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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
How in the world does this book have such high ratings?! I was so dissatisfied with the book. I had such high expectations for this book and I was grossly disappointed half of the time. So much so, that half way through the book I wasn’t sure if I would keep on reading. This book is “supposed” to be about a post-apocalyptic world where all the characters in the Tarot deck are real and have powers of their own. The main character, Evie, is supposed to be the Empress card but she has no idea who she is or what she can do.
The book starts almost a year after “the Flash” has destroyed the earth. Evie is all alone and winds up in the home of some psychopath who is about to kidnap and torture her. Unbeknownst to her, she goes into his home and begins to tell him her story. She starts her story one week before the Flash. This was the beginning of the end for me. The next 100 pages or so are the most boring pages of my life. Evie’s life pre-apocalypse is so annoying and contributes NOTHING to the story whatsoever. The characters are shallow, bland and have no substance. I felt like I was reading about a never-ending episode of Beverly Hills 90210. I have no idea why the author decided to dedicate the entire half of the book to Evie’s life pre-apocalypse considering that it doesn’t contribute to the story and all those characters died during the Flash.
I’m going to take a moment to talk about the two main characters before I continue. Evie is by far the weakest heroine in the history of literature. I didn’t think any other character could trump Bella from the Twilight series or Ever from The Immortals series but Evie takes top honors. She is so naïve and I seriously wonder how an author could develop an entire series around her. Jackson is a boy from the wrong side of town who also managed to survive the Flash. He is constantly drinking and making suggestive remarks to Evie. The only thing he is interested in is sex. He is constantly speaking in French and even though Evie translates most of the things he says there are a lot phrases that go un-translated; so unless you speak French, you will get lost.
Jackson manages to find Evie a few months after the Flash and she convinces him to take her to find her grandmother, who Evie is sure, will have the answers she desperately needs. Throughout their journey, Evie is seriously dead weight. She can’t fend for herself and she is more of a burden than any help. They stumble across a mansion where Selene, the moon card, lives. After Evie refuses to have sex with Jackson it seems as though Jackson sleeps with Selene which turns Evie green with envy. They all go on a journey to seek a boy named Matthew who has been contacting Evie through her mind. The book starts to get interesting about the same time they meet Selene, which is half way through the book. Half way through the book is not where a book should start to get interesting (SMH). Evie later learns that the visions she keeps having about a murderous red witch, are actually visions of her past self and the person she needs to become. Refusing to tell Jackson the truth about herself, they part ways which is how she ends up with the psychopath from the beginning.
I would never recommend this book to anyone unless I am seriously trying to punish them. Aside from the serious flaws in the plot, the book is poorly written and the characters are shallow and undesirable. The biggest pet peeve, aside from Evie, was the fact that there were so many French words that went un-translated. So if you intend to reach this book, get yourself an English/French dictionary. This book could have been great but it wasn’t. The first half of the book was moot and even though the book started to get interesting half way through it was too late to fully salvage the story. The end was very intriguing and that’s about the only positive thing I have to say about this book.
The book starts almost a year after “the Flash” has destroyed the earth. Evie is all alone and winds up in the home of some psychopath who is about to kidnap and torture her. Unbeknownst to her, she goes into his home and begins to tell him her story. She starts her story one week before the Flash. This was the beginning of the end for me. The next 100 pages or so are the most boring pages of my life. Evie’s life pre-apocalypse is so annoying and contributes NOTHING to the story whatsoever. The characters are shallow, bland and have no substance. I felt like I was reading about a never-ending episode of Beverly Hills 90210. I have no idea why the author decided to dedicate the entire half of the book to Evie’s life pre-apocalypse considering that it doesn’t contribute to the story and all those characters died during the Flash.
I’m going to take a moment to talk about the two main characters before I continue. Evie is by far the weakest heroine in the history of literature. I didn’t think any other character could trump Bella from the Twilight series or Ever from The Immortals series but Evie takes top honors. She is so naïve and I seriously wonder how an author could develop an entire series around her. Jackson is a boy from the wrong side of town who also managed to survive the Flash. He is constantly drinking and making suggestive remarks to Evie. The only thing he is interested in is sex. He is constantly speaking in French and even though Evie translates most of the things he says there are a lot phrases that go un-translated; so unless you speak French, you will get lost.
Jackson manages to find Evie a few months after the Flash and she convinces him to take her to find her grandmother, who Evie is sure, will have the answers she desperately needs. Throughout their journey, Evie is seriously dead weight. She can’t fend for herself and she is more of a burden than any help. They stumble across a mansion where Selene, the moon card, lives. After Evie refuses to have sex with Jackson it seems as though Jackson sleeps with Selene which turns Evie green with envy. They all go on a journey to seek a boy named Matthew who has been contacting Evie through her mind. The book starts to get interesting about the same time they meet Selene, which is half way through the book. Half way through the book is not where a book should start to get interesting (SMH). Evie later learns that the visions she keeps having about a murderous red witch, are actually visions of her past self and the person she needs to become. Refusing to tell Jackson the truth about herself, they part ways which is how she ends up with the psychopath from the beginning.
I would never recommend this book to anyone unless I am seriously trying to punish them. Aside from the serious flaws in the plot, the book is poorly written and the characters are shallow and undesirable. The biggest pet peeve, aside from Evie, was the fact that there were so many French words that went un-translated. So if you intend to reach this book, get yourself an English/French dictionary. This book could have been great but it wasn’t. The first half of the book was moot and even though the book started to get interesting half way through it was too late to fully salvage the story. The end was very intriguing and that’s about the only positive thing I have to say about this book.
I absolutely loved this and was glad i chose to listen to the audiobook.
Our Heroine Evie(who has hallucinations / visions)is living in a post apocalyptic world telling a psychopathic serial killer about her experiences meanwhile he’s drugged her coffee.
Our Heroine Evie(who has hallucinations / visions)is living in a post apocalyptic world telling a psychopathic serial killer about her experiences meanwhile he’s drugged her coffee.
I LOVED this book & I can not wait for the sequel. It is a quick read. While the characters are young they become developed as they grow. The world building and supernatural elements are unique. I can't wait to see where this series goes.
This was a different sort of read for me, it was enjoyable in parts though I won’t be picking up the rest of the series.
...was NOT expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. I love the concept and the characters and their individual personalities and SCENES THAT MADE MY FLAIL FOR VARIOUS REASONS!! However, I realized I REALLY could do without that main romance element in the second half of the book because of the actions of the love interest... I always ship the villains with the main protagonist, and those actions just made it easier anyways😂
3.5 stars.
I don't know how I felt about this one. It was okay, but i think my feelings were affected by the fact that I read Allegiant & Horde this past week. So a 3rd YA Dystopian was just overkill in a week. I'm YA Dystopian out.
Plus, Evangeline didn't quite measure up to Tris or Deuce. She was their opposite as she wasn't really a "heroine" yet. She was unsure, scared, and just a follower for all except the last chapter. She wasn't resourceful and she didn't think quick on her feet. She's not a fighter, not a leader, ,she really is a "resource suck" as Jackson often called her.It's hard to see why she was the "Empress", but she came into her own at the very end of the book.
One thing that annoyed me is the high school speak and lingo, it was just annoying because i had to think to figure out what the heck they were saying. It was like watching "Bring it On" with the cheerleaders. Luckily, that ended as world changed..
I wasn't sure if this world was an earth taken over by zombies, or an earth where supernaturals staged a game giving various characters powers to battle it out for survival. I think that is why I wasn't as drawn in to this plot. I will read book 2 before I decide what I think about this series. In addition, the lack of progress between Evie and Jackson was problematic for me. But like i said, I will give Kresley Cole book 2 to get me on board.
I don't know how I felt about this one. It was okay, but i think my feelings were affected by the fact that I read Allegiant & Horde this past week. So a 3rd YA Dystopian was just overkill in a week. I'm YA Dystopian out.
Plus, Evangeline didn't quite measure up to Tris or Deuce. She was their opposite as she wasn't really a "heroine" yet. She was unsure, scared, and just a follower for all except the last chapter. She wasn't resourceful and she didn't think quick on her feet. She's not a fighter, not a leader, ,she really is a "resource suck" as Jackson often called her.It's hard to see why she was the "Empress", but she came into her own at the very end of the book.
One thing that annoyed me is the high school speak and lingo, it was just annoying because i had to think to figure out what the heck they were saying. It was like watching "Bring it On" with the cheerleaders. Luckily, that ended as world changed..
I wasn't sure if this world was an earth taken over by zombies, or an earth where supernaturals staged a game giving various characters powers to battle it out for survival. I think that is why I wasn't as drawn in to this plot. I will read book 2 before I decide what I think about this series. In addition, the lack of progress between Evie and Jackson was problematic for me. But like i said, I will give Kresley Cole book 2 to get me on board.
It started out a little rough, but then it became what I wanted from the start.
CURSE YOU CLIFFHANGER ENDINGS!
CURSE YOU CLIFFHANGER ENDINGS!
Once again, this book is the best worst thing I’ve ever read. Just wonderfully terrible. 5 stars
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.
Okay so I literally just finished this so this review is probably going to come off spazzish.
I would just like to say that I have never read a book like this, and I have read a lot of books. The author gets major creativity points in my book. I can't even predict what is going to happen, I mean Jackson's reaction to her completely caught me off guard. I am already dying to read the next book. So hurry it along miss author. You can't leave me hanging with an ending like that!!
For anyone who likes dystopian, post-apocalyptic love stories; you have met your new true love. This book series is completely original and doesn't have a stupid ass love triangle. And if you study up on tarot cards, you will probably really understand her granny. I'm looking into them as soon as I finish this review.
This definitely didn't come out as spazzy as I feared, there's not even a spoiler!! Score!!
Happy reading(:
I would just like to say that I have never read a book like this, and I have read a lot of books. The author gets major creativity points in my book. I can't even predict what is going to happen, I mean Jackson's reaction to her completely caught me off guard. I am already dying to read the next book. So hurry it along miss author. You can't leave me hanging with an ending like that!!
For anyone who likes dystopian, post-apocalyptic love stories; you have met your new true love. This book series is completely original and doesn't have a stupid ass love triangle. And if you study up on tarot cards, you will probably really understand her granny. I'm looking into them as soon as I finish this review.
This definitely didn't come out as spazzy as I feared, there's not even a spoiler!! Score!!
Happy reading(: