Very action packed, very mysterious in certain parts of its writing and it was a very easy read that was engaging the entire time. I almost got the feel of The Tattooist of Auschwitz in certain scenes, but I loved this book and cannot wait for the next installment.

Thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the chance to win this early E-ARC.

This has to be my favourite Lynette Noni book to date.

I've been a huge fan since I picked up her Medoran Chronicles books and devoured every singe page, and this book was no exception.

I love Noni's writing style and the way she make you feel all the emotions of all her characters.

Kiva is a character who you as the reader really end up rooting for and you find yourself just wanting her to succeed.

There are some subjects that were briefly touched upon in this book that I thought could have been addressed more, but as this is the first book in the series hopefully these points will be expanded upon in later books..

Overall this was one of my favourite reads so far and I will definitely be reading this again upon release next year.

Thank you, Netgalley for the ARC copy of this book.
Where to begin...
It was a good book, but lacking some of the flavour of previous books Noni has written. It dragged in places and felt a little bit stagnant -but that can be expected, they are, after all, stuck in a prison. This may just be my own preferences breaking through. The Trials all felt secondary to the plot, and they felt like they were rushed in terms of the ideas for the trials and the writing (they were over quickly, and didn't seem to hold much too much weight. Other things were prioitised more, but this may have been the intention).. There was a little too much telling instead of showing. For example, the characters may have been thinking or feeling a certain way that was fairly obvious in the description of their body language and how they verbally or physically responded to other characters/situations, but then Noni would make this even more obvious by stating what the character was feeling, even though we were already shown - again, this may be the writing style/purposeful intention of the author. I have noticed that similarly to Noni's other books the main character has basically the same personality as in her other books, with the secondary and other mains showing similar, if not the exact replica personalities as other character Noni has created, just with different backstories. But this isn't too bad, Noni's characters are enjoyable to read about. If the dragging points can be eliminated, I think the tension of the overall story and the stakes will be raised making it a more enjoyable and impacting read for your audience. Please don't take offense at these criticisms, I am only suggesting possible improvements - feel free to shoot them down if they are untrue or if they don't align with the original intention.
The plot and ending were fairly predictable, but Noni did a great job with the ending leaving us asking for more and in suspense/anticipation for what might happen in the next book.
If anyone out there is a fan of Lynette Noni books I would recommend this to them, just come in with a different perspective.

Three days later and I FINALLY finish this book.

I was just not impressed, and I wasn't interested either. Kiva is the prison healer, threatened by the inmates and guards alike, and just trying to keep her head down and do her job. She's barricaded behind walls of standoffish stoicism that growing up in the trauma of prison has built. Until... one day... a new prisoner (handsome, kind, optimistic, persistent) arrives.

It's more complicated than that. There is, in theory, political drama, a mysterious plague, and also some magical trials. In reality, though, most of this book seems to happen in the dead space between all of these things. Kiva worries. She thinks about carefully curated scenes from her past. She does her job. She is unfriendly to the Kind New Guy. The little boy who works as her assistant is thrown in frequently for an added wrenching or heartwarming effect.

I just... didn't feel a single emotion about any of it. My strongest feeling is that I'm glad it's over so I can move on to something more fun, and also IRRITATION at the ending. It struck me as incredibly cheesy, and was just the cherry on top of an overall unenjoyable experience.

I knew I was going to enjoy this story when I heard it was about elemental magic, kingdoms with feuding royalty and a prisoner's survival instinct.

I liked the protagonist, Kiva, from the start. Her words and actions were those of a realist whose trauma has hardened her edges – much as you'd expect from a wrongly-sentenced inmate living a death prison – but her kindness towards others and defiant hope of escape had me rooting for her all the way. I liked that her loyalties and past experiences shaped every decision she made.

The elemental trials Kiva is forced to complete in order to win her freedom had me racing through the chapters. The well-built characters, from friendly guard Naari to creepy but helpful morgue-worker Mot, kept the spaces between trials interesting too. I have mixed feelings about Jaren, the love interest, and all his secrets. I felt he forced his help on Kiva at times, when she was often capable of handling things herself, but at other key moments he was there to say and do the exact things she needed.

And as for the plot twist at the end...well, I for one did not see that coming. I would definitely read a sequel, so hopefully there will be one soon!

Full review on Goodreads.com
2.5/3 stars
This one has things I skimmed and things I loved. It’s really hard to write a review for it. I’m hoping they make some changes to improve it before it gets published bc it has the potential to be a good book. Right now, it falls a little short.

Prison Healer is a good basic fantasy. The relationships within the prison are well developed. The ending was a bit of a surprise and I really look forward to the sequel.

This book was fantastic! The ending blew me away. I finished the book and immediately went "Oh! When is the next book coming out?" and then realizing this book hasn't even come out yet!

I highly recommended this book and I can't wait for the next one to come out.

The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni
I enjoyed this dark YA fantasy by Lynette Noni. The main character, Kiva, is a seventeen year old healer who has lived in Zalindov prison for ten years. When the Rebel Queen arrives, she is near death and Kiva works to heal her and save her by undertaking the Rebel Queen's sentence in the Trial by Ordeal. A couple surprises await the reader and I'm going to be waiting for the next installment.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I'll be posting my review on Goodreads and Amazon

3.75 stars.

Ms. Noni knows how to capture an audience and knows how to keep everyone on their toes. I do wish more emphasis was put on the trials as a whole instead of prison life, but overall the effect was still strong.

Most of the revealing plot points were pretty predictable but the characterization and the overall dialogue was enough to mask the flatness. I do think this book is mostly as a transition to more prominent things in the second book (if you know you know), but nonetheless, The Prison Healer is a superb hook for the rest of the serious and I can not wait to see what else Ms. Noni has for us.

*Spoilers ahead*
What's in this book?
Romance (developing)
elements competition
Enemies
unreliable narrator
A plot twist

Highly intense read with surprise twist ending that will have you scanning back into the meat of the book to figure out the clues you missed. Beautifully written and engrossing. Cannot wait for this book to be published plus read the next book in the series! Insane read!

Elemental magic, a mysterious prince, a smug prisoner, a friendly guard, a brewing rebellion, and our prison healer 🖤
This book follows Kiva- the prison healer of Zalindov aka the most notorious prison in the kingdom.
Most people do not survive the first couple of weeks in Zalindov. Kiva, however, has been a prisoner for 10 years after being arrested with her now deceased father.
Kiva is tasked with marking the new prisoners and making sure they stay alive but she also secretly send messages to the rebel cause where the rest of her family resides.
One day, Kiva’s world is flipped when the Rebel Queen gets admitted in the prison with a simple note from the rebels: don’t let her die. We are coming.
Although the Rebel Queen is on the brink of death, she gets sentenced to the Ordeals- 4 elemental tasks that no one has survived but if she does she will be free.
Empathizing with this deathly ill woman, Kiva steps up as her champion and courageously makes the decision to face these trials in stead of the Rebel Queen, and thus this adventure begins.
Although I enjoyed the book, I will say I came into it with different expectations, but this book was a very different take on a typical elemental magic fantasy read. This book mostly focuses on Kiva- her empathy, her endurance, her selflessness and the hope she has of leaving the prison and keeping the Rebel Queen alive. There is also a subplot surrounding a strange virus that is killing the prisoners and Kiva is determined to find the source of the virus and saving the prisoners.
I will say, it was a very slow read at times And it was hard to stay engaged in the virus subplot. I wish the elemental trials were the center of the story but since they’re all spaced weeks apart it was clear that this isn’t the center of the story.
There are also some trigger warnings that I wish I knew beforehand (self harm, sexual harassment) and I feel I would’ve enjoyed it more if I hadn’t based it on the premise and came to my own conclusions.
HOWEVER, at around 80% the book got GOOD. Like, super good. Like, I CANT STOP READING, GOOD. The twist was immaculate and I loved the dialogues between Jaren and Kiva. And y’all the ENDING!!!! I WAS NOT FREAKING READY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT A GREAT TWIST AND WHAT A WAY TO END THIS BOOK!!!!! HOLY COW!!!! *standing ovation*
All in all, the pacing was a little off and some details could’ve been handled better but I still ended up enjoying the book!
4/5 stars from me

Thoroughly enjoyable characters and great world-building had me sucked in from the start. I love a good prison environment story and this didn’t disappoint!

I have very little complaints. One I can think of is just wishing Kiva had been better at helping herself as opposed to letting Jaren save her.

But the ending was WHOA! I can’t wait for book 2!

After reading this book I was so upset that it was over! It did leave off with a cliffhanger so I am anxious to read the second one. This book's plot was very different from what I have read before which made it so much more exciting. I can't wait to read the next one.

This book has been one of my most antisipated read and i am so thankful to the publishers and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for this honest review.

'The Prison Healer' is Lynette Noni writting in her finest form. The world buiding is phenomenal, the writing is brilliant and enables you to conect to her characters. I cried with Kiva, i felt her worry, her fear and her happyness and relief . 'The Prison Healer provided an indepth story and just when i thought we had hit the big twist, Lynette blindsighted me with another. While only being an ARC this book has been my top read for 2020 so far and i cant wait to revisit this story on official release.

Set inside a notoriously gruesome death prison, 'The Prison Healer' is a fascinating investigation into what makes someone a survivor. Is it the ability to maintain emotional distance from others? Is it having the gift to heal others? Or is it about having the self-awareness and bravery to take care of yourself?

Kiva Meridan has been in prison for ten years--since she was seven years old--and she hasn't made it a decade behind bars without knowing how to play the game, and play it patiently. But soon she'll be tested in ways she never could have imagined, leaving readers on the edge of their seats wondering, "How can she get through this?"

Lovable characters, a shocking twist ending, and the promise of a new era make this a promising start to a new YA series for fans of 'The Hunger Games', 'Children of Blood and Bone', and 'Ash Princess.'

#ThePrisonHealer #NetGalley
An excellent start to a good young adult fantasy. I think fans of Marie Lu and Traci Chee will enjoy this novel.