three star book review – Home

Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you are all having a good day today. I am bringing you a new book review, I say new; I read this book in January I think and I am only just getting around to writing the review for it but nevermind, I am doing it now.

In this book review I will give star ratings to four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

The Killings At Kingfisher Hill Plot:

So, I fully intended to love this book because I have always loved the Agatha Christie Poirot books and I was very excited when Sophie Hannah began writing them and I have read one of the others in the series which I enjoyed. However, my main issue with this book was that I felt it was quite predictable. The book starts with the bus/coach journey that stops at different places and there are a lot of events that happen and characters introduced here but I felt like a lot of the twists were already revealed here, I am sure they were meant to be subtle so that when you see the twist later you can go back and see where it was built up in the plot but for me it wasn’t subtle enough. The actual book itself was enjoyable to read, I did like the story and the typical Agatha Christie mystery of a country estate and a limited group of possible killers.

The Killings At Kingfisher Hill Characters:

The only character I can talk about without spoiling anything is Poirot. I think Sophie Hannah has brilliantly captured the essence of Poirot with his nuances and the parts of his character that make him instantly recognizable.

The Killings At Kingfisher Hill Writing and Dialogue:

As I said above, I enjoyed the book overall and I think this is a lot because of the writing of Sophie Hannah. She manages to get the feel of an Agatha Christie while still keeping the writing clear and easy to understand exactly what is happening.

The Killings At Kingfisher Hill Overall:

I gave this book three stars overall because I can say the book was good and I liked it but I didn’t like how predictable it felt to me.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Hercule Poirot is traveling by luxury passenger coach from London to the exclusive Kingfisher Hill estate. Richard Devonport has summoned the renowned detective to prove that his fiancée, Helen, is innocent of the murder of his brother, Frank. Poirot will have only days to investigate before Helen is hanged, but there is one strange condition attached: he must conceal his true reason for being there from the rest of the Devonport family.

The coach is forced to stop when a distressed woman demands to get off, insisting that if she stays in her seat, she will be murdered. Although the rest of the journey passes without anyone being harmed, Poirot’s curiosity is aroused, and his fears are later confirmed when a body is discovered with a macabre note attached . . .

Could this new murder and the peculiar incident on the coach be clues to solving the mystery of who killed Frank Devonport? And if Helen is innocent, can Poirot find the true culprit in time to save her from the gallows?

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it!

Book Reviews, Bookmas 2021

Merry Bookmas day 23 – 23rd December – Book Review: The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict

December 23, 2021December 21, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Thursday everyone! Merry Bookmas day 23! Today is going to be very busy for me because it is my sister’s birthday so I will be spending most of the day with her and making her birthday cake.

But for all of you I am bringing you a book review of The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict.

In this book review I will give star ratings to four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

The Christmas Murder Game Plot:

The plot of this book is basically that the Grandmother of the main character, Lily, dies and some of the family are invited to take part in a game to find twelve keys and the winner gets the deeds for the house but then there is a murder. There were so many elements to this plot that I usually like, such as locked room mysteries, isolated settings for murder mysteries, so I thought that I would love this book. It gave me the feeling of a modern take on an Agatha Christie but for me it felt almost too similar to her book – And Then There Were None, it also felt quite similar to The Inheritance Game. The other thing that wasn’t the best about this book was that I had guessed the ending within the first 100 pages. This book was okay but I don’t think I would reread it – except to use it for my PhD.

The Christmas Murder Game Characters:

So Lily is the main character in this book, I won’t give my thoughts on any of the other characters because it could give away the story, and for most of the book I enjoyed her character. She is exceptionally good at riddles and I liked seeing her thought process behind each one. However, I was hoping for a better character arc for her. I was hoping her character would grow in confidence but this only happened a little.

The Christmas Murder Game Writing and Dialogue:

The writing was one of the best parts about this book. It was clear and flowed really well and the dialogue brought out the personalities of the characters.

The Christmas Murder Game Overall:

I gave this book three stars overall because it wasn’t a bad book it just felt like I was reading something I had already read before.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Twelve clues.
Twelve keys.
Twelve days of Christmas.
But who will survive until Twelfth Night?

Lily Armitage never intended to return to Endgame House – the grand family home where her mother died twenty-one Christmases ago. Until she receives a letter from her aunt, asking her to return to take part in an annual tradition: the Christmas Game. The challenge? Solve twelve clues, to find twelve keys. The prize? The deeds to the manor house.

Lily has no desire to win the house. But her aunt makes one more promise: The clues will also reveal who really killed Lily’s mother all those years ago.

So, for the twelve days of Christmas, Lily must stay at Endgame House with her estranged cousins and unravel the riddles that hold the key not just to the family home, but to its darkest secrets. However, it soon becomes clear that her cousins all have their own reasons for wanting to win the house – and not all of them are playing fair.

As a snowstorm cuts them off from the village, the game turns deadly. Soon Lily realises that she is no longer fighting for an inheritance, but for her life.

This Christmas is to die for . . . Let the game begin

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it!

blog tours, Book Reviews

Book Review: The Chateau by Catherine Cooper

September 13, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! Today is my spot on the book tour for The Chateau by Catherine Cooper, an intriguing murder mystery set in a castle (Chateau). Thank you to Anne Cater, Random T Tours and Harper Collins for sending me a copy of this book to read and review.

In this book review I will give star ratings to four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

The Chateau Plot:

I found this plot to be very intriguing, the first chapter throws you straight into the scene of the party and the finding of the body but it doesn’t tell you who the body is and then the first chapter goes back to before the party, sets the scene and introduces the characters. I love a murder mystery where it is set in a party, hotel or castle type place and then you have a limited amount of suspects so this was an enjoyable element of this story for me. This story got dark pretty quickly and that’s when I found myself enjoying it a little less because it was feeling like a thriller instead of a mystery that it started out like. It is described as being a thriller but the beginning felt a lot lighter and that was better for me than the end.

The Chateau Characters:

The only character that I particularly liked throughout this novel was Aura with her down to earth, seemingly sweet nature she was just trying to turn her Chateau into a lovely hotel but as I went through the book my opinion on her changed a little. I wasn’t drawn to any of the other characters, I found they were very well-written but none of them captured my attention.

The Chateau Writing and dialogue:

In the first few chapters the writing was a little clunky but it soon found it’s feet and got smoother to read.

The Chateau Overall:

I gave this book three stars because I enjoyed the mystery for the most part, other than how dark it quickly got but I just wasn’t feeling the characters the way I like to when I’m reading books.

Blurb/Synopsis:

The twisty new thriller from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Chalet

They thought it was perfect. They were wrong…

A glamorous chateau

Aura and Nick don’t talk about what happened in England. They’ve bought a chateau in France to make a fresh start, and their kids need them to stay together – whatever it costs.

A couple on the brink

The expat community is welcoming, but when a neighbour is murdered at a lavish party, Aura and Nick don’t know who to trust.

A secret that is bound to come out…

Someone knows exactly why they really came to the chateau. And someone is going to give them what they deserve.

The Sunday Times bestseller is back with a rollercoaster read, perfect for fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware.

That’s it for this review, I hope you all enjoyed it!

blog tours, Book Reviews

Book Review: The Woman In The Wood by M K Hill

September 4, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Saturday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a great start to your weekend. Today is my stop on the book tour for The Woman In The Wood by M K Hill. Thank you to Anne cater and Head of Zeus for sending me a copy of this book to read and review.

In this book review I will give star ratings to four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

The Woman in the Wood Plot:

I will start by saying I did enjoy the mystery element of this story. There were many tiny clues subtly mentioned throughout the novel that thinking back would have helped me identify the killer much quicker and I liked that there were sort of two different mysteries happening alongside each other. However, I did not really enjoy the reality TV show side of it, I felt that it took away from the tense atmosphere of the novel. I also didn’t like that I figured out who the killer was as early on as I did.

The Woman in the Wood Characters:

In this novel we follow the Detective Sasha Dawson and I did like her character and how she was represented throughout, she was a very grounded character who had struggles in her public and professional lives. What I didn’t like about most of the characters was that there were a lot of things they did that never had any consequences. They kept saying they would talk about it later and similar phrases but it left me feeling quite annoyed. The situations didn’t feel real enough.

