• Book Reviews,  N,  Noni, Lynette

    The Gilded Cage Book Review

    From Goodreads: 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…

  • Book Reviews,  N,  Noni, Lynette

    The Prison Healer Book Review

    From Goodreads: Seventeen-year-old Kiva Meridan has spent the last ten years fighting for survival in the notorious death prison, Zalindov, working as the prison healer.When the Rebel Queen is captured, Kiva is charged with keeping the terminally ill woman alive long enough for her to undergo the Trial by Ordeal: a series of elemental challenges against the torments of air, fire, water, and earth, assigned to only the most dangerous of criminals.Then a coded message from Kiva’s family arrives, containing a single order: “Don’t let her die. We are coming.” Aware that the Trials will kill the sickly queen, Kiva risks her own life to volunteer in her place. If she succeeds,…

  • Book Reviews,  N,  Ngan, Natasha

    Girls of Storm and Shadow Book Review

    Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan Though this review is SPOILER FREE for GoSaS, it does contain SPOILERS for the first book in the series. Also, I imagine this book will include a TW for: violence and sexual abuse, plus potentially some other stuff that I have forgotten to mention. When reading the book, please check what TWs are in place if you may require them. From Goodreads: Lei and Wren have escaped their oppressive lives in the Hidden Palace, but soon learn that freedom comes with a terrible cost. Lei, the naive country girl who became a royal courtesan, is now known as the Moonchosen, the commoner who…

  • Book Reviews,  N,  Novik, Naomi

    Spinning Silver Book Review

        Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik From Goodreads: Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders… but her father isn’t a very good one. Free to lend and reluctant to collect, he has loaned out most of his wife’s dowry and left the family on the edge of poverty–until Miryem steps in. Hardening her heart against her fellow villagers’ pleas, she sets out to collect what is owed–and finds herself more than up to the task. When her grandfather loans her a pouch of silver pennies, she brings it back full of gold. But having the reputation of being able to change silver to gold can be more trouble than it’s…