Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by tapestryofwords
The Poison Diaries by The Duchess of Northumberland, Maryrose Wood
3.0
This book felt kind of like it changed halfway through from one kind of story into another. I was enjoying the story throughout the first half; it was mysterious and different, and I wasn't sure exactly where it was heading (although I had my suspicions about the character of Weed). And then in the second half it became... weird and confusing. Like all of a sudden, the world this was set in was revealed more clearly, and it was not exactly my style. This is sounding super vague because otherwise I would spoil things, so here are some spoilers under the tag:
The way it ends certainly leaves me with questions, which I hope will be answered in book 2. I think it could have been a standalone, though, if some more resolution had been given to the story.
Also, I was never really feeling the romance here... Jessamine seems to fall really quickly and then it just develops even though the chemistry, for me, wasn't there.
There are some interesting questions revolving around morality that are raised towards the end, and it could strengthen the series if these are addressed more deeply in the next book. I also liked the irony that was present in the climax of the book ().
Spoiler
Basically, I'm talking about the part where all of a sudden we get introduced to talking plants. I mean, I knew Weed had some kind of connection to plants -- it's not exactly subtle -- but when they're sneering and laughing and showing off their appreciation of dark comedy, it's just... too weird for me. I've never been a fan of talking animals in books, and talking plants are no different. Maybe even odder. And then we get introduced to Oleander, who's some sort of prince/dark angel (I mean, it's not really explained, but he *does* have wings), and things got even stranger. Basically, it went from a historical story about healers and poisons (with a touch of magic) to a fantasy story about talking plants and a Prince of Poisons and some morality tests that I still don't quite understand the point of.The way it ends certainly leaves me with questions, which I hope will be answered in book 2. I think it could have been a standalone, though, if some more resolution had been given to the story.
Also, I was never really feeling the romance here... Jessamine seems to fall really quickly and then it just develops even though the chemistry, for me, wasn't there.
There are some interesting questions revolving around morality that are raised towards the end, and it could strengthen the series if these are addressed more deeply in the next book. I also liked the irony that was present in the climax of the book (