Holy plot twist! I did not see that coming!
I'll admit, I read several reviews before starting "The Prison Healer" and I had seen multiple reviews mentioning a plot twist at the end, but man, I did NOT see that coming.
Kiva has been locked away in a high security prison for the past 10 years of her life, ever since she was seven years old. For the past few years, she has held the title of prison healer, caring for sick and injured inmates and processing new arrivals. She is known as many different things to many different people. Most of them are not flattering.
For the past ten years, Kiva's sole purpose has been to stay alive. She keeps her head down, she listens to the guards, she spies on the other prisoners for the warden, she burns the letter "Z" into the flesh of all the new prisoners, and she does it for one reason.
"Stay alive. We are coming."
Her family is coming for her. Over the past ten years, Kiva's family has been able to smuggle in messages telling her to stay alive and they are coming for her soon. It is the only thing that has kept Kiva going.
However, things start to change with the arrival of two new prisoners. Jaren, the new handsome and strong tunneler, seems to have taken an interest in Kiva. One that she fights against knowing that Jaren likely will not survive his first month in the prison. And Tilda, the very ill rebel queen responsible for the uprising against the ruling family, who arrives shortly after and her presence changes everything.
"Don't let her die. We are coming."
When the rebel queen is sentenced to Trial by Ordeal, her death becomes almost certain. However, Kiva must do everything in her power to keep the rebel queen alive until help can arrive, even if it means taking the queen's place in the trials. Kiva must survive the four elemental ordeals: Ordeal by Air, Ordeal by Fire, Ordeal by Water, Ordeal by Earth. However, if Kiva fails, she dies and the rebel queen will be executed with her.
With their fates now entwined, Kiva is going to need the help of her friends, both new and old, if she ever hopes to get out of the prison alive.
***
This amazing immersive story is a page turner filled with intrigue, prison riots, betrayals, secrets, budding romance and magic. I thoroughly enjoyed the budding romance between Jaren and Kiva, and Tipp is definitely one of my favorite characters.
The description of the Ordeal by Fire and the Ordeal by Water literally had my stomach twisting with anxiety. These scenes were packed with tension and I literally flew threw them.
I hated that we didn't see what happened to the warden towards the end.
That plot twist at the end though... I almost feel like I need to reread the book now and see if there were clues that I missed that pointed towards this revelation, or if it hit all readers the way it did me.
I am excited to see the story continue, but I feel like Kiva has a dark road to travel ahead of her. I think I will wait to read "The Gilded Cage" until "The Blood Traitor" comes out this summer.
