Audiobook Review – The Poison Princess (Arcana Chronicles, Book 1) by Kelsey Cole (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 12 hours and 36 minutes (400 pages)
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Release Date: October 2, 2012
ASIN: B009KF1LZE
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Arcana Chronicles
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

“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 were actually visions of the future-and they’re still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate: Jack Derveaux.

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 depend on Jack. If he ever cast that wicked grin her way, could she possibly resist him?

Who can Evie trust?
As Jack and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have gotten the same call. An ancient prophesy is being played out, and Evie is not the only one with special powers. A group of twenty-two teens has been chosen to reenact the ultimate battle between good and evil. But it’s not always clear who is on which side…”

I have wanted to read this book for some time. Right now there are at least five books planned for this series. The fifth one is supposed to publish Spring 2017 and will be called “The Dark Calling”. This book wasn’t what I was expected but it did end up being an engaging read that is part fantasy/magic and part apocalypse.

The prologue to the story is incredibly creeper in a serial killerish kind of way. We find out that something has happened to the world and are hearing from the view of a man who preys on females. He is trying to lure a young girl into a trap. This was kind of freaky and really made me wonder what kind of book I had picked up.

However after that opening it takes a bit for the story to get going. First we meet Evie and learn about her struggles with visions and other supposed mental issues. Quite a bit of time is spent on visions in the beginning of the book and strange occurrences that are interspersed between Evie’s standard high school days. However, you know something big is going to happen because each chapter takes place a small number of days BF (before flash).

The second part of the book is very post-apocalyptic with a lot about survival and bagmen (creatures that are a lot like zombies). Woven into this is the concept of tarot cards being actual people who can determine the fate of the world. The second part of the book is very different in tone compared to the first part of the book.

This constant shifting of tone makes it kind of hardto grasp what kind of story this is supposed to be. At times it feels a bit disconnected and left me a bit confused about exactly what type of book I was reading. Is it a thriller, a zombie book, a high school drama book, or a paranormal fantasy of sorts? I thought it could have flowed a bit better.

However, despite the above I found myself incredibly intrigued by the whole concept of tarot cards as actual people who control the fate of the world. I was also drawn in by the Flash and curious as to what caused it. By the end of the book I was pretty hooked; I loved some of the end scenes and desperately wanted to know what would have next.

Overall this book was a good blend of high school drama, paranormal, fantasy, thriller, and post-apocalyptic elements. It blends a lot of things together which can get a bit overwhelming at parts. However, I was completely sucked in by some of the concepts and story elements and plan on continuing the series.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Mount TBR Reading Challenge
– Audiobook Reading Challenge
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge
– Paranormal Reading Challenge
– YA Reading Challenge