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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
With the release of the final book coming soon, it was time for a much-needed series re-read and time to give this book a well-deserved review, since I didn’t review books in the past when I initially read this.
I recall being so obsessed with this book back in 2012 when it first released, and I’m pleased to say as an adult, my feelings remain the same. This is such a unique dystopia twist. The tarot cards in an immortal battle, almost Hunger Games style, I just love the concept so much.
The way the book unfolds is also very unique. We’re first introduced to this creepy man who is trying to poison Evie, the female main character. Before though, the deal for her “safety” is for her to tell her story of the days leading up to The Flash (the end of the world basically) and after. So these chapters with him, in his perspective, pop up every once in a while, while the main part of the story is told in the present, in her POV, as she’s recounting it.
Evie is all-around a regular teenage girl who is back from a stay at a mental hospital. Sees weird things, draws them, is basically drawing the future, unknown to her, which is what landed her stay. She returns to high school, her friends, and her doting boyfriend. We’re introduced to a new Cajun student, Jackson (Jack), who gets under her nerves, and that’s the first part of the book. The novel does really well in laying out the before and what her life was like.
Then comes the end of the world, and nearly a one year time jump, which I actually found pleasant. None of having to read about her and her mother figuring out how to survive. It’s a time jump and then Jack returns back into town and this is where the plot really takes off when she goes with him.
Like every dystopia novel, lots of survival as Evie is trying to get to her grandmother who had warned her about all of what she’s experiencing now, including the voices Evie hears as her Arcana powers are wakening for the new battle.
More characters slowly come into play. Friendship and more with Jack, and honestly, I forgot how MUCH I like Jack. I recall loving him in the first read through, and I also recall my allegiances shifting over the course of the books to the point of me hating him. Reading as an adult has me wondering if I’ll feel the same. Because Jack is so caring toward her. So protective and really, got her through the first part of all this. But enough on the romances this series brings because I’ll touch on that in another review.
All around, whether I was 18, 23, or now nearly 28, a reread of this book is as entertaining as it was the first time around. Easy novel to fall into if you like the dystopia YA books.
I recall being so obsessed with this book back in 2012 when it first released, and I’m pleased to say as an adult, my feelings remain the same. This is such a unique dystopia twist. The tarot cards in an immortal battle, almost Hunger Games style, I just love the concept so much.
The way the book unfolds is also very unique. We’re first introduced to this creepy man who is trying to poison Evie, the female main character. Before though, the deal for her “safety” is for her to tell her story of the days leading up to The Flash (the end of the world basically) and after. So these chapters with him, in his perspective, pop up every once in a while, while the main part of the story is told in the present, in her POV, as she’s recounting it.
Evie is all-around a regular teenage girl who is back from a stay at a mental hospital. Sees weird things, draws them, is basically drawing the future, unknown to her, which is what landed her stay. She returns to high school, her friends, and her doting boyfriend. We’re introduced to a new Cajun student, Jackson (Jack), who gets under her nerves, and that’s the first part of the book. The novel does really well in laying out the before and what her life was like.
Then comes the end of the world, and nearly a one year time jump, which I actually found pleasant. None of having to read about her and her mother figuring out how to survive. It’s a time jump and then Jack returns back into town and this is where the plot really takes off when she goes with him.
Like every dystopia novel, lots of survival as Evie is trying to get to her grandmother who had warned her about all of what she’s experiencing now, including the voices Evie hears as her Arcana powers are wakening for the new battle.
More characters slowly come into play. Friendship and more with Jack, and honestly, I forgot how MUCH I like Jack. I recall loving him in the first read through, and I also recall my allegiances shifting over the course of the books to the point of me hating him. Reading as an adult has me wondering if I’ll feel the same. Because Jack is so caring toward her. So protective and really, got her through the first part of all this. But enough on the romances this series brings because I’ll touch on that in another review.
All around, whether I was 18, 23, or now nearly 28, a reread of this book is as entertaining as it was the first time around. Easy novel to fall into if you like the dystopia YA books.
What a fun book this was! In fact, it was so much fun that I couldn't put it down, which seems to be happening a lot with me lately. Too many single day reads are going to drain me.
