Poison Princess by Kresley Cole

The world gone in a flash, Evie and Jack band together in search of something neither know is alive. Constantly fighting with each other and the terrifying new world around them, Evie must accept that she is not who she thinks she is, and just when she and Jack may have a chance together, that secret might tear them apart.

I'm going to do something I've never done before in this review. Because of the intensity with which the book started, I had to begin the review only a few chapters in. I will end with my parting thoughts, of course, but I don't want to lose my opinion of the beginning.

The prologue is absolutely chilling. As with many of the books I review I'm listening to this on audiobook, and the reader is stunning. He speaks with a barely suppressed mania, which paired with the disturbing words, is enough to make you look over your shoulder. My skin literally rose in response to the scene, a chill shaking my spine. I've never had such a robust response to the beginning of the book, and it left me shaken. Arthur, the opening POV, is insane in a way that is hard to capture in the sentences of a book. His thoughts appear almost normal, save for the things he lusts after. I couldn't have imagined the mind of a serial killer better, and I know his thoughts will be trailing me next time I walk down the street in the dark.

Evie's world before the flash is bright and vivid. Kresley Cole does a fantastic job of immediately building the characters, their personalities, and their place in the world. The way she writes brings everything to life, without being overly descriptive. I love a book that is more like watching a movie in my mind, and this is exactly what I have found here.

The interactions between the characters have been witty and engaging. There are no long monologues that leave you bored and mind drifting, but make you cling to every word like it's the twist that I can feel building. After the introduction of new characters like Selena and Matthew, the dialogue can get a tad laborious, especially with her long and confusing conversations with Matthew. But all in all it does not take away from the book.

I'm not going to lie, this book is weird, and entirely heartbreaking. The characters are intense, realistic, and you fall in love with them so subtly that you don't even know it's happening until you are wrecked. They stick to their personalities, which can be so frustrating sometimes, and yet they are compelling an intriguing. For originality, characters, an exciting plot, fantastic writing, and breaking my heart, I award the first five stars of the summer.

Oh, and my opinion for hottest accent on a male has officially changed from British to Cajun French without a doubt. I'm moving to Louisiana holy hotness.

Five Stars

Rosalie Williams

Poison Princess on Goodreads

The Last Princess by Galaxy Craze

The Last Princess is a novel about the royal family after the devastating Seventeen Days destroy almost all of England. After the annual Roses Ball is attacked by Cornelius Hollister's army, only Princess Eliza escapes, thanks to mysterious help from a Sergeant. Siblings taken captive, Eliza sets out on a journey to avenge her murdered parents and captured siblings.

This was a one sitting book, and not in a good way. I knew that if I put this book down I would not pick it back up again, and since I own it, I wanted to have it read (I hate owning books that I haven't read). Reviewing my notes it's very difficult to decide what to say about this book. So let's start at the beginning.

The characters never become multi dimensional. Eliza sometimes shows courage, but then there is never a connection with her. She makes stupid yet valiant decisions, and it makes her an unrealistic heroine. Sergeant Wesley is innately kind, but as with Eliza, there is no connection with her character. Their romance is flimsy and practically nonexistent, when she suddenly declares she loves him.

There are a lot of inaccuracies in this book. Some mainly being the way the wild foxes acted in the forest. Wild foxes are extremely aggressive when they're starving. Living just outside of Yellowstone National Park, every year we get a story about a starving fox attacking a tourist. They don't snuggle into your hand. The other main one was the horses and more specifically the travel. Eliza travels 380 miles in less than a day on horseback. That's nearly impossible in a car, much less on a horse. Also, horses can't run flat-out for very long. Contrary to what John Wayne movies lead you to believe, you can't run a horse for very long or they die, and yes, True Grit got that part right, horses will run themselves literally to death.

So I will wrap up this short review by saying this: There is no connection with the story whatsoever. The writing is two dimensional and the characters are flat. The story lacks those things that make it seem realistic and draws the reader in. I considered abandoning it halfway through, but decided that it was necessary to read it to its conclusion. Unfortunately it was a waste of my day, and I wish I'd spent it reading a better book, or hiking, or cleaning, or baking, or doing classwork. Honestly, I'd rather do about anything than read this book again.

One Star

Rosalie Williams

The Last Princess on Goodreads