Publication Date: October 2, 2012
Publishing House: Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9781442436640
Source of Copy: Purchased from Fully Booked
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 are still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-of-the-side bayou classmate, Jackson 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 trust Jack. But if he ever casts that wicked grin her way, can she possible resist him?
Who can Evie trust?
As Jack and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have received the same cell. An ancient prophecy is being played out, and Evie is not the only with special powers. A group of teens has been chosen to reenact the ultimate battle between good and evil. But it's not always clear who is on which side...
Review:
After reading the summary, I found my curiosity piqued; then I spotted the blurb on the back and I knew I had to have this book. It promised mystery, action, girls and boys with lethal powers, romance and an interesting plot involving the Major Arcana cards in a Tarot deck. I had such high hopes for this book, but sadly, they were misplaced.
I was irritated by the misleading prologue. It was interesting and I won't deny being sucked into the book because of it but then I got to the first chapter and BAM, everything changed. Where was the action and the mystery the prologue seemed to be leading up to? Was this some kind of a joke? Needless to say, I rapidly started losing interest.
It starts with Evie, a spoiled rich girl who goes to this spoiled-rich-girl school who has an equally spoiled and rich boyfriend and a couple of spoiled and rich friends. It's not hard to guess that she's also very pretty and popular. Now, does this part have any relevance whatsoever to the overall story? Absolutely not. I don't think that readers need thirteen chapters of a detailed description of how Evie's life was before the Flash - the apocalyptic event that destroyed the world - to establish that she's little miss perfect and has everything she could possibly want.
I liked the plot, I can admit to that. It was interesting, what with the personification of the Major Arcana and the threat of war in the future and well superpowers in general, but what really annoyed me was how the author seemed to have glazed over a few parts, like say, the Flash, for example - a few explosions and then that's it? That triggers the end of the world? And what about the Bagmen, how did that happen? The "why" of things need to be fleshed out and more attention be paid to the details and the world-building. Truthfully, I didn't exactly see the connection between the world ending and the war between the Major Arcana.
Another reason Poison Princess didn't really work out for me were the characters. Evie fits the damsel-in-distress archetype to a tee. She's in a constant state of denial about her powers, is dependent on Jackson for everything and she's basically a wimp. Jackson on the other hand is crude, insensitive and basically a jerk. And I could not understand the attraction between Evie and Jackson because from what I could glean from their interactions, Jackson wanted Evie because of her face and her body then after the Flash, he wanted her because she was the only female around. The other characters didn't fare any better and I couldn't bring myself to pay them much attention.
What with the slow pacing, the thirteen chapters which I deem a total waste, lack of sufficient world-building and poor characterization, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. Sadly, I have to say that this book is a total disappointment and the one thing that's keeping me from giving it a lower rating is the plot, which despite all its wrong turns and plot holes, is pretty interesting.
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 are still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-of-the-side bayou classmate, Jackson 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 trust Jack. But if he ever casts that wicked grin her way, can she possible resist him?
Who can Evie trust?
As Jack and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have received the same cell. An ancient prophecy is being played out, and Evie is not the only with special powers. A group of teens has been chosen to reenact the ultimate battle between good and evil. But it's not always clear who is on which side...
Review:
After reading the summary, I found my curiosity piqued; then I spotted the blurb on the back and I knew I had to have this book. It promised mystery, action, girls and boys with lethal powers, romance and an interesting plot involving the Major Arcana cards in a Tarot deck. I had such high hopes for this book, but sadly, they were misplaced.
I was irritated by the misleading prologue. It was interesting and I won't deny being sucked into the book because of it but then I got to the first chapter and BAM, everything changed. Where was the action and the mystery the prologue seemed to be leading up to? Was this some kind of a joke? Needless to say, I rapidly started losing interest.
It starts with Evie, a spoiled rich girl who goes to this spoiled-rich-girl school who has an equally spoiled and rich boyfriend and a couple of spoiled and rich friends. It's not hard to guess that she's also very pretty and popular. Now, does this part have any relevance whatsoever to the overall story? Absolutely not. I don't think that readers need thirteen chapters of a detailed description of how Evie's life was before the Flash - the apocalyptic event that destroyed the world - to establish that she's little miss perfect and has everything she could possibly want.
I liked the plot, I can admit to that. It was interesting, what with the personification of the Major Arcana and the threat of war in the future and well superpowers in general, but what really annoyed me was how the author seemed to have glazed over a few parts, like say, the Flash, for example - a few explosions and then that's it? That triggers the end of the world? And what about the Bagmen, how did that happen? The "why" of things need to be fleshed out and more attention be paid to the details and the world-building. Truthfully, I didn't exactly see the connection between the world ending and the war between the Major Arcana.
Another reason Poison Princess didn't really work out for me were the characters. Evie fits the damsel-in-distress archetype to a tee. She's in a constant state of denial about her powers, is dependent on Jackson for everything and she's basically a wimp. Jackson on the other hand is crude, insensitive and basically a jerk. And I could not understand the attraction between Evie and Jackson because from what I could glean from their interactions, Jackson wanted Evie because of her face and her body then after the Flash, he wanted her because she was the only female around. The other characters didn't fare any better and I couldn't bring myself to pay them much attention.
What with the slow pacing, the thirteen chapters which I deem a total waste, lack of sufficient world-building and poor characterization, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. Sadly, I have to say that this book is a total disappointment and the one thing that's keeping me from giving it a lower rating is the plot, which despite all its wrong turns and plot holes, is pretty interesting.
Rating:
