Poison Princess, by author Kersley Cole, is the debut novel in her YA series Arcana Chronicles. I am not a Young Adult book fan, frequently finding the teenage angst too much for me. While Cole's new series is "technically" classified as Young Adult, people better get ready because this one's going to knock your socks off! I loved every single word from beginning to end!
Plot:
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….
Things start out in present day when The Flash, or apocalypse, has gone down and a young gal is looking for a safe place to get warm and hopefully a little food for her starving belly. Little does she know she just stepped into a madman's house, total creeper status! You get a clear picture from page one what this woman is about to face and immediately you're sucked in to the plot. Poison Princess then jumps back a few months taking the reader step by step into this dark and twisted world. How far will humanity go into the dark side? What would YOU be willing to do? Questions no one ever wants to answer.
Evie's a young woman with some nasty visions going on in her head so extreme she has no one to share the images with. Cole clearly has a plan with character direction and while it may be frustrating as the reader to just hurry up and get there she knows how this is all going to unfold, and man does she take her time with the build! Tarot Magic and evil forces are out to kill Evie, so she's got to rely on the few friends left in the world and her own wit to get her through it.
Jack steps into the scene as a hot-headed Cajun backwoods dude who's got a major chip on his shoulder. With a past like his you can understand where he's coming from, and empathize, but at times he comes across as such a jerk! The miscommunications between Jack and Evie were killing me! Ugh, I wanted to shake him! It's all for good reason though, and really I don't want to give away more then I already have. Jack and Evie literally ignite the pages of this book! I never felt like I was reading a fictional story about made up characters; these guys and gals come across as authentic and genuine, to the point where Poison Princess reads more like a personal diary of a real life event. Doused with nail biting action, adventure, and epic snarky one liners!
This story is truly one not to be missed. I don't care how old you are or what genre you typically read. Everything you could ask for and more is all here for the taking!
Getting 4 and 1/2 Sheep
KD
I love her books, so I'll definitely be checking this out. I didn't even know she was going to do a YA novel.
ReplyDeleteI didn't either until they sent it to me! Was sooooo good. I don't care what genre you read, this was fantastic. Can't wait to hear what you think!
DeleteHm. I love Kresley Cole's IAD series but wasn't sure I was going to try her YA ones. Glad to hear she pulls it off. I'll have to add it to the list :) I'm really liking the cover for it!
ReplyDelete~Anna
I'm so glad I did. Was not really into reading it at first. I mean being honest and all. By chapter 2 I was hooked. And it just kept going from there. This series has a ton of potential to carry on for a while. I hope you let me know what YOU think after reading :)
DeleteI LOVE Kresley Cole!! I have read all of her books to date and have yet to read one that hasn't sucked me in. I am so excited about this one too! I love those men that she writes about. ;)
ReplyDeleteFabulous review. Thank you for sharing it.
I can't wait to hear what you think! And after you've read it we can speculate on things to come! This is a good one.
DeleteGreat review Katie! I wasn't sure how she'd do with this new genre. Yours is the first review of it that I've read. Thanks chic!
ReplyDeleteI wasn't sure either. Really and truly I was worried she would fall down a few notches from my personal fav list of authors. Man oh man she does NOT disappoint! Love to hear back from you after it hits shelfs!
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