REVIEW: The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni

It’s been several days since I finished reading The Prison Healer and I am still reeling.

Wow!

Also gahhhhhh!

And can I just quickly add WOW and GAHHH?!?

Lynette Noni (Photo by Lucy Bell).

This first book in a brand new trilogy from bestselling and award-winning Australian author Lynette Noni is such a fun time. A non-stop rollercoaster ride of action, adventure, magic and romance, this was a joy to read. Truly, my only real complaint is that the last few chapters deliver such an explosive series of plot twists that a) I feel genuinely attacked, and b) I am filled with despair over the fact that I cannot immediately read Book Two!

The Prison Healer tells the story of Kiva Meridan, a young girl who has spent ten years surviving the horrors of Zalindov. This place is a prison so unbearably grim and harsh that the only escape you can hope for is a quick death. Kiva works as the prison healer, a position that earns her little love or respect from her fellow inmates. She also treads a fine line as an informer to the prison warden. She does what she can to survive, in hopes of keeping the few people she cares about safe.

And then one day the infamous Rebel Queen arrives at the prison and is forced to undergo an ancient Trial by Ordeal – a series of impossible challenges that will decide her fate. If she survives, she will be set free … but nobody has ever survived the trials before, and the Rebel Queen is gravely wounded, too weak even to stand on her own feet.

Everyone knows that the trials are a death sentence for the Rebel Queen, until Kiva unexpectedly volunteers as her Champion. Now Kiva’s fate is directly linked to the Rebel Queen. If she survives the trials, they both walk free. If not, they both die.

Add in a handsome prisoner, a kind prison guard, a precocious (yet adorable) little boy, a cantankerous old man and a whole world of heart-pounding suspense, and you’ve got the first book in what promises to be an amaaaaaaazing YA fantasy trilogy.

Really, the only drawback here is that the ending so perfectly sets up the next book in a way that will crank everything up to an epic new level of awesome … and we have to wait a while to get our hands on it. Luckily, the wait might not be too long! Book Two has been announced with a release date set for October this year, so we only have only eight months of agonising torture lying ahead of us! Considering the heroine of this wildly addictive book managed to last 10 years in a death prison, I think we’ll survive.

(Probably.)

The Prison Healer is exactly the kind of fast-paced, action-packed, magical adventure that is perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Holly Black and Victoria Aveyard. Bring on Book Two, please. I am ready!

—The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni (Penguin Australia) is out on the 30th of March.

The Prison Healer

by Lynette Noni

Seventeen-year-old Kiva Meridan has spent the last ten years fighting for survival in the notorious death prison, Zalindov, working as the prison healer.

When the Rebel Queen is captured, Kiva is charged with keeping the terminally ill woman alive long enough for her to undergo the Trial by Ordeal- a series of elemental challenges against the torments of air, fire, water and earth, assigned to only the most dangerous of criminals. Then a coded message from Kiva's family arrives, containing a single order - Don't let her die. We are coming ...

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About the Contributor

Sarah McDuling

Sarah McDuling is Booktopia's Category Manager for Children's and Young Adult Books. She has been in the bookselling game for almost a decade and a dedicated booklover since birth (potentially longer). At her happiest when reading a book, Sarah also enjoys talking/writing/tweeting about books. In her spare time, she often likes to buy a lot of books and take photographs of books. You can follow her on Twitter and Instragram @sarahmcduling

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