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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
kikireads1232's review
adventurous
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? It's complicated
4.25
Super good book! I really enjoyed the characters and the relationship the mc had with her mom. A really fun story with only some small nit picks I didn't love. The romance felt a little insta love and I don't think the love interest had enough time to grow to like the Mc, I just feel like the book needed a few more chapters for their relationship. Other than that, duper good
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood and Murder
Minor: Stalking
jessereadsthings's review
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Not perfect, but an intriguing start to a series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Stalking, and Kidnapping
tors_tomes's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Death of parent
Moderate: Death, Stalking, and Kidnapping
diamondpwrites's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Blood, Gore, Cursing, Body horror, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Self harm, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Stalking
its_apple_pie's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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: Murder
Moderate: Death of parent and Death
Minor: Blood, Violence, and Stalking
lovelymisanthrope's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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
4.0
I received a copy of this book in my OwlCrate last year. I kept bumping it to read because I kept finding books I wanted to read more, but I wish I picked this up sooner!
"This Poison Heart" follows a teenage girl named Bri. Bri has an extraordinary gift: she can manipulate plants and flowers. Her and her adoptive moms are really struggling to scrape by in their Brooklyn apartment, but it seems their luck is about to change because Bri finds out an aunt, she did not know about, has left Bri her estate. Now Bri and her moms are uprooting their lives to check out this new home, but they soon uncover that Bri's legacy has powers they had no idea about. Now Bri is in a new town, trying to uncover what her powers really are for, all while trying to keep her family safe.
This book was so atmospheric, and I had the best time reading about Bri and her plant power. The home she moves into is kind of abandoned and needs a little work because it is overrun with plants. This home and new town were so creepy but beautiful: the perfect vibe to get you into the spooky season spirit. I also really appreciated all of the diversity and representation in this book. I also really enjoyed seeing Bri explore all the different friendships she encountered in this story. She has some friends who seem to have a hard time accepting her, she has some friends who she wants to be more than friends, she has some friends that are endlessly supportive, and she has some sneaky friends who are trying to trick her. Navigating different friendships is difficult at any age, but it can be especially daunting in your teenage years. Kaylynn Brown is an immensely talented author, and you are doing yourself a disservice if you do not pick up something by her.
I cannot wait to pick up the sequel to this book, because that cliffhanger has me both angry and hopeful!
"This Poison Heart" follows a teenage girl named Bri. Bri has an extraordinary gift: she can manipulate plants and flowers. Her and her adoptive moms are really struggling to scrape by in their Brooklyn apartment, but it seems their luck is about to change because Bri finds out an aunt, she did not know about, has left Bri her estate. Now Bri and her moms are uprooting their lives to check out this new home, but they soon uncover that Bri's legacy has powers they had no idea about. Now Bri is in a new town, trying to uncover what her powers really are for, all while trying to keep her family safe.
This book was so atmospheric, and I had the best time reading about Bri and her plant power. The home she moves into is kind of abandoned and needs a little work because it is overrun with plants. This home and new town were so creepy but beautiful: the perfect vibe to get you into the spooky season spirit. I also really appreciated all of the diversity and representation in this book. I also really enjoyed seeing Bri explore all the different friendships she encountered in this story. She has some friends who seem to have a hard time accepting her, she has some friends who she wants to be more than friends, she has some friends that are endlessly supportive, and she has some sneaky friends who are trying to trick her. Navigating different friendships is difficult at any age, but it can be especially daunting in your teenage years. Kaylynn Brown is an immensely talented author, and you are doing yourself a disservice if you do not pick up something by her.
I cannot wait to pick up the sequel to this book, because that cliffhanger has me both angry and hopeful!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Violence, Murder, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Torture, and Stalking
jazminnnnnnn's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Torture, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Stalking, Toxic friendship, Grief, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit
ailsaod's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Was very excited by the basic premise but wasn't really a fan of the execution. I don't read much low/urban fantasy so the presence of copious pop-culture references was more than a little jarring. I am also very much not the target audience of this book, i.e. I am not a black teenager from New York and this book contains many little things to appeal to these groups that just left me cold (if you wanted to read about the main character's haircare routine then boy do I have the book for you!). I am pleased for the people that can read this book and see something familiar but I just spent a lot of time being confused about America and wondering if New Yorkers do indeed speak like that? Another thing that may be cultural differences is that if I had a random person appear outside my house but not make any effort to cause issues I personally wouldn't immediately call the police? It just seemed like a weird reaction but I guess America has very different trespassing laws. I've read books set in America before but I don't think I've ever had such a sense of confusion about whether the characters are being weird or if this is accurate.
This book also features some borderline insta-love but luckily this doesn't feature too heavily. Briesis really is very ride or die about people she met like two days ago though.
The main positive is that the plant magic that drew me here was pretty cool. It was a bit heavy on aesthetic over specifics for my taste but very pretty nevertheless. I liked that Briesis' Moms were actual functioning human beings that occasionally would get to interact with the plot, unlike literally every other YA parent. Not sure what I think of the greek mythology aspect but it certainly wasn't bad and the climax of the book was nice and exciting!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Stalking and Violence
decembermagpie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Self harm, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence