Poison Princess by Kresley Cole
Review by Kelsey O.
I have not read any of Kresley Cole’s Immortal After Dark series but I had heard good things about them (and yes there are a few on my TBR shelf, I just haven’t gotten to them!). When offered the chance to review her new YA series, The Arcana Chronicles, I jumped at the chance to dive into her world. I was not disappointed.
Evangeline Greene (Evie), Miss Popular at school, has a secret. This secret gets her locked up into a mental institution for the summer and when she returns she tries to pretend that everything is normal. But her hallucinations are back and stronger than ever. Even though she tries and tries to ignore them, her hands reach for her hidden sketch book and she begins to draw all the horrible things she sees. Not only does she see things, now the voices have started and Evie cannot think what could be worse.
But the worst is coming. The apocalypse (aka The Flash). It hits hard and if Evie hadn’t trusted her hallucinations she and her mother would have been decimated along millions others. Now they must survive by finding water and food since The Flash destroyed all plant life and evaporated all water so nothing will grow on the land anymore. To top it off, her visions (not hallucinations) and the voices are becoming stronger and she knows that she needs to find her grandmother (if she is still alive) to help her discover what her role in this new world will be and also along the way learn what new powers she holds inside herself.
Jackson Deveaux, bad-boy from the bayou, comes riding down her road one day with news that there is a band of baddies on their way and if her and her mother stay here they will be taken and these guys do not treat woman with any respect. Evie and Jackson already have a bit of a history, with him tempting her from her preppy boyfriend before The Flash, so Evie is not too keen on having to go with him but she knows it is the only way.
Evie is not exactly the strongest heroine at this time. This first installment introduces us to many of the characters that will be playing some big parts in the future I am sure. As the story continues, we watch Evie grow from spoiled rich girl to the heroine that the world needs. This leads to a journey that the reader can’t wait to finish. Cole’s characters are all based on a Tarot deck and Evie is part of the Major Arcana. Loved this original storyline and that is what first drew me in and Cole was able to easily make her characters believable. Even though looking back I see how complex her plot is, she introduces the reader at a pace that we can follow without too much confusion.
Loved the characters, the plot and Cole definitely has me anticipating her next installment. Because of that I recommend this for adult or teen readers if you are looking for a fresh take on the dystopian genre.
