WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR BOOK ONE IN THE SERIES, THE PRISON HEALER. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK
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.
–Goodreads
I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review
My Rating: 4 Stars
The first book in this series was unputdownable. The writing, the plot and the characters had me addicted and obsessed and I absolutely stayed up late devouring it. It also ended on a cliffhanger, so when I got approved for the sequel, my relief was palpable.
Book two has a very different feel than book one, which is to be expected given the way that The Prison Healer ended. The characters are now in a very different place (literally) and the game has changed given the information revealed. Honestly, I spent the majority of this book stressed beyond belief. The TENSION I felt as Kiva reunited with her siblings and tried to reconcile her need for revenge with her growing feelings for a certain prince was overwhelming.
The plot was a little bit slower, which is typically to be expected for the second book in a trilogy. That being said, the events that took place in the book all felt important and necessary for the overall plot. Things were just more focused on politics and shifting alliances than the action that was present in the first book with the tournament.
Let me also say that for some reason I went into this thinking it was a duology and WAS SO FREAKING WRONG. There is a book three, and I can safely say that Lynette Noni is fantastic at writing cliffhangers. I’ll be dying a slow death as I wait for book three to be released. A slow, slow death.
As The Book Ends 