I expected the usual YA dystopian novel. Instead I got a book filled with twists and turns, moments of actual fear, and shocking reveals that make me desperate for the next one. The main character is prickly but necessarily so, and therefore never off-putting or unlikeable. The prison feels oppressive and inescapable, the guards are terrifying, and the Warden's hat is firmly gray, The stakes are always high and THAT ENDING...wow.

Fans of Throne of Glass and Red Queen will love this new exciting fantasy story!
Kiva has lived within the prison Zalindov for over half her life; she is the prison healer and has done everything she can to survive until her family can come to rescue her. But surviving may not be an impossible task as she is forced to keep the rebel queen alive, long enough to complete Trials that will either grant freedom or death. With threats all around Kiva will have to use everything she has to keep both of them alive.

I adored how this world was built; it didn't rush information given, it was just so natural. The world-building and character-building made sense, and I really connected with the characters -even with relationships created before the book, I felt so invested in them.
The Prison Healer has magic, a threatening war, two sides that you can see their points of view on, and it really tears into what side you are on. Plus we have an intelligent heroine that is smart and ready to do what she has to do to survive!

ALSO THAT ENDING?! Book 2 can't get in my possession soon enough.

This book reminded me a lot of SJM's Throne of Glass series - especially the beginning of the book. Overall, it was really fun to read and I appreciated that it deviated from the traditional tropes of YA female heroines.

This was a captivating and page turning story. I was almost immediately invested in the main characters. I anticipated some of the twists and turns. However, by the end of the book I almost think that the author intended for the reader to predict or suspect some twists just so that she could drop whopping plot twist right at the very end. Colour me surprised by that ending. Looking forward to the sequel!

I was so happy when I got approved to read The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story - the scene was set straight away as you read this book. This book took me in right away and I just devoured it. Kiva is a prison healer, who meets the rebel queen - who is carried to the prison on deaths door. Kiva is forced to heal her to make sure she can face trials by ordeal. Kiva is demanded to keep the queen alive via a secret note. So she takes the rebel queens place. What follows is a real adventure! I won't say any more so I do not spoil what happens but I adored this story and the action. The characters were drawn to me and were relatable at times.

This book was SO GOOD!! The story drew me in right away but Kiva, Jaren, and Tipp kept me reading. I loved the brother/sister relationship between Kiva and Tipp. Baby Tipp needs to be protected at all costs.

I don’t want to say and spoilers but HOT DAMN those two twists??? Stunned. One, I expected and kind of thought would happen from closer to the beginning. But the other caught me out of left field. I cannot wait for the rest of this series!! I need it now!

Kiva is a prison healer at Zalindov, where she has been imprisoned since she was 7. Her life begins to change when the Rebel Queen is captured. Kiva is tasked to keep her alive to go through the Trial of Ordeal, a set of elemental challenges assigned to the most dangerous criminals. Kiva risks her life to volunteer in the ill queen's place in the trials to earn their freedom.

This was a uniquely written fantasy novel. I found it to be a bit slow at times but overall did enjoy it. I liked how complex the characters were and learning more about them as the story progressed. The plot twist at the end was unexpected for me, and I would love to see where this story goes in the sequel!

Thank you, NetGalley and HMH Books for Young Readers for letting me read an arc of this book!

Interesting premise. Likable/hated characters. Cool plot. I would recommend this story to others. Some spots I found that didn't hold my attention, but overall, I still liked it.

