Reviews

This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron

Only show reviews with written explanations

emaer2's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

*3.25

thelesbianlibrary's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

okevamae's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Briseis Greene is good with plants. It’s not your average green thumb, though – she has a mysterious magic that allows her to grow seeds into blossoms in seconds, and bring a wilted husk of a plant back to life. Her hold on this magic is somewhat tenuous, though, and the plants don’t always stay in her control. When she receives a message that her aunt – from a birth family she has had no contact with since her adoption – has passed away and left her a house in the countryside, she and her moms pack up to go and find out what exactly Bri has inherited. She soon finds herself entangled in magic and mystery, besieged by even more questions about the family she came from.

The magical world of this novel is a combination of magic and mythology, which I love. I also adored the spooky setting of the old house and its mysterious gardens. Bri’s relationship with her parents (her two adopted moms) was fantastic, as was the representation in this novel – aside from Bri’s two moms, Bri herself is queer (bi or pan) as is her female love interest, and most of the characters in the book are people of color. I wasn’t that into the romantic aspect, to be honest - I appreciate the wlw representation but it’s kind of insta-love-y. But that was one of my only minor complaints about the novel. I’m interested to explore this world more when the next book comes out.

I received an ARC of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.