The gilded cage

The story:

The gilded cage is the second part in 'The prison healer' series, and I recommend you to read part 1 first, before starting this review. As this review may contain spoilers from the first part. After ten years, Kiva has finally left Zalindov and exchanged that place for Vallenia. Inside the palace. With the family of Jaren. But Kiva still seeks revenge, but she needs to find the rebels and her brother and sister to do so. Although, it is difficult to try something like that when there is someone from the royal family hanging around you all the time. However, thanks to a ruse by her brother and sister, Kiva is reunited with them, but this also starts a whole new game of lies. Still, she is willing to do anything to reclaim what belongs to her family, but losing her heart to the crown prince was not in her original plans. Will Kiva succeed in her plans or will she lose her family again. And perhaps also a group of other people she has come to genuinely care about.

The characters:

Of course you already know the main characters when you start reading the second part, but you also meet all sorts of new characters as you read. This is not done all at once, so as a reader you really have the time to get to know the various new characters. And of course to get to know the characters you already knew even better. The characters are all so much fun to follow.

At first, you have Jaren and Kiva, who start to develop strong feelings for the other, but do not dare to admit it too much. Certainly not Kiva with the plans she performs without his knowledge. Of course, Tipp also went to Vallenia and he is having a good time in the palace, and he has even met a peer there. But we also see what effects his time in Zalindov has left on Tipp, and that he has to learn to deal with that. And that he has to learn that life can also be different.

We also meet Caldon and he is just a perfect addition to the story. He makes heavy scenes light-hearted and the atmosphere often improves immediately when he appears. He always has something to say and is quick to put a smile on the reader's face with his statements. And although he talks a lot and is a real flirt, you soon find out that he doesn't share everything with everyone and keeps his own secrets too.

We also meet other characters, for example, Kiva's brother and sister, a healer whom Kiva meets and spends a lot of time with. A grandmother of Kiva, other members of the palace. Some play a larger role and others a smaller one, but all the characters feel good and realistic. The relations that are forged and the introductions made do not feel forced, but very natural. Which also makes it enjoyable for the reader to read about the different relationships between the different characters.

My opinion:

I already loved the first part, The prison healer, and after that cliffhanger I couldn't wait to read this part. And it met my expectations. I found this book so incredibly well and nicely written. It immediately had my attention, and I could not wait to read on and on to know what was coming next. Especially since there were so many plot twists, and I was just curious which way it would go next. But I was also very proud when I guessed correctly what would happen next in the story.

The writing style of this author is very nice to follow and as a reader you always know very well where you are and what is happening. How the characters feel and how the conversations go. The dialogues are great and don't feel forced, also the chemistry between characters is very tangible and not forced. Yet, just as in the first part, she sometimes withholds some of Kiva's thoughts from the reader. As a result, you are never sure if something is really the plan or if something else is about to happen.

Furthermore, the pace of the story is quite high, so there is always something happening and you sometimes crave a bit of rest as a reader. But it does not make you lose interest. Especially because of all the twists and different games that are played, you as a reader also want to try and guess what will happen next and whether there will be another twist. Although the characters sometimes make that difficult to do. Anyways, the relationships between the characters are well developed and you get to know them more and more in depth and from different angles. In this way, it really feels as if you, the reader, are building a bond with the characters. However, I found that somewhere the 'relationship' of Jaren and Kiva perhaps took a little too long. I know it's a slow burn, but it felt a bit too slow burn to me. I had hoped to read more about that earlier in the story, but well, it didn't really make the story any less interesting either.

So I really thought this was a very well written second part, and I can't wait for the third, and final, part to be published in Dutch soon. Because yes, this part also ended with a cliffhanger that makes you long for the next part.

Conclusion:

The gilded cage is a well written second part in this series. Everything is well worked out and as a reader you immediately find yourself in a roller coaster of events, a web of lies and all sorts of games that are being played. Everything is well described and the writing style is nice to follow. For anyone who loves a fantasy with magic, lies, lots of events and a bit of romance, this is really a book you should read.

Let's finish with one of my favorite quotes from the book:

"I know you're scared. But I promise you don't have to be."

- Lynette Noni. The gilded cage.