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readtoinfinity's review against another edition
5.0
Advance reader copy
I received this book through goodreads giveaway. I really enjoyed this book. It was amazing I love the vivid imagery and the characters in this book. This is truly a mystical book that is based on old legends and stories that passed down from generation to generation. This book is about a mystery surrounding a cursed girl that lives in a house that is filled with poisonous plants. Lucas spends the summers in this Puerto Rico town and has always herd stories about the cursed girl. Lucas cant help but be lured into the mystery and folklore about this girl. There's also the case of his disappearing girlfriend that Lucas turns to the cursed girl for help.RECOMMENDED.
I received this book through goodreads giveaway. I really enjoyed this book. It was amazing I love the vivid imagery and the characters in this book. This is truly a mystical book that is based on old legends and stories that passed down from generation to generation. This book is about a mystery surrounding a cursed girl that lives in a house that is filled with poisonous plants. Lucas spends the summers in this Puerto Rico town and has always herd stories about the cursed girl. Lucas cant help but be lured into the mystery and folklore about this girl. There's also the case of his disappearing girlfriend that Lucas turns to the cursed girl for help.RECOMMENDED.
nikiverse's review against another edition
2.0
Lucas is the son of a rich magnate who is building hotels in Puerto Rico. Lucas drinks and parties with the locals and finds himself starting to like a girl named Marisol. Marisol goes missing and Lucas recalls the stories the locals tell about a mysterious, poisonous girl living in the house at the end of Calle Sol, Isabel. Lucas seeks out Isabel in his journey to understand what's happening to the missing girls of Puerto Rico.
I wouldn't read this book again, I feel like it could have been so much more. Would have been much better if told from the perspective of Isabel. Lucas seems like a bored, rich kid tbqh. I gotta stop reading YA!
I wouldn't read this book again, I feel like it could have been so much more. Would have been much better if told from the perspective of Isabel. Lucas seems like a bored, rich kid tbqh. I gotta stop reading YA!
cheri_m's review against another edition
It's been a while, so it's not as fresh in my mind, but the book was not at all how I expected it, but in a good way. The way the author was able to craft Lucas's piece of Puerto Rico was beautiful. Puerto Rico felt like its own world, one filled with magic and mystery and culture that you can't find anywhere else.
I also really enjoyed the way the characters were crafted, specifically Lucas and Isabel. Lucas felt very REAL. Probably reflected some boys we knew or could easily imagine, but still with his own flaws and depth. He was imperfect, he made mistakes, he had hopes and dreams, he was human.
I won't say much else to avoid spoiling it, but the story took its own course I couldn't predict at all and ended just as uniquely. Maybe not the ending I was hoping, for, but a good one, beautiful one, nonetheless.
I also really enjoyed the way the characters were crafted, specifically Lucas and Isabel. Lucas felt very REAL. Probably reflected some boys we knew or could easily imagine, but still with his own flaws and depth. He was imperfect, he made mistakes, he had hopes and dreams, he was human.
I won't say much else to avoid spoiling it, but the story took its own course I couldn't predict at all and ended just as uniquely. Maybe not the ending I was hoping, for, but a good one, beautiful one, nonetheless.
himissjulie's review against another edition
A retelling of Hawthorne's Rappaccini's Daughter? Yes please.
I enjoyed this book, and could see myself booktalking it, but I fell short of really, really loving it. Not sure why.
I enjoyed this book, and could see myself booktalking it, but I fell short of really, really loving it. Not sure why.
readbetweenthevines's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars because I REALLY loved the first half! I also loved the setting. Unfortunately the predictable plot was what dropped it from a four
erin_reads_boooks's review against another edition
4.0
This was a very strange, but engaging story. Involved magical realism, which isn't my thing usually, but I did enjoy this one.
idamasic's review against another edition
3.0
The concept and premise of A Fierce and Subtle Poison is very intriguing. It is wonderfully written and the style of writing really fits the mood of the novel. I found it easy to get into the story and once I started reading I was immersed in the mystery and the tales surrounding the cursed girl. There was a point for me about three-quarters of the way through where my attention waivered and my interest and excitement for the story decreased, which I feel may have been as a result of a lack of connection to the characters. There are many different avenues a story like this can take, especially when it comes to YA novels, and I appreciate where the author took the story and how it left off. While I wish I could have connected more to the novel as a whole, I did find it interesting and enjoyable. A Fierce and Subtle Poison is a wonderfully written debut with a compelling premise that I would recommend to fans of magical realism and mysteries.
*ARC provided by NetGalley. Publication date: April 12, 2016.
More reviews @ aboutabook.wordpress.com
*ARC provided by NetGalley. Publication date: April 12, 2016.
More reviews @ aboutabook.wordpress.com
pmgunter's review against another edition
5.0
What a wonderful book. It was full of such imagery and everything that a good magical realism book should have. I love that this book stirred up such emotions.
genevievefrye's review against another edition
3.0
Overall, I thought this book was beautiful. I thought the premise was original and Mabry's writing style is gorgeous. I loved the way she described Puerto Rico and I felt like I really got to know Lucas as though he were a real person. However, the end of the book made me have more questions than answers. Maybe this was the point, to leave the reader curious, but it left a lot unexplained and was honestly very confusing.
saragrochowski's review against another edition
5.0
This stunning debut from Samantha Mabry is a seamless combination of magical realism and murder mystery. 17-year old Lucas spends his summers on the island of San Juan, indulging in summer romances and enjoying the local stories, like that of the cursed, poison-filled girl that grants wishes and can kill with a touch. His summer of leisure comes to a halt local girls - including his almost-girlfriend -are found dead on the beach. Then a mysterious note revealing a dark mystery appears in his room... a note that can only be from the cursed girl. Only Lucas and Isabel, a mythical girl with a sorrowful history, can unravel the truth of the recent murders before Lucas is blamed. Readers will sink into this lush and distinctive setting, losing track of fiction and reality.