khadeejahhalim's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
i can’t wait to read the sequel! i really like the heroine, jessamine, and i think she and weed make a beautiful couple.
i_will_papercut_a_bish's review against another edition
3.0
What the what. -.- The first half is dull as tombs, and the second is an acid trip. Fascinating, if completely bizarre.
nightshade_novels's review against another edition
4.0
This was an interesting read. Similar to the first book not too much happened throughout the story: Weed went to Italy to try and find Jessamine, while Jessamine changed her name twice and traveled across England killing people.
It was weird how completely Jessamine’s character changed throughout the book. But this is presumably the effect of all the drugs she was taking and having Oleander talking to her all the time.
It was good to see Weed being proactive for a change and tracking down Signora Baglioni at the Orto botanico, in Italy. I liked the way that Weed used his ability to talk to plants and ask them to flower etc. to put on shows to make money and in the end to entertain King George III. It reminded me of the way Dustfinger in Inkheart by Cornelia Funke performs using his special abilities. There did seem to be a few random scenes however that did not seem necessary to the story, such as the human dissection scene.
I quite liked how the book ended; not with the happy reunion of Weed and Jessamine as you would expect, but with Oleander burying Jessamine in her father’s poison garden, leaving Weed to run after her again.
Overall this book receives four stars. It was similar to the first book, but it gains an extra star due to the darker route that this book takes and the unconventional ending.
It was weird how completely Jessamine’s character changed throughout the book. But this is presumably the effect of all the drugs she was taking and having Oleander talking to her all the time.
It was good to see Weed being proactive for a change and tracking down Signora Baglioni at the Orto botanico, in Italy. I liked the way that Weed used his ability to talk to plants and ask them to flower etc. to put on shows to make money and in the end to entertain King George III. It reminded me of the way Dustfinger in Inkheart by Cornelia Funke performs using his special abilities. There did seem to be a few random scenes however that did not seem necessary to the story, such as the human dissection scene.
I quite liked how the book ended; not with the happy reunion of Weed and Jessamine as you would expect, but with Oleander burying Jessamine in her father’s poison garden, leaving Weed to run after her again.
Overall this book receives four stars. It was similar to the first book, but it gains an extra star due to the darker route that this book takes and the unconventional ending.
frootjoos's review against another edition
4.0
actually finished a while ago. It was just a "like" until the ending... it pulled up an extra star on my rating. Can't wait for the next one.
bethyboo29's review against another edition
4.0
This was different. Very different to any other book I've read, so I quite enjoyed it. It didn't blow my mind but it kept me entertained for a time. Indeed I enjoyed this book. (:
noregrets4life33's review against another edition
4.0
This small book is also a small delight. The writing is simple and beautiful, and the story is easy to follow along with. It is like an updated fairy tale of sorts. Not deep reading by any means, but a beautiful litte distraction that is worth snapping up for a couple hours of reading. The morals found within are very nice as well. I enjoyed this book in its own way.
books_plan_create's review
1.0
Hmmmm. I should have left it at the first one. I just have trouble buying in to this story. It also felt as if a whole other book was deleted from the middle of this one. We went from point A to B to C to G.
jennymcgoldrick's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
angeliqueazul's review against another edition
3.0
The Poison Diaries is a light and quick read. It is hard to actually rate this book because even though the ideas are interesting, the story is rather rough. In the first part nothing really happens except that Weed shows up and nevertheless, Maryrose Wood does not manage to build up round characters on these many pages! Jessamine is the only one we get to know a little better but the decisions she makes are so contradicting that I just could not stop questioning her as a character. Another issue is trust: Weed and Jessamine know each other so little, they hardly ever tell each other what they are thinking and feeling, so that when it comes to trusting each other in the second part I thought it would be much harder for the both of them. Well, it was not really and that is one of quite a few 'loose ends' the second part offers. Weed and Jessamine's burning love for each other and J's father suddenly being the absolute evil - sorry but that was just too unrealistic!
I liked the whole idea with the poisons and the plants and Weed as an idea of a person - you could really make something out of that. The whole idea with the poison prince was something I did not really understand. On the one hand, what power does he actually have and on the other, he and his plants with their three (or four) tasks for Weed turned the YA fantasy book into some kind of parable with a meaning for life-attempt, which made the book as a whole even more confusing.
In the end I felt more sorry for all the animals and people that had to die just to save Jessamine (who is not really worth it in my opinion) than for the two lovers that are seperated forever (or so it seems). Where cruel death is concerned, Wood actually has a talent to make you shiver. Other than that the language was very simple. Conclusion: An enjoyable read - but not worth buying, keeping or thinking about it much.
I liked the whole idea with the poisons and the plants and Weed as an idea of a person - you could really make something out of that. The whole idea with the poison prince was something I did not really understand. On the one hand, what power does he actually have and on the other, he and his plants with their three (or four) tasks for Weed turned the YA fantasy book into some kind of parable with a meaning for life-attempt, which made the book as a whole even more confusing.
In the end I felt more sorry for all the animals and people that had to die just to save Jessamine (who is not really worth it in my opinion) than for the two lovers that are seperated forever (or so it seems). Where cruel death is concerned, Wood actually has a talent to make you shiver. Other than that the language was very simple. Conclusion: An enjoyable read - but not worth buying, keeping or thinking about it much.
allaurae's review against another edition
1.0
Official Rating: 1.5
Thoughts:
Okay. Wow. I didn't expect to be finished with that so quickly.
