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Hello Fairy Friends!
Welcome back to day 2 of our Readalong for The Prison Healer! I hope you’ve all had a good break away from it overnight – but who’s ready to dive right back in? I know I am!
Let’s do it!
Please be warned, the following section will include spoilers for The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni, from chapter 9 to chapter 14. Please only read on if you’ve finished this section!
-!SPOILERS!-
We soon realise how entangled Kiva is with everyone in the prison, when the Warden tasks her to find out more information on the rebels. Her fellow inmates already call her countless names through her ties with him – this surely can’t help.
Matters only worsen when Cresta makes her will known. The leader of the prison rebels, Cresta has a message for Kiva – make sure the Rebel Queen survives, otherwise Tipp will follow the same fate. With the Warden, Cresta, and her own family giving her orders to keep Tilda alive, the pressure is building. But why does everyone need Tilda alive?
The command “Don’t let her die” chants through Kiva’s head day by day, but the upcoming trials will soon put an end to that, whether she likes it or not. Still recovering from illness and barely able to walk, Tilda is dragged to the Trial area for the Trial by Air. She’ll never survive it…and so Kiva steps in. Kiva claims Tilda’s sentence, and officially undertakes the Elemental Trials on her behalf. If she dies, they both die. But if she survives…both go free.
And so the first trial begins. The Trial by Air. Kiva is tasked with jumping a 30ft gap. It’s a gap larger than records have shown is possible to jump. And yet, with the guards counting down, she has no other option. Jump, or give up the trial.
And so she jumps.
And falls.
…but she survives?! Lo and behold, Kiva is saved by the Crown Prince himself, using his magic to cushion her fall just enough to survive. That’s not to say she gets away unscathed. Not at all. Kiva is swiftly returned to her infirmary, this time as a patient rather than healer.
During her days of rest, Kiva is visited by the Crown Princess. After a few scathing words back and forth, she hands her an amulet, one said to protect her against fire. This will aid her through the next trial, though not guarantee her survival. But it’s more than she could have expected, and is not to be turned away. Why did the Princess give it to her? What’s her motive?
As Kiva heals and awaits the next trial, her attention shifts back to those in her care. The mysterious illness is spreading, and Kiva realises it can’t be the suspected stomach virus after all. She needs to pinpoint exactly what it is and quickly, for if it continues, it has the potential to wipe through the entire prison…
And so we leave it there for day 2 of our readalong! What are your thoughts so far? We’ve seen our first trial – another three to go! What do you think the next trial will entail?
Let me know down in the comments, and I’ll be back tomorrow for more!
Love,
Ashleigh
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Shannon
22nd November 2024
I’m enjoying this way too much!! I do love how she didn’t just manage to fly all of a sudden, that she didn’t just happen to have powers and save herself; I really liked the unexpected saving! I don’t trust the royals, I feel like the supposed crown prince wasn’t really the crown prince, the way the princess talked about him; it just felt like she was talking about someone else. I still feel like Jaren is royalty, but why on earth would the prince be in prison? Man, the suspense!
And Cresta threatening Tipp – you went to far argh, not poor Tipp!
The royals being there definitely seems sus! There’s got to be some other motive…
Hi all!
This book is so hard to put down! Why did poor tipp have to get dragged into the rebels mess! Kiva needs to tell someone other than Rooke that tipps life is in danger so they can protect him! Go Kiva! There definitely has to be some other reason that the Prince saved Kiva other than to date her? Is anyone else unsure about the princess, like is she going to be nice or not? I love that Jaren stayed with her! And both him and tipp were fussing over her! Naari is either a really nice person and guard or she has some other reason for getting Kiva to trust her, does anyone else feel this way? Can’t wait to find out more about Kiva’s past and see how the next trials go!
Yeah I don’t believe the prince’s motives either…you’d think they’d be a bit more guarded considering!
Exactly! Its a bit suspicious
Allright, so from what I gather Kiva’s mom and two older siblings escaped. But, seriously, if they actually could free her, why haven’t they yet??? Ten years is a long time to spend waiting!
Currently wondering who Jaren is. Maybe he’s the prince and Naari’s his guard? But then it doesn’t make sense that he was quite injured…
Lots of questions, but I’m loving the book thus far. It’s really fun and quite a quick read!
