for my poor baby Jaren and the whole fam the whole time. Before anything even happened. That’s how worried I was. And was I wrong? Nope. Theirs is a story that seems progressively impossible and increasingly star crossed, which makes me that much more desperate to see them get their HEA.We get hit by all the feels; shock, betrayal, tragedy, terror (I know some of them aren’t emotions) in rapid succession. The ending felt like being personally shot with angst bullets. Now we have to wait 6 months to see how this goes? Cool cool, let me just lie on the floor, figuratively bullet ridden, bleeding my emotions and writhing in pain, waiting for Ms. Noni to put me out of my misery.TLDR of my highly emotional and dramatic review: the author writes another breakneck paced, heart stopper, jawdropper of a book with complex characters (none of whom can be trusted), and leaves us wanting more.

I enjoyed the first book in this series but I feel like this sequel really dropped the bar. The first 80% of the book is just Kiva wandering around being angsty about the fact she doesn't want to admit she's in love with Jarren. But I was reading ya fantasy romance so I knew a bit of that was to be expected. However there are a lot of really jarring plot points as well that kept knocking me out of the story. Warning for spoilers - skip to the stars to miss them.1. Concussion takes weeks or months to heal - she shouldn't have been staying a vigorous training regime less than 24 hours after being knocked unconscious. She's a healer so would know this. I know this is a minor thing but it really threw me out of the story and the editors and proof readers should have spotted this.2. Again, Kiva's a healer, taught by her dad who we learn has been taught in what is basically a medical school. No way her ethics would be comfortable with poisoning someone because there is always a risk of side effects. I definitely think she could have come up with another way to get away from a friend that wasn't poisoning them.3. The further I got through the story the more I wondered how has she been indoctrinated with the vengeance of her mum when she's been locked away? I can't see her dad drilling vengeance into her and even if he had, she's been by herself for many of her formative years. So while I can understand Kivas siblings being for the cause, I really can't see why Kiva is so torn. Which brings me onto4. She's a teenager, teenagers are notoriously selfish. She's also spent the last 10 years looking out for herself only, and begrudgingly Tipp. I just couldn't get on board with her being so torn between family and Jarren.5. There was a lot of contrived conveniences too, like the thing they needed for the final plot point handily being 20 minutes from the castle. There actually being a way to usurp the crown with objects - what law maker would right that into a law? People being tailed when it was handy for the plot but not when Kiva needed to sneak into a top secret council meeting. The leaders of the rebble group not thinking it would be suspicious for the Crown prince's guest to sneak out to the docks for a chat in an alley.There were more but those were the big ones.****That being said, once again the twists were very well laid out at the end, and I did want to keep reading. This being a great premise, and the fact that I really enjoyed the first book, meant I was more annoyed that there were so many points that knocked me out of the story. It's also a shame also that most of the actual progress of the story was confined to the last 20% of the book.I may read the third book as I do feel invested in the characters but I'll see how I feel when it's released.

Oh my word. Book 2 if the Prison Healer Series... What can I say but... wow! I have only read a few books in my lifetime that leave me so amazed at the authors ability to weave a story and this is one of those books.This book is about lies and betrayal but also about the importance of family and blood.Returning to freedom with members of the Royal House, Kiva has escaped prison only to end up in a Guilded Cage with her families enemies. But what if the people you should be afraid of is not the ones you were told to be afraid of but something or someone else entirely. This book makes Kivas story both heart breaking and brilliant as she navigates truth, family ties, politics and her growing feelings for someone she shouldn't love but who proves every time how worthy they are to be loved.Worth a read!Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Setting: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐The second hand anxiety and discomfort with this is the only downside but push through those moments and it's worth it! Oh is it worth it. This is another cliffhanger and I'm off to start book 3!

The sequel is enjoyable yet hugely frustrating.Most of the positives are due to the other characters surrounding Kiva, and the ironically more ‘mundane’ moments in the book became what I looked forward to. Kiva on the other hand becomes so ignorant and passive you know from the start she is going to make all possible mistakes and ignore blatant red flags.I get she’s young but she loses all sense of logic, and the hold her father had over her character and moral compass, is completely forgotten about, he is also barely mentioned compared to the first book. Instead, she obsesses over the family members she has not seen for 10 years, who were conversely not largely mentioned in the previous book.While I get she is scared, the plot gives her a multitude of opportunities to save her the stress, yet she continues to flip-flip between the two families (despite it being blatantly obvious who she prefers). It also seems unlikely that she would grant so much weight to a ‘tale’ about her long lost family and what people did however many years ago, surely you would judge what is in front of you?Anyway the book is enjoyable mainly the storylines that don’t involve any of the poor decision making, and Caldon is a saving grace in a sea of frustrating plot lines.I will read the next one which hopefully redeems Kivas character!

Book 2?!? Well Kiva's battle in book 2 is a battle I have fought myself and it is a difficult one to express/gage (hint, it's a family battle). I won't give it away but I fell deeper in love with her in this instalment and cannot wait to see how she continues to grow.PLUS, we get an epic side character (or more so than we did in book 1) that I love to pieces and cannot wait to see where his journey leads...

The Gilded Cage - devoured - check! I adored the continuation of Kiva's story in this instalment, with so much emphasis on her relationships with all of the royals, not just Jaren. If you want a suspenseful fantasy world with lots of action, political intrigue and heartache, then this is your series. Also, Lynette Noni is now and forever after known as The Destroyer! My poor heart!