Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - The Prison Healer

It was kind of hard for me to get into the book at the beginning because it was just a lot of background and not but interesting things going on. Towards the end, however, it got more interesting and has me thinking about buying the second book.

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theespressoedition's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

THAT ENDING. OH MY GOSH. I AM STILL IN AWE.

I'm sure it's a little odd to begin a review by talking about the end, but oh my, it blew me away. It’s been actual years since I’ve stayed up late into the night to finish a book just because I can’t put it down. That’s what happened to me last night while reading The Prison Healer. I genuinely got to the 60% mark and I just couldn’t stop. I had to know what happened next. I had to understand more.

If you think you understand everything that's going on during this book, you don’t. I can almost guarantee that. I felt sooooo smart figuring out all the "plot twists" when I really had no idea what I was actually figuring out. It's a wild ride, friends.

The characters are magnificent. At first, I didn't really like any of them. I held myself at a distance from them all, almost like Kiva does with the people in her life. By the end, I would've taken on The Ordeals myself for Tipp, Naari, Jaren, or even old Mot. This book gave me found family like nothing else ever has. I adore it as much for that as I do for everything else it gave me—and it gave me a lot.

When I first began reading, I wrote on bookstagram that I love a book with short chapters like this. Then I realized something: this book does not have short chapters, no siree. What it does have? Intrigue. So much so that I didn't even realize when fifteen minutes had gone by and I hadn't reached the chapter’s end. By the time I was flipping to a new page, I felt like no time had passed at all because I was so sucked into the story.

My one complaint? That I waited so long to read it. I can't wait to see what happens next.

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nicksalex's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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sunsetcity's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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thetalesofabookishmom's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Ok, so when I started reading this book I immediately liked it. I was only 10% in and worried it would be over hyped but I was enjoying it regardless. Now having finished it I can say it was not overhyped. Did I guess all the major plot twists from the very beginning? Yes. Did I still really enjoy it despite having guessed all the major plot twists? Also, yes. Which is a talent because usually I hate books that seem predictable. But this one kept you waiting to find out if you were right until the very end.

This book has a plot but it is definitely character driven. I loved these characters. I love the main four so much! I am excited to see what happens next! Hopefully I’ll love it and will be more surprised by the plot. at least give me more Tipp!

Onto book two.

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steffandbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? No

5.0

I have so many thoughts on this one, I don't even know where to start! The book left me reeling and speechless. I don't know whether I should cry happy or sad tears. This is a masterpiece and I am so mad at myself that I didn't read this sooner!
Not gonna lie though, I had a hard time getting into this because I was so confused with the world, like, literally nothing was being explained until page 100 or so when you finally get a few glimpses at the magic system and how the different kingdoms are interconnected. But then later, I realized, this is intentional and let's be honest, isn't every high fantasy book confusing in the beginning?
I am so in love with Kiva. She is such a great character, very strong female lead and very selfless. The well-beings of others always come first and although she doesn't trust easily, I couldn't blame her because she was thrown into prison when she was only 7 and had to survive somehow. We get glimpses of her past and what happened to her family and how she went through some difficult time by herself, being addicted to certain things and stuff but overcame that period of her time in prison as well. Like I said - she is such a strong character.
We also had so many plots intertwining into each other in this book, I loved it! You know when you sometimes read a book and there is one main plot? This was not the case here. While we think it focused mainly on the Trial by Ordeal, the normal prison life goes on as well and there are many challenges Kiva has to face and we focus on that in the book as well for some time, while going back to the Trial when it became time for the next Ordeal.
Side characters like Jaren, Naari, Tipp and Mot had me reeling. Jaren was so mysterious in the beginning that I didn't know what to think of him. I had a slight feeling what he was hiding, but in the end, didn't see it coming nonetheless. Naari has my full heart. She poses as a guard in the prison and while Kiva came to fear all guards, she slowly realized that Naari is different and she turns into a friend. I loved seeing how both, Jaren and Naari, just slowly made their way into Kiva's heart and she wasn't able to do anything about it. And Tipp! Oh boy, that sweet, sweet boy. I was sobbing for him and when I saw a fanart of the character? Man, now I wish I had my own younger brother.
The ending was just mind-blowing. I loved how Lynette just casually mentions the biggest plot twist in two solid sentences and then goes back to the "main story". Obviously, I have to pick up the next book immediately as I need to know what happens with all the characters and I can only hope that Kiva will stay true to herself based on what was revealed on the last page....

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vmknmy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

perfection

Content Warnings

teiscool12's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

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