The Prison Healer #2: The Gilded Cage written by Lynette Noni, reviewed by Bethany Bratney

Summary: The second suspenseful and thrilling book in the Prison Healer fantasy series finds Kiva, Jaren and Tipp at the royal palace in Jaren’s kingdom of Vallenia after escaping from Zalindov prison and spending the winter recovering and traveling. Kiva’s bond with Jaren continues to grow, and after becoming close with his family and seeing him amongst his people, Kiva’s feelings for him cannot be denied. But Kiva’s primary goal is to help her family, specifically her brother and sister, who have become the rebel leaders working against Vallenia during Kiva’s time in prison. Kiva’s heart waffles between loyalty to her family despite some new complications in their politics, and devotion to Jaren, who is clearly a great leader and who has earned her love and respect. Kiva has also started to have uncontrollable bursts of healing magic, a power she suppressed during her time in prison, and she must secretly work to contain them so she does not give away her abilities. As Kiva’s internal pressure grows, so does political tension in Vallenia as the rebels gain new information and outside forces from the North begin to threaten. All of the tension comes to a sharp, dramatic finish with significant cliffhangers sure to drive readers straight to the final book of the series. 

Straight Talk for Librarians: The Gilded Cage picks up right where The Prison Healer left off and Noni brings all of the romantic tension, interpersonal drama, and secrets that she hooked readers with in the first book. Between Kiva’s loyalty struggle between her family and the royal family, and the slow-burn romance always simmering between Kiva and Jaren, the book is incredibly compelling and feels much shorter than its 433 pages. The book contains romance and characters who deal with addiction, but both are focused on the effects rather than the actions. The violence present is fairly intense in some scenes, but is no more serious than that found in other popular series, but makes this book potentially suitable for middle school readers looking for age-appropriate romantasy. This book should definitely be added to collections in which the first book is popular, and the entire series thus far is recommended for middle school or high school collections that need new fantasy or romantasy options.