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Saturday 21 March 2015

The Arcana Chronicles #1: Poison Princess by Kresley Cole


Published:October 2nd 2012 by Simon & Schuster (first published October 1st 2012
Genre: YA Fantasy
Goodreads Summary: 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 princes is like the most unexpected read I had in 2015. Yes, I know we aren’t even half way through the year, but still. I literally picked up this book because someone mentioned it in a review and its blurb caught my attention. And…I freaking loved it!!! By the way, The Arcana series as a whole is amazing, there are three books so far and I adored them all. I’m not sure how many are planned, but the fourth is coming out next year (oh why such a long wait!!!). Now guys you know what you need to add in your TBR list ASAP!

The story actually starts before the world become apocalyptic. We meet Evie a normal sixteen-year-old except for the fact that she had to be sent in a psychiatric centre because she had very real visions and nightmarish nightmares. Also, at the beginning of the story she starts hearing voices in her head. All Evie really wants is to become normal again and to maintain her popularity. Yeah, our heroine is a cheerleader, has an uber gorgeous, adorable and rich boyfriend, so she’s much more of the social butterfly rather than a wallflower.

There’s also these new kids at school, there are like the stereotype delinquent from poor families with no future. Their unofficial leader is the dark and sexy Jackson Deveaux. Their presence doesn’t exactly throw Evie’s already backward’s world upside down, but let’s say that they’re an anomaly in Evie's posh school. Are you already guessing or not? There’ll be romance in the air between the preppy princess and the young thug.

I actually really enjoyed the fact that we’re not immediately thrown in a ravaged world because due to that it was easier to understand Evie when everything break loose. Evie before  the Flash (the event who lead to the devastation of Earth), was a rich, somewhat spoiled girl who want to get good grades, go to uni and make her mom proud. She was completely unprepared for what was to come and I think that’s why I loved her so much. If the world came to an end tomorrow, I would be utterly lost too. I thought Evie was very relatable.

A problem I have with lots of fantasy heroine is that they’re so tough, so strong-willed, so independent and so completely unrealistic, in my opinion. Call me weird, but I find weakness endearing, because I’m looking forward to the growth one will have.

Furthermore, another thing I liked was that Evie’s personality stay very consistent throughout the book. She doesn’t suddenly change into some sort of hard-boiled survivalist or anything like that. 

Jackson also survives Armageddon and he’s the one helping Evie survive in her new life. Many people thought that he was too much of an Alpha Male and not sensible enough, I can understand where they’re coming from, but that doesn’t mean I agree. Without him, it would have been impossible for Evie to survive, full stop. Sometimes Jackson did annoy me, but the number of times he saved Evie made up for it.

Besides, I’ve read my share of Urban Fantasy, and I’ve seen far worse than Jackson. I don’t know if any of you have read the Fever series, but Jericho was far more Alpha (read possessive and passive-aggressive) and yet, even though I can’t grasp why, he has a huge fan base.

There are three reasons why I loved Poison Princess so much. The characterization was flawless. Every single character had their own unique voice and interesting personalities. It’s very rare, but there wasn’t a single character I didn’t care about, even those who die early. After Evie, my second favourites were Matthew and Finn. I don’t want to go into too much details, but they’re as special she is.

The mystery in Poison Princess starts on page 1 and never really dissolves. Even after finishing the book, I had so many questions.  There were so many things to learn about the plot, the world and the characters themselves. I felt like we hadn’t even yet scratched the surface of most characters. 

The fantasy also fascinated me. Basically, in this book, some teenagers have god-like powers and they have to fight against each other in a sort of mystical tournament until there remains only one. Each of these teenagers is named after a tarot card. Evie is one of these teenagers, she’s the Empress and you’ll have to read the book in order to know more!

What else can I say, do I recommend Poison Princess? ABSOLUTLY!!!





4 comments:

  1. I have read book 1 from the Fever series and, while I liked Jericho, V'lane was my favorite. ^^ Anyway, I think I will give this one a shot, you make the characters seem so amazing! Great review!!

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    1. I loved V'lane, too! I couldn't stand Jéricho, though, lol. You should definitely try Poison Princess. The characterization and plot were on point!

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  2. Ooh, this makes me excited! I actually own this book and the cover made me feel it would be mediocre (I'm a horrible cover judger!) but NOW I WANT TO TRY IT. xD Consider me convinced!
    Thanks for stopping by @ Paper Fury!

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    1. Read it!!! Lol! I actually kind of like Poison Princess' cover. It's not the best I've seen but IDK, it has its charm imo. I completely understand you though. I also often feel like cheap cover = cheap story, even though it's not always the case. Lol, I'm glad I convinced you! That was my goal all along, haha.

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