I’ve been thinking the same! She’s been waiting an awful long time for a rescue with all these notes!
I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying the book too!
Yeah, absolutely. Why aren’t they getting her out? I find it REALLY suspicious that they only now write that they are coming to get her out when the Rebel Queen is there. Like… Do they only care about the Queen? Are they even Kiva’s family?
And I love your theory about Jaren and Naari! It would explain a lot and I think you might be right.
I totally agree! I think she is being strung along!
Hi there ?
It’s hard to put the book down!! I’m loving most of the characters, especially Tipp! Crests is a real b*tch for threatening him, I hate her!! Warden Rooke as well, a life isn’t worth much to him! So cold….he doesn’t care if Tipp dies, or Kiva for that matter.
And what about the crown Prince and the Princess….. Why are they helping Kiva, I’ve got a feeling there’s more to this story!?
Why are we just now meeting Boots?? I love animals in stories ❤️
There are so many questions left to be answered, hope to find out more soon!!
See you tomorrow,
Love,
Sandy
There definitely seems to be more going on with the royals! I’m trying to find hints to their motives as we read aha.
Agree with everyone, this book is hard to put down. I get the feeling everything is not as it appears.
Totally agree with everyone! I´m getting kind of scared for the next three trials, but also feel Kiva is hiding something…
Loving the book, it´s super hard to put down ?
All the YES! I half-expected her to show some sort of power for the Air trial (she was so close!), but actually enjoyed the royal intervention and the subsequent conversation with the princess. I wonder if there will be more with the Captain of the Guard and his history with Kiva? Will he recognize her?
I’m wondering if there is more to her relationship with Tilda? I know Tipp’s being threatened, but I feel like there is a secret twist coming…Maybe???
Tilda’s appearance in the story is definitely holding more secrets, i’m sure of it! We need her to wake up well enough to find out…
I was wondering about Tilda too. I got the sense that Kiva recognized something about Tilda, before she was told who Tilda was. Maybe that’s just me wanting a special thing connecting those two though ^^
And the Captain of the Guard has my interest too! The crown princess said he’s got a soft heart, which is quite rare in captains I’d think. Plus, the whole conflict with him having put Kiva and her father in the prison. I’m sure we will get more of him.
Todays section was so suspenseful! I was wondering about the trials, and yup, they defenitely are cruel. I guess the next ones will be worse…
I loved that Kiva got saved by the Crown Prince. Not because I particularly like him, but it just feels like it has more story-potential. And it’s interesting to me that the royals are not simply cruel onlookers (I know they might yet turn out to be, but I love that they get to have other characteristics). And the crown princess has a girlfriend!! That was a cool surprise, I hope we get to meet her.
Also, is Kiva’s father dead? I think so, sadly. He was in the prison with her and Kiva doesn’t like thinking about him much :/
Is Jaren’s prison sentence somehow related to the rebels? Because he REALLY doesn’t like them.
Aaaand now I’ve got to go and read stuff for university. My eyes are not thanking me for pariticipating in this readalong but I really like it so far – the book and all the talking about it on here ^^
I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying the book so far! Hopefully it’s a nice break away from uni work 🙂
The royals are definitely proving more intriguing by not being so cruel, as you said. There’s such a strong sense of secrets in the background – I need to know!
Yup, it’s a great break from uni work 🙂 Otherwise I wouldn’t be reading for fun, so this is the perfect motivator for me to read such a gripping book.
I feel very stupid for not realising what Kiva was about to do. I love how everything seems so impossible, it’s difficult to imagine it ending well!!! What’s with the royals…. not sure how i feel about them. Naari is getting better and Tipp has my heart ❤
Another great section…though brought up way too many more questions and mysteries! I feel like I can’t trust anyone’s identities or motivations, inside or outside the prison, and the tension just keeps building with every new thread of story. Kiva is trying so hard to stay seperated and focussed, and I was starting to dislike it until I realised it was the perfect counterpoint to everyone else being so complex and potentially duplicitous. I love her approach, just one step at a time, and her realism…it makes the outburst of magic more jarring, in a good way! On with the next trial!
I didn’t expect to like this prison setting this much, is like anything I’ve read before, I Know we don’t see a lot of the prison per se, but the descriptions and interaction are really interesting.
