This Poison Heart

Title: This Poison Heart
Author: Kalynn Bayron
Publisher: Bloomsbury

Year: June 2021
Pages: 370

Series: This Poison Heart #1
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Reading Time: 5 - 11 September
Binding: Owlcrate Hardback

Goodreads

Stars:
★★★☆☆

Blurb:

 Briseis has a gift: with a single touch she can grow plants from tiny seeds to rich blooms.

 When Briseis's aunt dies and wills her a dilapidated estate in rural New York, Bri and her parents hope that surrounded by plants and flowers, she will finally learn to control her gift. But their new home is sinister in ways they never expected - it comes with a mysterious set of instructions, a walled garden filled with the deadliest botanicals in the world, and generations of secrets. There is more to Bri's sudden inheritance that she could have imagined, and she is determined to uncover it.

 From the bestselling author of Cinderella is Dead comes an enchanting story about a young woman with the power to conquer the dark forces descending around her.

Review:

 Bayron's writing style is very easy to read which is really required when the plot begins in the last quarter of the book. Having said that, I genuinely wrote in my notes it felt kind of juvenile so this was certainly the young side of young adult.  As much as I enjoyed the overall premise of this book the plot took a really, really long time to go anywhere. The majority of the book is changing settings and meeting new people. A couple of interesting moments which make us think the plot is beginning and then managing to downplay it until the last few chapters. A bit disappointing. It was nice to see things tying together to a bigger plot but it took so long to get there that the mystery throughout the book built up to a point of frustration rather than satisfaction.

 The general story is actually very interesting. Plants are attracted to Bri, unnaturally so and react to her manipulations as well. A 'Poison Ivy' kind of gift. To then tie this in to a part of Greek Mythology was fascinating for me, it was not a story that I had heard before and it added an additional element to the book that elevated it slightly.

 The main character, Briseis, is Black, adopted, bisexual and wears glasses. Don't know what more representation you could want! She's a little naïve, which will either endear or irritate you. For a girl with parents like hers she's far too trusting of people. It was very at odds with her apparent background. She's oddly courageous but it's not in an impressive way. I feel like I've set her up badly, I actually quite liked her, she's a pretty genuine normal person but on reflection can't really pull anything else out to highlight.

 I'd like to say we've got a range of characters but I'm not sure that's quite accurate to say. Bri's adopted parents are two Black women, Mom and Mo. At first I really like them but after a bit I found them unbearable annoying. Their overbearing mothering was just a bit too much and cliché. They also exhibited a lot of. . . I don't know. Annoying mannerisms? I'm trying to tread carefully as I'm not sure in New Yorkers actually speak and act this way. I'm from the UK, we don't carry tasers or mace, don't burst into rooms carrying them. And I've never heard anyone talk the way they and Bri do, I was physically rolling my eyes and cringing at points.

 Other characters like Karter and Marie had interactions with Bri that were just unbelievable. No one becomes friends that quickly in a strange new town. Regardless of any later information, it came across strangely and is part of why I described Bri as I did above. Karter's clumsiness was unfounded, Marie's interest even more so. They just didn't seem well padded out characters.

 One this I did enjoy was the little input of details about hair care for Bri as a Black person. Not something I have seen before and a good, normal thing to be putting in to a contemporary setting. I have actually read a Black reviewer complaining about some of this and the dialogue feeling forced in terms of representation. I wouldn't necessarily be able to highlight the dialogue but perhaps that was what I was spotting up above? I can't really tell and of course it's very much for individuals to make up their own minds about!

 So, after the plot really opening up at the end it turns out more of the story is likely to come up in the second book. I can only see a second book in plans on Goodreads which isn't too much of a further commitment. I'd quite like to see the full extent of the potential of this premise, if I spot it in the library and wanted and easy read, I'd probably pick it up.