This captivating sequel to Lynette Noni's The Prison Healer delivers political intrigue, a slow-burn romance and family drama.
It's been six weeks since 17-year-old Kiva Corentine escaped Zalindov prison with Jaren, Evalon's crown prince. Jaren helped her survive the "deadly Trial by Ordeal, a set of four elemental challenges" she'd undertaken to save her mother, the Rebel Queen. Now Kiva finds herself living with the royal family, the very people who stole her family's throne generations ago. After she secretly reunites with her long-lost siblings, Kiva is charged with garnering secrets to use against Jaren. As Kiva learns about the senselessly violent ways of the rebels and develops romantic feelings for the prince, she starts to feel conflicted, and ultimately faces a choice: Should she fulfill her familial obligation or follow her heart?
The Gilded Cage is part fantasy, part romance and part family drama, with meticulous storytelling. Noni takes her time setting up each moment, then hits readers with perfectly timed, tension-heightening scenes; for example, a jubilant festival crowd that swiftly turns into a suffocating, claustrophobic mob. She ebbs and flows between character development and heart-pounding action, and weaves into the plot complicated family dynamics among both the rebels and the royals. Through them, Noni examines sibling jealousy, the impact of a family member's addiction, and generational trauma, all of which help ground the fantasy in accessible themes. A carefully paced, fierce second book in the Prison Healer series. --Lana Barnes, freelance reviewer and proofreader