3/5

For fans of: Sarah J. Maas, slow burn romance, prison escape, rebellion, deadly games

The Big Questions:

• What genre is this in? YA fantasy

• Are there any swoon-worthy characters? Jaren isn’t the smartest or smoothest person in the prison, but he’s hot and kind.

• Is it spicy? Nope.

• Is it violent or gory? There are depictions of violence, but not gory

• Should I buy, borrow, or pass on this book? Borrow it!

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.

Review: This book has been sitting on my shelf for over a year purely because of my mixed feelings towards it. I was not intrigued with the a prison break escape in addition to a plague AND a hunger games-esque high stakes battle for freedom. It just seemed like too much going on. But the one thing that had me pick up the book was the Sarah J. Maas stamp of approval. That should have been my hint to what I was getting into.

So first off, this story starts with a BANG, an action-filled prologue that really got me into this story fast. Loved it. Very The Cruel Prince and its a great hook. Even the introduction of our characters in the prison was great. The first 50 pages of the book are solid set up. But after that, the next 200 or so pages are just bleak. Yes, it’s a prison. There’s sadness, violence, and darkness all around. Tipp, a young boy born in the prison, brings some levity to the whole situation, but not enough. Remember when I said the synopsis seems to have so much going on? It sure doesn’t feel that way once the introductions are done.

This book is SLOW and BLEAK. Nothing breaks the slowness or bleakness. It just gets worse and worse. And nothing makes sense since Kiva is one hell of an unreliable narrator. This is a hopeless place. But Kiva, like Rihanna says, may have found love in a hopeless place. Or at least a decent person, in Jaren, but come on Kiva. He’s a prisoner in the most hellish prison in your world. Good looks and being kind should be a hint. Here’s my problem. Why is everyone just stupid in this book? It isn’t until the last 50 pages that things finally start moving.

And when I say start moving, its Sarah J. Maas-starts moving. Reveal after reveal and plot twist after plot twist hit you in the face and you have no idea whats happening or honestly why Kiva didn’t piece this together in the first place. None of the plot twists are surprising once you realize how much Kiva really misses. For a healer, she is not observant. I don’t like Kiva for the majority of this book because she seems just dumb and dull, full of hope but zero plans. To be fair, no one in this story had a plan.

But, the literal last few pages sold me on reading the sequel. Everything I thought I understood is just thrown right out the window. I hope it lives up to the hype better than this book did. I don’t need another Kingdom of the Wicked situation.