Jenny M. (griz1girl) -
Helpful Score: 3
This book was AWESOME...right up until the last few chapters. I was totally hooked & loving the story...then BAM--Cole speeds through the last few chapters on high-octane, leaving a path of destruction a mile wide. She left more loose ends than she wrapped up.
Great story--TERRIBLE miserable rotten unhappy ending. Prepare yourself.
Great story--TERRIBLE miserable rotten unhappy ending. Prepare yourself.
Lizz D. (ladyd2206) -
Helpful Score: 2
I've been a big lover of Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series for years. So, when I heard that her publisher offered a free 17 chapter view of her YA novel, Poison Princess, I jumped all over the chance to check it out. I totally wasn't disappointed. I ended up buying the full-length novel that same day.
If you're looking for a typical happy-go-lucky YA novel, this very much is NOT it. Kresley Cole takes this book to some dark places, just like she takes her IAD heroines through. This book is YA, so there is no sex, but there are some very steamy scenes between the two main characters.
Evangeline Green is a typical rich southern cheerleader. Blonde, football boyfriend, loving mother, huge mansion. But there's something different about Evie. She has visions, horrifying visions of an apocalyptic nature. Having just come back from a summer in a children's mental hospital in Atlanta, Evie is doing everything she can to fit back in at school.
Jackson Deveaux is new to the school, along with several of his Cajun friends from across the bayou. He is the typical bad-boy. Did a stint in jail, rides a motorcycle, carries a hip flask. And he's totally enraptured with Evie.
Jack and Evie spark at every moment, until something momentous happens... Evie's apocalyptic visions come true. Now Jack and Evie have to depend on each other while Evie learns about who she really is... a member of the Major Arcana. A war is coming, and Evie and Jack will have to do everything they can to survive it.
This book is not your typical post-apocalyptic read. While there are a form of zombies, no government, and humanity turning on itself, there's also a PNR edge to it that Kresley Cole makes shine through. The idea of people being the cards of a tarot deck, their powers based on their cards, is wonderful. Completely unlike anything I've ever read before!
I instantly fell in love with Evie and Jack, although the fact that I still don't quite know where they stand together is a little annoying, it also helps set up the next book. If you've never read Kresley Cole before, this book would be a great introduction! I totally recommend picking it up today!
If you're looking for a typical happy-go-lucky YA novel, this very much is NOT it. Kresley Cole takes this book to some dark places, just like she takes her IAD heroines through. This book is YA, so there is no sex, but there are some very steamy scenes between the two main characters.
Evangeline Green is a typical rich southern cheerleader. Blonde, football boyfriend, loving mother, huge mansion. But there's something different about Evie. She has visions, horrifying visions of an apocalyptic nature. Having just come back from a summer in a children's mental hospital in Atlanta, Evie is doing everything she can to fit back in at school.
Jackson Deveaux is new to the school, along with several of his Cajun friends from across the bayou. He is the typical bad-boy. Did a stint in jail, rides a motorcycle, carries a hip flask. And he's totally enraptured with Evie.
Jack and Evie spark at every moment, until something momentous happens... Evie's apocalyptic visions come true. Now Jack and Evie have to depend on each other while Evie learns about who she really is... a member of the Major Arcana. A war is coming, and Evie and Jack will have to do everything they can to survive it.
This book is not your typical post-apocalyptic read. While there are a form of zombies, no government, and humanity turning on itself, there's also a PNR edge to it that Kresley Cole makes shine through. The idea of people being the cards of a tarot deck, their powers based on their cards, is wonderful. Completely unlike anything I've ever read before!
I instantly fell in love with Evie and Jack, although the fact that I still don't quite know where they stand together is a little annoying, it also helps set up the next book. If you've never read Kresley Cole before, this book would be a great introduction! I totally recommend picking it up today!
Helpful Score: 1
Green Goddess on a Tarot spread, I haven't been this hyped for a book two in quite some time. (well, since reading First Grave on my Right)
Kresley has earned herself a fan. Her writing sucked me in and left me jealous. It's obvious she had me b/c I can't necessarily relate to her characters and couldn't imagine myself staying attracted to Jack and I still loved this story.
Kresley has earned herself a fan. Her writing sucked me in and left me jealous. It's obvious she had me b/c I can't necessarily relate to her characters and couldn't imagine myself staying attracted to Jack and I still loved this story.
Michelle H. (brokenchell) reviewed Poison Princess (Arcana Chronicles, Bk 1) on + 25 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I adore this book!!!! I couldn't put it down. An end of the world story that got my attention beginning to end... Evie is The Empress, Jackson the hero, and I can't wait to see how the story unfolds in book 2. If you haven't read this book, I recommend you invest in it, you won't be disappointed.
Jenny B. (jennyb618) -
If I hadn't been reading this as part of a challenge I would have given up several times. I wasn't really getting it and the main character was so irritating. Also, my memory is just not good enough to get the most out of cliffhangers.
But those are my issues and since I'm a huge Kresley Cole fan, I'm happy I stuck it out. The story was disturbing and gritty and maybe even a realistic take on the end of the world. This is a good read and I hope I remember the bulk of the story by the time the next installment comes out.
But those are my issues and since I'm a huge Kresley Cole fan, I'm happy I stuck it out. The story was disturbing and gritty and maybe even a realistic take on the end of the world. This is a good read and I hope I remember the bulk of the story by the time the next installment comes out.
So ultimately I liked this book. But there is a lot to get through. Love the apocalyptic thing, but you have to slog through a lot of teen drama before anything happens. Also leading lady is a bit blah for a long time. Her main squeeze is a womanizer whose sweet murmurings are usually something about how she is a tease, she is horrible, a ball and chain basically cause she has nothing to offer. Crazy.
So at the end, I think I see how things are going to go, and I like the whole Tarot card thing. We will see.
This book took a long time to get anywhere but then skipped over a ton of time and stuff. Weird pacing I guess.
Love love loved the first chapter. Really pulled me in.
Honestly, I like the idea, the execution was wonky at times. The dialogue is pretty drawn out. I guess we will find out why Jack and Evie can't seem to understand each other, at least not when you distill things down. Why we are shown so much before the end of times and why it is mainly this foreboding drama. Maybe the next book will whip along with plot and story because this one felt a lot like a long set-up for Evie to learn how to take action and make a decision!
I will probably read the next one because it is interesting and I am curious to see where Cole takes this. It is just super frustrating too!
So at the end, I think I see how things are going to go, and I like the whole Tarot card thing. We will see.
This book took a long time to get anywhere but then skipped over a ton of time and stuff. Weird pacing I guess.
Love love loved the first chapter. Really pulled me in.
Honestly, I like the idea, the execution was wonky at times. The dialogue is pretty drawn out. I guess we will find out why Jack and Evie can't seem to understand each other, at least not when you distill things down. Why we are shown so much before the end of times and why it is mainly this foreboding drama. Maybe the next book will whip along with plot and story because this one felt a lot like a long set-up for Evie to learn how to take action and make a decision!
I will probably read the next one because it is interesting and I am curious to see where Cole takes this. It is just super frustrating too!
Easy to put down because the main character is 16 years old, weak and afraid. I prefer stories with ballsy women. I almost didn't finish the book, I became disgusted with it so many times, and the main story line is not answered by the end of this book. Kresley Cole is a wonderful author, so I'm hoping this storyline gets better in the next book, which I've already bought.
Karissa E. (ophelia99) reviewed Poison Princess (Arcana Chronicles, Bk 1) on + 2527 more book reviews
I have wanted to read this book for some time. Right now there are at least five books planned for this series. The fifth one is supposed to publish Spring 2017 and will be called âThe Dark Callingâ. This book wasn't what I was expected but it did end up being an engaging read that is part fantasy/magic and part apocalypse.
The prologue to the story is incredibly creeper in a serial killerish kind of way. We find out that something has happened to the world and are hearing from the view of a man who preys on females. He is trying to lure a young girl into a trap. This was kind of freaky and really made me wonder what kind of book I had picked up.
However after that opening it takes a bit for the story to get going. First we meet Evie and learn about her struggles with visions and other supposed mental issues. Quite a bit of time is spent on visions in the beginning of the book and strange occurrences that are interspersed between Evie's standard high school days. However, you know something big is going to happen because each chapter takes place a small number of days BF (before flash).
The second part of the book is very post-apocalyptic with a lot about survival and bagmen (creatures that are a lot like zombies). Woven into this is the concept of tarot cards being actual people who can determine the fate of the world. The second part of the book is very different in tone compared to the first part of the book.
This constant shifting of tone makes it kind of hard to grasp what kind of story this is supposed to be. At times it feels a bit disconnected and left me a bit confused about exactly what type of book I was reading. Is it a thriller, a zombie book, a high school drama book, or a paranormal fantasy of sorts? I thought it could have flowed a bit better.
However, despite the above I found myself incredibly intrigued by the whole concept of tarot cards as actual people who control the fate of the world. I was also drawn in by the Flash and curious as to what caused it. By the end of the book I was pretty hooked; I loved some of the end scenes and desperately wanted to know what would have next.
Overall this book was a good blend of high school drama, paranormal, fantasy, thriller, and post-apocalyptic elements. It blends a lot of things together which can get a bit overwhelming at parts. However, I was completely sucked in by some of the concepts and story elements and plan on continuing the series.
The prologue to the story is incredibly creeper in a serial killerish kind of way. We find out that something has happened to the world and are hearing from the view of a man who preys on females. He is trying to lure a young girl into a trap. This was kind of freaky and really made me wonder what kind of book I had picked up.
However after that opening it takes a bit for the story to get going. First we meet Evie and learn about her struggles with visions and other supposed mental issues. Quite a bit of time is spent on visions in the beginning of the book and strange occurrences that are interspersed between Evie's standard high school days. However, you know something big is going to happen because each chapter takes place a small number of days BF (before flash).
The second part of the book is very post-apocalyptic with a lot about survival and bagmen (creatures that are a lot like zombies). Woven into this is the concept of tarot cards being actual people who can determine the fate of the world. The second part of the book is very different in tone compared to the first part of the book.
This constant shifting of tone makes it kind of hard to grasp what kind of story this is supposed to be. At times it feels a bit disconnected and left me a bit confused about exactly what type of book I was reading. Is it a thriller, a zombie book, a high school drama book, or a paranormal fantasy of sorts? I thought it could have flowed a bit better.
However, despite the above I found myself incredibly intrigued by the whole concept of tarot cards as actual people who control the fate of the world. I was also drawn in by the Flash and curious as to what caused it. By the end of the book I was pretty hooked; I loved some of the end scenes and desperately wanted to know what would have next.
Overall this book was a good blend of high school drama, paranormal, fantasy, thriller, and post-apocalyptic elements. It blends a lot of things together which can get a bit overwhelming at parts. However, I was completely sucked in by some of the concepts and story elements and plan on continuing the series.
Nicole A. (nastell) -
A MUST READ if you are a YA lover! This book has everything a YA reader would want - action, conflicted romance, a bad boy who is sensitive, and a girl who is believable, but is also secret bad ass herself. I would recommend this book to anyone, and if they didn't like it - then I don't think we could be friends.
