Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Královna rebelů by Lynette Noni

29 reviews

teri_b's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

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

3.0

This was quite the roller coaster of a YA fantasy romance novel in a rather gory setting.

Loved the beginning and the introduction into the world, then I felt, the story got a little bit of a lull until it picked up pace towards the end again.

Loved the main character and her storyline through the book.

Some twists I did see coming, others not at all.

Star rating during reading was anything between 3 and 5, in the end I settle for a 3.

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anushar's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

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

3.75

The book was predictable and yet somehow I completely devoured it. It’s plot line is basic and there was maybe one plot twist (a minor one) in this entire book that I was mildly shocked by. That being said, this book was addicting and I read it in a weekend. I found the characters to be lovable, although the writing did drag a bit. I thought the initial plot was very reminiscent of throne of glass, which was probably why I was able to predict so much. However the ending left me wondering what road our main character would go down, because it almost insinuated an evil-ish character arc that has me very intrigued. Anyway I will definitely be reading the next book, even though this was more of a 3.75/5 stars.

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risingsunreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I’ve been excited for this book ever since I heard about it and it did not disappoint. I love it, the mix of fantasy with slow burn and chaotic families. With secrets and lies hidden throughout the book. And the plot twist at the end!! I think I might have to preorder the second book.

The book follows the story of Kiva Merridan, how she ended up in the prison and the past 10 years of her life in there. The stuff she’s had to sustain and survive through. When Jaron, a prisoner who is sent there takes a liking to her and the rebel queen who is deathly sick arrives and has to take place in the trials by ordeal. Strong and determined Kiva takes her place.

I love the characters in this book from strong willed Kiva to a determined Jaren and tipp’s giddy character. Each having an important role in the plot and I love Naari’s character to being described as an ‘amber-eyed woman’, how she has authority and doesn’t hesitate to argue with the male guards.

I loved the plot of this book and how everything isn’t what it seems and how each trial isn’t as easy as it looks and how you think it’s going to turn out. I love the subplots of slow burn romance, magical elements and unexpected loyalty between a group of strangers. The plot moved fast following each of the trials by ordeals which made it an easy read.

If you like magical fantasy, loyalty between a group of strangers, royalty elements then this is for you! I can’t describe how much I loved reading this book and I’m really excited to see the story continue in the second book.

(if you’re after reading this I’d look up the trigger warnings as there’s quite a few in here that are either mildly or briefly mentioned.)

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jolovestoread's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

What a surprise of an ending. The beginning is slow. I wonder if the Rebel Queen hadn't of been mentioned in the blurb if this would have added more tension earlier on. However I don't know what else to have included to make the blurb standout. I read this slowly and wouldn't liked to have been forced to read it quicker for a readathon or some other goal. However the final 100 pages were fantastic. So many twists and turns and that LAST PAGE PACKED A PUNCH. I cannot WAIT for the next book, thank heavens it's going a month and a half until it comes out.

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dariusmortee's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? Yes

4.25

First things first: I love Naari, Tipp and Mot to death and will protect them however I can.
This is why I said I did find the characters to be loveable.

Kiva herself wasn’t the worst main character but I think she could’ve been better. Jaren annoyed me.

I did enjoy reading this book! Although it really does fall into some tropes it is an orginal story. A story with a very dark undertone, for which I am a sucker. I am curious to how this story proceeds and will be buying the second one, but I am however also scared for the clichés it could possibly walk into.

Overall: good story, loved the side characters but it has to watch out not to fall into the clichés.

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lily_k8y's review against another edition

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dark hopeful mysterious 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

5.0

Was a great page turner, and I sat around reading the last half of the book in one sitting (3 hours haha).
Loved the use of some of the pages, and the element of suspense that kept me wanting to know more and more.

Looking forward to the sequel!!!

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readundancies's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense slow-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? No

4.0

When I first picked up The Prison Healer, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect.

The first half of the book is very much meant to set up the events of the second, but it does so with a rather slow and meandering pace. So while I was invested and entertained, I was not so engrossed that I couldn’t put it down. I think that has a bit to do with the world-building itself.

Now don't get me wrong, the world-building as a whole was not poor, but I wanted more out of it, especially since we were supposed to be in a prison setting. I never truly got a proper feel of Wenderall, let alone Zalindov, and I'm not sure if that's because I really wanted to feel fear in it's imposing presence or because the map and it's gorgeous design wasn't enough in comparison to what the writing actually depicted of the setting.

(AN ASIDE: Regarding the map(s), Francesca Baerald you wily ass cartographer you - I'm no artist but damn, that is how you map people. The compass at the bottom of the world map is simply parfait.)

But world-building aside, the slow plot progression of the first half gives way to the much more invigorating and suspenseful second half, with all the truth bombs and heavy twists that I was waiting for.

Yes, I say waiting for because in terms of plot predictability, I'm giving this an arbitrary rating of 90%. Which is not actually to the books detriment, because I thought the decisions made in terms of plot were executed really well, even though I knew they were bound to occur. Some context might be helpful here in terms of my exact thoughts when certain reveals were made:

About Jaren: “I knew it” - Not completely in terms of accuracy but I was essentially close enough that it doesn't even matter.
About Kiva: “I fuckin’ knew it” - This one I saw coming a mile away. The moment the jealousy induced tragedy of a history between Evalon's royalty was told just cemented Kiva's role in everything.
About Tilda: “Okay, cool. Cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool.” - This one got me. I thought it was an interesting twist, but also was kinda meh about it at the same time because it also put the entirety of Kiva's character into question at the end and I have a love-hate relationship with unreliable narration.

Speaking of relationships, the relationship between Jaren and Kiva is definitely hinting at a slow burn. But Kiva’s got some mountains to traverse that will not be like climbing molehills when it comes to cultivating that relationship because one side has revealed quite a bit about themselves and the other, not so much. Can we talk about the slow burn though? Because I need it. I need it like air and water and the sequel.

The characterization within the novel was done well for the most part. I'm not in love with Jaren or Kiva, but I'm 100% behind Naari and Tipp even though I feel like there's still more we can get out of their characters. The Warden Rooke and Cresta acted as fairly tolerable antagonists but in terms of actual threats? I wasn't convinced.

I'm interested to see how all the political machinations are going to come into play in The Gilded Cage, especially because Kiva seems extremely naive considering she's got no idea how the outside world actually works since she's been in prison for the better part of a decade and also because the role she seems destined to play is not one in which you can just slip into that easily. Also, Kiva’s family better have some damn good reasons of atonement because I’m not impressed with their lack of efforts with respect to prison break. Unless of course there's a more sinister reason behind it

(like maybe they're meant to be the true endgame villains?)

in which case, yes please.

All of this is just to say, that yes, this book was great.

Yes, I will be picking up the sequel.

And yes, you should too.

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lennie_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this book but I was hooked immediately. I loved our morally ambiguous MC Kiva & her journey as she does what she can to survive in a brutal prison whilst also trying to treat patients with no judgement.
And after Jaren arrives, with the help of Naari & Tipp, they all start to break down Kiva's carefully constructed walls.

When the Rebel Queen is captured & taken to the prison - it is decided that she will have to complete 4 trials, each featuring a different element, & if she survives, she will be free. However, the Rebel Queen is on death's door when she arrives & in no state to complete anything, so Kiva volunteers to take her place under the understanding that if she completes the trials, both her & the Queen will be freed.

The trials get increasingly harder & Kiva's reliance on others becomes heavier, making her realise she isn't as much of an island as she would like to believe.

I loved the dark gritty surroundings of the prison & I feel that Noni paints a very vivid & realistic image of Zalindov prison, as well as the types of people who would be in there, innocent & guilty alike. Noni also portrays the brutality of the prisons guards & the cold calculating Warden especially well.

I loved the history of the royals, the magic systems & how that fed into the story. I was also fascinated by the descriptions of medicines & how Kiva has taught herself healing through trial & error following her father's death in the prison.

Some of the twists I saw coming but some of them left me absolutely gobsmacked. I need the sequel ASAP.

And I love Kiva, Jaren, Naari & Tipp so much!

CW: mentions of sexual assault, drug use, self harm, death

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racheleanne06's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

5.0

When I saw this book on Netgalley I didn’t expect to be accepted for the ARC, so when the email come through accepting my request, I was beyond excited. To add to that, it turned up just at the right time, so I could use this book for the Galleyathon’s ‘Newest ARC’ prompt.

Going into this I had a good idea that I would like this book, it’s set in a prison, it’s gritty, dark and there’s a series of trials our main character needs to face based on the elements. And when I realised that this book was dedicated to Sarah J Maas, one of my favourite authors, and I knew that this book would be something that I was going to like. I wasn’t wrong. But there was so much more to this book too.

It’s thrilling, a roller-coaster of a journey that had me whooping with joy and sobbing into my pillow. It’s got a focus on friendship, which is something I really loved. There’s a little bit of romance, but the romance takes a back seat compared to the friendship that the characters share before they realise that it might be something more. And then there’s the friendships that our lead character, Kiva, shares with some of the more prominent side characters too. Every side character in this book is well rounded, and they all have their own backstories too. I thought all of the characters in this book were so well written and wonderful, and some of them I absolutely fell in love with. Especially Tipp, an 11-year-old boy who works with Kiva in the prison’s infirmary.

Kiva herself was a fantastic lead, she was a strong, independent character with a dedication to healing. She has a vow to treat everyone, despite their background, and it’s part of that which makes her so intently likeable.

The healing scenes in the book are really interesting, and well written. They are detailed, but not graphic, so the book fits well in the YA age bracket without slipping into New Adult. The same could be said for the actions within the prison, this book is dark, but it doesn’t stray outside of YA territory, alluding to some things without giving us graphic details.

One of my favourite things about The Prison Healer is how well written it is. There’s are so many secrets to be unravelled. I figured out one of the twists, but the rest of them caught me by surprise, and had me shook! This book is a really emotional read too. I felt everything alongside the characters, and by the end of the book I felt like my heart had been ripped out my chest and stuffed back in so many times. The world building is also done so well. It’s drizzled through the pages instead of given to us on in a big spoonful of info-dumping. And all of this combined has left me so eager for the next book so I can learn more.

I have already pre-ordered the next book The Gilded Cage and can’t wait for October (2021!) to come around so I can find out what happens next (especially as this book ends on a pretty big cliff-hanger…)

I also want to mention that this book contains a secret code, of which we get to see pages of throughout the story. I am not sure if we are meant to crack the code’s ourselves (I am not smart enough for that haha) or if we will get a codebreaker in the later books to help us. But either way I can’t wait to find out what those pages said.

The Prison Healer is one of those books that would be so much fun to re-read later down the road, when you know more about the secrets hidden in this book and can look back to read the book in a completely different context. There are some scenes I really want to read over again now, and I’ve only just put it down this morning!

SUMMARY

The Prison Healer is a thrilling page-turner and full of so many surprises. It’s one of the best books I have read this year! If this book isn’t already on your wishlist, then you might want to add it as I can see this becoming a huge hit when it’s released in March/April (depending on the country).

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