Week 36

Welp, it’s September. Officially the Fall.

The past year and a half has felt so much like spinning my wheels, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. There have been changes, absolutely, but coming up on another September STILL in the depths of pandemic - well. I’m sure I’m not the only one feeling the crush of that.

#56) THE POISON HEART by Kalynn Bayron

Struggling magical teenager Briseis is left a house in a small town by her aunt, which, in true “will in a story” fashion, seems like it may contain answers to questions of why she can make plants grow and, perhaps more importantly, why she is immune to poison. Of course, once she gets to the small town, things are more complicated than they seem.

I really liked this book! The characters are fun, and I liked the amount of focus placed on non-romantic relationships here, both in Briseis’ relationship with her moms, her connection with her birth mother/aunt, and her friendships, though there were also beginnings of a sapphic romance within as well. The family dynamics were really refreshing and interesting.

I liked the development of Briseis’ powers, too. It felt a little like they tapped into some childhood part of myself that really would have loved to be connected to plants like this. The descriptions of how the powers worked was interesting, and I liked the poison aspects, as well.

Furthermore, I really liked the mystery aspects, which were fun and led me happily through the story as Briseis discovered more about how she had come to be. I liked the tie-ins to Greek mythology, but also given their own twist. There were perhaps a few jumps the characters made, but not in terribly distracting ways.

All in all, I really liked this, and I’m excited to see what the next book will have in store!