Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron

236 reviews

matmatmatty's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? No

4.0

Loved this book! It has a real air of mystery about it and I found myself constantly reading because I wanted to put all the pieces together. Towards the end, I could not put it down! Cannot wait for the next book!

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gen_nh's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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? It's complicated

4.5

First couple of chapters were a bit slow for my preference but it picked up quickly after that and the relaxed and matter of fact way sexuality/race/gender is approached is great to read. Non of those factors were defining parts of the characters and were just naturally part of them. 

I loved the mix of tense action and emotional moments, and the mythology mixed with real life was really well executed. 

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smarieg's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75


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mel_muses's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This was super fun and I absolutely loved the world the author built. As I was reading (listening to the audiobook) the vines moved, the flowers bloomed, and everything came to life. It managed to be sweet and full of love - even amid the intrigue and gruesomeness at the end.

My one gripe is that towards the end the writing felt a bit cheap, or at least forced, with an over-reliance on the villain archetype.

I don't think I connected with Briseis completely, but I clearly see how her story could and does mean so, so much to queer Black girls. Briseis as a character and her moms as her family was the perfect backdrop for a story so full of heart, as This Poison Heart is. 

I can't wait to read This Wicked Fate and see where the rest of this story goes!

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eshanicole's review

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0


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bookishkellyn's review against another edition

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adventurous funny
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Briseis "inherits" her birth mom’s ancestral home, embraces her familial botanist gifts as a real life “Black Poison Ivy“, and learns about her ties to Greek mythology and the dangers that accompany it. Fun and great representation. Ends on a cliffhanger. Points off for a slow start and some editing errors.

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futureofmydays's review against another edition

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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


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twistykris's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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

4.5

A unique urban fantasy with a combination of plant magic, Greek mythology, and mystery. It starts off feeling very cozy, with our main character, Briseis, navigating the world with her power of growing plants. It's kept completely secret, with only her adoptive mothers knowing about her power. Shortly after a frightening and confusing incident with a poisonous plant, Briseis receives word she's inherited a huge house from her biological aunt, so her and her mothers move from the city to a small town. After arriving, strange things start to happen and strange people start showing up on the property, turning this cozy story into one of riddles and suspense.

There are some great characters and the building secrets kept me engaged for the entire book. There was a surprising amount of Greek mythology, which I am always interested in reading. The queer rep was SO cute and the ending left me with my jaw on the floor and tears in my eyes and I immediately borrowed the sequel- This Wicked Fate- audiobook from the library.

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pyromastyx's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0


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amongthestars's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0


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