Anywho! If you know anything about tarot, which I do not, then you'll know the name of the series 'Arcana Chronicles' is dervived from the tarot deck. The arcana are the powerful cards of the deck and these card characters have taken on human form. The problem is, most of the people who are these 'card characters' don't know it. Enter your main character, Evie, who is unsurprisingly one of them. Before the world went to shit, she was a well off southern girl from Louisiana with friends and a great (kinda dumb) boyfriend. But she's keeping a secret that her mother locked her away in a mental ward over the summer because she heard voices. Evie's grandmother has been telling her stories her entire life and the mental institute was meant to turn off the indoctrination.
The book begins with an alternating perspective between this creepy ass guy Arthur who has Evie in his home attempting to kidnap her. The world has become a wasteland and he's asked to hear her story of what life was like before. Her's is the dominant perspective of the book after that, while occasional interludes return to the present while Arthur considers how to take her life in some disturbing ways.
Before the world fell apart, a few new kids started at Evie's school after parish lines were redrawn. This group of five cajun ruffians are nothing but trouble, including their main man Jackson. Jackson is such an asshole like all the time, but part of me kinda dug it because he didn't pretend like he wasn't an asshole either. He was just a god fearing southern boy with an attitude problem and that's probably what helped him to survive the blasts that destroyed most of the world.
Jackson and Evie meet up again after the blasts have happened and he agrees to help her as she attempts to find her grandmother. Along the way, they meet a few new allies that help to unravel more of the secrets about Evie's abilities, visions, and the voices she hears. By the end, we've come full circle to see how Evie has ended up in Arthur's home after all.
There's a lot of questions still left unanswered and a lot more I'm interested to get to the bottom of. I'll definitely keep reading.
Anywho! If you know anything about tarot, which I do not, then you'll know the name of the series 'Arcana Chronicles' is dervived from the tarot deck. The arcana are the powerful cards of the deck and these card characters have taken on human form. The problem is, most of the people who are these 'card characters' don't know it. Enter your main character, Evie, who is unsurprisingly one of them. Before the world went to shit, she was a well off southern girl from Louisiana with friends and a great (kinda dumb) boyfriend. But she's keeping a secret that her mother locked her away in a mental ward over the summer because she heard voices. Evie's grandmother has been telling her stories her entire life and the mental institute was meant to turn off the indoctrination.
The book begins with an alternating perspective between this creepy ass guy Arthur who has Evie in his home attempting to kidnap her. The world has become a wasteland and he's asked to hear her story of what life was like before. Her's is the dominant perspective of the book after that, while occasional interludes return to the present while Arthur considers how to take her life in some disturbing ways.
Before the world fell apart, a few new kids started at Evie's school after parish lines were redrawn. This group of five cajun ruffians are nothing but trouble, including their main man Jackson. Jackson is such an asshole like all the time, but part of me kinda dug it because he didn't pretend like he wasn't an asshole either. He was just a god fearing southern boy with an attitude problem and that's probably what helped him to survive the blasts that destroyed most of the world.
Jackson and Evie meet up again after the blasts have happened and he agrees to help her as she attempts to find her grandmother. Along the way, they meet a few new allies that help to unravel more of the secrets about Evie's abilities, visions, and the voices she hears. By the end, we've come full circle to see how Evie has ended up in Arthur's home after all.
There's a lot of questions still left unanswered and a lot more I'm interested to get to the bottom of. I'll definitely keep reading.
SPECTACULAR, GRIPPING AND BREATHTAKING!
That was a genius idea to mix dystopia with Tarot, and even a greater idea to make cards characters!
The plot was very exciting and eventful with rather good pacing. I can't say that I was completely satisfied with characters, but the uniqueness of the book and the masterfulness of writing compensates for it. The prologue was very creepy, and the book in general is rather dark, even the romance is bumpy and difficult, so if you expect sweetness, softness, easy reading - that's not your book. The cliffhanger is rather merciless, so to say that I'm looking forward to the sequel is quite an undersatement!
Compliments to the author, that she has created such a different book from her IAD series - it's not easy not to repeat yourself at least in some small details, and believe me, Poison Princess is nothing like IAD, or any other books for that matter.
That was a genius idea to mix dystopia with Tarot, and even a greater idea to make cards characters!
The plot was very exciting and eventful with rather good pacing. I can't say that I was completely satisfied with characters, but the uniqueness of the book and the masterfulness of writing compensates for it. The prologue was very creepy, and the book in general is rather dark, even the romance is bumpy and difficult, so if you expect sweetness, softness, easy reading - that's not your book. The cliffhanger is rather merciless, so to say that I'm looking forward to the sequel is quite an undersatement!
Compliments to the author, that she has created such a different book from her IAD series - it's not easy not to repeat yourself at least in some small details, and believe me, Poison Princess is nothing like IAD, or any other books for that matter.
I love the interesting world, the characters, the tension. Looking forward to starting book 2 for the November VF read.
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Just as good as the first 4 times I read this. A unique paranormal/urban fantasy in a dystopian setting that starts at a crawl, this is the first book in a 6.5 book series. The tarot based magic system is my favourite thing about this story. This book works as a set up for the characters, plot, premise, and world building so you’ll need to be patient - it does take just a little too long for things to take off, but once they do it’s impossible to put down. The characters are younger, but have to grow up very quickly as the story develops; I would say this is an older YA (16+), because there’s definitely that teenage sexual awakening/angst involved - all that pinning/yearning brings the giddy anticipation that I love in a romantic subplot. I will never not recommend this series and will continue reading the rest immediately. Disclaimer that this is probably a biased review because I’ve loved this series for years.
One day...ONE DAY I will be able to read a book that is set in my home state without being horribly offended by the stereotypes contained within. But alas, today my friends is not that day.
See, the first thing is that the main character is a girl named Evangeline. How cute, right? I know it's fiction, but I've lived here nearly 28 years and I don't know one damn girl with that name. Ok, whatever. Moving on.
This is where I started to get more offended...
I just had a whole lot of wat. Talk about a whole lot of stereotypes rolled into one small section. Does this woman not understand that frog legs are a delicacy in places wayyyyy fancier than most can afford?
And finally...
ALL of my WAT. Look, I don't care how country or backwoods you are, you know what a cell phone and texting is, especially if you're of high school age. Come ON, Kresley Cole...nobody's that sheltered.
There are several more reasons why I quit reading this book, but I think being offended is probably the most important one. Do yourself a favor and stay away from this cliched YA paranormal snore.
See, the first thing is that the main character is a girl named Evangeline. How cute, right? I know it's fiction, but I've lived here nearly 28 years and I don't know one damn girl with that name. Ok, whatever. Moving on.
This is where I started to get more offended...
“Who are they?” I asked. “Have they come to start trouble?”
Grace answered, “Haven’t you heard? They’re a bunch of juvies from Basin High School.”
Basin High? That was in a totally different parish, on the other side of the levee. Basin equaled Cajun. “But why are they here?”
“They’re attending Sterling!” Catherine said. “Because of that new bridge they built across the levee, the kids at the outer edge of the basin are now closer to us than to their old school.”
Before the bridge, those Cajuns would have had to drive all the way around the swamp to get here—fifty miles at least.
Until the last decade or so, the bayou folk there had been isolated. They still spoke Cajun French and ate frogs’ legs.
Though I’d never been to Basin Town, all of Haven’s farm help came from there and my crazy ole grandmother still had friends there. I knew a lot about the area, a place rumored to be filled with hot-blooded women, hard-fighting men, and unbelievable poverty.
I just had a whole lot of wat. Talk about a whole lot of stereotypes rolled into one small section. Does this woman not understand that frog legs are a delicacy in places wayyyyy fancier than most can afford?
And finally...
"You typing to that beau of yours?" Again Jackson got that frustrated look on his face. His moods were so changeable.
"TEXTING. Yes."
ALL of my WAT. Look, I don't care how country or backwoods you are, you know what a cell phone and texting is, especially if you're of high school age. Come ON, Kresley Cole...nobody's that sheltered.
There are several more reasons why I quit reading this book, but I think being offended is probably the most important one. Do yourself a favor and stay away from this cliched YA paranormal snore.
I have to admit that I did give up on reading this book when I first got it. The story line brought me back to it and it was the best decision I've ever made regarding a book. The first few chapters are wooden but as the story progressed so did my interest. Love love this book now (but I still skip the first few chapters!)
Reread 2024 - this was a solid first book. While I’m not a fan of the romance because Jackson is possessive and kind of an ass, I did enjoy everything else. The author is taking her time in introducing you to what is going on and allowing you to feel like you’re figuring it out along side the main character. Excited to continue on.