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A review by skelleycat
A Fierce and Subtle Poison by Samantha Mabry
3.0
3.5 stars
I've had some trouble putting my thoughts together on this book, and I'm not sure why. On the one hand, A Fierce and Subtle Poison was an interesting experience, with a setting and theme that aren't my typical fare. On the other hand, I suppose I felt a bit disconnected from the story.
The book is set in Puerto Rico and I think this is one of my favorite things about it. At times, I almost felt like I was there -- I could feel the heat and humidity, imagine swatting those mosquitoes away -- and I really enjoyed being able to test what I remembered from Spanish class, thanks to all of the words and phrases en Español peppered throughout the book. In fact, I even got excited and started reading the book with an accent, until I realized that the MC (thus, narrator) was a white kid. Boo!
There are a handful of mysteries in this book, and I must admit that some intrigued me more than others. It's a shame when the woman in the refrigerator gets put there before I really have a chance to care about her, because it dampens my overall investment in the story. The mysteries I was more curious about were definitely the scientific and magical elements (which probably says something about my typical reading interests), and I was mostly satisfied with the attention they were given within the story.
I'm struggling to pinpoint many things that truly stood out to me — in any way — and so I feel like I'm just coming to the conclusion that this book didn't impress me, but didn't really disappoint me either. My 3.5-star rating speaks for itself then: it was enjoyable, but not overly so. (I did get to see a hardcover of it and it's *very pretty*. Alas, I did forgo the purchase.)
I've had some trouble putting my thoughts together on this book, and I'm not sure why. On the one hand, A Fierce and Subtle Poison was an interesting experience, with a setting and theme that aren't my typical fare. On the other hand, I suppose I felt a bit disconnected from the story.
The book is set in Puerto Rico and I think this is one of my favorite things about it. At times, I almost felt like I was there -- I could feel the heat and humidity, imagine swatting those mosquitoes away -- and I really enjoyed being able to test what I remembered from Spanish class, thanks to all of the words and phrases en Español peppered throughout the book. In fact, I even got excited and started reading the book with an accent, until I realized that the MC (thus, narrator) was a white kid. Boo!
There are a handful of mysteries in this book, and I must admit that some intrigued me more than others. It's a shame when the woman in the refrigerator gets put there before I really have a chance to care about her, because it dampens my overall investment in the story. The mysteries I was more curious about were definitely the scientific and magical elements (which probably says something about my typical reading interests), and I was mostly satisfied with the attention they were given within the story.
I'm struggling to pinpoint many things that truly stood out to me — in any way — and so I feel like I'm just coming to the conclusion that this book didn't impress me, but didn't really disappoint me either. My 3.5-star rating speaks for itself then: it was enjoyable, but not overly so. (I did get to see a hardcover of it and it's *very pretty*. Alas, I did forgo the purchase.)