Name: lily's review of The Gilded Cage (the Prison Healer Book 2) by Lynette Noni
Item: The Gilded Cage (the Prison Healer Book 2)
Rating: 4
Author: lily

Lynette Noni

'You need to choose, Kiva. It's him or us. Them or us. You can't have it both ways.' Kiva Meridan is a survivor. Not only did she survive 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.

The Gilded Cage (the Prison Healer Book 2)

Kiva trades one cage for another when she leaves behind a deadly prison for a deceptive palace. 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.

The Gilded Cage

Aimee :)

Delora summoned the last of her strength to whisper, "Be the light in the dark, Kiva."

Taryn

“Goshdarnit, there go my plans to toss her in the Serin,” - Caldon

“What she wants and what she needs are two different things” - Delora 

“Normal is tedious, it's boring. The best people are the ones with stories, the ones who have lived through thìngs others can only imagine in their wildest dreams —and their worst nightmares.” - Rhessinda. 

“Only fools find their happiness in others” ~ Mirryn 

“Sometimes the people who act like they don't care are really the ones who care the most. They feel so much that it overwhelms them, and to keep from falling apart, they hide behind easy smiles and quick laughter, acting like nothing matters. It's a defense mechanism, a way to protect themselves from the world. A way to keep from getting hurt."

Elin Hakvoort

"Well!" Caldon said, clapping his hands. "I’m glad our favorite little criminal didn't steal a priceless Evalonian relic, but we do still need to figure out who took it. Are there any other leads?”

Kiva tried to rally. It was either that or jump out the window and drown herself in the Serin. 

Caldon genuinely the one guy I hope nothing bad happens to (besides Tipp of course)

Kiva just blindly trusting her sister as so many people raise red flags at her and Tor not standing up to what he wants is just frustrating.

After seeing the princess’s treatment towards Kiva I started realizing she had something to do with the plans and I was trusting NOBODY

There’s so much going on tbh and I hope it ends up being a good thing and not just being too much for the rest of the book. 

Enjoyed this and finished most of it in one day and can’t wait to read the last book 

lily

Caldon genuinely the one guy I hope nothing bad happens to (besides Tipp of course)

Kiva just blindly trusting her sister as so many people raise red flags at her and Tor not standing up to what he wants is just frustrating.

After seeing the princess’s treatment towards Kiva I started realizing she had something to do with the plans and I was trusting NOBODY

There’s so much going on tbh and I hope it ends up being a good thing and not just being too much for the rest of the book. 

Enjoyed this and finished most of it in one day and can’t wait to read the last book 



Everything the main character did…stressed!

Ella Williams

LOVE this series 

The ending…stressed!

Everything the main character did…stressed!

really good!! loved the characters and the world 

sometimes kiva these mistakes you make are avoidable girl 🫣🙃

Lucy Williams

really good!! loved the characters and the world 

sometimes kiva these mistakes you make are avoidable girl 🫣🙃

Haley

This gave everything I would want in the second book in a trilogy. It built up what the characters and storyline is working to achieve. Usually the second books aren’t as good as the first and I did feel that with this one but it was still so good. The ending was also so good, and I had to pick up the third one as soon as I finished this one. 

Priscilla Stanfield

4.5/5⭐️

This gave everything I would want in the second book in a trilogy. It built up what the characters and storyline is working to achieve. Usually the second books aren’t as good as the first and I did feel that with this one but it was still so good. The ending was also so good, and I had to pick up the third one as soon as I finished this one. 

𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒈𝒆

sadly, this book suffered from classic middle book syndrome 😮‍💨

the first 70% felt repetitive, slow and underwhelming for me, especially as i remembered how addictive book 1 was in comparison. the ending definitely had me shocked and admittedly i didn’t see that betrayal coming, but it wasn’t enough to save this book for me.

one thing i really enjoyed was kiva and jaren’s relationship, i loved the slow burn and that he fell first. the way he defended her without a doubt and trusted her so whole heartedly!

despite the fact i hugely despise zuleeka (she reminds me of nesta), she played the villain so well and i was v intrigued to see what she would do next.

luckily i could dive straight into book 3 and keep reading, so stay tuned for my review of the blood traitor 🫶🏼

Larissa Kirchberger

𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒈𝒆

⭐️⭐️⭐️

sadly, this book suffered from classic middle book syndrome 😮‍💨

the first 70% felt repetitive, slow and underwhelming for me, especially as i remembered how addictive book 1 was in comparison. the ending definitely had me shocked and admittedly i didn’t see that betrayal coming, but it wasn’t enough to save this book for me.

one thing i really enjoyed was kiva and jaren’s relationship, i loved the slow burn and that he fell first. the way he defended her without a doubt and trusted her so whole heartedly!

despite the fact i hugely despise zuleeka (she reminds me of nesta), she played the villain so well and i was v intrigued to see what she would do next.

luckily i could dive straight into book 3 and keep reading, so stay tuned for my review of the blood traitor 🫶🏼

millena

1.5 ⭐️ 1 star for the existence of Jaren and Caldon + 0.5 star for the “good morning” scene after Jaren saves Kiva from his mom bc he deserves 

If it were up to Kiva it would be easily 0 stars

one of the most fcked up plot twist AND ending i've ever read

Moonchild

This kept my blood boiling, and very intense, the first one was good this one was better, with a lot of action and mystery, the authors managed to make me hate a specific person in here, I literally had to stop reading to calm down but I couldn't stop reading it.

In this book we see more character development e get to know better each character and their perspectives throw our main character's notion.
The plot is fascinating I regret taking so long to read it was refreshing and intense.

I feel like this book dragged along only for the last half an hour to rush by. The end was crazy ones again and I can’t wait to see how everything will play out 

Pia 

I kind of got into a reading slump really early on. I think it’s because i liked the idea of our main character wanting to betray the crown for a lot longer, instead of having doubts so early on. However that ultimately changed the further i got into the book. I have to say, the end once again saved the book. It got so tense up until the ending, i was literally on edge the whole time. It’s so easy to love the characters, even if i don’t like their personality. And i feel as if the plot twists weren’t as predictable in this one. Not to mention i have to applaud the fact i got to the last sentence and was in shock. Like i absolutely have to pick up the next one right now.

WHAT WAS THAT. I've never been so violently angry at an MC whilst being so immersed in a story. I loved it. Here's hoping Kiva pulls her head out in book 3. 

Addison Miller

This series is AMAZING!! It’s so so good. Found family, slow burn and a great plot. Really fast paced, and just such great writing. Not loving the miscommunication and am trying to ignore moments of stupidity by Kiva, but other than those, wow!! Diving straight into the last book!! 

Aims

akynn 

No because the last 30 pages was one of the biggest rollercoasters I have EVER been on. Forget everything you assume in the first half. You’re wrong. I sure was. But this book was actually amazing. I just…what?!!

Lauren Dale

In dit boek krijgen we veel meer te zien van de wereld en de magie. 

Ook zijn er veel nieuwe personages die veel toevoegen aan het verhaal! 

En er zijn zoveel gebeurtenissen. Je leert steeds meer over de plannen van de rebellen. 

In dit boek krijgen we veel meer te zien van de wereld en de magie. 

Ook zijn er veel nieuwe personages die veel toevoegen aan het verhaal! 

En er zijn zoveel gebeurtenissen. Je leert steeds meer over de plannen van de rebellen. 

“You say you became the darkness, that it consumed you, but I call bull on that. I’ve never met anyone who shines as brightly as you do.”

It's strange, this book is somehow both predictable and shocking, and both tedious and action packed. It look me a while to get into The Gilded Cage, if I'm honest. After the crazy bomb dropped at the end of The Prison Healer, revealing who Kiva is and her deception to everyone including the reader, and their daring getaway from Zalindov - I was really expecting this book to hit the ground running. Instead I felt like this book had a slow and dragging start. Things do start to pick up and once again around the 50% mark, and again this book has an incredible shocking twist with another "bomb drop" at the end which leaves you wanting more immediately. The writing is fantastic and draws you in, even in parts where it's a bit dull you want to keep reading to find out what happens next.

