On the Same Page's Reviews > The Gilded Cage

3.5 stars

ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This review will contain some spoilers for The Prison Healer, the first book in the series.

After the events of The Prison Healer, Kiva now finds herself in the enemy's stronghold. Despite her blooming relationship with Jaren, she is still set on vengeance for everything her family has suffered at the hands of the royal family. But it's difficult to hold on to that feeling when said royal family embraces her with open arms, whereas her reception by her siblings leaves something to be desired. But ultimately, Kiva must choose a side, because there is no way for both families to win.

The biggest thing dragging this book's rating down for me is Kiva. I didn't go into this expecting her to be a warrior, because the first book sets Kiva up to be the compassionate healer, physically weak but mentally strong. Unfortunately, this book also left her mentally weak, and I found it difficult to reconcile this Kiva with the woman who spent 10 years in prison. From minor things like being unable to control her gasps and facial expressions while eavesdropping on a meeting, to bigger things like indecisiveness and very, very dumb decisions that feel out of character but are needed to drive the plot forward. I found it hard to believe that someone who stayed silent about who her family is for 10 years in a very dangerous setting suddenly starts blabbing her secrets without thinking about the potential consequences. It was very frustrating to read about.

However, this book has a lot I enjoyed as well, and where Kiva's character took a nosedive for me, I really loved the new characters that were introduced as well as the development we see for Jaren. The author does a great job of painting us a picture of the royal family, even the characters we meet for the first time, and Caldon is now easily one of my favourites. The romance really worked for me as well, including Kiva's angst surrounding her rebel activity and what that will mean for Jaren. The tension and angst felt believable. I loved how Jaren treated her; supportive without being pressuring, with trust and tenderness. He definitely feels like a cinnamon roll hero.

While I wouldn't say the plot is very action-packed, I don't think it dragged. I think it helps that the setting is completely different from the first book, so there is plenty that we get to discover about the royal family, the politics surrounding the split between the Vallentis and Corentine families, and Kiva's mother and siblings. There are interesting reveals and a couple of twists, ending with another tense cliffhanger, making this an overall enjoyable and solid middle book in the trilogy. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how everything wraps up (and rooting for Jaren and Kiva - the romance was definitely one of my favourite parts).