Review – Poison by Bridget Zinn (3.5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 288 pages
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: March 12, 2013
ISBN-13: 978-1423139935
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Bought
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
This book is a stand alone book (the author passed away before it was published) but reads like it was originally intended to be the first in a series (I wish I had known that before I started reading it). It was a cute and funny young adult fantasy.
Kyra is a sixteen year old potions master who is on the run. Kyra tried to poison her best friend (and the future ruler of the kingdom) for reasons only known to her…but for the first time in her life she failed in her attempt. Now Kyra is determined to track down the Princess and finish her once and for all. She has a cute pig that is supposed to assist her somehow and the assistance of a handsome adventurer that she bumps into while fleeing through the forest.
This was a very light read, but it a fun story with characters that were entertaining. From a language and difficulty level it reads more like a middle grade novel, but the characters are older and deal with more teen type of issues.
Kyra is definitely reckless and doesn’t think things through all that well. Her love interest in the book (the somewhat annoying but always jovial), Fred, is okay but not the most engaging character. The chemistry between the two is kind of, eh, but it’s okay.
I loved the idea behind the potions Kyra used and loved her being a potions master (it reminds me a bit of my job as a chemist). However the plot was pretty predictable and simple (as I said more middle grade than young adult).
Overall this was a fun, quick and light fantasy read that was entertaining but not fantastic. I would recommend to fantasy fans who like princess stories and don’t mind some fluff. Think fantasy similar to books like those by Jessica Day George, Shannon Hale, or Catherine Murdock
This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– Mount TBR Reading Challenge
– Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge
