This Poison Heart: From the author of the TikTok sensation Cinderella is Dead

Builds slowly into something I was not expecting. Her second novel and this is definitely an author to look out for.

This is a young-adult contemporary novel about Briseis, a girl with magical powers that revolve around botany.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but I did have three issues.

1/ the protagonist was 16 years old, and the love interest was 376, which made me uncomfortable.

2/ the pacing was inconsistent, it was slow until halfway through at which point it felt rushed.

3/ the author’s hesitation to use labels regarding sexuality, the protagonist has two mothers and nothing was used to describe them, not lesbian, not bisexual, not queer or sapphic, and it felt strange considering the novel has a modern-day setting. the same was for briseis, and her love interest marie, they had a sapphic relationship but again no labels were used.

but for the things I enjoyed, there were several;

1/ the mythology influences, they surprised me but since I had previously read circe, I recognised the references which was enjoyable.

2/ the protagonist, Briseis, she was very interesting and it was great to see a queer, black, female protagonist.

3/ the atmosphere/aesthetic of the novel, the poison garden and briseis’ powers. it was stunning, and it was so magical.

4/ the ending, it was a very intriguing cliffhanger and I am anticipating the sequel immensely.

Overall, a great read, there were issues that I recognised but enjoyed it nonetheless.

I absolutely loved this. Perfect mix of Greek mythology, the Gothic, and botany. Really gripping storyline with characters that are believable. Highly recommend. The main protagonist, Briseis, is a very welcome addition to the growing representation of LGBTQI+ characters in YA Literature.