Poison Princess: Arcana Chronicles, Book 1

WOW! I was a little nervous when I first heard Kresley Cole was taking a break from her IAD series to write a YA novel. But, I gave it a try and was NOT disappointed. I really LOVED this book. As always, Ms. Cole is amazing at story-telling and world building. She is brilliant at character development and her imagination is genius! Emma Galvin is a PERFECT narrator for YA books (she is one of my favorites).

It’s been a long time since I’ve been considered a “young adult” but I have to say I absolutely love this genre. (Dare I say I have a crush?)

This is definitely a credit worthy read, especially for fans of YA and/or Kresley Cole.

I am a fan of Kresley Cole's work, so I did not think twice before purchasing this audio book. I was not disappointed!

Of course, this is not the usual adult fiction that you might expect from this author: this is obviously meant for teens (some romance, some 'heat' here and there, but markedly toned down in comparison with, say, the Immortals After Dark series).

I loved the story. The fantasy world woven throughout is captivating, the characters are interesting, and I could not predict most of what was going to happen in the story. The writing is excellent, and even though there are some 'teen story cliches' in a few places (some 'Twilight' flavor at the start), you forget it as the mysteries unfold. Kept me hooked from beginning to end!

Best of all with this audio book: the narrators. The novel is split into parts that are alternately narrated by the main character (Evelyne) and a vilain (Arthur). Each is read by a different narrator, and both do an AMAZING job of it! I am convinced that though reading this novel on paper would be great, the narrator performance makes this an audio must!

In short, I can't wait to read the sequel!!!!

Fans of Kresley Cole already know she is incredibly talented at spinning a tale, and is very good at paranormal romance and "bodice ripper" fiction. I think writing for a YA audience has truly unleashed her greatest talents. It is not just he lack of endless sex scenes, which, to be fair, she works well into her adult fiction, but which occasionally trump ( or at least direct) the story, that has made this a superior work. In this story she has focused her powers of plot, or weaving an amazing story, of real character development, of creating tension, mystery, motivations for her characters and their missions beyond finding some ultimate mate, as much of her ( and most paranormal romance adult fiction) focuses on. And wow, unleashing that is has truly set free her creativity and cleverness and ability to capture her audience in an adventure that truly will captivate.

I am such a sucker for apocalyptic stories, but this is so much more than that - and the world built is one that (though obviously incredibly fictional) somehow draws the reader in as plausible... Amazing stuff. It is a bit dark at times, but overall, that element makes sense and doesn't overwhelm the story at all, and fits in perfectly... Just give it some time. The mood of this book is incredible and the reader will feel deeply attached to all the main characters and their plight.

Of course, there is a hefty dose of romance, and having read her adult fiction, I have to say this is the very best developed relationship of all her work, the characters and their relationship are the most compelling, with little "love at first site, irresistible draw to each other" stuff going on, and rather an incredibly complex set of emotions and meaningful interactions, and a strong background in place, and a very well grounded, well developed, and real basis for deep caring and attraction and love... And the obstacles thrown in their path only strengthen the bond, and never feel like conveniences which will ultimately make the inevitable bedding in the next chapter seem more meaningful... This is on a new level.

So many other have already sung the praises of this book... I will only second all of that and interject that I believe Kresley Cole, who, though she has always been a very interesting and talented writer, has really found her niche here and that this is her best work, and I hope she will continue this path.

The narrators do a great job too!

Fun, Sexy, Dark.

Jack, Evie and the motorcycle...or maybe Jack, Evie and the pool....sigh.

I found this book by searching for other titles narrated by Emma Galvin, after listening to the Divergent series. She is quickly becoming my favourite narrator and does an excellent job, once again. Keith Nobb was appropriately creepy, but I did find myself waiting for Evie's parts to resume.

A qualified YES. I struggled to get through the first few chapters of the book. I downloaded it based solely on the good reviews and my admiration of Emma Galvin's narration skills, but I didn't know much about the author. The teen language and dialogue rings true and, as an adult, I thought I might be in for a difficult listen but boy was I wrong. After I got used to the author's style, the story was sexy and exciting, and I found myself staying up late to finish the book. A few times, I even stayed in the car to finish the next chapter!

I can't wait for the next book in the series to come out. This is a great start to a promising series. I almost didn't get past the first few chapters but I am so glad that I stayed with it. This was definitely one of my favourite audiobooks of 2012, Young Adult or otherwise.

A word to parents: I like to pre-screen books that my tween daughter might be interested in, so I listen to a lot of YA. This is not a book for tweens (or maybe even younger teens). There is a fair amount of drinking, strong language and sexual content. The protagonist is 15/16, and that's about the minimum age I'd be comfortable with.

