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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
3.5 stars
This is a relisten. I forgot what a jerk Jack was in this first one!
This is a relisten. I forgot what a jerk Jack was in this first one!
I was in between a 4 and a 5, but decided to go with the higher rating because I couldn't put this book down once the Flash happened. I really liked this book and can't wait for the second one. However, it is way too mature for my students. Loved it though!
I can't remember exactly how this ended up on my TBR, nor do I remember exactly what made me order this and the second and third books in the series from the library, but, as I was trying to plan my week out and decide what books I wanted to read this week, I decided to stick the first three books on my phone and check them out.
I genuinely think it was because I was expecting something set in a vaguely medieval, high fantasy setting, but I was truly surprised that this was a very recently post-apocalyptic setting with a fantasy twist. It actually reminded me a lot of Firstlife by Gena Showalter, but that might have something to do with the fact that Emma Galvin narrates both series.
The fifth star this could have earned comes down entirely to execution. I was very intrigued by the setting, by Evie's psyche, and the overall strangeness of everything. One bit of lore I really delighted in, especially considering how disgusting it was, was the baggers. They were so nasty, it made my skin crawl and I loved it, and I loved all that sort of creepy, gross stuff that's throughout.
The execution, however, leaves much to be desired. Jack feels like a weird amalgam of all the bad boy YA love interests about 50% of the time, and his moodiness has zero rhyme or reason to it. He behaves more like I would expect a thirteen year old might, considering how poor he is at communication (not even just communicating his feelings to Evie, either, also with more general stuff) and how he'll be professing how much he cares about Evie one minute, the next he's flirting it up with Serena. It's just weird and I don't understand it; it all reeks of narrative convenience to me. Evie is also a little hollow and feels like she can barely make decisions without being practically forced into them.
That said, I had a lot of fun with this. The atmosphere is delightfully strange and, despite all their numerous flaws, Jack and Evie have a very real chemistry that's fun to watch, even if it is mostly bickering. Onward to book two!
I genuinely think it was because I was expecting something set in a vaguely medieval, high fantasy setting, but I was truly surprised that this was a very recently post-apocalyptic setting with a fantasy twist. It actually reminded me a lot of Firstlife by Gena Showalter, but that might have something to do with the fact that Emma Galvin narrates both series.
The fifth star this could have earned comes down entirely to execution. I was very intrigued by the setting, by Evie's psyche, and the overall strangeness of everything. One bit of lore I really delighted in, especially considering how disgusting it was, was the baggers. They were so nasty, it made my skin crawl and I loved it, and I loved all that sort of creepy, gross stuff that's throughout.
The execution, however, leaves much to be desired. Jack feels like a weird amalgam of all the bad boy YA love interests about 50% of the time, and his moodiness has zero rhyme or reason to it. He behaves more like I would expect a thirteen year old might, considering how poor he is at communication (not even just communicating his feelings to Evie, either, also with more general stuff) and how he'll be professing how much he cares about Evie one minute, the next he's flirting it up with Serena. It's just weird and I don't understand it; it all reeks of narrative convenience to me. Evie is also a little hollow and feels like she can barely make decisions without being practically forced into them.
That said, I had a lot of fun with this. The atmosphere is delightfully strange and, despite all their numerous flaws, Jack and Evie have a very real chemistry that's fun to watch, even if it is mostly bickering. Onward to book two!
I don't always read post-apocalyptic YA, but when I do I read Kresley Cole. Okay, I almost never read post-apocalyptic YA if I can help it, but I think we all know that I would probably read Kresley Cole's version of the phonebook.
This book, in many ways, felt like a slow build to me. Evie often got on my nerves--mainly because I have totally forgotten what it's like to be 16. By the end of the book, though? I was ready to root for her. In contrast, I spent the majority of the book rooting for Jackson, and the end of the book was a facepalm on his behalf. I still have a thing for Cajuns, though, so there's that.
Best part? The Tarot theme is intriguing.
Okay, so Evie has horrific visions, and she's forbidden to speak with the woman with the answers, her grandmother. She's in a predator's lair telling the story of how the world ended, a story that begins with your usual high school problems and ends with some problems that are distinctly not high school. The world ends, putting her at the mercy of the bad boy she'd spurned before the world ended. Add an archer, a magician, and an autistic boy who's anything but a fool and you have quite the story.
This book reminds me a lot of A Hunger Like No Other, the first book in the Immortals After Dark series in that Evie, like Emma, doesn't start off as a badass heroine. By the end of the book, however, you know she, like Emma, is a force to be reckoned with. Also, there's a great deal of world building here--never clunky, mind you--but I still have the feeling the story will really take off with book 2.
This book, in many ways, felt like a slow build to me. Evie often got on my nerves--mainly because I have totally forgotten what it's like to be 16. By the end of the book, though? I was ready to root for her. In contrast, I spent the majority of the book rooting for Jackson, and the end of the book was a facepalm on his behalf. I still have a thing for Cajuns, though, so there's that.
Best part? The Tarot theme is intriguing.
Okay, so Evie has horrific visions, and she's forbidden to speak with the woman with the answers, her grandmother. She's in a predator's lair telling the story of how the world ended, a story that begins with your usual high school problems and ends with some problems that are distinctly not high school. The world ends, putting her at the mercy of the bad boy she'd spurned before the world ended. Add an archer, a magician, and an autistic boy who's anything but a fool and you have quite the story.
This book reminds me a lot of A Hunger Like No Other, the first book in the Immortals After Dark series in that Evie, like Emma, doesn't start off as a badass heroine. By the end of the book, however, you know she, like Emma, is a force to be reckoned with. Also, there's a great deal of world building here--never clunky, mind you--but I still have the feeling the story will really take off with book 2.
Amazing first debut YA novel for Mrs. Cole. Unlike most of her romance novelist who switch to YA, she didn't cut down on mature language or explicit scenes (a.k.a fighting or sexual scenes) which is what I enjoy when romance novelist switches to YA. I can't wait buy the second book!
I can't disagree with any of the legitimate criticisms mentioned in the 1-star reviews, but I thoroughly enjoyed getting swept up in this narrative. I enjoyed it far more than I'd anticipated based on the cover/blurb. I could have done without all of the exclamation points though! I know it's YA, but they kind of lose their impact with overuse, no?!
The hype surrounding this book was too real. I had watched many BookTubers rave over this series, and so, seeing it at the closest bookstore for $1.99, I thought "Why not?". I'm so glad I read Poison Princess. This book was fantastic. There were a few things that I didn't enjoy, but we will discuss those in a minute. One of my favorite things about this book is the setting. It is common for a YA novel to be set in the U.S.; however, it is rare for it to take place in the south. I was born and raised in the south, so to see that this was set in Louisiana made me very happy. Now, I don't live in Louisiana, and I've never been there, so I don't know how accurate Cole was on describing and capturing the setting. I would think she did an alright job.
The plot was somewhat original. It's a pre and post-apocalyptic setting. I liked that she let us see the before and after of the world she created. It really showed how the characters changed and developed because of the Flash (the beginning of the apocalypse). Although the apocalypse is commonly used, I haven't seen it used in the way Cole does it. Usually there are monsters: check. Evil people: check. And last but not least, the need to survive: check. However, the way that Cole goes about it is somehow to refreshing. I haven't read a post-apocalyptic book that had slavers in it, but after this I'm thinking: Why not? It seems like something that could really happen! What would stop people from enslaving lonely wanderers? Nothing! And the militia is scary to think about. When someone says militia, they think safety, but not in this book. They think run. So, overall, the plot was attention grabbing.
As for the characters, I liked Evie. I didn't love her. I liked that she wasn't the typical person that was like "Oh, I'm chosen, how awesome, I'm so glad and ready to save the world." She was very against her powers and she didn't believe it was up to her to save the world. This was so refreshing because it's realistic. Who in their right mind would just say "Well, okay, if I must. It's not problem". Personally, I would have holed myself up and avoided all responsibilities. But of course, you can't do that during the apocalypse. So, right, Evie has these powers but she doesn't want to use them because they scare her. And hell, I would be scared too. That's what I like about Evie. She acts like the teenage cheerleader she is throughout the book. These powers don't change her in a split second like they do to all the other main characters in other books. Her character was very refreshing to read. Also, as a bonus: she's not annoying.
Jackson is a different story; I'm not sure how to feel about him. He's a very bipolar person. He's all nice one second and the next, he's yelling. This of course only intensifies after the apocalypse and I'm surprised he didn't abuse Evie. One page, I liked Jackson and the next, I disliked him. I'm interested to see how his character grows in the next book. His accent was slightly annoying; I know it's in the South, but it would have made more sense for both him and Evie to have accents. The difference is so exaggerated Evie could be from the North. I think that's what bothered me more than his accent alone; it was the lack of Evie's accent.
The chemistry between them is nice, though. Their romance isn't over-powering, and it's not insta-love (thank God). In fact, it's refreshing to actual watch them grow together. They make each other a better, and they teach each other things. These two are great and I love watching them "interact". This book definitely is not romance driven though. Cole does a good job on focusing on the main plot.
I enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to people that enjoy fantasy. Although it starts off very weird, I would recommend pushing through. Read at least the first 40ish pages before you decide to drop it. As for some warnings: cursing, mild mature content, and some gore. This book may not be for the squeamish.
The plot was somewhat original. It's a pre and post-apocalyptic setting. I liked that she let us see the before and after of the world she created. It really showed how the characters changed and developed because of the Flash (the beginning of the apocalypse). Although the apocalypse is commonly used, I haven't seen it used in the way Cole does it. Usually there are monsters: check. Evil people: check. And last but not least, the need to survive: check. However, the way that Cole goes about it is somehow to refreshing. I haven't read a post-apocalyptic book that had slavers in it, but after this I'm thinking: Why not? It seems like something that could really happen! What would stop people from enslaving lonely wanderers? Nothing! And the militia is scary to think about. When someone says militia, they think safety, but not in this book. They think run. So, overall, the plot was attention grabbing.
As for the characters, I liked Evie. I didn't love her. I liked that she wasn't the typical person that was like "Oh, I'm chosen, how awesome, I'm so glad and ready to save the world." She was very against her powers and she didn't believe it was up to her to save the world. This was so refreshing because it's realistic. Who in their right mind would just say "Well, okay, if I must. It's not problem". Personally, I would have holed myself up and avoided all responsibilities. But of course, you can't do that during the apocalypse. So, right, Evie has these powers but she doesn't want to use them because they scare her. And hell, I would be scared too. That's what I like about Evie. She acts like the teenage cheerleader she is throughout the book. These powers don't change her in a split second like they do to all the other main characters in other books. Her character was very refreshing to read. Also, as a bonus: she's not annoying.
Jackson is a different story; I'm not sure how to feel about him. He's a very bipolar person. He's all nice one second and the next, he's yelling. This of course only intensifies after the apocalypse and I'm surprised he didn't abuse Evie. One page, I liked Jackson and the next, I disliked him. I'm interested to see how his character grows in the next book. His accent was slightly annoying; I know it's in the South, but it would have made more sense for both him and Evie to have accents. The difference is so exaggerated Evie could be from the North. I think that's what bothered me more than his accent alone; it was the lack of Evie's accent.
The chemistry between them is nice, though. Their romance isn't over-powering, and it's not insta-love (thank God). In fact, it's refreshing to actual watch them grow together. They make each other a better, and they teach each other things. These two are great and I love watching them "interact". This book definitely is not romance driven though. Cole does a good job on focusing on the main plot.
I enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to people that enjoy fantasy. Although it starts off very weird, I would recommend pushing through. Read at least the first 40ish pages before you decide to drop it. As for some warnings: cursing, mild mature content, and some gore. This book may not be for the squeamish.
fast-paced
DNF-55%
The prologue was excellent, but then so far most of what I have read is just hs drama. Followed by immature back and forth between the mc and the love interest. At this point I stopped caring what would happen. I should have spent the 2 hours playing Pokémon Go.
The prologue was excellent, but then so far most of what I have read is just hs drama. Followed by immature back and forth between the mc and the love interest. At this point I stopped caring what would happen. I should have spent the 2 hours playing Pokémon Go.