To start off with, I'd just like to say that any book that has as the big-bad antagonist is going to leave a bad taste in my mouth.
As unfortunate as it is to kick off reviewing books on Goodreads with a negative opinion, The Poison Diaries just didn't do it for me. At all.
At first, it had promise. I wasn't exactly sucked into the novel for the plot, though; the only reason I got so pulled in was because of how quickly I was actually progressing through it. (For a book intended for a YA audience, it sure felt like I was reading Middle Grade.)
Sadly, this promise never flourished. Where Jessamine had the potential to grow out of her diminutive, childish ways, she stayed stock still. Weed was whiny, pouty and patronising (oh my!). Jessamine's dad was a freak poorly disguised as a workaholic disguised as a scientist.
The narrative itself grew gradually more and more absurd, with the plot points becoming more convoluted and less creditable by the page. That's right. Page.
The first half of the story had to be dragged by its ears to get anywhere, and the second half had so many expository scenes and "twists" that I had to check the cover a few times to make sure I was still holding the right book. The final arc of the story felt like I was reading a tacky RPG.
By the last page, The Poison Diaries had somehow achieved the feat of making me both exhausted and mind-numbingly bored at the same time. Although, perhaps the lack of interest came from the sheer disappointment I had with the characters.
Jessamine frustrated me to no end. I understand that this book falls under the historic genre, and I can have historic-accuracy preached to me by every history-devoted-historian in the world, but I will never have any affection for Daddy's Obedient Perfect Princess Who Can Cook, Clean and Swoon. At some point in the novel she mentions something about wanting to study poisons and her father not allowing it, which is fair enough. What I can't buy is the main character spending the first half of the novel ranting on and on about how for the first 16 years of her life she had begged her father to let her into his locked-up garden, only to forget all about it after being in there once, clutching the hand of her beloved and following after him with her thumb in her mouth.
Weed was annoying. (If you're going to throw in a POV change, do it at the start of the novel, not in the last 80 pages.) With more mood-swings than Edward Cullen, the guy left me with one distinct thought: dude, you really need to get out more.
Jessamine's dad was... well, I saw it coming, and it still didn't detract from how disturbingly abusive he was. His character was messed up, and not in a fun, "you're-so-quirky" way. Rather, in a way.
The Poison Diaries left much to be desired. So much. "Much" includes: likeable characters, weed killer (in more ways than one), a plot, and my afternoon back. The story was a good idea, but very poorly executed.
Seriously, though,? Weird. Pair them with the word "seductive", though, and I just can't take you seriously.
Thoughts:
Okay. Wow. I didn't expect to be finished with that so quickly.
To start off with, I'd just like to say that any book that has
Spoiler
manipulative, talking plantsAs unfortunate as it is to kick off reviewing books on Goodreads with a negative opinion, The Poison Diaries just didn't do it for me. At all.
At first, it had promise. I wasn't exactly sucked into the novel for the plot, though; the only reason I got so pulled in was because of how quickly I was actually progressing through it. (For a book intended for a YA audience, it sure felt like I was reading Middle Grade.)
Sadly, this promise never flourished. Where Jessamine had the potential to grow out of her diminutive, childish ways, she stayed stock still. Weed was whiny, pouty and patronising (oh my!). Jessamine's dad was a freak poorly disguised as a workaholic disguised as a scientist.
The narrative itself grew gradually more and more absurd, with the plot points becoming more convoluted and less creditable by the page. That's right. Page.
The first half of the story had to be dragged by its ears to get anywhere, and the second half had so many expository scenes and "twists" that I had to check the cover a few times to make sure I was still holding the right book. The final arc of the story felt like I was reading a tacky RPG.
By the last page, The Poison Diaries had somehow achieved the feat of making me both exhausted and mind-numbingly bored at the same time. Although, perhaps the lack of interest came from the sheer disappointment I had with the characters.
Jessamine frustrated me to no end. I understand that this book falls under the historic genre, and I can have historic-accuracy preached to me by every history-devoted-historian in the world, but I will never have any affection for Daddy's Obedient Perfect Princess Who Can Cook, Clean and Swoon. At some point in the novel she mentions something about wanting to study poisons and her father not allowing it, which is fair enough. What I can't buy is the main character spending the first half of the novel ranting on and on about how for the first 16 years of her life she had begged her father to let her into his locked-up garden, only to forget all about it after being in there once, clutching the hand of her beloved and following after him with her thumb in her mouth.
Weed was annoying. (If you're going to throw in a POV change, do it at the start of the novel, not in the last 80 pages.) With more mood-swings than Edward Cullen, the guy left me with one distinct thought: dude, you really need to get out more.
Jessamine's dad was... well, I saw it coming, and it still didn't detract from how disturbingly abusive he was. His character was messed up, and not in a fun, "you're-so-quirky" way. Rather, in a
Spoiler
"I'm really uncomfortable reading about you, oh my God am I really supposed to believe you're a good guy"The Poison Diaries left much to be desired. So much. "Much" includes: likeable characters, weed killer (in more ways than one), a plot, and my afternoon back. The story was a good idea, but very poorly executed.
Seriously, though,