I am a huge Kresley Cole fan, and I thought I'd try this book, even though it is marketed for "teens." It is awesome. It has a lot of similarities to the Hunger Games, but in my opinion, much better and more interesting. The narrators are great and really bring the story to life. I could not stop listening. I think this is appropriate for high school girls, but adults will love it as well. The ending was great and I can't wait for the next book in the series!

The ending! It was insane!

I’m obsessed with Poison Princess. Really…no lie! I’m totally and completely obsessed. Who would have thought that someone would take the 22 trump cards from The Major Arcana Tarot deck, create characters from them, and then write a totally awesome book? There are so many things that make this book fan-friggin-tastic, and I’ll do my best to tell you why without revealing spoilers.

The whole story was very well done. It starts out in the point of view of this obviously psychotic and creepy dude who has just lured a girl into his home, and that had me terrified of what might happen next. But you don’t get to find out what happens next until quite a bit later because the next scene is in the point of view of the popular girl at school, Evie, who is returning after the normal school summer break. Except Evie’s summer break (little do her friends know) was anything but normal…she spent her summer in a mental institution and has no doubt in her mind that she’s truly insane. But is she really? It’s when the apocalypse happens that she realizes that she might not be so crazy after all.

One of the things that makes this book so phenomenal is the characters. And, even though I can’t say which character I like best because I have so many favorites, each one made me want to learn more about the characters of the tarot. So it’s pretty cool that The Arcana Chronicles website shows all the trump cards and the story character associated with each card. If you want to head on over to The Arcana Chronicles website, go to Fun Stuff and just click on a trump card to flip it over to see if Kresley Cole’s introduced that card in her series. Oh, one last thing! I do want to especially mention one character…Jack Deveaux! Boy is he drool-worthy but, at the same time, what a complete jerk!

There’s action, heartbreak, and romance in Poison Princess…and more than enough complications throughout the last half of the book to make the story move really fast. And then the end is so unbelievably well done! It ties everything up but, at the same time, it leaves you suspended with a phenomenal cliffhanger. It was awesome! This is a must read…like right now. Or, listen to the audio if you like because that’s what I did.

I have always loved kresley cole and she didn't fail to please me again. I am looking forward to more Cole on audio!!

Emma is an amazing Narrator. She always makes the characters have depth as she reads. So far I have listened to 6 books she has performed by different authors and enjoyed everyone.

Poison Princess is a tale that completely captured my heart and soul. Capturing me from as soon as the prologue began... it kept me tangled in a frenzied web of wanting more and more. Even as I neared the last pages of the book I never wanted it to end. I needed to (and still need to) know more and I'd gladly devour another thousand pages of Evie, Jackson and The Arcana Chronicles.

The Arcana Chronicles proves to be a series that will take you on a wild ride with no limits and absolutely no hint of predictability. Poison Princess is brilliantly written from the plot, style, and cast of characters.

The array of characters who fill this novel are hard, compassionate, fierce, sneaky, but ultimately believable. Evie is plagued with hallucinations and terrible nightmares that leave her with a misconstrued view of reality. When her mind-boggling visions of the world's end comes true, as depicted in her drawings, Evie has to find a way to use her mysterious powers to survive. In the meantime, the smoking hot, bad-boy Cajun, Jack, comes around to protect her, even though he may not want to. Their differences and prejudices keep them apart for a good part of the novel, yet their toing-and-froing is tantalizing and definitely entertaining! I fell in love with Jackson Deveaux. I love the Cajun French.

I wish this book was a thousand page longer cause I could not put it down and I was so into the story. I highly recommend this book. The narrators are amazing in this book. Emma Galvin your narration was impecable. Kresley Cole you have done it again! I can't wait for the next book in the series.

In a totally good way! This is a great, GREAT book/story. Loved the characters, Evie and Jackson. They both had depth and so much more going for them (not to mention going on within them) than you see on the surface. You've got to love a teenaged herione that you can really get behind...she is intelligent, compassionate, sometimes funny, and stronger than she knows. The conflicts with her own emotions and feelings (i.e. for Jackson) are realistic for the age and don't deminish her character. I liked the way she held such respect for the people formerly in her life that she had lost. The pace of the story was practically breathtaking, with no lack of twists and turns. It may have taken me just a little while to completely get into the story and get an idea where it was going, (and you may agree), but then I was totally hooked with no going back. It was much different than I expected based on the summary and the cover. At first I thought "what?" the summary did not give me any idea what this story was really like. Looking back again at the synopsis, I find that while it does lay out the basic idea of the plot, still the characters, the dialogue, and all the details are much different than what I expected and I was won over as a total fan just the same. Ms. Cole is killing me with the ending that is pretty much a heart-and gut-wrenching cliffhanger. I will be anxiously waiting for the next installment. Emma Galvin does a wonderful job with the narration, as usual. The male narrator was good for his part, but I was really creeped out by his part in the story. A least that part is explained by the end of this book. Please bring on book two soon! Highly recommend!