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zombiezami's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Violence, Death, Torture, Blood, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, and Body horror
Minor: Pregnancy, Racism, Toxic friendship, and Police brutality
spicycronereads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I really liked this book. It centers on Briseis, a 16-year-old Black woman, living in Brooklyn with her mom and Mo (her two adoptive moms). She has a special affinity for growing and caring for plants. And it borders on the unnatural. The narrative centers on what happens when she finds out that her birth mother’s sister has died, and left her an estate in upstate New York.
The narrative focuses on what it is like for these three Black women to locate relocate to the small town where weird things start happening. There are all sorts of mysteries and a family legacy involving ancient characters like Medea and the goddess Hecate.
Briseis is lonely and misunderstood in Brooklyn and it seems like plants are her best friends. She begins to thrive once they relocate, making friends and meeting new love interests. I recall reading a review of this book that thought she wasn’t very smart. I do admit that it took her a really long time to catch onto some things that really seemed quite obvious, or to begin to question things that just didn’t seem to add up. She did seem a little naïve. Though, admittedly, they tell us in the narrative that she didn’t get the best grades in school. 😂
The world building is pretty effortless here. The magic system and Briseis’ powers are really cool. I look forward in subsequent books to seeing how this continues to be fleshed out. And yes, this is book one in a series. It ends on a pretty big cliffhanger.
The secondary characters are richly detailed, and seem to have interesting motivations of their own. They make a great supporting cast. And the book does a lovely job of demonstrating that found family ties can be just as rich and meaningful as biological.
There were a few elements of romance here and there though I would not call this book a romance or romantasy. I give it 💖.
In terms of diverse representation, we have Briseis and her two moms. Briseis is either bi or pan (I listened to the audiobook, and I don’t recall them ever saying, explicitly how she identifies). Their entire family is Black. There are additional people of color in the narrative. So there is quite a bit of racial and sexual diversity. Briseis’ family is struggling financially when they are living in Brooklyn and trying to run a small business. And when they move to this town in upstate New York, they definitely seem to move into a more financially stable status.
The audiobook performance was great. Jordan Cobb does a fantastic job with her performance and giving unique voice to a wide cast of characters.
Overall, I really liked this. The sense of humor of the characters and the magic system were a lot of fun. The vocal performance was great and made my commute fly by on some days. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/💖
The narrative focuses on what it is like for these three Black women to locate relocate to the small town where weird things start happening. There are all sorts of mysteries and a family legacy involving ancient characters like Medea and the goddess Hecate.
Briseis is lonely and misunderstood in Brooklyn and it seems like plants are her best friends. She begins to thrive once they relocate, making friends and meeting new love interests. I recall reading a review of this book that thought she wasn’t very smart. I do admit that it took her a really long time to catch onto some things that really seemed quite obvious, or to begin to question things that just didn’t seem to add up. She did seem a little naïve. Though, admittedly, they tell us in the narrative that she didn’t get the best grades in school. 😂
The world building is pretty effortless here. The magic system and Briseis’ powers are really cool. I look forward in subsequent books to seeing how this continues to be fleshed out. And yes, this is book one in a series. It ends on a pretty big cliffhanger.
The secondary characters are richly detailed, and seem to have interesting motivations of their own. They make a great supporting cast. And the book does a lovely job of demonstrating that found family ties can be just as rich and meaningful as biological.
There were a few elements of romance here and there though I would not call this book a romance or romantasy. I give it 💖.
In terms of diverse representation, we have Briseis and her two moms. Briseis is either bi or pan (I listened to the audiobook, and I don’t recall them ever saying, explicitly how she identifies). Their entire family is Black. There are additional people of color in the narrative. So there is quite a bit of racial and sexual diversity. Briseis’ family is struggling financially when they are living in Brooklyn and trying to run a small business. And when they move to this town in upstate New York, they definitely seem to move into a more financially stable status.
The audiobook performance was great. Jordan Cobb does a fantastic job with her performance and giving unique voice to a wide cast of characters.
Overall, I really liked this. The sense of humor of the characters and the magic system were a lot of fun. The vocal performance was great and made my commute fly by on some days. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/💖
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Violence
Moderate: Racism
blewballoon's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
4 for the first half and more like 3 for the second half.
I had more fun at the beginning of this book than towards the end. Things got a little too goofy and the characters made some questionable choices as the story went on. I do think it's clear the author had a blast writing this and throwing in everything they wanted to, and I'm happy for them. I like media where I can tell the creators had a good time. If you've also read You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight by this author, it might help you figure out one of the twists in this book. That was the case for me. I didn't love the twist there, and I liked it less here.I think that's because I'm more of a "power of friendship" type person who likes to see platonic relationships shine. I also didn't really like the love interest, Marie. Apart from being really pretty and nice to Briseis, she's kind of rude to everyone else and I didn't get a sense of her personality besides that. There's a scene with poison ivy that is completely implausible and inaccurate to how poison ivy works, which took me out for a bit and I had to complain about it to my boyfriend. For positives: I loved the two completely supportive and loving moms, they bring a lot of comedic relief to the story as well. I liked the plant magic and descriptions. I liked exploring a big old house with lots of secrets. There's a lot of fun stuff here, for sure. The writing is not bogged down by overly detailed descriptions or internal thoughts, so it reads quickly. This is definitely YA due to the age of the main character, but very readable and engaging for me as an adult reader as well. I did not realize this was a duology, I think it kind of works as a standalone even with the somewhat cliffhanger/open ending. I am not sure if I will read the 2nd book or not.
I had more fun at the beginning of this book than towards the end. Things got a little too goofy and the characters made some questionable choices as the story went on. I do think it's clear the author had a blast writing this and throwing in everything they wanted to, and I'm happy for them. I like media where I can tell the creators had a good time. If you've also read You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight by this author, it might help you figure out one of the twists in this book. That was the case for me. I didn't love the twist there, and I liked it less here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, and Death
Minor: Racism
futureofmydays's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Violence, Medical trauma, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Blood, and Death of parent
Minor: Racism
takarakei's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
- Black girl magic
- Sapphic
- Gothic
- Plant magic/apothecary
- Greek mythology
[audiobook] - Immediately immersive and interesting. Reads very easily and quickly. I was fascinated by all the plant information, must have taken quite a bit of research. I loved Bri's parents and their relationship. I'm excited for the sequel and glad I already have it on my shelf.
SO now I'm gonna read The Secret Garden (as this is a retelling)...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Minor: Grief, Animal death, and Racism
cardanrry's review
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death of parent
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Murder and Racism
sirilpotter's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Gun violence, Racism, Murder, and Medical content
noellelovesbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
Content Warnings : Loss of parent[s], toxic friendships, blood, injury, violence, grief, torture, self-harm, gun violence, and racism.
Wow! What a fantastic read...and one I'm glad I read after book two has already been released 😅
Before starting this book I really had no idea what kind of story it was going to be, I knew that the main character had an affinity for plants but that's about it.
So we meet Briseis who was adopted as a baby by two amazing moms who've loved and supported her through everything...even the strange affinity she has with plants. I mean they opened a floral business, named after her, so that she could have a safe place to be near and work with plants.
Always needing to be hyper-vigilant to ensure no one outside of their little family finds out about her affinity...has led to a pretty isolating way of life. The few friends Briseis attempted to have never seemed fully comfortable around her when plants started acting abnormally so she never felt like she could truly express or explain herself.
Out of nowhere a mysterious estate lawyer shows up and says "hey, so you're aunt...oh you didn't know you had one?...well anyways she left you a family estate. Here are the keys and a few letters. Have fun!"
We get to go along with Briseis as she uncovers the rich and mysterious history of her birth family as she tries to learn more about her connection to plants and what it all might mean.
This was such a fun read! The first half of the book felt a bit longer than it needed to be but that second half felt like a whirlwind! I LOVED how we got so many mythology crumbs as Briseis was diving deeper and deeper into her bio-families history.
I look forward to getting my hands on This Wicked Fate so I can find out what more Briseis has to uncover.
Wow! What a fantastic read...and one I'm glad I read after book two has already been released 😅
Before starting this book I really had no idea what kind of story it was going to be, I knew that the main character had an affinity for plants but that's about it.
So we meet Briseis who was adopted as a baby by two amazing moms who've loved and supported her through everything...even the strange affinity she has with plants. I mean they opened a floral business, named after her, so that she could have a safe place to be near and work with plants.
Always needing to be hyper-vigilant to ensure no one outside of their little family finds out about her affinity...has led to a pretty isolating way of life. The few friends Briseis attempted to have never seemed fully comfortable around her when plants started acting abnormally so she never felt like she could truly express or explain herself.
Out of nowhere a mysterious estate lawyer shows up and says "hey, so you're aunt...oh you didn't know you had one?...well anyways she left you a family estate. Here are the keys and a few letters. Have fun!"
We get to go along with Briseis as she uncovers the rich and mysterious history of her birth family as she tries to learn more about her connection to plants and what it all might mean.
This was such a fun read! The first half of the book felt a bit longer than it needed to be but that second half felt like a whirlwind! I LOVED how we got so many mythology crumbs as Briseis was diving deeper and deeper into her bio-families history.
I look forward to getting my hands on This Wicked Fate so I can find out what more Briseis has to uncover.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Toxic friendship, Death, Murder, Torture, Death of parent, Self harm, Grief, Blood, and Racism
beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Toxic friendship, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Grief and Gore
Minor: Cursing, Racism, and Pregnancy
booksdogsandcoffee's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This book… was fricken amazing. It felt like a mash of the secret garden, Percy Jackson and little shop of horror.
Bri has always had power over plants and at birth was adopted by her two amazing mothers(who imo steal the show and are one of the best parts of this whole book). Knowing nothing of her heritage, she is one day approached by an attorney who tells that her biological aunt has died. Left now in Bri’s possession is a massive house with all her birth families history in it. Curious to find out more about her powers and birth family, Bri and her moms decide to move to the house to help Bri connect to her powers and birth family. But all the sudden strange people start showing up, asking questions and demanding things Bri had no idea ever existed. The house and her birth family hold a secret that goes as far back to the Greek gods. And now as the last of her line, it is Bri’s secret to uncover and carry forward.
The characters in this poison hearts were all so amazing and fleshed out. I loved Bri’s moms they made the book for me. The way they loved Bri and each other so much.
Cw/tw
Violence
Gore
Light racism
Death of a parent
Bri has always had power over plants and at birth was adopted by her two amazing mothers(who imo steal the show and are one of the best parts of this whole book). Knowing nothing of her heritage, she is one day approached by an attorney who tells that her biological aunt has died. Left now in Bri’s possession is a massive house with all her birth families history in it. Curious to find out more about her powers and birth family, Bri and her moms decide to move to the house to help Bri connect to her powers and birth family. But all the sudden strange people start showing up, asking questions and demanding things Bri had no idea ever existed. The house and her birth family hold a secret that goes as far back to the Greek gods. And now as the last of her line, it is Bri’s secret to uncover and carry forward.
The characters in this poison hearts were all so amazing and fleshed out. I loved Bri’s moms they made the book for me. The way they loved Bri and each other so much.
Cw/tw
Violence
Gore
Light racism
Death of a parent
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Gore and Violence
Minor: Racism