This book portrayed that it was going to be good, it had acted like it was going to be riveting and engrossing, and it was recommended by Sarah J Maas and for fans of hers. But alas, it fell utterly flat, my frustration with this book is pretty high.
We meet Kiva who is the Prison Healer, and she has definitely had quite the horrible life and is trying to just get by until her family comes to save her. The writing had it's good(ish) moments and had the hope of being a good read. About half-way in, I felt something had to change, whether it's getting out of this prison, or plot, or twist, something, but it really was not enjoyable and felt boring. There was just a lack of story that didn't pull you back into wanting to continue reading. That in itself led the book to be a slow read with whiney and creepy characters.
The trials were their own thing, but honestly they were a little weak and hard to care about and just dark. The characters were ok, Kiva was hard to root for, she was pretty depressing (and yes, I get it she's in prison barely holding on), the main guard and prince and all, not great, the kid was probably the one you wanted to make it out though! But the rest of the cast were just gross and it felt like the author was trying to be dark just to be dark. No real purpose for a lot of it.
The last 10 pages or so was probably the most exciting of all of it, you got some answers and then frustrated with the answers, followed by being left to be like how much do I care to find out any more of this book series? The "romance" was lacking and annoying, it was so superficial, just ridiculous.
And the ending...ugh...sooooooo frustrating, I found it pretty annoying and not at all riveting. Through this WHOLE book you've had certain abilities? You've been stuck in this prison for how long never trying to figure out how to maybe tap into your abilities to maybe get out? And then all of a sudden you're going to take over certain responsibilities (insert frustrated eye roll here) The frustration is high and for a book that had all these reviews and promotions it was not a good read.
If you're going to reference this to other books like Throne of Glass, you have to deliver, or just don't compare yourselves to it. Overall this was a poor book with lack of story and plot, wouldn't recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

3.5 Stars
If it hadn't been for the previous reviews that raved about the ending of this book I may not have continued reading after the first quarter. A lot of different kingdoms are introduced without enough context to really understand what the world outside the prison is, but that may be intentional to some degree as the main character has been inside a prison since she was a child, leaving her with little real understanding of life outside the walls beyond her experiences as a kid.
However, the the biggest problem is that each character's motivation feels really vague for the majority of the book, which serves the purpose of bigger reveals later, but I'm always frustrated by stories that bet on readers staying interested enough in vagueness in order for a big payoff at the end.
The are YA novels that do a better job of keeping you invested in the world, rooting and/or curious about the characters while also packing a punch at the end. While I liked Kiva and was rooting for her, the elemental trials and the political currents of the other prisoners ultimately felt like filler. Kiva's participation in the trials always felt so passive.
Over the course of the book Kiva becomes someone you want to root for though and her relationship with Tipp is sweet and engaging. And the first reveal is one you'll see coming, but I have to admit I did not see the very last reveal coming and it's every bit as awesome as the other reviewers indicated. It just takes work to get there. And it's hard to say how excited I'll be to read the second book even with that ending- I want the whole novel to be a great experience, not just the scaffolding that gets us to the powerful part.

This book was such a surprise! I loved it, and it is really difficult to give a review of it because SPOILERS! I will do my best., however. Kiva and her father were sent to a camp/prison because they were suspected of consorting with a group who planned to overthrow the throne. After her father passed away, Kiva became the camp healer for both the guards and the other prisoners. Things are tough, as most of the prisoners will die soon and all she can do is make things slightly better for them without becoming too involved. Her one real friend is her helper, Tipp, a young boy. Things change when a new prisoner, Jaren, arrives. Now, if I tell you more, I will spoil everything. The true import of this book unfolds slowly. I actually thought it was a pretty light read until what I was missing became more clear. The characters are much more complex than they first appear. This is a book that I will go back to, so that I can catch what I missed on previous readings.

I honestly did a big DNF on this one. I did not like it very much. I guessed 2 of the main plot twists about 50 pages in and just found it to be very redundant and tropey. A teen who hasn't read much in the YA fantasy genre might like it, but I wasn't a fan.

Kiva, the heroine of this survival story that evolves to become so much more, is a fully realized character who brings wit, intelligence, and vulnerability together realistically. One of the attributes that sets The Prison Healer apart is Lynette Noni's talent at giving the reader just enough of everything: just enough fantasy/magic to make the world seem believable and to whet your appetite to see what else this world holds; just enough danger and violence to raise your concern and investment in the main character without becoming gratuitous or ridiculous; just enough; just enough political intrigue and behind-the-scenes machinations so that you're dying to know more; just enough romance, secondary characters you want to protect or love to hate; just enough of everything. It really was a great book, a page turner, and a powerful story that in the end just wasn't enough because it does end, leaving the reader itching to keep turning more pages and not wanting to wait for the sequel!

this was stunning. i loved the characters and the word choice. the magic and world were easy to follow, and this felt like reading a book by candlelight cuddled under blankets in a small cozy chamber room.