I know I’m jumping ahead, but if something happens to Tipp I will loose it ?
I kinda didn’t expect that she would actually fall from the jump, I was really rooting for her to have some kind of magic within her, but alas
Why do the royals want her alive?? I mean, it just can’t be because the prince is “taken by her beauty”, c’mon, I think there’s conspiracies inside conspiracies in that prison, and Tilda is just a small peon in the overall game
Also, the virus, if it isn’t actually viral, and it’s random, maybe it’s been deliberately provoked?
I’m really enjoying this book so far! All the characters are well crafted and interesting, and I have a zillion questions and theories: is Jaren a royal? Is Kiva? Is the rebel queen really the rebel queen? The notes Kiva gets are really from her family or from somone else pretending to be them? And this virus?
Aaaaah, I need answers!! ?
Okay, so many thoughts:
I am not convinced that Tilda is the Rebel Queen, I also wonder if she is being kept intentionally sick to force Kiva into the position of being Champion.
As someone wrote above I am not impressed with Kiva’s family, if they could have rescued her why haven’t they done so for 10 years, I think she is being strung along by someone else’s machinations.
I definitely like that Kiva didn’t suddenly develop magic and that she had to be “saved” albeit badly by the Prince. I find it intriguing that the Royalty don’t reveal their faces, what do they have to hide?
Naari and Jaren have an interesting connection and I believe they likely knew each other outside the prison, which makes me believe that Jaren is a spy, but he is so against the rebels, that would make him a plant for the Royals? So I just don’t know anymore-either way I think it’s going to only get more complicated for Kiva.
Super intrigued about the stomach virus and wonder if it is tied into the rescue plans from outside the prison??
So many questions! But I’m loving this book so far. I agree with everyone that the fact her mum and other siblings have waited 10 years to rescue her seems very sus to me. I don’t think it’s her family sending her those notes….. The theme for April was hidden identities… is it possible we have a Throne of Glass type situation going on and Kiva is actually the rebel queen who needs rescuing? She just never knew as she was too young?
As for the stomach bug thing, is that something the prison is doing to kill off suspect rebels maybe? ? I need more answers! ?
I’m super suspicious of pretty much everyone except Tipp.
Jaren walks around like he owns the place and Naari lets him. There is a dynamic here we don’t know yet. I don’t think Jaren is in prison by accident and I don’t think he’s there because he’s a criminal. And Naari is absolutely a guard but I don’t think her first loyalty is to the prison. I think she works with/for Jaren. He’s someone important and Naari is his personal guard. But why are they in prison?! Did they come for Kiva? Someone else?
And WTF with Kivas family? If the Warden says kids can be released to a guardian, why didn’t her Mom ever show up to get her? I don’t like her family.
This is what I was wondering as well, her father was the one found ‘guilty’ and arrested, no charges against her have been mentioned. Although, the entire arrest was incredibly suspicious
Things are getting tense now. Jaren is really sensitive about the rebel movement and I wonder if he is somehow connected to the royals as he had a good upbringing and seems to get away with a lot. Someone may be watching over him. I’m not sure what to make of the princess and I feel like there might be a twist coming when it comes to her family’s messages. Looking forward to tomorrow’s section!
Loving the book so far. I also dont understand why Kiva even has to be in there for so long.
The warden even said that a lot of people in there are innocent. Do they all get life sentences? Im intrigued, but also a little annoyed with this terrible ‘legal’ system and the horrible things they all have to go through.
I really hope nothing happens to Tripp, or the cat! I always get scared when small animals are introduced. Dont want anything bad to happen there!
Really complicated things are happening in the prison. A lot of people need the Rebel Queen and each of them has a separate reason.
The first Trial, omg, it was something. But..she jumped and Prince saved her!
Royals sound super interesting for me, I can imagine that they have a personal reason why they want to Kiva survive the Trial. I hope, we’ll have more royals in the plot later on.
I really like Naari, she is a guard, but she also stays a human. I guess she can be brutal, but only in the situation when using force is needed.
Naari is one of my favourite characters as well
This book is great so far! I’m really enjoying it.
This is a bit of a jump, but there’s something about the princess that rubs me the right way.
My love for Naari and Tipp just continues to grow.
