Review: Poison Princess (The Arcana Chronicles #1) by Kresley Cole

Release Date: October 2, 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster 
Rating: YA 16+
Genre: Dystopian, Romance, Fantasy
Pages: 384

Sixteen year old Evangeline “Evie” Greene leads a charmed life, until she begins experiencing horrifying hallucinations. When an apocalyptic event decimates her Louisiana hometown, killing everyone she loves, Evie realizes her hallucinations are actually visions of the future—and they’re still happening.
But she can’t do either alone.

Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate, the gorgeous and dangerous Jackson Deveaux, for help.

As Jackson and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have gotten the same call and discover that Evie is not the only one with special powers. An ancient prophesy is being played out, and as the battle between good and evil intensifies, it is not always clear who is on which side.

**An Advance Reader Copy was provided by the publisher (thank you so much!)**
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Kresley Cole! Remind me why you've never done YA before? This book made me want to curl up with it nice and cosy and just read it forever! Jack Deveaux, you Cajun bad-boy, I love you so hard! I KNEW you had a soft side in you somewhere!

Evie Greene's just returned from a summer stint in a mental institution and can't wait to get back to school, to her friends, the popular crowd and to her sweet and handsome football star of a boyfriend. But the hallucinations that plagued her at the end of her sophomore year and sent her to the loony bin in the first place have returned and Evie is desperate to hide them from her mother and her friends. To make matters worse, a handsome new boy with a strange yet familiar accent has just enrolled in their wealthy private school and has his eye on Evie. 

Trying to balance her growing feelings for Jackson, her hallucinations, her boyfriends pressure to give up her precious unicorn and this weird new ability to feel and talk to plants, Evie has a lot going on. But then the Flash comes, and Evie discovers her hallucinations were actually premonitions. And the world is about to become a very different place. Now this rich small town girl must learn to embrace who she was meant to become, and learn to adapt and survive, but can she do it without losing herself in the process? And is it really that bad to accept help? Especially if it's from one very handsome, bad, yet serious and surprisingly serious and soft-hearted Jack Deveaux who is willing to give up his life to protect Evie? Methinks not...

Evie is definitely one badass Empress! At first, like most people, I didn't like her at all; she was spoilt, easy and didn't listen to herself-she was always out to please other people rather than do what she wanted to do. However, as the novel progressed, I really grew to like her! She developed some major personality and strength! My heart really broke for what she had to go through with her Mom during the Flash. And Jackson came back for her! I think that was probably my favorite part of the whole book. Evie was completely destroyed, down on her knees and completely broken, and then there comes that damn hot Cajun, Jackson, to rescue her! I mean, I'm all for feminism and girls not needing guys to protect us and blabbidy blah blah, but honestly their chemistry was just so hot I couldn't resist it! The way Jackson was willing to do anything to protect Evie really made my heart swell with affection and love for him. 

The way this book started, all the way to the horribly exciting ending, was fabulous, perfect. The villain, Death, is so creepy. Every time he whispered something to Evie my heart started racing with fear and anticipation. I can't wait to find out what happens next! Consider me hooked!

Poison Princess, set in a dark and twisted world, promised a romantic, dangerous, thrilling read, full of angst and sizzling romance. Utterly seductive and alluring, Poison Princess is undoubtedly one of the sexiest, hottest YA Dystopian books I've read in a long time! 

If you like this, try:

Blood Red Road (Dust Lands Trilogy #1) by Moira Young

Tomorrow Land by Mari Mancusi

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan