Book Review ~ Poison Princess

Poison Princess (The Arcana Chronicles #1)

by Kresley Cole
published by Simon & Schuster
genre: YA, Dystopian, Fantasy

Summary (Goodreads): 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 Deveaux.

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…

My Thoughts: This was my first time reading this author. I've been meaning to read her adult series and after this I may have to move it up. This was different from most of the paranormal YA books that I've read. I'm not as familiar with The Arcana from a tarot deck. I know and have seen the basics but that is it. This did not hamper my enjoyment or understanding of the story.
Evie was an interesting character. She became more interesting and tolerable as the book went on. We started with the rich girl cheerleader who has been made to think she was crazy. I found myself rolling my eyes at the high school scenes, trying to put off her more experienced boyfriend and then the bad boy from the wrong side of the track shows up. These were slightly (or very) cliched moments but were easy to overlook once the real story started happening.
Once the flash happened and Evie and Jack were brought back together the story picked up and I had to stay with it until the end. While the romance never really worked for me, I understood the need for these two to be together on this journey.
Overall, while there were some problems (the romance/relationship of Jack/evie) the story of these kids either becoming or already aware of their tarot cards and how that will help or completely end a world that's already been mostly destroyed is what will keep me reading this series.

Rating:4