The Prison Healer ended on such an incredible twist that nothing could stop me from continuing the series. I HAD to know how Kiva’s story progressed, and I prepared myself for another story that would surprise me at every turn. Instead, The Gilded Cage by Lynette Noni grew too big, too fast, and left the deftness of its predecessor behind. Spoilers ahead for The Prison Healer.
No longer confined by the Zalindov prison walls, Kiva, the prison healer, is not only free but recuperating with the royal family. And with no guards, rules, or walls to thwart her, Kiva has every intention of reconnecting with her sister and brother. As Kiva grows to love the royal family more each day, her family becomes increasingly hopeful that she will help the rebellion instead. Torn between two worlds and two families, Kiva must decide where her loyalties lie before she loses everything.
This story struggled to fill the large space in the world now that Kiva is out of the Zalindov prison. Everything in book one was so contained because the world could only grow so much within the confines of the prison walls. But now Kiva’s story has no bars to hide behind, and the story had to work double time in the worldbuilding department. This element of the story suffers greatly under heavy-handed monologues by various characters, leading Kiva to receive critical details through spoon-fed lore dumps. She patiently listens and expertly places questions to make sure the reader doesn’t miss anything. It created such a passive reading experience that it killed my interest in the world and politics that were coming into play.
The worldbuilding in book two is also affected by the plot, resulting in a sluggish transparency that The Prison Healer deftly avoided. The airdropped lore signaled the plot twists like the parachutes it glided down on, leading to soft landings that led to my lukewarm reception of them. It felt like they were telegraphed to the point that their reveal was already rote, unlike The Prison Healer, which was great at keeping its secrets. Book one was so good that when all its secrets got revealed at the end, I was in such a state of shock and elation that I could not wait to see how Gilded Cage was going to keep it going. I’m sad to say it doesn’t carry The Prison Healer’s flame, at least not for me.
Kiva is both a fascinating and frustrating character to me. Fascinating because Kiva is a healer by nature, and therefore is fighting against herself as her siblings push her to help the rebellion. This inner turmoil would be compelling if it were done well, but instead, her character development suffers from inaction and never-ending wallowing for the entire book. Instead of Kiva being put in compelling situations that would have her questioning her morals, she whines that she must bring down the royal family, while reminding the reader each time that, guess what, she also loves them. The take-charge prison healer from book one is gone, and book two leaves us with a lost, teen girl who drowned us in her indecisions for over 400 pages.
The Gilded Cage did not live up to book one in so many ways, but I still considered audiobooking the final story in the series. This was my thought…until I got to the final chapter. Kiva’s predicament at the end of this book has left me feeling tired, so I’m officially turning the key and shutting away The Prison Healer series.
Rating: The Gilded Cage – 5.0/10
-Brandee