I think having to follow everything that happened in The Prison Healer, it must've been very difficult to write this book without letting it slip too far in second book syndrome but unfortunately I think it did just a bit. The difference being that the first book had higher stakes throughout, every few weeks she was facing the Ordeal, it was tense and interesting. But in this book things were more focused on the politics and intrigue of court and royal life, and Kiva having to battle her divided thoughts as she got to know the Vallentis family better and was reunited with her siblings. I think a few key features of this book that maybe were unnecessary and bogged down the book was Kiva developing a relationship with Caldon and Rhess. I understand that there was a need for new characters to be introduced in this book as they were in a new setting, but I also think the time that was spent in this book developing the relationships between these three characters would've been better spent on developing the relationships between her siblings and Jaren, really getting to know the rebels and their cause and getting even deeper into why Jaren loves his kingdom so much. It almost felt like Caldon and Rhess replaced Jaren and Naari in a lot of these scenes, which saddened me a bit.

I am still giving this book a firm four stars because yet again this was a solid read and it held my attention for the most part, but I think some of the choices made in the development of this book's story line weren't the best. This next part is going to get into some spoilers:

 I think because of the betrayals that were depicted in this book - Zuleeka betraying Kiva and Torell, Kiva betraying Jaren, Mirryn betraying her family - the focus really should've been on building up these relationships so that when the time came for their deception to be uncovered, it hurt and shocked the reader more. I managed to predict the fact that Zuleeka would deceive them from a mile away simply because of how sassy she was acting the entire time, I was able to predict that their powers could kill as well as heal but I didn't predict Mirryn's involvement and unfortunately her deceit didn't really effect me much either. I think because Mirryn was treated as more of a tertiary character in the background, I did underestimate her involvement, but also I just didn't care as much because we didn't get to see how deep the bond was between her and Jaren, we didn't see her develop an actual friendship with Kiva. 

 I really just feel like the way character development was handled in this book let it down.

Overall, I realized, once I finished this book and thought about it, that I really enjoyed it in it's entirety but there were a few things that I wish had been done differently. I'm definitely going to be reading the third book in the series once it comes off hold at my library but unfortunately I don't think this will be a series that is high up on my list of favourites. It's really just missing... something... to give it that extra depth. I would compare it to the Shadow and Bone series, where the first trilogy just sort of lacks something that the later books in the Six of Crows and King of Scars series were able to capture. It's still absolutely a good, entertaining read and maybe I am no longer the target audience being a 31 year old reading young adult fiction but I would definitely recommend this series for people wanting to get into fantasy who perhaps haven't read a lot of it before.

Genevieve 

“You say you became the darkness, that it consumed you, but I call bull on that. I’ve never met anyone who shines as brightly as you do.”

4 ⭐ 's

It's strange, this book is somehow both predictable and shocking, and both tedious and action packed. It look me a while to get into The Gilded Cage, if I'm honest. After the crazy bomb dropped at the end of The Prison Healer, revealing who Kiva is and her deception to everyone including the reader, and their daring getaway from Zalindov - I was really expecting this book to hit the ground running. Instead I felt like this book had a slow and dragging start. Things do start to pick up and once again around the 50% mark, and again this book has an incredible shocking twist with another "bomb drop" at the end which leaves you wanting more immediately. The writing is fantastic and draws you in, even in parts where it's a bit dull you want to keep reading to find out what happens next.

I think having to follow everything that happened in The Prison Healer, it must've been very difficult to write this book without letting it slip too far in second book syndrome but unfortunately I think it did just a bit. The difference being that the first book had higher stakes throughout, every few weeks she was facing the Ordeal, it was tense and interesting. But in this book things were more focused on the politics and intrigue of court and royal life, and Kiva having to battle her divided thoughts as she got to know the Vallentis family better and was reunited with her siblings. I think a few key features of this book that maybe were unnecessary and bogged down the book was Kiva developing a relationship with Caldon and Rhess. I understand that there was a need for new characters to be introduced in this book as they were in a new setting, but I also think the time that was spent in this book developing the relationships between these three characters would've been better spent on developing the relationships between her siblings and Jaren, really getting to know the rebels and their cause and getting even deeper into why Jaren loves his kingdom so much. It almost felt like Caldon and Rhess replaced Jaren and Naari in a lot of these scenes, which saddened me a bit.

I am still giving this book a firm four stars because yet again this was a solid read and it held my attention for the most part, but I think some of the choices made in the development of this book's story line weren't the best. This next part is going to get into some spoilers:
SPOILER
 I think because of the betrayals that were depicted in this book - Zuleeka betraying Kiva and Torell, Kiva betraying Jaren, Mirryn betraying her family - the focus really should've been on building up these relationships so that when the time came for their deception to be uncovered, it hurt and shocked the reader more. I managed to predict the fact that Zuleeka would deceive them from a mile away simply because of how sassy she was acting the entire time, I was able to predict that their powers could kill as well as heal but I didn't predict Mirryn's involvement and unfortunately her deceit didn't really effect me much either. I think because Mirryn was treated as more of a tertiary character in the background, I did underestimate her involvement, but also I just didn't care as much because we didn't get to see how deep the bond was between her and Jaren, we didn't see her develop an actual friendship with Kiva. 
END SPOILER
 I really just feel like the way character development was handled in this book let it down.

Overall, I realized, once I finished this book and thought about it, that I really enjoyed it in it's entirety but there were a few things that I wish had been done differently. I'm definitely going to be reading the third book in the series once it comes off hold at my library but unfortunately I don't think this will be a series that is high up on my list of favourites. It's really just missing... something... to give it that extra depth. I would compare it to the Shadow and Bone series, where the first trilogy just sort of lacks something that the later books in the Six of Crows and King of Scars series were able to capture. It's still absolutely a good, entertaining read and maybe I am no longer the target audience being a 31 year old reading young adult fiction but I would definitely recommend this series for people wanting to get into fantasy who perhaps haven't read a lot of it before.

The Wattpad writing style almost completely disappeared, but sadly also the ‘hint dropping’ that I loved in book one. 

Still, this book had interesting plot twists. I thought Naari was Mirryn’s secret lover, HAHA boy was I wrong. 

A lot less happened in this book compared to book one, but I still loved it. It was easy to read and the ending was so unnerving! Moreover, I believe this book is necessary to understand Kiva’s internal conflict whose family to choose.

I also loved the fact we got to know the annoying and charming character who supposedly was the prince in book one, Caldon. 

Can’t wait to get started on book three, back in Zalindov. 

The Wattpad writing style almost completely disappeared, but sadly also the ‘hint dropping’ that I loved in book one. 

Still, this book had interesting plot twists. I thought Naari was Mirryn’s secret lover, HAHA boy was I wrong. 

A lot less happened in this book compared to book one, but I still loved it. It was easy to read and the ending was so unnerving! Moreover, I believe this book is necessary to understand Kiva’s internal conflict whose family to choose.

I also loved the fact we got to know the annoying and charming character who supposedly was the prince in book one, Caldon. 

Can’t wait to get started on book three, back in Zalindov. 

Not as good as the first book but still good! It was a bit slow at some times but it does a good job building up for the third book. It manages to keep your interest all the way through and make you eager to pick up the next book as soon as you finish.

Christine

Emma Jones

4.5 stars!! Lost 1/2 a star because it just wasn't as good as the first, however it was still great!!!

Moon Child

Marchelle

Megan Lowe

I loved this book! I was sent on a roller coaster of emotions and I loved it!
I love Tipp, and Naari, and Jaren, ohmigod Jaren. And Caldon is perfection.
I loved the twists and turns and where this is all going and I can’t wait to read the third book!

Lj &
The Gilded Cage (the Prison Healer Book 2) by Lynette Noni

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The Gilded Cage (the Prison Healer Book 2) by Lynette Noni