BOOK REVIEW: POISON PRINCESS BY KRESLEY COLE

Kresley Cole is another adult author bringing her talents to young adult fiction. And are they some worthy talents? This book, a sort of dystopia blend, hits all the cords that young adult readers search for in their books and then some.

What makes POISON PRINCESS a dystopia novels is the fact that, for most of the book, Earth in a barren wasteland, infected by zombies, and, Evie, the protagonists, has to figure out a way to survive. One difference when comparing it to other books in this genre, however, is that the characters get to experience the catastrophe and you get to see how the world goes from hi-cute-high-school-dude to scorched—whereas in most dystopia novels the story begins way in the future.  In that sense, this story is a dytopia in the making, a bit like my own book.

Besides the dystopian elements, Poison Princess also possesses a strong paranormal romance slant, so the story includes speculative elements you wouldn’t find in other dystopian novels such as The Hunger Games, i.e. many characters have magical powers. So this is why I call it a blend.

The concept and world building in this book are rich, with a well-thought out plot and fun characters. Page after page, you discover new layers that keep you moving forward and wanting more. Cole draws from the mythical elements of the Major Arcana in Tarot cards to enrich her plot and characters, and she does it in an skillful, seamless manner.

The romance is hot, but it may bother those who have a problem with bad boys being possessive and a bit irrational about the girl. Evie’s love interest is a hot-headed Cajun boy—who is clichéd, for the most part—but does hit the cords just right to make him interesting and appealing.

As implausible as many of the elements in this book are, the author does an excellent job at keeping them realistic in an extremely high stakes plot. It is worth to mention that the story in told from two different POVs, one the villain and one the protagonist. Also the recounting goes back and forth in time. This all makes for quite the ride.