ARC Review: Poison Princess by Kresley Cole

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
 
This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.

 
ARC Review: Poison Princess by Kresley Cole
Poison Princess
Book Info

Released: October 2, 2012
Genre: Young Adult
Series: The Arcana Chronicles #1
Pages: 369
 


I should never have doubted Kresley Cole. To tell you the truth, I was worried in the beginning. I adore Cole’s Immortals After Dark series so I wondered how she would fare writing a YA novel. The opening chapter had me lost because it is a complete 360 to what I am used to from her. But I kept with it and found that KC puts a lot of effort into her debut YA novel. She makes use of the frame narrative where there is a story within a story and I found that it works very well with this book. It opens up with Arthur’s POV, which you will learn more about him as you read, and then it goes into Evie’s POV who is our protagonist.

Evie Greene is snatched out of her perfect life. Her designer clothes, lavish mansion and preppy boyfriend are useless when it comes to her hallucinations. Evie has been hearing voices and having visions for awhile now and she just came back from a trip to the crazy house. Now, as school is starting up again, a new crew of troublemakers are making their way into their school and Evie and her friends are not happy about it. The leader of the group is Jackson Deveaux and he is a Cajun hottie. With an accent that is to die for and a motorcycle that makes him a badass, Jack is the hottest thing that has come to Sterling in a long while.

It’s too bad that right off the bat Evie and Jack hate each other. They are from opposite ends of the spectrum – Evie is rich while Jackson is not. And that causes some problems for them. However, there is also this undeniable spark between the two that happens when they first meet each other. I have to say that I was impressed by KC’s ability to straddle the line between love and hate between Evie and Jackson. One moment their hatred for each other is so potent and the next, they are hot and heavy. I wasn’t sure how I would like Jack, but in the end, I found that there were great qualities in him as a character that I had to admire.

The first half of the book explores Evie’s confusion. She has several warnings and visions, yet she doesn’t know what they mean. KC keeps readers in the dark for the first half of the book so that you are as confused but determined to find out what it all means as Evie.

It isn’t until the latter half of the book where I felt all the pieces finally clicked into place. KC does a spectacular job of plotting out this book so that every little detail matches up. I especially loved Arthur’s perspective later on because it only added more excitement to the storyline.

There were parts in this book that were jaw-dropping. Like, I literally stopped and had to pick up my jaw from the floor. The word “shocking” doesn’t seem to cover it. I have to commend KC for being able to pull a fast one on me. It was fantastic.

Many of you are probably wondering about the level of sexiness in this book. As I said earlier, Jackson is a hottie. But I have also read a few YA books and have to say that this one is a little more sexier than previous YA novels. There’s great sexual tension, there’s some angst, some juicy jealously and some heated moments.

I loved the idea of the Arcana and how KC integrated that idea into this series. It’s smart and fun and refreshing because it takes the whole apocalypse idea and gives it a nice spin on it. And also, with an ending like that, I definitely need my hands on the next book! I need to know what happens next!

*ARC provided by publisher

Did you like this review? If so, please tell us your thoughts in the comments below!

About Kresley Cole

Kresley Cole is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the electrifying Immortals After Dark paranormal series and the young adult Arcana Chronicles. She has also written five award-winning historical romances.

Since her first novel was released in 2003, Kresley has published nineteen books with Simon & Schuster and has seen her releases translated into more than eighteen foreign languages. She has traveled over much of the world and draws from those experiences to create her memorable characters and settings. Two of her favorite places to visit include the rain forests of Central America and the Queensland area of Australia.

Cole’s trademark action, sensuality, and humor are exemplified in her popular Immortals After Dark Series, which revolves around the Lore, a secret stratum of hundreds of immortal creatures--ranging from Vampires to Lykae, Furies to Shifters, and Fey to Valkyrie--that each have their strengths, weaknesses, and age old prejudices against the others. Though they secretly live among humans, they constantly war among themselves, which gives her a lot of material.

In 2007, Kresley won the prestigious Romance Writers of America RITA award for best paranormal for her novel A Hunger Like No Other, and in January 2009, she became a #1 New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestseller with her sixth IAD installment, Kiss of a Demon King. In 2010, Kiss of a Demon King earned Kresley her second RITA award. 2011 brought Cole her second #1 NYT bestseller with Dreams of a Dark Warrior.

She lives in Florida with her husband and far too many animals. She spends any free time traveling and enjoys all things related to boats and water.

Follow me

5 Comments

  1. Ok, Now I wondering if I should have gotten this one instead of Death of the Girl the Next Door…hummm, I guess I’ll just have to leave it for later, but I’m excited after your review.
    Thanks!!!

  2. I have this one in my shelf, and it’s waiting for me. I was going to leave it there for a while, but girl! After reading your review Poison Princess is my next read!
    Thanks for making my decision easier 😉

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *