The Gilded Cage (The Prison Healer #2)

Content Overview

Overall Content
Severity
3.1

Language

5.7/10

Alcohol, Drugs, Smoking

2.0/10

Intimacy, Sex, Immodesty

1.4/10

Violence, Weapons, Crime, Blood

6.0/10

Potentially Intense Themes

0.2/10

**As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 

The Gilded Cage (The Prison Healer #2)

Lynette Noni

Kiva trades one cage for another when she leaves behind a deadly prison for a deceptive palace in this dark and dangerous sequel to The Prison Healer, which Sarah J. Maas called “a must-read.”

Kiva Meridan is a survivor.

She survived not only Zalindov prison, but also the deadly Trial by Ordeal. Now Kiva’s purpose goes beyond survival to vengeance. For the past ten years, her only goal was to reunite with her family and destroy the people responsible for ruining their lives. But now that she has escaped Zalindov, her mission has become more complicated than ever.

As Kiva settles into her new life in the capital, she discovers she wasn’t the only one who suffered while she was in Zalindov—her siblings and their beliefs have changed too. Soon it’s not just her enemies she’s keeping secrets from, but her own family as well.

Outside the city walls, tensions are brewing from the rebels, along with whispers of a growing threat from the northern kingdoms. Kiva’s allegiances are more important than ever, but she’s beginning to question where they truly lie. To survive this time, she’ll have to navigate a complicated web of lies before both sides of the battle turn against her and she loses everything.

-Excerpt taken from Goodreads

Check Goodreads to see the book’s ratings.

My Opinion

4.5 out of 5 stars (4.5 / 5) Oh my wow! I’m floored with this one for so many reasons. First off, this is book 2 to The Prison Healer. With book 1, I felt a huge disconnect with the MC, Kiva. I could feel the makings of an incredible story but it wasn’t quite there yet. Kiva lacked emotion, and lacked my full attention. But with this book? Noni knocked it out of the park! I was nervous since this one was so long (450 pages) but I quickly zoomed through it and couldn’t wait to get back to it. 

Secondly, those cliffhangers and twists! I will forever hate and love cliffhangers but wow, Noni knows how to pull one over on you! I was shocked multiple times and couldn’t believe where the story was going. I thought I knew, but oh no, I had no idea. 

This one is full of so much delicious drama. Kiva is stuck between two difficult situations and I just wanted to smack her multiple times! Oh she would have deserved it with her naïveté and stupidity but somehow that endeared her to me.  

Content Summary: Most of the numbers are fairly low. There is one passionate kiss, there is violence but few bloody details. I think most readers would enjoy this one!

Thank you to HMH Books for Young Readers/ Clarion Teen for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

The book releases October 12, 2021.

Detailed Content Review

Language 

F***-

H***- 21

S***-

A**- 11

B****-

D***- 24

Bas****- 1

Religious Cursing

J****-

Chr***-

G**- 

L***-

Derogatory terms etc-

Gods – 36

Alcohol, Drugs, Smoking

A woman is addicted to angeldust. 

A young woman is given a sedative and kidnapped. 

A man is drunk and slurring. 

Wine is served at a dinner. 

A woman drinks wine. 

Angeldust is prominent in a brothel. 

A woman is drunk and high on angeldust. 

Three are knocked out with a poison on a cloth.

A woman blows angeldust onto a young woman, getting it in her nose. She’s hazy and incoherent, the drug working quickly. 

Intimacy, Sex, Immodesty

*Minimal LGBTQ+ aspects included* 

A young woman just broke up with her girlfriend. 

A young woman alludes to possibly being raped previously. Somewhat vague. 

A young woman follows someone into a brothel. She can see people behind hanging silky sheets but only vaguely. 

A young woman and young man sleep together snuggled in the same bed. (No intimacy). In the morning he kisses her neck. 

A young man admires a man a handful of times and notes how attractive he is. 

A young man kisses a young woman’s neck. Then they kiss passionately, moaning in pleasure. 

Violence, Weapons, Crime, Blood

A woman thinks about when her husband and daughter were dragged away by guards and her youngest son was killed. A sword pierced the boy’s small chest. 

A woman has repeatedly abused her son over the years due to an angeldust addiction. 

A woman knocks out a young woman with the pommel of her knife. 

A man “carved” his way through a man, leaving him dead. 

A man fights many with his sword, killing them. 

A young woman stabs a man in the shoulder. 

A man holds a knife to a young woman’s throat. 

Previously, two parents (and more) were killed while protecting their children. 

A young man and woman fight with weapons. A woman joins then many more join. 

A woman tells the story of a sword fight where she lost her hand.

A woman uses magic to hold a young woman to the floor. She then fills her with water and watches as she coughs it up. 

A woman is found dead. No details. 

Three people are knocked out, bound and taken captive. They are bloody and bruised. 

A man and woman fight many with their swords. Bodies are dropping all around them. A man stabs a man in the chest with a knife. A young woman tears it from his chest and he passes out. Blood spurts over her hands as she applies pressure. A woman knocks out a young boy. 

A woman is found on the floor after a theft where she was injured. Blood dribbles out of her mouth and she soon dies. 

A woman lies on the ground in a pool of blood. A woman stabs a young man in the heart, Blood gushes from his chest. A young woman is knocked out. 

Potentially Intense Themes

A young woman sees a bloated body starting to stink. 

**Any quotes from the book may be taken from the advance copy and therefore may not be fully accurate or correctly compare to the final copy of the book.

**As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 

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