Title: The Prison Healer (The Prison Healer #1)
Author: Lynette Noni
Rating: ★★★★½

First Realm Breaker, and now The Prison Healer. These two books are single handedly restoring my faith and enjoyment in YA Fantasy. I had absolutely no expectations going into this. It was never a book on my radar, but I kept seeing positive reviews of it on Goodreads and decided to take a chance and request a hold at my library. Best decision ever.

Kiva has been imprisoned in the notoriously dangerous Zalindov prison since she was child. Now working as the prison’s healer, she goes about her life trying to survive one day at a day while holding out hope that her family will come for her.

The Prison Healer is a fast-paced, compelling story that had me flying through the pages. The story is full of political intrigue, uprisings, and survival. The plot was extremely well constructed and I was so impressed by all the small connections between different elements and reveals. Although there’s only one setting throughout the book–Zalindov prison–the world was very well developed. There’s also magic system that begins to come in play midway through the book and I thought its subtle introduction was smartly written.

All of the characters are likable and compelling. Kiva is our protagonist and I absolutely loved her determination, caring nature, and practical mind. She made an excellent heroine and I am so excited about her path in the next book. The Prison Healer also has a cast of side characters important to the story and I have not one bad word about any of them.

The ending of The Prison Healer had me shook. I had about ten different predictions of where the direction of the next book would go and not a single one predicted that twist. The ending is actually the second major twist int he story and the fact that I was completely bamboozled by both is what made the book even more enjoyable as I love being caught off guard!

The Prison Healer deserves all of the hype it has been getting. Political intrigue, rebellions, magical tournaments, and a strong female lead at the center of it all makes this book a truly excellent story. Highly recommend for an fan of YA Fantasy or looking for a fun, fast-paced read!