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This Poison Heart (This Poison Heart, #1)

Kalynn Bayron

Start date: December 13, 2021

Finish date: December 17, 2021

Why we're reading this: This Poison Heart is DMPL Virtual YA for Adults Book Club's December selection! This book club will be he…more
[close] This Poison Heart is DMPL Virtual YA for Adults Book Club's December selection! This book club will be held via Zoom on Thursday, 12/16 at 6:00 PM. Visit our website or call 515-248-4152 to register or for more details.

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Apr 19, 2022 Danielle rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, audiobooks-read, contemporary, ya-lit, lgbtq, project-lit-ya

"Do guard your secrets carefully. When you can do something well, there will always be those who wish to take advantage."

Another book that I picked up only because it's a Project LIT book club selection and I have an ambitious goal of reading every single book that is selected for their book lists. I knew going in this book was fantasy and I secretly hoped it was more Legendborn than Children of Blood and Bone. Heads up, this is a fantasy book I enjoyed immensely and I immediately added the sequ "Do guard your secrets carefully. When you can do something well, there will always be those who wish to take advantage."

Another book that I picked up only because it's a Project LIT book club selection and I have an ambitious goal of reading every single book that is selected for their book lists. I knew going in this book was fantasy and I secretly hoped it was more Legendborn than Children of Blood and Bone. Heads up, this is a fantasy book I enjoyed immensely and I immediately added the sequel to my TBR because I have to know what happens next for Briseis after the events of this book.

This book has a pretty slow start, but I actually found that worked in my favor because jumping head first into a new fantasy story is not great for me, personally. We meet Briseis in New York City where she helps one of her moms in a flower shop. Briseis has this unique gift: she can essentially speak to plants and is able to see them grow, blossom, and reach in her direction. The more emotional Briseis is, the bigger effect she has on the plants around her. She has to be careful when she walks down the street! When Briseis' biological aunt dies and leaves her estate in rural New York to Briseis, she and her moms travel to the estate to see what has been left to them.

While at the estate, Briseis encounters more than she thought. There are strange instructions left in the house, a walled and locked portion of the outside garden, and deadly plants. The town citizens aren't exactly thrilled to welcome Briseis and her moms, especially when strange folks start showing up on the estate begging for help. It's up to Briseis to figure out the secrets of the estate along with just what her powers can do. This is a magical journey filled with lots of plants and a mystery just waiting to be unraveled.

I absolutely loved Briseis and her moms. The dynamic of the three of them was so homey and comfortable and loving and I just wanted to stay in scenes with all three of them forever. Some of the events at the end of the book made me gasp out loud and scream at author Kalynn Bayron. How am I ever supposed to read the next installment of this series knowing how this book ended?! A brilliant start to a series, seriously.

Also, can we take a minute to appreciate the absolute beauty of this cover? I mean, COME ON. I could put this cover up as wall art and never get tired of looking at it. *chef's kiss*

TW: Racism, violence, poisoning, murder, blood, death of a parent, grief, kidnapping ...more

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