Jessamine Luxton has lived all her sixteen years in an isolated cottage near Alnwick Castle, with little company apart from the plants in her garden. Her father, Thomas, a feared and respected apothecary, has taught her much about the incredible powers of plants: that even the most innocent-looking weed can cure -- or kill.
When Jessamine begins to fall in love with a mysterious boy who claims to communicate with plants, she is drawn into the dangerous world of the poison garden in a way she never could have imagined . .
My Review:
The Poison Diaries was a quick and thoroughly entertaining read. The concept sounded fascinating to me and I definitely haven't read any other book like it.
I have to start by saying that the writing in this book is GORGEOUS. The imagery was lovely and I found myself enchanted by the setting and the atmosphere of the book. The words just flowed off of the page and I found myself flying through chapter after chapter, and when it was over I found myself wanting more. (Yay for the sequel!) Jessamine was quite a bland character to begin with but when she met Weed, he seemed to set off a spark in her and she became more gutsy and independent. Weed was a slightly odd but loveable character. I didn't really know what was going on with him at the beginning, but when I found out I was a little bit like "what the..?!" but Maryrose Wood definitely pulled off some plot twists that in the wrong hands would be totally unbelievable and cringeworthy. Weed had a lot to deal with but he really cared about Jessamine and was willing to sacrafice a lot for her. Their romance was sweet, and although it was quite subtle, there were some swoon-worthy moments!
I enjoyed the first 3 quarters of the book the most because the end got a little too dark for me. Some of the stuff that Weed had to do and witness I really didn't enjoy reading but it was over quickly and helped the reader to understand Weed and his character more. Near the end I got a bit confused but the last chapter wrapped it up, including a twist that I suspect many will guess but I didn't see it coming! The overall tone of the book was quite creepy and atmospheric and I look forward to reading the sequel. I really hope that
Weed has more screen (page?) time- I would love to know more about his background and 'talents'.
I would recommend reading The Poison Diaries, especially if you want to read something that hasn't been done before with a huge dose of atmosphere and lyrical writing, just enough romance to keep a romantic like me happy and some un-expected turns. This book is part of a series but works well as a stand-alone too. I read this in a little over 2 hours so it's perfect for a rainy afternoon!
Rating: A-
Cover: B+
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