This is a totally unique premise and the world is perfectly detailed. I really felt pulled into the story. This is my one quibble: would have loved to seen a romantic subplot. But that’s me. I prefer kissing in all of the books I read!

Such a good book!

I have to start out by saying.. this is not my typical read. I don't normally read fantastical books or YA books, however this caught my interest. And I must say. I am SO happy it did. The writing was exceptional and the story magnificently unique. Young Kiva, the protagonist captured my heart. I really was invested in finding out what was to become of her.

To anyone who may not be sure if this is the 'right' book for you... I implore you.. just read it! I'm so glad I did.

I was hesitant to enjoy this book because I thought it would be similar to the hunger games series- I did not want to read about another reluctant female champion groomed to be the martyr of her people. I enjoyed this world I finished the first book needing to know more. While we are limited in our knowledge and understanding of the outside politics/struggles because of the prison setting and by the age at which the main character (Kiva) has remained within the prison walls, the story's progression and what the reader learns felt appropriate. Kiva is also extremely likable/supportable/championed?- she's a strong, independent, elusive character with amazing secrets, solid convictions, and yet throughout the entire series maintain a certain anonymity that seemed incapable of a main character. The somewhat sneaky plot reveal at the end will have me thinking about this book until the next one is out.

This book sucks you right into the characters and makes you feel things for them easily. Their secrets are juicy twists that you don't see coming. The cliffhanger about killed me. :D

When you have to take a shower mid-read to wake up because the book is putting you to sleep : my experience with THE PRISON HEALER.

Look, that snarky intro notwithstanding, there were things in this story that felt pretty compelling and or interesting but so much just.. didn't make sense. At first I loved that our setting was limited to this prison, where our protagonist had been locked up for ten years, completely cut off from the world and politics around her, but then I got really.. anxious. The limited scope started to bother me. So did the weird extreme sweeps into d a r k n e s s and d e s p a i rand then, like, light hearted flirting with the new prisoner.

We also had this ACOTAR-esque challenge to undergo but the only people witnessing it were the prisoners? The royalty are banished from watching it and it seems to not actually matter to the world outside the prison? Like.. how is this a thing? Why is it even happening?

And the whole idea of this prison being unchallenged by royalty, not subject to rule by any authority by the Warden (I don't know, I'm now questioning my understanding, so don't quote me on that..), was initially interesting but also how the hell did that fly. Just kind of seemed like an excuse to let some awful shit happen.

And then there was this whole civil war thing.. man, like I said, some really cool elements that just felt a little untethered. Trying to sum up all the plot points is leaving me tired.

As for the characters, well. Suffice it to say we aren't supposed to have many to root for, seeing as we are in a prison full to the brim of nasty characters, but Naari, one of the guards, was the only one I actually liked. I got a lot of whiplash from our lead, the love interest was nice but kind of predictable, there's a younger pseudo-brother character who has an endearing stutter but I got pretty tired of reading about it, and there's.. not much else. Bad guard one, bad guard two, evil guard one, evil guard two, unpleasant prisoners x y z, shifty Warden guy, lots of sick and or dead people.. you get the idea.

What saves this for me was the ending. Because.. okay, sure, yeah, <b>that</b> happened. I am both very excited by it and also now very frustrated by everything up until this point, but, sure, yes. I'm hooked and I will read book two (please say it's only a duology..).

I realize most people would not continue on a series where the initial book only warranted a two but I am not most people.

Holy smokes! That ending!!! I need book two ASAP. This book had magic, royalty, and challenges. I loved it. The characters were well written and again, the ending!!!