I’m glad we got a bit of a glance into Kiva’s history. She wasn’t sent there alone, but with her father who died. I was very sad to find out that her brother was killed too, before the prison.
I’m also curious to how Kiva’s father saved Rooke.
I also feel that there is something that links Kiva and Tilda. I also think that Naari also has a more significant connection to Kiva than just a guard.
Also, Jaren’s strong dislike for the rebels makes me think that they have something to do with why he’s in prison.
I can’t wait to continue!
I love this book! I think there’s more to why the prince saved her and why the princess is helping her so I’m excited to find out more about them!
Wow her “I volunteer as tribute” moment was epic! The trails are definitely making the story more interesting and HELLO CROWN PRINCE! Very interested in Narri and how this plague is going to tie in.
So far I really like this book. Naari will forever be my favorite. In my eyes, she can do no wrong.
I also like the crown princess but I definitely do not trust her or the crown prince and something is fishy about that necklace.
I also think the virus is just the prisoners being poisoned and I think Jaren or Naari could be behind it. Also if anyone harms a single hair on Tipps body I will riot.
We must protect Tipp at all cost!! How dare she threaten him?! He’s the cutest!!
This book is so hard to put down, I just want to knowww, I mean come on, the prince and princess have some kind of ulterior motive right? It can’t be as simple as “my brother likes your face and I think my girlfriend would like you, so I’m going to help you and the rebel queen even though she wants my crown” It’s all so sus.
I want to learn more about Jaren too, he has to be a prince or some kind of royal I think, he really doesn’t like the rebels.
I’m pretty sure that the “virus” is actual a poisoning. I want to know more about these Royals and why they are really helping Kiva?
I’m now even more worried that Tipp won’t make it to the end of the book. Please don’t kill off Tipp
Just like everyone else, I thought her own magic powers were going to kick in, but I’m glad it ended up being someone else who saved her. But i did NOT expect the prince to be the one at all!
With the Princess giving her the amulet, they help Kiva survive half the elemental trials already….I’m suspecting both the prince and princess are not fully against the rebels…..
Very eager to read the rest of the book!!
I’m so mad I didn’t catch on to what Kiva was about to do! Also, I’m guessing the next trial is basically going to be just straight up walk through fire. Probably to save Tipp or Jaren if I had to guess!!
Didnt have the time to read monday but was a day of being able to completely catch up. Really loving the story this far. Having trouble putting it away and might not be able to contain myself and read the other chapters before the read a long dates.
Love Tipp, he def shouldn’t be in this prison. (Kiva neither)
There had to be a connection between Kiva and her family and the rebel queen. Guess it is part of the reason why she and her dad ended up in prison.
Not sure what is going on with the Crown Prince/Princess to interfere. He’s seen her for a minute and decides he is gonna save her. There must be another reason.
Pretty sure the next trial is gonna be about fire after her getting the amulet.
I love this book ❤️ If it keeps being this good it will easily become one of my favorite books. I love the story, the characters, the writing, just everything. Dive into section 3 now ?
Anyone having as hard of time as me to stop reading at the right chapters ??? I need to know how it ends and I need the next book already!!!
So many questions!
I really live that book so far. Tipp and Naari are the best. And im loving the relationship of Kiva and Jaren.
But what about the prince and princess? Where are the rebels? Whats the next trial? I’ll find out right away
Next trial? Let’s see… Air was about heights… Then maybe fire is about eating spicy food? I don’t know xD
I did however wonder if the message wasn’t meant for her, but for Tilda. Maybe she’s supposed to keep Kiva safe and alive? And maybe Kiva’s family is descended from the king with healingpowers?
Excited to read day 3, though I’m one day behind on schedule ?
I did not see the twist coming, the “I volunteer as tribute” for a prisoner. Someone she doesn’t know but hopes to heal. I know some of it is tied to her family coming for her, but I’m also shook she is taking her place. As for the Princess, I’m not sure what her game is. I want her to be on the side of good but she gave her the amulet to easily with nothing in exchange? Why is she being so nice to a prisoner? And the Prince is too flirty with Kiva who he barely knows at this point, so is he coming back later…
I could see this coming but yet I was still surprised she actually went through with it omg she’s mad. I was at the edge of my seat the whole time. I mean with the size of the book we obviously knew she would survive the first trial but I didn’t expect THE PRINCE to save her. Or for the princess to be so cool. I love it when books have unpredictable royals- especially those with a hilarious sibling dynamic. But they definitely have something else up their sleeve. Somehow i feel like Jaren is involved. Cant wait to see what the next trials are!
i’m definitely more intrigued now! like i wasn’t sure before but i think i’m starting to like the book. Even though i’m never found of the ‘you get raped in prison’ trope, i dunno, could definitely do without that.
