Book Review: Poison by Bridget Zinn

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.

“Ari, maybe we should get you out of here. No joke. You really are dangerous with this truth serum in you. You might say something you wished you hadn't."
"Like that your mum scares me, but I think your dad is kind of cute in an old-guy sort of way?"
"Exactly like that."
"Eh. I'm not worried."

I have to admit that I was a little unsure about reading Poison; I thought it sounded a little odd and although I was intrigued I wasn’t rushing to read it. Then the reviews started coming in and the general consensus was that this was really very good. So, I boosted this to the top of my reading list and ploughed straight in and I am so glad I did.

From the first page to the last the writing was brilliant. Bridget Zinn was a great a great world builder and this book really came alive for me. There were so many interesting elements to this and I loved all of it. The fantasy parts were very well done and I loved the Poison elements and the magic it bought to the book.

The characters were very strong and Kyra was everything I love in an MC. She was fierce, independent, funny, sweet, loyal and caring. Her relationship with Rosie the pig was a thing of beauty and I loved Rosie way more than I should have.

Fred was a great love interest; he was charming, sweet and at times hilarious. I really loved him and Kyra together and thought the romance was handled really well, it was understated yet still made me swoon a little bit.

It wasn’t just Kyra’s relationship with Rosie and Fred that stood out but also with her best friend Ariana, especially towards the end. They had genuine chemistry and just bounced off each other really well.

There were a lot of other characters that I would have loved to have known a little more about. I also would have liked more of an insight into Kyra and her mother’s relationship. If I could change one thing about this book it would be to make it a little longer in order to incorporate those things. Other than that there is nothing I would change.

I was sad to hear that Bridget Zinn passed away recently. She was an incredibly talented author with one hell of an imagination. Poison is an amazingly fun and often charming book that I highly recommend. 

4 stars

Published March 12th 2013 by Disney Hyperion. A free copy was provided for review.  Unae courtesy of Goodreads.

Review by Kate Phillips