Here we meet Kiva, who was taken to prison because her father was seen near a rebel. After her father dies in prison Kiva becomes an assistant healer and then takes her father’s place as a healer in the notorious Zalindov prison, which is used by all the countries around as a place to send their worst prisoners.
When the Rebel Queen arrives and is so sick that the’s incoherent, if the’s even awake, the healer in Kiva shows through. If she can stop someone’s death she will regardless of what they’ve done. Kiva steps into her place for the four elemental trials, which is really just a death sentence dressed up in pagentry.
I found the book interesting and read it in mostly a single sitting over a rainy Saturday. While I saw the twist at the end coming fairly early in the book, there were still parts of the last few pages that caught my off guard and made me wonder who knew what when earlier in the book.
The second book in the series, The Gilded Cage, is now on my hold list at the library.
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