I loved the prince, boy, he’s right up my alley, hope he doesn’t turn out too evil and yeah Jaren does feel like royality so much but i can’t really put him into something right now, mhmm.
I also loved the princess and yey for f/f representation here, always glad to have that casually in books (and also not so casually, always loving that wth the main characters the most tho) but ina way that it’s like just a thing to mention without any comment to it that she has a girlfriend and that it’s weird and bla, it’s refreshing to just have it mentioned and no one questioned this <3
also lets see what the stomach virus thingie is gonna become! and the next trial is also very soonish.
Hello !
I love this book ! It’s all the things I love ! Is it normal that I’m already in love with Jaren ?
I’ll vote for “it’s normal”, because me too… :’D
Better late than never!
Loving this so far, the relationship between Kiva and Naari is really starting to intrigue me. Given Naari’s lack of interest in the Rebel Queen I wondered last chapter if she already recognised her… hasn’t been brought up again but it’s still playing on my mind.
I also like others have said don’t believe the royal families motives is this, it doesn’t make a great deal of sense how both of them are reacting.
Definitely more twists to come!
Okay, so, Kiva did not learn to fly, ouch. Also I’m not that sure that the prince and princess’ attention is that good for her.
Jaren is a softy, I adore him.
I wonder what will happen when the Rebel Queen finally wakes up!
I enjoyed the fact she has no powers, and the royals intervened and we got that interaction. As for Jared, definitely more than previously thought, maybe he’s royal or noble and because he is interested in Kiva that’s why she was saved?
I have my suspicions that this virus as well is intensional
I think she will have an affinity with water because she could stay under and hold her breath for so long and her dad was freaked out when she did it – I’m guessing cuz peeps would freak if they knew she had powers.
I like how she’s calling Jaren out on his instalove but she also has a crush cuz the boy is fine.
Not sure about the royals and that whole thing – if their faces are covered maybe they aren’t who they say they are?
Is the warden semi-ok or straight up dirtbag. Time will tell.
Do Jaren and Naari know each other? Jaren arrived not long after Naari from the info we do have….
I’m really enjoying the story so far. I’ve got a lot of theories about the characters and things which might occur later in the plot, but when it comes to the Trials I have no ideas whatsoever! I thought Kiva’s idea of the Fire Trial being centred around her fears was an interesting one, so I won’t be too surprised if it doesn’t *actually* feature fire. My partner’s theory is that the Fire Trial won’t actually involve fire, but the amulet will somehow be used in the Water Trial to cause the water to evaporate, so the princess’s gift will help Kiva in a really unexpected way.
I am really behind on schedule but slowly trying to catch up! the first trial was really exciting! Ilove the characters in this book so much. I have a feeling Jaren ,ight be one of the royal family and really the one who gave her the amulet… For the trial by fire, I have no idea. I can’t wait to continue!
Well, it looks like I very quickly got answers to my questions about Kiva’s arrest… It makes much more sense now though with her father and brother, but what about the family that fled? Also, if Kiva is an innocent like Tipp and was taken alongside her father why hasn’t her family come? If she is guilty, what is she guilty of? The more answers I get about her family the more questions I have. Something just isn’t right here…
As for the trials, this did not go where I thought it would and I loved it! The Royals are interesting, I enjoyed Kiva’s interactions with them. I expected them to be entitled and stuffy, but they turned out a little less stuffy than I thought which made for some very good banter between Kiva and the princess. I do think that their interference isn’t quite as simple as they say though. I also enjoy that the prince saved Kiva, only because the alternative, which I feared would happen, is that she suddenly develops wind magic. Her being totally ordinary just hits different.
I’m enjoying Jaren and Kiva’s development, but I’m also almost entirely focused on these trials. My heart rate sky rocketed when they started. I’m both anticipating and fearing what comes next…