Scan barcode
A review by allaurae
The Poison Diaries by The Duchess of Northumberland, Maryrose Wood
1.0
Official Rating: 1.5
Thoughts:
Okay. Wow. I didn't expect to be finished with that so quickly.
To start off with, I'd just like to say that any book that has as the big-bad antagonist is going to leave a bad taste in my mouth.
As unfortunate as it is to kick off reviewing books on Goodreads with a negative opinion, The Poison Diaries just didn't do it for me. At all.
At first, it had promise. I wasn't exactly sucked into the novel for the plot, though; the only reason I got so pulled in was because of how quickly I was actually progressing through it. (For a book intended for a YA audience, it sure felt like I was reading Middle Grade.)
Sadly, this promise never flourished. Where Jessamine had the potential to grow out of her diminutive, childish ways, she stayed stock still. Weed was whiny, pouty and patronising (oh my!). Jessamine's dad was a freak poorly disguised as a workaholic disguised as a scientist.
The narrative itself grew gradually more and more absurd, with the plot points becoming more convoluted and less creditable by the page. That's right. Page.
The first half of the story had to be dragged by its ears to get anywhere, and the second half had so many expository scenes and "twists" that I had to check the cover a few times to make sure I was still holding the right book. The final arc of the story felt like I was reading a tacky RPG.
By the last page, The Poison Diaries had somehow achieved the feat of making me both exhausted and mind-numbingly bored at the same time. Although, perhaps the lack of interest came from the sheer disappointment I had with the characters.
Jessamine frustrated me to no end. I understand that this book falls under the historic genre, and I can have historic-accuracy preached to me by every history-devoted-historian in the world, but I will never have any affection for Daddy's Obedient Perfect Princess Who Can Cook, Clean and Swoon. At some point in the novel she mentions something about wanting to study poisons and her father not allowing it, which is fair enough. What I can't buy is the main character spending the first half of the novel ranting on and on about how for the first 16 years of her life she had begged her father to let her into his locked-up garden, only to forget all about it after being in there once, clutching the hand of her beloved and following after him with her thumb in her mouth.
Weed was annoying. (If you're going to throw in a POV change, do it at the start of the novel, not in the last 80 pages.) With more mood-swings than Edward Cullen, the guy left me with one distinct thought: dude, you really need to get out more.
Jessamine's dad was... well, I saw it coming, and it still didn't detract from how disturbingly abusive he was. His character was messed up, and not in a fun, "you're-so-quirky" way. Rather, in a way.
The Poison Diaries left much to be desired. So much. "Much" includes: likeable characters, weed killer (in more ways than one), a plot, and my afternoon back. The story was a good idea, but very poorly executed.
Seriously, though,? Weird. Pair them with the word "seductive", though, and I just can't take you seriously.
Thoughts:
Okay. Wow. I didn't expect to be finished with that so quickly.
To start off with, I'd just like to say that any book that has
Spoiler
manipulative, talking plantsAs unfortunate as it is to kick off reviewing books on Goodreads with a negative opinion, The Poison Diaries just didn't do it for me. At all.
At first, it had promise. I wasn't exactly sucked into the novel for the plot, though; the only reason I got so pulled in was because of how quickly I was actually progressing through it. (For a book intended for a YA audience, it sure felt like I was reading Middle Grade.)
Sadly, this promise never flourished. Where Jessamine had the potential to grow out of her diminutive, childish ways, she stayed stock still. Weed was whiny, pouty and patronising (oh my!). Jessamine's dad was a freak poorly disguised as a workaholic disguised as a scientist.
The narrative itself grew gradually more and more absurd, with the plot points becoming more convoluted and less creditable by the page. That's right. Page.
The first half of the story had to be dragged by its ears to get anywhere, and the second half had so many expository scenes and "twists" that I had to check the cover a few times to make sure I was still holding the right book. The final arc of the story felt like I was reading a tacky RPG.
By the last page, The Poison Diaries had somehow achieved the feat of making me both exhausted and mind-numbingly bored at the same time. Although, perhaps the lack of interest came from the sheer disappointment I had with the characters.
Jessamine frustrated me to no end. I understand that this book falls under the historic genre, and I can have historic-accuracy preached to me by every history-devoted-historian in the world, but I will never have any affection for Daddy's Obedient Perfect Princess Who Can Cook, Clean and Swoon. At some point in the novel she mentions something about wanting to study poisons and her father not allowing it, which is fair enough. What I can't buy is the main character spending the first half of the novel ranting on and on about how for the first 16 years of her life she had begged her father to let her into his locked-up garden, only to forget all about it after being in there once, clutching the hand of her beloved and following after him with her thumb in her mouth.
Weed was annoying. (If you're going to throw in a POV change, do it at the start of the novel, not in the last 80 pages.) With more mood-swings than Edward Cullen, the guy left me with one distinct thought: dude, you really need to get out more.
Jessamine's dad was... well, I saw it coming, and it still didn't detract from how disturbingly abusive he was. His character was messed up, and not in a fun, "you're-so-quirky" way. Rather, in a
Spoiler
"I'm really uncomfortable reading about you, oh my God am I really supposed to believe you're a good guy"The Poison Diaries left much to be desired. So much. "Much" includes: likeable characters, weed killer (in more ways than one), a plot, and my afternoon back. The story was a good idea, but very poorly executed.
Seriously, though,