Lets talks The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni

 Hello readers, welcome back! 

I actually read this series 2 years ago, and have only just gotten round to writing a review. I stumbled upon The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni while shelving in the bookshop. There was a quote from Maria V. Snyder on the cover, and immediately knew I was going to love this book. And, I wasn't wrong... 

At Zalindov, the only person you can trust is yourself.

Seventeen-year-old Kiva Meridan is a survivor. For ten years, she has worked as the healer in the notorious death prison, Zalindov, making herself indispensable. Kept afloat by messages of hope from her family, Kiva has one goal and one goal only: stay alive.

Then one day the infamous Rebel Queen arrives at the prison on death's door and Kiva receives a new message: Don't let her die. We are coming.

The queen is sentenced to 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. Aware the sickly queen has little chance of making it through the Trials alive, Kiva volunteers to take her place. If she succeeds, both she and the queen will be granted their freedom.

But no one has ever survived.

And with an incurable plague sweeping Zalindov, a mysterious new inmate fighting for Kiva's heart, and a prison rebellion brewing, Kiva can't escape the terrible feeling that her trials have only just begun. 

From the very first sentence, "Death arrived at twilight", I knew this was going to be good. 

Set within Zalindov Prison in Evalon, one of the kingdoms of Wenderall, Kiva has been an inmate and the prison healer for 10 years, after arriving as a prisoner with her father aged 7. Although the book takes place within the prison walls, the plot takes us to so many quarters, such as the infirmary, quarry, stables, aquifer and gallows. I loved this because you feel like you're exploring with the characters and it was very reminiscent of Poison Study, which is predominantly set within the Commander's castle, so an instant win. 

I loved the three main characters; Kiva, Jaren and Tipp. It was refreshing to have the mmc introduced as a friend rather than an enemy, and watching Kiva let her guard down and trust was beautiful.

The book is written in the 3rd person narrative, which works well as you aren't influenced by Kiva's bias and really get to know each character objectively.

This is a YA fantasy, and so there isn't any "spice" or heavy romance but don't let that put you off, the friendship, action and twists more than make up for it! Plus, I'm a firm believer that if an author is good at writing, they don't need to state the obvious, I can infer...

The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni is full of magic, action, adventure, and high-stakes. It is now a firm favourite. 

Until next time, readers! 

Lets talk The Sirens by Emilia Hart

*I was gifted an advanced reading copy by Harper Collins in exchange for an honest review*

Hello readers, welcome back!

Back in my mermaid era. Anyone who knows me knows, I'm obsessed with mermaids! Always have been. I think there's something so seductive and mysterious about a half-human half-fish creature dwelling in the depths of the ocean. So, when I heard about The Sirens by Emilia Hart, it called to me, just like the sea. 

Sisters separated by hundreds of years.

Voices that can't be drowned out.

Lucy is running from what she’s done: the terror of waking with her hands around her ex-lover’s throat, his face turning purple and eyes bulging. Pursued by nightmares – and with nowhere else to go – she makes for her big sister's clifftop home. But when she arrives, Jess is nowhere to be found.

The town is strange and full of rumours: a dozen men disappeared, without a trace. Women’s voices murmuring on the waves. A foundling discovered in a sea-swept cave.

As Lucy searches for Jess, her dreams seem to draw closer. She can see two sisters in a murky past. She can see a world where men always seem to get their way. And something in her body wants to fight back.

Could the answer to who she is – and what’s happening to her – lie in this quiet, sea-soaked town? Could it lie two hundred years deep in the past?

The Sirens is an alluring novel about familial connection told through a dual-narrative mystery that is drenched in folklore and history. This is the first of Hart's books I've read and I'm blown away! I've had Weyward, her debut, on my bookshelf for two years but never got round to it, which I regret massively now. 

The story is told from two perspectives; Lucy in 2019 Australia and Mary on a convict ship bound for Australia in 1800. I love reading dual-timeline narratives as they add an element of mystery to the novel and you're figuring out how the two are connected. In The Sirens, these narratives flow alongside each other like currents, swirling and churning till they mix. 

The subject of convict ships and transportation to Australia was a sensitive subject but Hart handled it respectfully and accurately. Her vivid descriptions encapsulate the horrors and cruelty of these ships and the inhumane treatment the victims suffered, from the claustrophobic atmosphere of the holding cells, the deprivation of sufficient food and water, to physical abuse.   

The added folkloric element of Sirens added a welcome dose of magic realism to the novel and enhanced the mystery of how the two timelines are connected and what has happened to Jess. 

Just like a sirens song, The Sirens by Emilia Hart is captivating and irresistible, luring you in from the first to the last page.  

Until next time, readers!