Poison Princess (The Arcana Chronicles)

twist and turns and romance and deception! LOVE Simply stating I'm obsessed with Kresley Coles series is an understatement. This series is magically written sucking you in and allowing you to visually see and feel with your mind the world that Kresley has created. You have love hate relationships with characters and find yourself dying with anticipation for the next installment. I can't get enough.

Fans of LJ Smith and Stephenie Meyer will love this series by Kresley Cole. Right from the first paragraph, I was pulled into the world that is woven. I didn't read reviews before I read the book and I was glad I didn't. Trust me, the way the story weaves its way both through the past and present does not dissapoint. I finished the book and couldn't help but download the next one, even though it was the middle of the night. Amazing series... original and exciting.

Poison Princess is about Evie who thought her biggest problem was holding on to her football star boyfriend and not giving her mother a reason to send her back to the mental institution. However nightmares and her reluctant attraction to the new boy at school threaten her sanity and social status, and if things weren't stressful enough the flash occurs and destroys life as she knows it. In this changed world filled with danger Evie will have to learn to trust in her own abilities to survive.

The characters in this book are great and even though Evie makes some average adolescent mistakes, but you can't help but root for her and anticipate the moment when she comes into her own abilities. I was literally unable to fall asleep until I finished this book and my hands were sore the next day from the death grip I had on my Kindle. This book has adventure,suspense, some romance, and a deadly heroine.

Luv Kresley Coles writing style and story recipte. Generally I HATE a story that does not end at book 1 -you HAVE to buy the next book to carry on with the same Heroins story.
I read book (Loved the story, world, Idea, writing!!) one and refused to buy the others as I heard it turns into a 'teen' story where the girl just can't decide between two boys... Urgh!! Really?
It went from a story for all ages, to a story for 12 year olds...
A 36 year old male I know read book 1, loved it, but gave up after the ending of book 2.

Kresley Cole has created my new favorite series with this book! I’ve read it several times and it doesn’t get old. I love world she’s created and I love Evie. She’s the teenager we all wish we were.

LOVE LOVE LOVE this book and this author. Kresley Cole is fantastic.

I immediately bought Endless Knight (Book 2) when I finished this and I'm so mad that I have to wait for the other books. I just love this series, this author and these characters. Evie is a wonderful heroine who does NOT annoy me and Jack is smooth and sexy. When I'm done with Endless Knight, I'll be looking for (and buying!) anything else written by Mrs. Cole.

Poison Princess had everything you would have found in her IAD books. Action, two awesome protagonists, a batch of incredible characters and an amazing plot line. Evie has this huge destiny to live and fulfill. There are moments she wants to run away from it but times when she wants to keep going further into her awaited fate. In the end she realizes that running away was never an option and finally let's Jackson see how her destiny has transformed her.

I wanted to just finish it to know how Evie and Jackson end up but at the same time I just wanted for it to never end. There were moments were I wanted to strangle Jackson for acting like such a playboy but rooted every time he came to Evie's rescue. I want him to be there for her but he is such a complicated character that you never know what he is going to do. I just want Evie to keep walking with her head help up high and confront the future that awaits her.

Kresley Cole you are amazing!!!! Please write the sequel soon!!!!

Kresley Cole did it again! This book is just amazing. I breezed through it. My favorite part? The ending. It's not a cliff-hanger, it's an Anticipation- for the second book that is.

I've been a long time KC's fan. Basically anything she writes I'll read. Her IAD series is like a drug to me. I need to re-read it once in a while for every month while awaiting the next sequel. So when I heard she's venturing to YA, I am delighted and worried at the same time. There have been so many Adult Romance authors that tried to write YA and missed the mark. Well I'd say Miss Cole NAILED it.

Though it is a young adult book and written in first person POV, KC's fan would definitely realize the stamp she has on her style all over this book. It is just so Kresley. Fans of IAD would notice the resemblance that Mel has with Regin, and Matthew would be this book's version of Nix. Also as Miss Cole is a romance author you do get a dose of that here. If you're not use to how romance hero act, all Alpha-male and caveman act, this can take a while to get use to. But it brings up the HOT factor a notch from the rest of the YA books. Did anyone notice Jack's fixation on providing food is sooo Kresley's type of Hero? I am swooned.

I really like how this book is structured. The opening first chapter is essential to the rest of the book. I also like how this book is divided before and after the flash. By knowing what happened before you really get a sense of character development, especially for Evie.

The world building is flawless. It is easy to imagine. Some scenes were really movie-like. The Arcana concept is really new. But I think to fit the current market Kresley (or the editor, who knows) kind of forcefully fit the dystopian concept. It works, but I can't help feeling it's really just to fit the trend. And the Bagman too, the zombie that craves water = blood and doesn't like the sun. However I do like the KC's version of this end of the world thing. It's more barren, more cruel and savage, which is how it is supposed to be. The human morality or the lack there of here feels real. And I like the description of the blue sky in the deteriorating world. Its juxtaposition gives a very sad feeling, like the sky is mocking you.

The Arcana concept is really cool. The 22 major Arcana from the Tarot card are actually real kids with real power. And every few centuries or so they have to battle out and there can only be one survivor. They have to make alliances, pact, the evil card and the good. Eventually they have to seek each other out to do battle.

Characters:

Evie our heroine is a typical popular crowd, cheerleader, pretty, blond and timid girl that you usually get in a young adult book except for the fact that she was just sent to a mental institution for delusion and hallucination. She was just trying to be normal not believing in any of the voices in her head when actually it was a warning for what's to come. Imagined the regret for not listening to the voices and the `what ifs' that will always haunt her. But I do pity her mother more for not believing in her own daughter. Evie's character can be quite annoying at times, because of her sense of morality and naivety that she holds on to in the time of survival of the fittest. But don't worry she will evolve and truthfully I've seen worse for a female character. But I also do think it's realistic for Evie to act that way from the way she was brought up. And what I like about her is that she is willing to learn to adapt and she doesn't complain. I hate characters that are whiny. And I assure you once you've finished the book, you will just love her.

That boy on the cover is Jack 100%. Except that my Jack would have been more rugged. Jackson is totally Kresley's typical male hero; Alpha-male, possessive, protective, stubborn, and wild. The accent is sexy but the translation after every French word he spoke can be a bit jarring. Coming from the Basin his life hardened him. He's like an injured lion that's wary of everything. For him survival is absolute. He doesn't do noble if it means he or whoever he's protecting gets to live. And that's what I like about dystopian novel. How far would a person do for a chance of survival? But though he doesn't really do noble he still has his own sets of value which he follows. He keeps his promises and he is loyal to what he considers his.

We've only got to see a little bit of Death. But he manages to grab all my attention. He's probably my most anticipated character in this series. I can't wait to see the relationship that Death has with the Empress. I am strumming with anticipation when I read these lines:

"I hear him so clearly; he must be close. I now have nothing to lose, no reason to live in fear of him. Watch your six, Reaper, I'm on the hunt.

A rasping chuckle. - Your Death awaits.-"

Other than him, I just love Matthew. He's like Nix from IAD. It feels like he's ancient but a boy at the same time. Though Evie claims to be taking care of him, I feel that it is actually Matthew who looks out for her.He doesn't usually make sense but the things he said will click into place when the event happens. Selena is full of mystery but I don't think I like her. Finn is funny enough and his power and personality kind of fits. I can't wait to see Gabriel and also that boy with lightning. It's all in the next book.

Verdict:

Even though romance is probably a big part of this book, it doesn't seem like it's the center stage (to me at least). I am actually more interested in the power that each Arcana kids has and how it will all play out. The battle that is to come between the Empress and Death excites me more than the story of Jack and Evie.

I would sum up this book as a starting, a prologue or the calm before a storm. I do believe that the second book will be even more exciting and better than this one.

My grandmother recommended this book to me, and I have to say, she was right!! I LOVE dystopian series, and i'm really impressed with how the author creates a whole new world. There are so many different elements that make up the world, that I just can not list them all,but this would be a start.

For those who are zombie fans, be warned. The 'zombies'(bagmen, as they are known as) are not hungry for human flesh,-no they actually seek any kind of water to keep themselves alive making any large bodies of water a hot spot for these creatures. It's a nice change from the typical flesh-eating zombies that are popular now, and if someone is bitten(and actually survives the bite) of a Bagmen, they will turn into one.

The setting is generally one where a drought has occurred(believed to be caused from a freak solar flare, though that could be due to another cause) and the remaining survivors are trying to scavenge to stay alive.

If you're looking at this series, be prepared for a cliff hanger that carries on to the next book. Poison Princes was an excellent read, and I look forward to Reading 'Endless Knight' and later when it comes out 'Dead of Winter'.

Wow! The ending was so unexpected. I thought oh I know how this is going about half was through the book. I thought the empress would be like the typical people who discover they have great power and have to play a role in prophecy or something and just deny her power but o boy was I wrong it was an amazing twist that I didn't see it coming. The book was exceptional and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

Wow, I can't believe I dithered about buying this because it is YA. I have all this author's books and have been a fan for years. This may be the best she has written. It is more the Hunger Games type YA, not the whiny Twilight teen type. I was so engrossed I stayed up all night as I couldn't put it down ... an extremely rare occurrence as so few books would can engross me to that extent. Boy, longest day EVER dragging myself through work today, LOL.

I've never read anything by Kresley Cole before, but after reading Poison Princess, I had to download the whole series to my kindle. I spent the weekend reading the first 2 books in the Arcana Chronicles. This is a great series! Maybe I'm biased because I live in Louisiana & alot of the first book is set in Cajun country. I love the smooth talking Jackson. Just get this series!!! You won't be disappointed. ;)

Things were set into motion. The game had begun. The apocalypse had changed the playing field. And the Arcana were readying to do battle. The only question that remained was who would be the victor.

When Evie Greene began seeing visions, she feared she suffered the same affliction as her grandmother. And so she tried in vain to make them disappear by taking the medication she was given and blocking her memories of her grandmother and the stories she told.

Especially the ones that hinted that she was something more. That she had a part to play. And that she needed to be ready.

But when the world depicted in her visions became reality she began to wonder whether everything she envisioned was real. And if it was, just who were these violent others she saw, why was she seeing them and what did it all mean?

With the world in chaos, there was only one person Evie knew who could provide answers. But it meant embarking on a dangerous journey, with almost no supplies and no way to protect herself.

That is, unless she decided to rely on Jack Deveaux, a boy she had little reason to trust. A boy who already proved untrustworthy. A boy she couldn't help but be drawn to.

She just wasn't sure if the risk of putting her life and her heart in his hands would be worth it. Especially since she had no way of knowing whether the person with answers had even survived.

***

Kresley Cole's first foray into young adult storytelling brings readers an incredibly imaginative, darkly alluring and utterly riveting tale in Poison Princess. With an introduction that is immediately captivating and absolutely chilling, a post-apocalyptic world that is dangerous and horrifying, a compelling storyline filled with disturbing imagery, a refreshingly different premise and exciting, interesting and intriguing characters, this first book in The Arcana Chronicles is impossible to put down.

Each scene grabs hold, ensnaring readers with the promise of what is to come. Each of Evangeline Greene's visions is ominous and foreboding and deeply chilling. The world the author envisioned is desolate, despairing and deadly, a landscape of fear. And it is all offset by the electricity between Evie Greene and Jackson Deveaux.

Their fiery chemistry, sexual tension and Jack's innate need to be the protector, to the point of overprotectiveness at times, brings heat to their otherwise frightening situation. His possessiveness, while often overbearing, is also incredibly sexy. Their interactions give readers much-needed sensuality in a story and world that are filled with grisly encounters and mounting horrors.

From Evie's disturbing visions. To the post-apocalyptic climate that has left people without water and very little food. To the humans who have turned into what are tantamount to zombies. To those who have turned to enslaving others. To those who have banded together to fight for their survival, even if it means harming the innocent. To those who have chosen to eat whatever and whomever they can. And to those who decided to give in to their baser instincts and psychopathic tendencies in this new world.

Evie Greene is a likable and sympathetic character. Mired by ghastly visions that threaten her sanity, she still manages to be a kind and caring girl who only wants to return to the normal life she had before she began seeing glimpses of things she can only believe aren't real. But when her world gets turned upside down, she has to learn to fight for her survival and she has to rely on someone she never imagined she would. Jackson Deveaux.

Jack is the ultimate bad boy - disarming good looks, a reputation for being dangerous, a criminal past and friends who behave equally as recklessly. Raised in poverty and violence, he and Evie couldn't be more different. And yet they have an undeniable attraction to one another, which develops into something far more intense.

Kresley Cole did a brilliant job of introducing readers to this new world and characters, some of whom are more than they appear, of teasing readers with peeks at what is sure to develop in future books in the series, of building tension and suspense, and of bringing new life to YA paranormal/urban fantasy with her interpretation of the Arcana.

For readers who like their books dark, their worlds disturbing, their main characters to possess wickedly awesome and incredibly unique abilities and their bad boy heroes to be oh so devilishly bad, then Poison Princess is unequivocally a must read.

Incredible. Like The Stand and Walking Dead but with star crossed lovers and dash of Louisiana atmosphere to rock it over the top. The glimpses of high school in the beginning had me hooked all on their own, but then there was all the mystery and then the apocalypse, Parts of it are so spooky I was afraid someone would tap me on the shoulder and I'd jump out of my skin. Wow. Just wow. This was one of those books that reminded me why I love to read.

Loved this one...I like the teen bracket cause they tend to be more creative with the story line and this one does not disappoint. Really liked the tarot backbone and the apocolypse together. There are so many directions this series can go and the characters are well developed and likable. I can't wait to see what happens next. A new favorite and I'll definitely be watching for new releases. Excellent "debut" Kresley!

The Poison Princess is a fascinating, haunting book that kept me awake at night rehashing scenes in my head. Some parts are pretty jarring so I wouldn't reccommend this book to a younger kid, only older teens or adults. The romance isn't cheesy and feels more realistic given the grim, post-apocalyptic world Evie lives in. I just finished this book and if the second book was out right now I would be starting it immediately!

This book was absolutely amazing and so original! I loved Evie she was very realistic and easy to like! The romance was well done and very believable! And the world building was fabulous. Cole made the whole story very believable and made it easy to follow. Not only was the world building great but also the characters! I quickly became attached to Evie and Jack and loved how each one grew. As a high school junior I really love to read, but sometimes struggle getting into books however that was not the case with this book. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes YA adventure with romance!

It's quite obvious that the Arcana Chronicles will bring us days and nights of endless reading and skipped heart beats! The Immortals After Dark series is my absolute favorite, but honestly, I love every book Kresley Cole has written. I find that I am always counting the days until she releases her next book. The Poison Princess is for younger readers and I am not young, however, I truly enjoyed the characters and the story and I look forward to reading the next book.

The novel has been summarized adequately by the store and other reviews so I wont bother repeating it. I have to say that I came into this with very high expectations because I love Kresley Cole. Her stories have complex plots and so much wit that I would stand for no less even in a YA novel. I was not dissapointed. The setup for the series is so great that my brain cannot compute the fact that I will not have the next installment for a very long time...and I want it yesterday.

I love the post-apocalyptic setting and the fact that she really went all out with absolute devastation. There is literally not much "world" left. What was somewhat jarring was the fact that the beginning of the novel really sets up the pre-Apocalyptic world so well that I would have been happy just reading more about it as is, so when the Flash happens and it all goes away I really felt emotinal about the fact that it was all gone.

So far I feel as if we've been given only a taste of the overall story. The main arc of this installment is mostly driven by Evie's development as a character and the development of her relationship with Jackson. I love that even though this is a YA novel KC still included some heated sexual exchanges (this is really her forte).

I liked Eveie as the main character and she starts of somewhat weaker than the typical KC heroine but as the story progressed she started to develop some real teeth, which I loved. I feel as if this is still just the first stepping stone in Evie's story. I also love the fact that KC does not write Mary Sues. Eveie has personality, she has wit, and she has strength even when she is "weak" and every male character is not in love with her. I also loved Jackson, even when I hated him. He is sexy and capable whilst being very insecure about Evie's preception of him which makes him somewhat moody and jerky at times. I'm very curious about how their connection will be developed in future books. I enjoyes the side characters (Matt, Selena, Finn) and even though I think they will need alot of fleshing out I feel like I got a good impression of them to carry me foreward. I'm very intrigued by the Death Arcana and even more by Evie's mixed feelings for him. Obviously there has to be a bad guy and Death seems pretty dang evil right now, but KC has introduced a seed of doubt and I can't wait to see how it will all work out.

Overall, I love it to the 1000th power and Kresley Cole better be working day and night to get the next book to us.

Just excellent! I count down the days until I get to read the next Kresley Cole book, having already read anything from her that has been released to date at least once. The last two I swear were written by someone else, but this book brings back exactly why I came to love her stories in the first place. Her plots are wonderfully imaginative and well thought out. Her characters have personalities that draw you in and you feel what they feel as you read.

I know this is totally cliche to say, but Kresley Cole is at the top of her game in this one!! the wolrd building and slow growth character development wer spot on. By the end I loved the heroine's transformation and can't wait to see where she goes from here.

Only down side was I didn't love one particular reveal at the end. Thought it was too close to another big YA series, but I won't reveal any of that here.

Overall...awesome read!

I enjoyed this book greatly. If your a Hunger Game and/or Divergent fan you will also like this series. It's foundation is based on the Tarot Cards (which I do not believe in or have ever used) representing real teenage kids & a game that must be played every few centuries. A game to the death.

I enjoyed this author. It's the first time I've read her work.

I really enjoyed this book. Normally I only read before going to bed but found myself reading it anytime I had the chance. I liked how the story started before the apocalypse so you could see what the character was like before and how she changes afterwards. Teens fighting to the death is no longer something new and being attracted to a bad boy is really old however I thought using tarot cards to set up the fantasy world was very interesting.

Mind blowing. I love the IAD series; Kresley is one of the most creative authors out there. The Arcana Chronicle had the right touch of everything. I was so intrigued by every part of the story. Even the slower parts wee so unique that my curiosity kept me reading with a fierce intensity. This series beyond his the mark. Great job Kresley!

I've really struggled to write an honest review for this one. I don't read YA books, but this is Kresley Cole of the IAD series so I caved. I don't know what the normal criterion is for the YA Genre, but I wouldn't have wanted my kids to read this until they were at LEAST 16, maybe older. The violence is pretty graphic, and though there are no "sex scenes", there's enough sexual innuendo and tension to make even seasoned romance readers fan themselves. There is also talk of rape and sexual torture. So it's got some really heavy stuff for young minds.
That being said, it's a great read. The story is dark, but engaging. Plenty of secrets and mystery that keep you turning the pages until the end. THAT being said, you'll get very few answers at the end. It is the first in a series after all. But I, personally, detest cliffhangers. I love a good series, don't get me wrong. Such as her IAD, an ongoing series of many books; but each one wraps up the story of a particular couple within the many characters in play among the whole series. This one is going to be more like Moning's "Fever" series, with one couple, Evie and Jack, and cliffhanger at the end of each book. When you have to wait a year or more between books, I just don't care for the cliffhanger thing, but that's a personal op.
About Evie and Jack: Evie is 16 and she acts like it. Even after the apocalyptic event, she remains whiny, sullen, stubborn, ungrateful, spoiled- she's a typical teenager. Jack on the other hand, who is 18- from the moment we meet him he's a man. He looks like a man, he talks like a man, he acts like a man. I loved him on the spot. By the end of the book, 'I be wantin' some of ole Jack, me'. Evie, not so much. I don't see it yet. And it's going to take some convincing for me to see it. A 16 year old girl, alone in the world, with a boy/man like Jack doing the things he did to keep her safe, and she'd rather let him go than tell him her secrets? Nuh-uh. I've raised teenagers. I know better. I'm curious about how it will play out. Will I still be curious a year from now when another book comes out? Time will tell... Now, would I want to read a book about Cajun Jack in an adult novel? De bon coeur-wholeheartedly!
Sooo, there you have it. Take it with a grain of salt. A review from someone who doesn't normally read this genre, but someone who's a huge fan of Cole.

Kresley Cole was already one of my favorite authors, so I was highly anticipating her entrance in Young Adult fiction. The book exceeded my expectations and created one of my new favorite heroes. The story is unique, I would expect nothing less from Cole. I loved that she didn't venture into the overdone love triangle so popular in today's YA books. All of the characters were three dimensional and well fleshed out. I never thought I would think a Cajun accent is sexy, I was proven wrong. I loved this book so much that I read it again immediately after I finished it. I CANNOT WAIT for the next installment.

This probably would have been a five star book if it wasn't so long and slow in the beginning. However the author needed to set up world in which she created and it is an interesting place!!! Worth a read. So entertaining and addictive... I admit I actually have already re-read it twice and bought the sequel right away and have read that more than once too.

Love, love, love this series and this is the book that starts it all. Kresley Cole is an amazing writer and her world building skills are first class. This book has it all; action, intrigue, mystery, romance, and even a few laughs.

Would give this book more stars if possible. May have a spoiler or two. I'm an adult that rarely reads YA. But since this was Kresley Cole, I read it. I love this book. It's one of my most favorites ever. I love Jackson Deveaux. He's damaged, in pain, dirt poor, been abused his whole life and very lucky to be alive. Evie is the exact opposite. Rich, spoiled, but so, so much more. A simple opposites attract is what those that dislike the book see. They don't like Jack because they don't understand him. They are missing the fact that his anger stems from pain. *spoiler* He lives and breathes Evie. Goes without food, sleep, bleeds for her. Would happily die for her. He's an amazingly wonderful young man. But the love story aside, the book is one huge puzzle. You cannot take a conversation at face value. Especially things that Matthew says. Things that Jack says, Death. All have double, triple meanings. There are some fans that are taking this book and the next one, Endless Knight, apart. Word by word. Doing research. Taking notes. Re-reading them over and over. Attempting to put this huge puzzle together. This book is intricate, as is Endless Knight. So if you read it and didn't like it, try it again. Go a bit deeper than the surface. Read Endless Knight and get some major shocks. What you thought was true, was not. Not that Poison Princess had any lies in it, no. But that what you thought you read, was not what was written. If you want an idea of what the books are really like besides a truly brilliant love story, visit her forum. Go to the Arcana section and read about Poison Princess and Endless Knight. And how can you not want to know the answer to one of the biggest puzzles? Exactly what is Jackson Deveaux? Mortal? Card? A god? And if it matters, I'm all about Jack. Not Death. Jackson. There are a million questions in the books that people are missing. Missing out.

After reading this debut novel by my absolutely favorite author, all I have to say is WOW! At first, I was a little apprehensive, not being a big fan of YA, but this book was amazing and I'm chomping at the bit for the next one in the series, which is my usual MO with Kresley Cole! For apocalyptic action, romance, a great heroine and even better hero, especially with a Cajun accent and riding a motorcycle, it doesn't get any better! Not to mention a fight between good and evil! I dare you to read this! You'll be blown away! And most likely hooked on Kresley Cole's novels!

I tried the free preview which was a Huge mistake because I simply couldn't put it down and now I can't wait MONTHS for book 2. The plot is one of the most original and creative that I have ever read. It is worth every positive review. It's riveting and hard to figure out where it's heading. One of her best books. You will not be disappointed.

This is without question one of the best books ive read since The Hunger games. What a fresh and entertaining spin on the dystopian craze...ive already read both books in this series twice. Yes. They are THAT good. No long review recapping what you can read from the general overview but if you like reality mixed with mystical scenarios and not your average love story mixed with some of the MOST interesting, diverse, well developed characters...this is your book.
Currently stalking the authors page to find out when the next book will come and rock my world (and steal my sleep)

Kresley does a good job with her YA fiction, taking it down a notch from her normal smoking hot. I don't usually enjoy anything apocalyptic but she manages to keep the worst of the horror off screen. All the character development is with the main couple in this book and the supporting cast just support at this point.