The Woman in the Wood Writing and Dialogue:

I liked that throughout this novel we got to see different character perspectives because it added details to the story that as a reader we needed and we wouldn’t have gotten any other way. I did find M K Hill’s writing to be well-written and clear throughout which made it a nice read for me.

The Woman in the Wood Overall:

I gave this book three stars overall because although I enjoyed parts of it, there were other parts I enjoyed a lot less.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Three years ago, Danny ‘Abs’ Cruikshank, star of reality show Laid in Essex!, was living the dream – but on the night of the party, everything changed. It was supposed to be an intimate weekend gathering, just a few close friends in a remote cottage in Wales. But after a night of heavy drinking in the village pub, a local girl was reported missing – and never seen again. Abs and his friends had been the last to see her alive.

No-one was ever charged, but the controversy destroyed Abs’s career. So now, three years later, the celebrity who once captured the heart of millions is opening Basildon’s new branch of Quidstore.

But then one of Abs’s mates is murdered.

Does someone know what really happened that night in Wales? DI Sasha Dawson and her team must race against the clock to find the killer before they strike again – but first she must discover what happened to Rhiannon Jenkins on the night she vanished.

Will the truth set Abs free? Or bury him?

A reality TV star becomes a suspect in an Essex murder case in the sharp, exciting and moving new thriller from the brilliant new star of crime-writing M.K. Hill.

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it!

Book Reviews

Book Review: The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton

August 9, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! Today I am bringing you my book review of The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton. I read this book this weekend just passed while I was down at my Partner’s Dad’s. My Partner always sleeps in a lot later than I do so I went down to the kitchen, got myself a cup of tea and read this book.

In this book review I will give star ratings to four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels Plot:

I really enjoyed the uniqueness of this book. Although it was set as if in Victorian England and mentioned places such as Bath and Devon, it also included elements of magical realism like houses that could fly with pirate flags on top of them. It felt both serious and witty throughout the novel and I mostly liked this but some times I was hoping it would focus on one at a time. I felt that this book focused more on it’s characters rather than the plot.

The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels Characters:

In this book there are many characters and for the most part they have distinct personalities but I wish some of them had been more fleshed out, and more useful to the story. The main protagonist, Cecelia, is very adventurous and very determined to prove herself to the society so that she can be moved up from Junior to Senior and I felt that this was her motivation for most of the book (except for the end where I really feel her character was lost because of the decisions she made although I sort of expected them). I also felt Cecelia came across much younger than her age and a little whingy. The male love interest character was Ned, I liked his charm and his wit and the way he and Cecelia conversed. Also, he’s a pirate and I’m a sucker for a good pirate. Oh, and there’s also the only one bed trope for anyone who’s interested in that…

The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels Writing and Dialogue:

There’s not much to say here, I think the writing fit the universe very well and I thought the dialogue presented all the characters to the reader – also the dialogue between Cecelia and ned were my favourite parts of this book.

The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels Overall:

I gave this book three stars overall because it was an enjoyable read, it had pirates in it but it just wasn’t quite enough for me. I plan on picking up the next book in the series though.

Blurb/Synopsis:

A prim and proper lady thief must save her aunt from a crazed pirate and his dangerously charming henchman in this fantastical historical romance.

Cecilia Bassingwaite is the ideal Victorian lady. She’s also a thief. Like the other members of the Wisteria Society crime sorority, she flies around England drinking tea, blackmailing friends, and acquiring treasure by interesting means. Sure, she has a dark and traumatic past and an overbearing aunt, but all things considered, it’s a pleasant existence. Until the men show up.

Ned Lightbourne is a sometimes assassin who is smitten with Cecilia from the moment they meet. Unfortunately, that happens to be while he’s under direct orders to kill her. His employer, Captain Morvath, who possesses a gothic abbey bristling with cannons and an unbridled hate for the world, intends to rid England of all its presumptuous women, starting with the Wisteria Society. Ned has plans of his own. But both men have made one grave mistake. Never underestimate a woman.

When Morvath imperils the Wisteria Society, Cecilia is forced to team up with her handsome would-be assassin to save the women who raised her–hopefully proving, once and for all, that she’s as much of a scoundrel as the rest of them.

