Monday, December 3, 2012

Review: Poison Princess

POISON PRINCESS
The Arcana Chronicles #1
Kresley Cole
Paranormal Young Adult
369 pages
Simon & Schuster BFYR
Available now
Received at BEA

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
 She could save the world—or destroy it.

Sixteen year old Evangeline “Evie” Greene leads a charmed life, until she begins experiencing horrifying hallucinations. When an apocalyptic event decimates her Louisiana hometown, Evie realizes her hallucinations were actually visions of the future—and they’re still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate: Jack Deveaux.

But she can’t do either alone.

With his mile-long rap sheet, wicked grin, and bad attitude, Jack is like no boy Evie has ever known. Even though he once scorned her and everything she represented, he agrees to protect Evie on her quest. She knows she can’t totally depend on Jack. If he ever cast that wicked grin her way, could she possibly resist him?

Who can Evie trust?

As Jack and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have gotten the same call. An ancient prophesy is being played out, and Evie is not the only one with special powers. A group of twenty-two teens has been chosen to reenact the ultimate battle between good and evil. But it’s not always clear who is on which side….


MY THOUGHTS
Poison Princess is a strangely alluring introduction to the world of the Arcana Chronicles, the picture Ms. Cole paints haunting and brutal, grabbing us by the throat from the first chapter and refusing to release us until we’ve devoured every page. What’s perhaps most fascinating about this first installment is the challenge it presents, protagonists Evie and Jack not an entirely likable pair from the onset as they repeatedly test the limits of our patience with their antagonistic relationship, but like the Poison Princess herself, both characters slowly grow claws, sinking them into our skin centimeter by centimeter until they’re fully embedded and we find ourselves completely ensnared. As with the characters, the world itself presents many of its own challenges, namely the seemingly endless line of questions we have with regard to the Arcana, Evie’s role with them, and their overall purpose, but instead of the frustration we might expect from so many blanks yet to be filled, the story is written in such a way that we are continually reassured answers will be provided even if they’re not granted to us in this first book.

Evie is a bit of a tricky heroine, someone who initially seems willing to succumb to peer pressure in order to please those around her and who repeatedly mouths off to Jackson with little regard to how he might interpret her words. She inadvertently insults him on a variety of occasions, and despite knowing she’s caused offense, she refuses to clarify her statement so that he understands how it came across was not in fact how it was intended. For almost the entire first half connecting to her is a bit of a struggle,
her caustic relationship with Jackson keeping us at a distance even though we’re able to sympathize with her situation and find ourselves more than fascinated by her visions. In the last hundred or so pages however, Evie decides to be as honest (in some things) with Jackson as possible, clearing up many of their misunderstandings when they happen and becoming a young woman we want to root for on every possible level.

Jackson, for his part, is as much of a problem in the beginning as Evie, proudly wearing a suit of arrogance and righteous indignation at his lot in life as though such things belong to him exclusively, with no one else in the world having earned the right to an attitude such as his. He’s downright cruel at times, tossing insults back at Evie and somewhat obtusely interpreting every word she says as her looking down on him from her high horse, refusing to take a moment to give her the benefit of the doubt. His reactions to her are more than justifiable in the beginning, but as they go along we want nothing more than to shake the two of them to help break the vicious cycle of miscommunications they seem incapable of remedying. However, like Evie, eventually he comes clean with regard to his true feelings, and we learn to read his actions instead of listening to his words so that suddenly by the end our hearts are torn to ribbons before we even realize the first cut was made.

Overall, Poison Princess is a violent, vicious, and completely addicting start to what will no doubt prove to be an intense series documenting Evie’s journey from normal to paranormal. Those who crave answers to all their questions will most likely reach the end of this book with a twinge of disappointment at how much is left to learn about the Arcana, but Evie’s story is so darkly captivating it’s hard not to smile at what the last page promises for the future.

Rating: 3.5-4 out of 5 (I'm giving a range because there are days when Jackson and Evie's behavior bothered me more than it did on others. All was dependent on my mood.)

41 comments:

  1. I loved this book! There was something powerful about this story. Spanning this long time frame and also the storyline was incredibly fascinating! I had problems with Jackson's accent to be honest, this irked me a little!
    I am s excited to read more, this is going to be an epic story!

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    1. There were a lot of things I loved about this book, but at times I just wanted to smack both Evie and Jack for their attitudes! They were better by the end though, so I have really high hopes for the next book:)

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  2. I do want to read it for the sole reason that I like her adult books...but that is a sure way to get disappointed too

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    1. True. She's created a very cool world with this one though, I say it's definitely worth a read:)

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  3. I've been wanting to read this one. I've heard mostly good things about it. Have you read any of Cole's adult books?

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    1. I've read a couple of her Immortals After Dark books and they were fairly hit or miss with me. I think I've only read 4 books in the series so I'm way behind, but I'm not dying to get caught up either. Still, I'm going to be continuing this YA series for sure:)

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  4. I've seen such amazing reviews for this one, I'm glad you enjoyed it. The concept sounds really quite interesting, even if it's just another paranormal romance. Evie and Jackson's relationship sounds especially antagonistic (which I love!). I'm not sure if I'm going to be disappointed like you were in the end with not all of the questions answered, but I'm still looking forward to Poison Princess. Fabulous review, Jenny!

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    1. The concept was truly fascinating I thought, something I've never read before and that alone made this a worthwhile read for me. I love antagonistic relationships as well, but Jack and Evie tried even my patience at times. They were clearly meant to be unlikable though, so I'm hoping to see a lot of growth from them!

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  5. Ooohh I'm glad you enjoyed this overall despite some issues. It's great that Evie is able to show some sort of character growth as the story progressed...I would probably be really annoyed if she continued to be the sort of heroine I cannot connect with..anywayyy fab review Jenny!!<3

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    1. Both Evie and Jack were challenging characters, but this book has one of the best/creepiest opening chapters I've ever read, and I just thought the whole concept was really great:)

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  6. Woohoo! Glad you liked it. "becoming a young woman we want to root for on every possible level" - I'm always about character growth and when it comes with action and fantasy - well! Bring it on! I'll move it up on my TBR list immediately. Thanks for sharing, Jenny:)

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    1. I'll be interested to see what you think Siiri! This one seems to be a love it or hate it type of read:)

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  7. ooh, im liking the sound of violent and vicious! Evie sounds like a really awesome character id love to meet! Great review, id love to read this one!
    - Farah @ MajiBookshelf

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    1. It's definitely violent and vicious and I wouldn't want to live in that world at all! I thoroughly enjoyed reading about it though:)

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  8. I totally understand the range. I am a mood reader as well. I also think their attitude would get to me more than once. Oh, but words like "vicious" and "darkly captivating" have me craving this book. Jenny! Look what you did! You added another to my wishlist! :)

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    1. There were days were I was fine with their constant bickering and misunderstandings given the situation they were in, but then there were other days where I was all COME ON YOU TWO! And you're welcome for adding to your wishlist ;-)

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  9. Yeah, the behavior...sometimes it was completely working for me and sometimes, I just wanted to kick them both. Jack could be so mean (both actions and words) and Evie'd act like a spoiled little princess (because she was). I truly can't wait to see what happens next, though. Very intriguing, if somewhat frustrating.

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    1. Exactly! My leg was twitching with the need to kick on some days:) I really enjoyed it though and can't wait for the next book.

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  10. Oooh I've really been getting into dark gritty reads lately so I really like the tone of this book! Thanks for the heads up on Jackson and Evie's behaviour, at least now I know to take it with a grain of salt. I really don't mind if we get all our answers so I think this will work out for me just fine. Another brilliant review Jenny! :)

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    1. You're welcome! I think if I had known how frustrating the two of them could be going in, they might not have bothered me as much either, but, by the end, they both were working for me:)

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  11. Violent and vicious is not really my thing (I like sweet and romantic!) but I have heard good things about this one, and I do have a copy, so will hopefully get to reading it soon! I'm afraid I might not connect the characters though!!

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    1. Evie and Jack make it hard to connect to them for sure, but the whole concept of the Arcana was strong enough to have me devouring this one despite my irritation with them on occasion.

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  12. Hmm, I think it's interesting that the character's annoyance varied on your moods, Jenny. Not sure if I could tolerate them but I'm willing to give this book a chance as the premise sounds pretty good.

