Tag: lynette noni

Categories
Book Reviews Book Series Books Booktok/Booktube

The Prison Healer Series: Survival, Secrets, and Why Power Never Feels Safe

Estimated Reading Time: 9min

Dark, grimy and elemental powers describes this one. If you want to see a dangerous prison, unexpected romance, ruling powers that have to be brought down (of course)… this is the one.

The Prison Healer

noni

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. 

Grab the book Here

Content Warnings

Violence (graphic), gore (moderate), self harm (moderate), sexual assault/harassment (moderate), Child abuse (moderate), torture (graphic), confinement (graphic)

My Review

I was surprised at how much I actually loved this book. The entire plot centres around the elemental trials and life in this crazy dangerous prison.
Our main characters are engaging, interesting and encircled by such an interesting world.
The ending……. I went out and got the next two books on almost that alone. I GOTSTA know what happens next!
Careful of content/trigger warnings (I will list below) but the author didn’t go tooooo far with those so just be aware.

The Gilded Cage

Content Warnings

Moderate violence/gore
Mild sexual content
Moderate kidnapping
Moderate drug use

My Review

I loved seeing Kiva outside of the Zalendov context in this story. Her battle between loyalties was interesting and played out quite well.
I was punched in the gut several times in this book – especially at the end.

The Blood Traitor

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug Use, Violence
Moderate: Suicidal Thoughts, Death, Drug Abuse
Minor: Death of a Parent, Torture, Domestic Abuse

My Review

Finally got some answers! Called some of it, didn’t call others.
Rushed ending “big bad level” moment/s but ending was really satisfying.
Characters were put through the ringer.
I didn’t mind where we went and ended up.
From a prison escape book, to a strategise overthrowing the throne book, to finally a quest book this series was really great and I’m almost sad to say goodbye to the characters.

Would I Recommend This Book?

Yes, so long as you have a good stomach for violence, some gore and some pretty dark topics and explorations.

Similar Books You Might Like

If you are thinking what kind of books would have similar feel, themes or content, here is a list that you can consider:

  • Inheritance Games (Jennifer Lynn-Barnes)
  • The Shattered Realms (Tracy Higley)
  • The Songkeeper Chronicles (Gillian Bronte Adams)

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace

Categories
Book Reviews Book Series Books

The Whisper Duology by Lynette Noni: Secrets, Power, and the Weight of What’s Unsaid

Estimated Reading Time: 6min

If you thought Shatter Me was a good series, this duology will scratch the itch and even though it’s a little different, sometimes different can be better… right? I think so 😛

Whisper

noni

I’m different. I’m an anomaly. I’m a monster.

For two years, six months, fourteen days, eleven hours and sixteen minutes, Subject Six-Eight-Four — ‘Jane Doe’ — has been locked away and experimented on, without uttering a single word.

As Jane’s resolve begins to crack under the influence of her new — and unexpectedly kind — evaluator, she uncovers the truth about Lengard’s mysterious ‘program’, discovering that her own secret is at the heart of a sinister plot … and one wrong move, one wrong word, could change the world.

Grab the book Here

Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic Attacks, Confinement, Torture
Moderate: Death of a Parent, Medical Trauma, Gaslighting
Minor: Kidnapping, Blood, Violence

My Review

Wowie.
This was a way better executed and altered version of Shatter Me. Obsessed. I loved this one – the only thing I could have done without was some more specifically described torture type scenes.
Characters were great, development of those characters and how especially the main character, figured things out as we went was amazing.
Loved the power element, always fun. Can’t wait to see it a bit more in action in the second book.
Plot wise it was great. Similarities like I said above to Shatter Me, but with a much better execution. Enough differences to be it’s own story, and taking place in Sydney (nice touch), different dynamics and way less characters to keep track of. All that and more made this an action packed, easy to follow, quick to pace through and thoroughly enjoyable story.

Weapon

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of a Parent, Confinement, Violence
Moderate: Blood, Kidnapping, Terminal Illness
Minor: Murder, Gun Violence, Torutre

My Review

Continuation of the story was great.
Blindsided but at the same time knew it in my bones!
There was a lot of internal dialogue and processing (sometimes of things that had already occurred… like we were rehashing things we had already not just witnessed but thought about as the reader) which was frustrating at times. A good deal of this book could easily be skimmed unlike the first one where everything was essential and riveting.
Happy with it overall though.

Would I Recommend This Book?

Yes, I thought this was a great series, particularly if you like Shatter Me.

Similar Books You Might Like

If you are thinking what kind of books would have similar feel, themes or content, here is a list that you can consider:

  • Red Queen (Victoria Aveyard)
  • Divergent (Veronica Roth)
  • Shatter Me (Tahereh Mafi)

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace

Categories
Book Reviews Books

Akarnae by Lynette Noni: A Portal Fantasy That Escapes Into Something Bigger Than Expected

Estimated Reading Time: 7min

The first of a series, what happens when a school involves training kids with super powered abilities? This. But let’s not forget the deeper conspiracies and dangers that lurk here, because our main characters can’t.

Akarnae

Dreading her first day at a new school, Alex is stunned when she walks through a doorway and finds herself stranded in Medora, a fantasy world full of impossibilities. Desperate to return home, she learns that only a man named Professor Marselle can help her… but he’s missing.

While waiting for him to reappear, Alex attends Akarnae Academy, Medora’s boarding school for teenagers with extraordinary gifts. She soon starts to enjoy her bizarre new world and the friends who embrace her as one of their own, but strange things are happening at Akarnae, and Alex can’t ignore her fear that something unexpected… something sinister… is looming.

An unwilling pawn in a deadly game, Alex’s shoulders bear the crushing weight of an entire race’s survival. Only she can save the Medorans, but what if doing so prevents her from ever returning home?

Grab the book Here

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Kidnapping
Moderate: Injury, Gore, Racism
Minor: Suicide, Death, Bullying

My Review

I really enjoyed the world, the characters, and the plot of this book. It was fantastic. I liked the sarcastic character of Alex, and the way that she discovered this parallel world where superpowers were super common. There was an overarching mystery, there were things that we got to figure out as we went along to the world and how things run, and I thought that it was laid out really well. I enjoyed this world, I thought it was really interesting interesting, and I can’t wait to read the rest of the books in this series to discover more of it. The library was a really really cool Element. I liked the idea of unlimited and unusual adventures that they could have, while also trying to figure out the overall mysteries of the library, the school and the world. Figuring it all out with Alex was a good way to discover things. I liked her friends, I thought they were really fun and very realistic guy friends. I also liked the way that other characters and their relationships to Alex developed across the book, I’m excited to see where all of that goes in further books.

Would I Recommend This Book?

Yes, this is a great start to a series that I’m excited to continue.

Similar Books You Might Like

If you are thinking what kind of books would have similar feel, themes or content, here is a list that you can consider:

  • Keeper of the Lost Cities (Shannon Messenger)
  • Nevermoor (Jessica Townsend)
  • Percy Jackson (Rick Riordan)

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace

Categories
Book Challenges Book Reviews Books

Lynette Noni Books I’ve Read: The Consistent Pattern Across Her Stories

I have read quite a few books by Lynette Noni, which means I clearly love her stuff!

Here are some of my thoughts on the books i’ve read so far.

Wandering Wild

noni

I had way more fun with this book then I thought I would. Even though I saw the ending coming 1,000,000 miles away, it was definitely a great way to end this – It made a great story, and it was a really good decision plot wise. I enjoyed the tension, I thought that the difficult background stories were woven in pretty well, and I enjoyed how the story progressed. It felt like a pretty natural progression given the circumstances, and I enjoyed the dynamics of the character characters and the plot.
A little Insta love-ish, but I didn’t mind so much.

Grab the book Here

The Prison Healer

noni

I was surprised at how much I actually loved this book. The entire plot centres around the elemental trials and life in this crazy dangerous prison.
Our main characters are engaging, interesting and encircled by such an interesting world.
The ending……. I went out and got the next two books on almost that alone. I GOTSTA know what happens next!
Careful of content/trigger warnings (I will list below) but the author didn’t go tooooo far with those so just be aware.

Content warnings: violence (graphic), gore (moderate), self harm (moderate), sexual assault/harassment (moderate), Child abuse (moderate), torture (graphic), confinement (graphic)

Grab the book Here

The Gilded Cage

I loved seeing Kiva outside of the Zalendov context in this story. Her battle between loyalties was interesting and played out quite well.
I was punched in the gut several times in this book – especially at the end.

Moderate violence/gore
Mild sexual content
Moderate kidnapping
Moderate drug use

Grab the book Here

The Blood Traitor

Finally got some answers! Called some of it, didn’t call others.
Rushed ending “big bad level” moment/s but ending was really satisfying.
Characters were put through the ringer.
I didn’t mind where we went and ended up.
From a prison escape book, to a strategize overthrowing the throne book, to finally a quest book this series was really great and I’m almost sad to say goodbye to the characters.

Grab the book Here

Whisper

noni

Wowie.
This was a way better executed and altered version of Shatter Me. Obsessed. I loved this one – the only thing I could have done without was some more specifically described torture type scenes.
Characters were great, development of those characters and how especially the main character, figured things out as we went was amazing.
Loved the power element, always fun. Can’t wait to see it a bit more in action in the second book.
Plot wise it was great. Similarities like I said above to Shatter Me, but with a much better execution. Enough differences to be it’s own story, and taking place in Sydney (nice touch), different dynamics and way less characters to keep track of. All that and more made this an action packed, easy to follow, quick to pace through and thoroughly enjoyable story.

Grab the book Here

Weapon

Continuation of the story was great.
Blindsided but at the same time knew it in my bones!
There was a lot of internal dialogue and processing (sometimes of things that had already occurred… like we were rehashing things we had already not just witnessed but thought about as the reader) which was frustrating at times. A good deal of this book could easily be skimmed unlike the first one where everything was essential and riveting.
Happy with it overall though.

Grab the book Here

Akarnae

I really enjoyed the world, the characters, and the plot of this book. It was fantastic. I liked the sarcastic character of Alex, and the way that she discovered this parallel world where superpowers were super common. There was an overarching mystery, there were things that we got to figure out as we went along to the world and how things run, and I thought that it was laid out really well. I enjoyed this world, I thought it was really interesting interesting, and I can’t wait to read the rest of the books in this series to discover more of it. The library was a really really cool Element. I liked the idea of unlimited and unusual adventures that they could have, while also trying to figure out the overall mysteries of the library, the school and the world. Figuring it all out with Alex was a good way to discover things. I liked her friends, I thought they were really fun and very realistic guy friends. I also liked the way that other characters and their relationships to Alex developed across the book, I’m excited to see where all of that goes in further books.

Grab the book Here

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace