Oct 24, 2012

Review: Poison Princess by Kresley Cole


Title: Poison Princess
Author: Kresley Cole
Publisher:  Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: 10.2.2012
Pages: 384
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Yes (The Arcana Chronicles #1)
Source: ARC from BEA

Rating: Incomplete

Summary (from Goodreads):
She could save the world—or destroy it.

Sixteen year old Evangeline “Evie” Greene leads a charmed life, until she begins experiencing horrifying hallucinations. When an apocalyptic event decimates her Louisiana hometown, Evie realizes her hallucinations were actually visions of the future—and they’re still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate: Jack Deveaux.

But she can’t do either alone.

With his mile-long rap sheet, wicked grin, and bad attitude, Jack is like no boy Evie has ever known. Even though he once scorned her and everything she represented, he agrees to protect Evie on her quest. She knows she can’t totally depend on Jack. If he ever cast that wicked grin her way, could she possibly resist him?

Who can Evie trust?

As Jack and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have gotten the same call. An ancient prophesy is being played out, and Evie is not the only one with special powers. A group of twenty-two teens has been chosen to reenact the ultimate battle between good and evil. But it’s not always clear who is on which side…

Review:
I have never given a book an “incomplete” rating before, but it only seemed fair as I didn’t finish this book, and I don’t intend to ever finish it. Let me tell you why this book didn’t work for me:

My biggest hang up was the language. I have no problems with people in Louisiana throwing in some French or Cajun, but there was so much of it. And I absolutely cannot stand when slang is spelled out and put into stories. Like “doan” or “dat’s.” Unfortunately, the main guy in this (Jackson) is a full-blooded Cajun boy … horrible grammar and all.

I applaud Kresley Cole for making this as realistic as possible, but the reality for me is that when I hear someone speak incorrect grammar in my everyday life, I usually correct them because it grates on my ever-loving nerves. And there was just so much of the slang and Jackson’s poor grammar that I could never get into this book. I was gritting my teeth every other paragraph until I gave up around chapter 10.

Now, please don’t take this as my way of saying : do not read this! I am not saying that. There are a lot of people, bloggers I truly respect for example, who cannot stop raving about this book. And I am so glad about that.

This review is more of a warning for those who have the same hang-ups as I do.

Here’s a few reviews from people who loved Poison Princess:


19 comments:

  1. Thanks for having the guts to post your thoughts on a book you didn't finish! I really value hearing both the positive and potentially negative about books before I select them.

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  2. Sounds like a great plot, but I have the same problem with dialect-heavy dialogues. I wish they'd just tell me what the accent is in the beginning so I could just add it to my mental voice as I'm reading.

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  3. I've also heard a lot of great things about this book but lately I've been reading a lot of less known YA novels and tend to skip the hyped ones because I usually end up disliking them a lot.

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  4. I can't wait to read this one. I think the language issues would irritate me too. Thanks for the honest review.

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  5. I actually liked this one, but I did find his Cajun accent a bit difficult to get used to. I also had a few issues with his treatment of Evie, but I thought the world was really interesting and unique so that kept me going:) Sorry this one didn't quite work out for you Hannah! Maybe you can just go back and reread the deliciousness that is Tuck:)

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  6. I can't wait to read it, as I love paranormal romances.

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  7. I just love this cover and I'm very interested to find out if I will like this. I think with what you said about the language and all that it would bother me too. D:

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  8. I sincerely appreciate the honest review! It's so hard to come by those anymore. :) I have the same problem when it comes to grammar, but I'm always willing to give something a chance :)

    Thank you for sharing!

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  9. I actually loved this book, but I get what you're saying about having dialects phonetically spelled (if that's a word). I wished I had bought the audiobook instead of the ebook because I would have loved to have been able to hear the accents.

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  10. Thanks for your honest review. I've read so many good comments of this book and not a single one I've read says anything about this slang problem. I really appreciate you to mention it, because I do have issues with books like this, since my mother tongue is Spanish... I read a lot in English but I find it kind of exhausting for me to read something so full of slang. I'll stay clear of this one for now.

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  11. I have read stories with slang and it can be distracting. I had been interested in this story and seen some good reviews but it is something to think about.

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  12. I haven't read many reviews on the book but I like the synopsis. I was a bit scared when you said you couldn't finish it but I understand why. Slang and bad grammar is definitely not a problem for me to read since I come from a country where Creole English is our dominant language. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. :)

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  13. Thanks for the honest review. I also have a hang up where language is concerned. I hate slang and bad grammar because I have this peeve that it will work its way into my vocab!

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  14. Thanks for your honesty. I can totally see why you might not have liked it. Thanks for sharing other reviews as well.

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  15. Pity. I was hyped over this one, but if you're bothered by the grammar and spelling, then I probably would be too. Poor grammar drives me batty. I might give it a try anyway, but I'll see.

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  16. Thanks for the honest review! I was on the fence about this one. Like you I'm not a fan of improper grammar. My friends yell at me for correcting them all the time.

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  17. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this, I appreciate the warning! Probably going to have to pass on this one since the grammar would most likely drive me crazy as well.

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  18. I had some difficulties with Poison Princess too. I appreciate your honesty, and that you even pointed readers in a different direction.

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