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it!

blog tours, Book Reviews

Book Review: Death and Croissants by Ian Moore

July 12, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! I’m very happy to be part of the book tour for Death and Croissants by Ian Moore today. Thank you to Anne Cater and Random T Tours for sending me a copy of this book to read and review for this tour.

In this book review I will give star ratings to four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

Death and Croissants Plot:

I was highly anticipating this book because I thought the premise sounded very much to my taste in murder mysteries, a hotel setting, a missing guest, a bloody handprint and some humour? I was pretty excited about it. It didn’t quite live up to my expectations. I still enjoyed it as a whole but there were some parts that didn’t work for me. The tension was brilliant, it built as the story went along and I was very intrigued to find out who it was that had done it. I thought the setting and the worldbuilding was also good, I felt like I was in France while reading this book. Where I think it was let down was the humour side, there were some funny moments but to me it felt forced. It felt like the book was trying too hard to be funny so for me most of it wasn’t.

Death and Croissants Characters:

I liked the characters in this book. Most of them grew on me as the book went on. I didn’t like the character of Valerie at the beginning, it was quite the rollercoaster with her character – I liked her, then I didn’t, then I did… she was very well written and I could picture her exactly. The owner of the hotel, Richard, I mostly enjoyed following throughout the book. Things just seemed to keep happening to him and I liked this feature of the book, what I didn’t like about him was his reaction to the bloody handprint and I won’t say any more because I don’t want to spoil anything.

Death and Croissants Writing and dialogue:

As I said above, some parts of the novel felt forced to me and this had an affect on how easy it was for me to read it. Most of the writing was smooth and clear but some parts I got slightly stuck on. That is my personal opinion on the writing in this book.

Death and Croissants Overall:

Overall I gave this book three stars because I enjoyed the book but not as much as I thought that I would.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Richard is a middle-aged Englishman who runs a B&B in the fictional Val de Follet in the Loire Valley. Nothing ever happens to Richard, and really that’s the way he likes it.

One day, however, one of his older guests disappears, leaving behind a bloody handprint on the wallpaper. Another guest, the exotic Valérie, persuades a reluctant Richard to join her in investigating the disappearance.

Richard remains a dazed passenger in the case until things become really serious and someone murders Ava Gardner, one of his beloved hens … and you don’t mess with a fellow’s hens!

Unputdownable mystery set in rural France, by TV/radio regular and bestselling author Ian Moore – perfect for fans of Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club, Julia Chapman, or M.C. Beaton.

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it!

Book Reviews

Book Review: Deepwater King by Claire McKenna

July 7, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Wednesday bookish people! Today is my stop on the book tour for Deepwater King by Claire McKenna, the sequel to Monstrous Heart and the second in the Deepwater trilogy. Thank you to Jennifer Harlow for sending me a copy of this book to read and review.

As with all my reviews in this book review I will give star ratings to four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

Deepwater King Plot:

I enjoyed the plot of this book overall. I liked the premise and the fantasy elements of the story. One of the main parts I enjoyed was the complex magic system, I did find myself getting confused sometimes about this but this always passed quickly. It was nice to see, in this novel, a different type of special ability that I rarely see in books, in this book it is a type of blood magic called Sanguinem – or bloodworker. From the very first chapter there is a dangerous energy to this novel and the story has threads of danger, religion and sacrifice as an undercurrent which was very intriguing. This book felt slightly too dark for me but this is because I usually read fantasies that aren’t so complex however, I still enjoyed the worldbuilding and plot of this book. I’m also very drawn to books that feature water (and this book has it in the title) so it was a good one for me to pick up.

Deepwater King Characters:

The two main characters in this book are Arden and Jonah and both of them were very well developed in this book. I didn’t feel much of a connection to either of the characters within this novel, and that is something that makes me really enjoy a book, so I wasn’t completely engaged with everything that happened in this novel. It didn’t take away from the story completely and I did still enjoy the characters and how they interacted with each, the background characters as well as the main characters.

Deepwater King Writing and Dialogue:

I struggled with some of the writing style to begin with, because the language has a slight historical feel to it in my opinion, and so this meant I wasn’t fully immersed in the story the whole time. The author has created beautiful imagery within this book though that helped to create some atmosphere that I wanted to keep reading and be involved with.

Deepwater King Overall:

Overall I gave this book three stars because although I enjoyed this book I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would and I am undecided if I will read the third book in the trilogy.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Since losing her great love to the Queen of the Sainted Isles, Arden must fulfil an impossible promise before she can return home – she must complete the dangerous Rite that will return Jonah’s spirit to the abyssal Court of the Deepwater King.

This sets her off on a journey far out at sea to find believers of the old religion on the oil-slick and mysterious islands beyond the horizon. But such a responsibility will not come without sacrifice, for the Deepwater folk who worship the King require the most desperate payments the soul, and with one man Arden may have to pay the greatest price of all…

Astonishingly original, with world-building to rival the depths of the ocean, McKenna has drawn a rich tale of longing and courage – penning the perfect oceanic steampunk fantasy.

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it!

blog tours, Book Reviews

Book Review: Fake News by C J Dunford

June 25, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Friday bookish people! I hope everyone is having a good day. Today is my spot on the blog tour for Fake News by C J Dunford. Thank you to Love Books Tours and Fledgling Press for sending me a copy of this book to read and review.

In this book review I will give star ratings to four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

Fake News Plot:

I will start by saying that even after reading the whole book I’m still uncertain on what the plot was all about. It was a nice, quick and easy read that had an intriguing cast of characters. I enjoyed that we see the perspective of each of the characters and that the book is not afraid to explore subjects such as MS, it’s symptoms and how others – such as Department of work and pensions – don’t always understand disabilities. That’s something I’ve actually experienced myself so it was interesting to see it included in a book.

Fake News Characters:

As I said I liked that we got to see the perspective of all of the main characters. I also liked that each of them had separate and well written personalities, however, I didn’t feel connected to any of them on a deeper level like I usually do.

Fake News Writing and Dialogue:

The writing style of this book was something I did enjoy. I didn’t get confused about which characters perspective we were following in each chapter, as I sometimes do with multiple POV books. I also liked that the text was split up by ‘fake news’ articles that the characters are posting online and in newspapers. This made it easier for me personally to get into the book and everything that was happening.

Fake News Overall:

I gave this book three stars overall because although it was an enjoyable and quick read it’s not a book I see myself picking up to reread.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Four teenagers, and one dog, suffer at the hands of online media and come up with a plan to show people they should never trust what they read on the internet.

They launch their own news site detailing amazing, shocking, utterly believable but totally untrue stories.

They always intend to come clean, but success goes to their heads and before long they are enmeshed in a world of spies and aliens. How will they get out of this unscathed?

That’s it for this book review, I hope you enjoyed it!

Book Reviews

Book Review: Love By Design by Effie Kammenou

May 31, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Monday Bookish people! What is everyone doing this bank holiday Monday? I have some University work and some job work to do later but hopefully that won’t take long and then I can spend the rest of the day reading.

Today is my stop on the book tour for Love by Design by Effie Kammenou. Thank you to Love Books Tours for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

In this book review I will give star ratings to four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

Love By Design Plot:

I will say, this is not my usual genre. At all. I don’t read much romance so I don’t have much to compare this book to. I did enjoy the story overall, I thought the setting and career of the main character was interesting and not common in books that I have read before, or books that I have heard about from other people. This book has frequent changes of location throughout it and I did find myself getting confused with where I was and who was in the scene. This did take away a bit of my enjoyment of this book. I read the first book in the series a little while ago, Love Is What You Bake It, and I felt that the first book had a clearer structure and I enjoyed that one more than this one but there were still elements in this one I enjoyed, particularly the characters.

Love By Design Characters:

First, I loved that this book continued with the themes of family that it had in the first book of the series and that Mia, the main character in this book, had many scenes throughout the book where she interacted with her family and particularly two of sisters. I really enjoyed having chapters in this book from both Mia and Nicholas, the main male character of this novel, because it gave both of their points of view keeping my opinions on the characters balanced nicely. I understood what was driving both of them, their motivations and desires. Nicholas is an intriguing character, he made me feel many emotions – irritation, sadness, always wanting to know more about his character and what he is going to do next.

Love By Design Writing and Dialogue:

As with the first book in this series I enjoyed this author’s writing style and how she integrates the dialogue into the story. As I said above I did keep getting confused with this book but I don’t think that’s because of the writing style I think it’s because of my inability to change setting in my head quickly…

Love By Design Overall:

I gave this book three stars overall because it’s not my typical genre and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I hoped I would after reading the first book in the series, but I also didn’t not enjoy it if that makes sense.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Mia Andarakis just landed her dream job at a luxury magazine. And even better, her boss is the handsome and enigmatic Nicholas Aristedis, a man she has crushed on from afar. But Nicholas isn’t who she imagined. Irascible and mercurial, his instant dislike for Mia makes it almost impossible for her to work with him.

Nicholas has faced many losses and heartaches in his thirty-two years. Determined to avoid heartbreak, he has closed his heart to love. But Mia awakens feelings in him he had long since denied. And soon he discovers their connection is deeper than he realized.

Mia and Nicholas embark on an adventure across picturesque locations as they launch a new publication and uncover the mystery behind her grandfather’s disappearance. But perhaps the greatest challenge is in learning to set aside their insecurities and fears. Can the two forget the traumas of their past? And will they ever learn to trust in the possibility of love? Find out in the second novel of The Meraki Series.

That’s it for this book review, sorry that it’s shorter than usual, I hope you all enjoyed it!

Book Reviews

Book Review: The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni

May 24, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! Monday is here again so it’s time to bring you some more book reviews. I’ll be doing two today, starting with The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni, a recently released fantasy novel.

In this book review I will give star ratings to four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

The Prison Healer Plot:

This plot had great potential. There were so many elements that I love in books in The Prison Healer: interesting setting, elemental magic, themes of friendship and a competition. I really enjoy competitions in books, something about it always captures my attention. The setting in this book, definitely interesting, is a prison this gave the book a sense of danger always being right there waiting for a chance to take over. I think the magic was a great addition because it gave the story another level, a sense of us and them – being those with magic outside the prison, as only members of Royalty have magic, and those without magic inside the prison. This gave the world a conflict that goes above the plot of this one novel, and which I hope will continue in the next book in the series.

The competition element, was needed. Well, something a little exciting was needed. I was just starting to feel a little bored of the plot when the competition was introduced. It was a shame because before this there was one of the main elements of the plot which should have quickened the pace and caught my attention, but it didn’t. Although I enjoyed the competition part of this book, it had some very unique elements and was quite interesting, I felt that this part and the rest of the book didn’t fit together – like they were parts from two separate books pushed together. Because of this I also think the competition elements were fit into too small a section of the book, I would have liked it to be more developed.

The ending had a huge twist. One that felt a little too convenient for the story but also persuaded me that I should read the second book… I might not have without the twist.

The Prison Healer Characters:

There are four characters that make up the main cast of this book. Kiva is the protagonist and I really liked her character. She is fiercely loyal to her friends although I’m not sure friend is the right word…anyway, her development throughout the book is excellent in my opinion, I enjoyed seeing how she changes. The main male character, is very intriguing to me. I want to know more about him but I also don’t, does that make sense? Sometimes there are characters that I like being surrounded in mystery, it keeps them interesting. But my favourite character is Tipp, he works with Kiva and I would honestly do anything for him, he’s so sweet and innocent I just want to hug him but obviously I can’t because he’s fictional.

The Prison Healer Writing and Dialogue:

In terms of the writing style, I got along with it well. It was smooth and easy to follow the plot. I actually finished the book in under two hours so it’s definitely good writing for me. One thing I did like was the chapter sizes. They were the right length for me, not too long but not too short either. I liked feeling that I was getting more of the story in each chapter.

The Prison Healer Overall:

I gave this book three stars because it was an okay book. I did enjoy it and I want to see where the story goes in the series but I didn’t love it, it just felt too rushed for me. I would have rather had a longer book and a fully developed story.

Blurb/Synopsis:

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, both she and the queen will be granted their freedom.

But no one has ever survived.

With an incurable plague sweeping Zalindov, a mysterious new inmate fighting for Kiva’s heart, and a prison rebellion brewing, Kiva can’t escape the terrible feeling that her trials have only just begun.

From bestselling author Lynette Noni comes a dark, thrilling YA fantasy perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, and Sabaa Tahir.

That’s it for this book review, I hope you enjoyed it!