Rachel Rambles About Poison

WARNING: This is a particularly ramble-y ramble! Extreme amounts of gushing/enthusiasm/CAPSLOCK ahead!


Poison by Bridget Zinn
From Goodreads:
Sixteen-year-old Kyra, a highly-skilled potions master, is the only one who knows her kingdom is on the verge of destruction—which means she’s the only one who can save it. Faced with no other choice, Kyra decides to do what she does best: poison the kingdom’s future ruler, who also happens to be her former best friend.

But, for the first time ever, her poisoned dart . . . misses.

Now a fugitive instead of a hero, Kyra is caught in a game of hide-and-seek with the king’s army and her potioner ex-boyfriend, Hal. At least she’s not alone. She’s armed with her vital potions, a too-cute pig, and Fred, the charming adventurer she can’t stop thinking about. Kyra is determined to get herself a second chance (at murder), but will she be able to find and defeat the princess before Hal and the army find her?

Kyra is not your typical murderer, and she’s certainly no damsel-in-distress—she’s the lovable and quick-witted hero of this romantic novel that has all the right ingredients to make teen girls swoon.

I'd never heard of this book until I saw Erika from Rescue Reads tweeting about how much she loved it, and I was like "ooooh, what is this shiny book? I must read it immediately!" Then Jasmine from A Room With Books sent me a copy because she is the BEST, and I was so excited. (The moral of the story: BLOGGERS ARE THE BEST PEOPLE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD.) 

I went into this book with some pretty high expectations, and let me tell you, Poison did more than exceed my expectations. It completely OBLITERATED my expectations.

I cannot even handle my feelings about this book. I'm so sorry for this train wreck of a review, but I honestly can't do anything but GUSH about this book. It is so good. So so so so so SO good. 

Poison is fresh and fun and original and the kind of thing I didn't realize I wanted to read but really I've been wanting to read so badly. Does that make sense? I dunno, it does in my brain. :P

Listen, I realize I gush about books a lot. But my feelings about Poison are totally different from my normal fangirling. I read it about a month before writing this review, and it has NOT LEFT MY BRAIN. I still think about this book all the time, and I seriously have nothing negative to say about it. I don't say this often, but I would recommend this book to ABSOLUTELY ANYONE. It doesn't matter what you usually read or what you're in the mood for. Trust me, you're in the mood for this! 

If you read this book and don't like it, I give you permission to come to my house and punch me in the face. YOU THINK I'M KIDDING?! TRY ME.

Okay, okay. I might be going a little too far. BUT I DON'T CARE, OKAY? My love for this book is so intense and I am not ashamed!

Poison is high fantasy, which usually seems to be a pretty dark and serious genre. But Poison is different. It has the adventure you come to expect from a high fantasy, but it's also light and fun and hilarious. Poison is a new and exciting take on the high fantasy genre, and it is exactly the kind of book that the YA world needs more of.

The main character, Kyra, is a total badass, while still being vulnerable at the same time. I ADORE HER. Can she please be my best friend?! And to make this book a thousand times better, there is a cute boy! His name is Fred, he's super cute and sweet, and...can he be my best friend, too? Please?! But before you go all "OH NO A ROMANCE EWWWWWW", you should know that the relationship between Fred and Kyra, while being extremely adorable and shippable, is not even close to being the main focus of the book. Their relationship perfectly balances out the super intense action-packed parts of the book.

Another thing you need to know about Poison is that there is an adorable little pig named Rosie who is kind of a huge deal. I didn't think it was possible to love a fictional pig so much, but um, apparently it is TOTALLY possible! I also love Langley, who is totally the perfect match for Rosie. So what if he's a dog? I think Rosie and Langley might be my new OTP. I ship them so so so hard. (I'm weird, okay? Don't judge me. :P)

I could probably gush about this book for YEARS. But I'll stop now so that you can go get a copy of Poison and experience its awesomeness for yourself.

But before you rush to the nearest bookstore to get your hands on this book, I need to tell you something. Bridget Zinn passed away from cancer in 2011. This was something I didn't realize until after I'd finished the book, and I was so incredibly sad to read about it in the back of the book. Poison is, quite honestly, one of the best books I've ever read, and I know that I would have wanted to read anything else Bridget decided to write. Her dream was to be published, and as someone who dreams of being published one day (...in the very distant future), it makes me so sad to know that she won't be able to see her book reach readers.

I found Bridget Zinn's website, where I learned that her family and friends are doing anything they can to help her book get into the hands of readers. You can find out more about all the cool ways you can spread the word about this AMAZING book here.

Again, everything about Poison is brilliant and unique and fun. If you haven't read this yet, do yourself a favor and get your hands on a copy immediately. I mean, I basically ended up writing an entire book instead of a review about how much I loved it, so you know it has to be good!

-Rachel