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lordfroggington's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Blood, Self harm, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Child death
Minor: War and Fire/Fire injury
raichou's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Ich habe mir das Buch vor allem gekauft, weil ich das Cover so schön fand, ohne wirklich zu wissen im was es geht.
Alles in allem eine gelungene Geschichte, ich glaube ich bin nur schon etwas zu alt für die eigentliche Zielgruppe. Trotzdem war es eine interessante Story, der Twist am Ende kam für mich unerwartet.
Alles in allem eine gelungene Geschichte, ich glaube ich bin nur schon etwas zu alt für die eigentliche Zielgruppe. Trotzdem war es eine interessante Story, der Twist am Ende kam für mich unerwartet.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Vomit, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Violence, and Rape
Moderate: Self harm
delandjessica's review against another edition
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
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I both loved and didn't love this book. I loved the idea of having this character, Kiva, be the healer in this horrible prison and the focus on her doing her best to take care of the other prisoners. I especially liked the detective element as she's trying to figure out where a mystery illness is coming from. But I didn't feel like the main element of the plot, the Trial by Ordeal, was really even necessary. Not once did Kiva manage to accomplish anything in the trials on her own, being saved by others every single time, and it honestly just felt super gimmicky anyway, used as a flashy lure in the book blurb to get readers to pick up the book. It makes no sense that a prison would go through the effort of putting on such a pointless and time wasting performance just to kill a prisoner, since that's the whole point of the trials is for the person to die spectacularly, especially when there's already the Abyss where problematic prisoners are sent to but never return from. It all just smelled like plot convenience to me and could have easily been written out of the book, which would have made both the plot and Kiva's character stronger.
I also had a huge problem with Jaren. He starts hitting on Kiva from the moment he sees her, continues to pursue her romantically and touches her constantly despite her repeatedly telling him to stop, and he has no real personality other than being attractive and good. I'm not sure how that's supposed to be interpreted as being romantic. I also struggled with Tipp. His character was sweet, but though I appreciate that the author wanted to introduce more character diversity, Tipp's extreme stutter really slows down the reading experience. The author could have reduced the stutter by at least two thirds per dialogue exchange and it would have conveyed the same idea without making it so difficult to get through. The stutter also didn't add anything to Tipp's character that wasn't already there, so I would have liked to see the author either give a purpose for the stutter or remove it entirely.
However, despite all the overexplanation and insufficient description and Kiva's wishy-washy grasp of who she herself even is (she's always saying that she never or always does things and has for the last ten years, but then turns around and is doing or not doing them anyway), I absolutely loved the whole ending and the twist at the very end. It was unexpected but suddenly made the entire book make so much more sense in hindsight. Twist endings are so difficult to pull off, but this one was handled perfectly and I'm eager to see what happens with Kiva next.
I also had a huge problem with Jaren. He starts hitting on Kiva from the moment he sees her, continues to pursue her romantically and touches her constantly despite her repeatedly telling him to stop, and he has no real personality other than being attractive and good. I'm not sure how that's supposed to be interpreted as being romantic. I also struggled with Tipp. His character was sweet, but though I appreciate that the author wanted to introduce more character diversity, Tipp's extreme stutter really slows down the reading experience. The author could have reduced the stutter by at least two thirds per dialogue exchange and it would have conveyed the same idea without making it so difficult to get through. The stutter also didn't add anything to Tipp's character that wasn't already there, so I would have liked to see the author either give a purpose for the stutter or remove it entirely.
However, despite all the overexplanation and insufficient description and Kiva's wishy-washy grasp of who she herself even is (she's always saying that she never or always does things and has for the last ten years, but then turns around and is doing or not doing them anyway), I absolutely loved the whole ending and the twist at the very end. It was unexpected but suddenly made the entire book make so much more sense in hindsight. Twist endings are so difficult to pull off, but this one was handled perfectly and I'm eager to see what happens with Kiva next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Gore, Blood, Torture, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death of parent, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Child death, Vomit, Addiction, Sexual harassment, Rape, Self harm, and Sexual assault
Romance is present, but doesn't get physical.bluebreex's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
3.0
I did enjoy this book, but I do think it was way too over hyped for me. I enjoyed the main cast and the trials throughout, but there were some themes I could do without. Please check trigger warnings before picking up this book so you're not caught off guard.
I wasn't sold on continuing this series until the last few chapters and that's on plot twists!! Did not see any of that coming! Very intrigued to see what storm Kiva is going to kick up in the palace
I wasn't sold on continuing this series until the last few chapters
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Animal death, Medical content, and Torture
Moderate: Police brutality, Medical content, Rape, Sexual assault, and Self harm
jennfs10's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
It was a slow start for me and while I liked Kiva’s character, I wasn’t immediately engaged. I kept hearing that the plot twist was the best part. I think that was the biggest reason why I I kept reading at a steady pace and this was a Reading Society book club read for March. I will admit, by the end I thought it’d end as a typical YA fantasy HEA but the plot twist completely turned it into an unexpected but much more interesting character arc for Kiva. I’ve already started the second book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Medical content, Murder, Sexual harassment, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Torture, Sexual assault, Self harm, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Rape
queen_melliott's review against another edition
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, 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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Physical abuse
Minor: Confinement, Sexual assault, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Child death, Death of parent, Rape, Vomit, Addiction, Sexual harassment, Drug abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
fastel's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault and Rape
bluemoon_dani's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
2.75
This story never seemed to fully pull me in. It was good enough, and certainly an interesting premise, but I never felt drawn to continuing. The twist at the end also felt very out of character
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
Moderate: Violence, Rape, War, and Death of parent
ssc1109's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
The rebel princess was finally ready to rise.
Jaw on the ground, brain is doing somersaults and I'm skipping around the house in triumph and awe. I picked this book up on a whim because of a review I saw on Bookstagram and the phenomenal rating on StoryGraph. NEVER in my life did I think I would have enjoyed it this much.
This is a dark, thrilling, mysterious tale full of elemental magic, hidden identity and "rightful heir" battles. There are some predictable plot twists but still some that I did not see coming at all.
The pacing was fast, the setting is very small so no large world building (yet?) and fantastic, loveable characters.
I just...I need book two now. I'm so glad I picked this up with the trilogy finished because there's no way I would be able to wait.
Jaw on the ground, brain is doing somersaults and I'm skipping around the house in triumph and awe. I picked this book up on a whim because of a review I saw on Bookstagram and the phenomenal rating on StoryGraph. NEVER in my life did I think I would have enjoyed it this much.
This is a dark, thrilling, mysterious tale full of elemental magic, hidden identity and "rightful heir" battles. There are some predictable plot twists but still some that I did not see coming at all.
The pacing was fast, the setting is very small so no large world building (yet?) and fantastic, loveable characters.
I just...I need book two now. I'm so glad I picked this up with the trilogy finished because there's no way I would be able to wait.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality
Moderate: Blood and Drug abuse
Minor: Sexual violence and Rape
jkreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
This book had a slow start for me, but once I had my bearings and immersed myself in the world I loved it! I was a big fan of The Hunger Games books when they came out and reading (or rather, listening to) this reminded me of the feeling I had while reading those. It’s hard to describe but I almost felt as though Kiva was keeping the reader at arms length throughout the story, which is fitting for her character as she tends to be closed off to others. This was really well written as it was intriguing rather than off-putting.
Noni did a brilliant job of creating likeable, multi-dimensional supporting characters and I really enjoyed watching them develop their relationships with each other as well as with Kiva. There were some big reveals at the end which provided some momentum going into the second book, which I’d thankfully already lined up and have already started! I’m looking forward to seeing what direction the series heads in.
Noni did a brilliant job of creating likeable, multi-dimensional supporting characters and I really enjoyed watching them develop their relationships with each other as well as with Kiva. There were some big reveals at the end which provided some momentum going into the second book, which I’d thankfully already lined up and have already started! I’m looking forward to seeing what direction the series heads in.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture, Police brutality, and Drug use
Minor: War, Vomit, and Rape