Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni

29 reviews

prashiie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

“Here at Zalindov, the only person you can trust is yourself.”

This might be my favourite read so far this year! The twists, especially those at the end of the book, are amazing. Serious vibes of Hunger Games and Avatar: the last airbender. It is a dark fantasy and whilst some parts were challenging to read and weighed heavily on my mind, there were also other parts that brought a sense of hope.
But please be sure to review the trigger warnings before diving into this book. This might not be suitable for everyone.

TW: mentions of rape, torture, drug abuse, overdosing on drugs, self harm, child abuse, child death, violence.

Okay, now let’s get to the plot. The story is set in Zalindov, a prison where nobody ever leaves once they’ve entered. The grimm conditions of this prison and the injustice is mind boggling. As if being condemned to die in this prison isn't horrible enough, there are also guards who don’t shy away from violence and use and misuse the prisoners to their liking.

Our main character, Kiva, is the prison healer and has been in Zalindov for 10 years. Her prison job forces her to brand the new prisoners which goes directly against being a healer. But hey, sometimes you’ve got to do things to survive, can't really judge here. Kiva wants to fight for herself, let loose the rebellious fire in her, but she is also smart enough to know how to survive in this prison. She is secretly in communication with her family on the outside and hopes that they will make true of their promise to come for her.

But with the Rebel Queen’s arrival to Zalindov, sick and in no condition to carry out her sentence, Kiva volunteers to take the Rebel Queen’s place and claim the sentence as her own. What in the Hunger Games…!
"My name is Kiva Meridan, and I claim her sentence as my own."

If Kiva manages to survive the Trials of the four elements (air, fire, water, and earth), see and the Rebel Queen are both free to leave the prison! Freedom is waiting.

I really liked to read more about Kiva’s scientific side and the dynamic between her and the other prisoners. She warms up to Naari and Jaren, both of them being new to the prison. She cares a lot about Tipp, I mean it’s impossible to not love this character!!
“The world needs people like him out there in it, shining light into the dark places.”

THE TWISTS IN THIS BOOK ARE BETTER THAN I EXPECTED.
!! Spoilers incoming !!

Here I am, thinking that Kiva and Jaren have a chance to be together after finding out Jaren is actually the crown prince. However, this becomes more complicated with the revelation that Kiva is in fact the rebel princess and she’s getting ready to take back the kingdom?! 

Jaren is such a sweet person and he has proven on multiple occasions that his heart is in the right place. He’s always there for Kiva, a loyal companion. Yet, I am worried that he will have his heart broken in the next book. I dread to see another version of Cal Calore and Mare Barrow (Red Queen). At least in their case they both knew they were both on opposite sides!
I actually think (and hope) that Kiva wants to be the rebel princess but having to betray Jaren will contradict her feelings for him. While I don’t believe she’s deliberately using Jaren, I guess she will be torn between her destiny and her affection for him. AAAARGH… the politics in this book, secretly brewing in the background and ready to wreak havoc, adds an interesting layer to this story.
Either way, she better not hurt him!

I had a lot of questions and doubts whilst reading this book and for sure I won’t be the only one! Just trust me when I say that the story will make sense in the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Bullying, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, Drug abuse, Sexual harassment, Torture, Death of parent, Confinement, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief

Moderate: Rape and Addiction

Minor: Self harm and War

ashlyncherie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.75

THAT ENDING! Holy cow. I haven’t had a plot twist do me like that in a while. I freaking loved this!! It had everything I could have wanted. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Torture, Vomit, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Violence, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Medical content, Murder, and Child death

Moderate: Sexual violence and Sexual assault

Minor: Grief, Rape, Addiction, Self harm, Drug abuse, and Sexual harassment

lizrushby's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Confinement, Violence, Blood, Emotional abuse, Death, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Physical abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Murder, Sexual violence, Vomit, Pandemic/Epidemic, Police brutality, Self harm, and Torture

mrobin14's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

2.0

The writing at times is very immature. Often thoughts would be scattered paragraphs away from where it started, or events would become repetitively told to the reader within the same chapters. Some events that transpired don’t make sense to have been included, it feels like they were cheap shots at making a “diverse” and “deep” cast. Pages were clearly taken from Lemony Snicketts writing in silly chapter set ups, but it just makes it feel like a poorly written YA novel. Feel as though the story idea is good, but needed a more stern publisher to steer it in the right direction. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Blood, Death of parent, Dementia, Gore, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, and Grief

Moderate: Rape, Police brutality, Physical abuse, War, Violence, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Self harm, and Suicide

gcjay1994's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This one snuck up on me - in the end I realized what a good time I had. A lot darker than anticipated in some spots. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Murder, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Self harm, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Police brutality, and Toxic relationship

khajpaj's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

There were a lot of anachronisms in this book which made it hard to be fully immersed. I finished mostly for the budding romance. I was pretty disappointed with the ending, as it didn't really like up with the rest of the character motivations throughout, but the "big reveals" leading up to the end we're things that were pretty easy to guess early on. Still, it was a mostly enjoyable read. The only part that was really upsetting was the trial by fire.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Death, Child death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Sexual assault, Self harm, Rape, and Pandemic/Epidemic

sallie_ees's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, and Emotional abuse

av0universe's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I didn’t expect that ending?!

This book surprised me in a good way. I really like the worldbuilding and Kiva as the main character is interesting, to say the least. 

Tipp is the cutest character ever 🫶 and for the most part, I really liked the found family

Seriously, I can’t stop thinking about that ending. It blew my mind even though I guessed most of it. Amazing. The narrator is everything here.

I’m pretty sure I dreamed of this book today

Mother is dead.
I’m on my way to Vallenia.
It’s time to reclaim our kingdom.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Slavery, Blood, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Death, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Medical content, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, Addiction, Rape, Sexism, and Torture

Minor: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Self harm, Sexual assault, Vomit, Violence, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Torture

maddie_rae_reads's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes

4.5

Epic YA Fantasy at its finest! While it does touch on dark themes such as death and abuse (in ALL its forms), the story itself refrains from graphic descriptions or harsh language. Lots of diverse characters, some that are easy to hate and others you aren’t sure what to think. 

We follow Kiva, the Prison Healer (thus the name) as she encounters new problems at the prison she’s lived at for 10 years. Taken with her father for a crime neither committed, she’s been acting as the prison healer in her father’s footsteps after his death. Because of harsh prison life she rarely forms close connections with anyone in order to spare her tender heart. All except Tipp whom she cares for like a younger brother/surrogate mother. 

As the protagonist you may think she has powers that she suddenly has and can wield flawlessly to help her, but that is not the case. I found that so refreshing!!! She is smart and quick to learn, which continues to help her along her journey. 

Following the author’s breadcrumbs, I was able to guess several of the big reveals, but I was still taken off guard by the last page! Definitely jumping into book 2 as soon as I can. 

Includes:
⚔️political intrigue
⚔️hidden identities
⚔️shared bed
⚔️fantastical powers
⚔️strong women 

Title: The Prison Healer
Author: Lynette Noni @lynettenoni 
Series: The Prison Healer, 1
Spice: 2/10
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Kindle Unlimited: No
Deseret Bookshelf: No

#bookstagram #audiobookstagram #theprisonhealer #aestheticreel #maddieraereads2023

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Content Warnings

Minor: Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Addiction, Physical abuse, Death, and War

thorn_n_thistle_reads's review against another edition

challenging funny hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

This was #chattycathysbookclub February read. I really enjoyed this one. It was a quickish read. I enjoyed the trials and later parts in the book. I wished there was less repetition, as the interrnal thoughts/mantra got boring quickly. The twist on magic was fun. I enjoyed that there was some royal intrigue with the rebel queen and mystery surrounding a separate illness in the prison. I didn't predict the plots twist till later in the book, and the other one that was dropped on us at the end made my jaw drop! 

Overall, it's a solid read, and I'll continue the series at some point. Many members binged the series after book one. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Drug abuse, Violence, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexual harassment