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    1. Hahaha yeah, some days I was in a more tolerant mood than others:) I thought the premise was amazing though, and I definitely need to know what happens next:)

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  13. I must be the only person in the known universe who's never read a Kresley Cole book. What is wrong with me? (Don't answer that.)
    I get so frustrated by characters' behavior sometimes and I tend to just give up and read something else instead, so I'm not sure how I'd get along with Evie and Jackson, but I AM willing to try if I stumble upon a copy. Thank you for the wonderful review, Jenny!

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    1. Hahaha I say that about Gayle Forman and John Green. I fail at life for not having read anything of theirs! Evie and Jack are a test of patience for sure, but if you can look past their issues, the world and the story itself is very cool:)

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  14. I've seen quite a number of positive reviews on this one. I've been meaning to read this one since it started popping out in goodreads. Guess, I need more pushing. I usually enjoyed pairs with antagonistic relationship but soon developed into something more. Although I understand that they could be really frustrating sometimes. Glad to see that you enjoyed this one. Fantastic review, Jenny! :)

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  15. Oddly enough, your review of this book makes me want to get back into Kresley Cole's Immortal After Dark series. That's a perfectly normal reaction, right?

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  16. Kresley's IAD series is on my agenda next year. I don't know if I am ready to delve into her YA series though. :)

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  17. I tried really hard to like this book, but for the most part I was so confused. I have a feeling that I'm the only one who had no idea of what was really going on with this book. Also, like you I wasn't very fond of the characters. Evie, especially, frustrated me so much. I hated how cold she came across to Jackson. I had a hard time connecting to her which further dampened by enjoyment. I'm still glad to hear that you liked it, Jenny! :) I'm not sure if I'm going to read the next book or not though!
    Great review! :)

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  18. LOL! I love Kresley Cole! Her writing always seems to get me soo happy. I can't wait for the sequel. Nice review Jenny!.

    P.S. I had the honor of meeting Ms. Cole in person and she is sooooo sweet!

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  19. This series has been on my radar, and I am delighted to here you found it intense and a solid start to a the series.

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  20. This does sound promising, but from what you say, I might have some issues with the behavior of Evie and Jackson. That gets frustrating. I am intrigued by the setting though. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us! Great review, Jenny!

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  21. Hmmmm...I've been debating this series but the mixed reviews have me hesitating. I'm thinking this series may not be for me...

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  22. I'm so torn on this one, precisely because of the relationship. I've heard that the novel is great, but the romance sounds like something I usually run away from, so I think I might skip this one after all. I'm still glad you enjoyed it overall though, dear! Wonderful review, Jenny! :D

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  23. It does sound like an interesting read but I'm not sure on the romance bit. Still, brilliant review :)

    Alex @ Possession of Books

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  24. I felt the same way about these characters! They were incredibly frustrating. But the story was SO compelling! I definitely had a love/hate feeling about it but I will definitely continue this series!

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  25. Hmm..not sure I want to pick this up right away after hearing about Jackson and Evie's trying behavior. I find I have little patience for this lately! Maybe if I had a restful weekend I could jump in without having to hurt someone! Lol! Wonderful review, as usual Jenny. :)

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  26. Ahhhhh very interesting that your feelings for the book were ao dependent on your mood! Im trying to think if thats ever happened to me before.......... Oh yes! Partials by Dan Wells. I remember how that felt - its kind of strange and somewhat uncomfortable, but it seems like u really enjoyed this one overall. Im intrigued - ive heard good and bad. But what you said about Evie as a heroine really peaked my interest - i love slow growth for the MC because you really feel like you know him/ her in the end, you know?
    In any case, GREAT review!! Will be reading this soon! :) <3

    Sierra @ Yearning to Read

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  27. I reviewed this one, too, but I just couldn't finish it. I think your comment about them trying our patience with their constant antagonism is spot on. It drove me up a wall.

    Great review, Jenny!!!

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  28. Oh I agree Evie and Jackson drove me nuts. Evie with all her whining, I did not like her until the end. I wasn't as disappointed with the lingering questions on the Arcana as I was over the questions regarding the Flash. That was such a pivotal event and I was frustrated that so much time was wasted on the high school flashback. Who cares get to the flash and the good scary stuff! I was a bit disappointed in this overall!

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