This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron(book reveiw)

 

Bloomsbury|2021

Pages-288

Chapters-31

Supernatural/ability/African American/Greek mythology/magic/plants/botany.

✨Very Young adult friendly

Percy Jackson meets Legend born.

This Poison Heart by Kaylnn Baron, author of Cinderella is Dead, centers on a teenage girl, Briseis, who lives in Brooklyn with her two moms AKA Mom and Mo. Briseis has the ability to grow plants, most especially the flora. The plants react to and desperately seek her attention. She inherits a large house surrounded by 40 acres of vegetation, from her birth mother's sister, which is like a huge deal! Her parents are tight on money and are on the brink, but even for an average well to do person, it is still a large house! And a hooge deal! (Only Nigerians will understand that reference to a meme.lol)

So, Briseis and her mums move to this house to see what it's like for the summer. Brises doesn't mind moving, because she has fallen out with her friends in Brooklyn. Life at Rhinebeck is great until strange things start happening to the family, like a strange horror movie. And Briseis has to decide if she stays or not.

So… this book is the first book of a trilogy. And well I have mixed feelings for this book. I was attracted to the cover, the flowers, the hair, the illustration looked pretty average, which makes the character really realistic to me, you know...average hair, not long flowing hair and no icy blue eyes, but she wears glasses. The first line didn't exactly hug me in, or pull me in. I wanted to read the book, because I like Cinderella is dead and well the title was kinda intriguing and like I said I love the cover! But the book was not exactly a page turner, I read through it dog headedly. But at page 128 it became a page turner for me. Because I got curious, and at that point I didn't have any leads as to what was going to happen. I am  the friend who predicts the ending of a book or movie correctly. I have read so many books and I have drawn up so many rough drafts. But when I can't predict what's next, well that's what I love! So I kept flipping and flipping, I read it in one sitting, because I was bored and I didn't have anything to do, plus it was sort of hooking.

  I liked the writing style, it was simple and smart. I liked how details about the character were being dished out little by little and it wasn't a turn off at all, I liked it…

But those moms are of questionable character!!!

Well, I promise there will be no spoilers, but really?? Those moms need to be whooped. Also I was kinda confused, the two moms weren't really distinguishable, I didn't get what was peculiar to Mom or Mo. Also in my own opinion, Briseis wasn't a well developed character. She kept doing things normal teenagers wouldn't ever do. Like ever.

Also there were little plot holes. 

Sigh.. It takes a lot...like a whole lot to write a  book, and I want to undermine Kaylnn's effort, but there were plot holes,( I can't explain them without being a spoiler)

But overall, it was actually a great read, it was different, I was getting tired of reading too many YA Romcoms!

I give it a 15/20.