Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni

10 reviews

book_dragon_'s review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

csmall73's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book was a little bit of let down. I feel sufficiently confused by the events that take place in this part of the story. But I am also intrigued enough to read the next installment. Kiva definitely got poop end of the stick in life and family. Left for an unreasonable amount of time, she becomes the prison healer. Takes insane amounts of crap from the filth of several countries. An impulsive and rash royal invites himself to prison as a way of getting information and intelligence gathering on a notorious rebel that happens to also be royal. We are up to three. Kiva takes the do no harm way to far and volunteers to take the place of her patient in trials. Basically give me liberty or give me death.

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queen_melliott's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

In the beginning, this seemed very much like Throne of Glass: A 17 YO girl being imprisoned, then catching the interest of a prince, strong hints that there may be more to the girl’s identity,

Spoiler

only for the very last page to reveal that she’s the long lost rebel princess with a claim to the throne

. Also, prisoners working as slaves in the mines, even the map looked quite similar to eastern Erilea where ToG is set… Honestly, the similarities had me expecting a cheap ToG fanfic, so I didn’t have high hopes at first. Luckily, I ended up loving it.
It’s funny how sometimes I cannot warm up to the characters throughout the whole book and don’t care if they live or die. And then other times, as it was with The Prison Healer, I am so invested in the characters from the getgo. Kiva, Jaren, Naari, Tipp, Mot, I just loved them all. Watching their bonds grow stronger over time, watching their banter, growing trust and support of one another made me grow ever fonder of them. It all felt very realistic for the setting. Also, the romance was built up slowly despite the initial spark between Kiva and Jaren, which I was very relieved about. An insta-love-y romance might have ruined it for me.
Another thing that was developed slowly and tastefully was the world building. It was continuously woven throughout the story and felt organic.
The story orders never got repetitive or boring, despite being set in only one place for 500 pages (in German). There was a lot going on with the friendships, romance, trials, the rebel Queen’s mysterious illness, the plague and overall dynamic at the prison. However, all the stories were woven together organically and made sense, so it never felt like there was too much going on all at once.
One aspect I do have to complain about was the extremely foreseeable plot twists. It’s also not too difficult to imagine where the story might go, but I still can’t wait to get my hands on the sequels.

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n0elle's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Content Warnings

thetalesofabookishmom's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Ok, so when I started reading this book I immediately liked it. I was only 10% in and worried it would be over hyped but I was enjoying it regardless. Now having finished it I can say it was not overhyped. Did I guess all the major plot twists from the very beginning? Yes. Did I still really enjoy it despite having guessed all the major plot twists? Also, yes. Which is a talent because usually I hate books that seem predictable. But this one kept you waiting to find out if you were right until the very end.

This book has a plot but it is definitely character driven. I loved these characters. I love the main four so much! I am excited to see what happens next! Hopefully I’ll love it and will be more surprised by the plot. at least give me more Tipp!

Onto book two.

Content Warnings

kassidyreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Content Warnings

proseandpurls's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

chamaeleontis's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

This book was great. It had so many amazing, and natural plot twists. I only guessed 1 of them, and part of 2 others. Nothing was set up that wasn't followed through on. The characters are all 3D, and morally realistic, which I personally really enjoyed. That's not even to mention the writing. Lynette Noni's style is spectacular. It flows so naturally, and is very enjoyable.

The one nit-picky thing was a plot point I personally didn't like, which is why it's 4.75, rather than 5.

Spoiler

It bothered me that we never got to know Tilda despite her being right there. I would have had a problem with it regardless of her being Kiva's mom, but that made it more frustrating. In the same vein, I get why it was done, but I feel that there could have at least been one full sentence exchanged

I would highly recommend this book for anyone who loves fantasy but is sick of repetitive plots. There's a few common tropes, but they are well done, with unique takes. I'm really looking forward to the next book.

Content Warnings

astralbooks's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Content Warnings

racheleanne06's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

When I saw this book on Netgalley I didn’t expect to be accepted for the ARC, so when the email come through accepting my request, I was beyond excited. To add to that, it turned up just at the right time, so I could use this book for the Galleyathon’s ‘Newest ARC’ prompt.

Going into this I had a good idea that I would like this book, it’s set in a prison, it’s gritty, dark and there’s a series of trials our main character needs to face based on the elements. And when I realised that this book was dedicated to Sarah J Maas, one of my favourite authors, and I knew that this book would be something that I was going to like. I wasn’t wrong. But there was so much more to this book too.

It’s thrilling, a roller-coaster of a journey that had me whooping with joy and sobbing into my pillow. It’s got a focus on friendship, which is something I really loved. There’s a little bit of romance, but the romance takes a back seat compared to the friendship that the characters share before they realise that it might be something more. And then there’s the friendships that our lead character, Kiva, shares with some of the more prominent side characters too. Every side character in this book is well rounded, and they all have their own backstories too. I thought all of the characters in this book were so well written and wonderful, and some of them I absolutely fell in love with. Especially Tipp, an 11-year-old boy who works with Kiva in the prison’s infirmary.

Kiva herself was a fantastic lead, she was a strong, independent character with a dedication to healing. She has a vow to treat everyone, despite their background, and it’s part of that which makes her so intently likeable.

The healing scenes in the book are really interesting, and well written. They are detailed, but not graphic, so the book fits well in the YA age bracket without slipping into New Adult. The same could be said for the actions within the prison, this book is dark, but it doesn’t stray outside of YA territory, alluding to some things without giving us graphic details.

One of my favourite things about The Prison Healer is how well written it is. There’s are so many secrets to be unravelled. I figured out one of the twists, but the rest of them caught me by surprise, and had me shook! This book is a really emotional read too. I felt everything alongside the characters, and by the end of the book I felt like my heart had been ripped out my chest and stuffed back in so many times. The world building is also done so well. It’s drizzled through the pages instead of given to us on in a big spoonful of info-dumping. And all of this combined has left me so eager for the next book so I can learn more.

I have already pre-ordered the next book The Gilded Cage and can’t wait for October (2021!) to come around so I can find out what happens next (especially as this book ends on a pretty big cliff-hanger…)

I also want to mention that this book contains a secret code, of which we get to see pages of throughout the story. I am not sure if we are meant to crack the code’s ourselves (I am not smart enough for that haha) or if we will get a codebreaker in the later books to help us. But either way I can’t wait to find out what those pages said.

The Prison Healer is one of those books that would be so much fun to re-read later down the road, when you know more about the secrets hidden in this book and can look back to read the book in a completely different context. There are some scenes I really want to read over again now, and I’ve only just put it down this morning!

SUMMARY

The Prison Healer is a thrilling page-turner and full of so many surprises. It’s one of the best books I have read this year! If this book isn’t already on your wishlist, then you might want to add it as I can see this becoming a huge hit when it’s released in March/April (depending on the country).

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