This is a book that's really hard to review. Did it grab me till the end? Yes. Did it also seem to have inconsistent character development and have no idea how fast or slow the plot should be? Yes.

This book definitely trumps Cinderella is Dead for atmosphere and really making the core mystery interesting. Briseis herself (and her moms) are well formed characters and the spooky Gothic/Greek magical mystery keeps you on your toes. The descriptions are lavish and detailed, especially plants and flowers--pretty important for a book about plant magic. Everything has that awesome "old creepy house mystery" feel.

But the book also suffers from Bayron trying to fit a very complex plot too small a package. We have several characters, including the love interest, whose development is just.... not there. The central mystery is clogged up at the end with 50 billion revelations about various mysteries/characters, but with an "here's the infodump! oh these characters were involved too". I expect Bayron will resolve a lot of these threads in the sequel, but that's the big issue: most of these threads should either have been combined, removed, or pushed to the next book altogether. It might have forced the series to have an extra book, but it would be well worth it.

Still gonna read the sequel for the cool Gothic Greek vibes, tho. Also, queer black people being badass normal/magical.

The vines wrapped around her fingers and luscious red blooms turned their faces toward her light. She felt the earth move beneath her as more greenery sprouted and thrived. Deep purple flowers emerged amongst the vibrant yellows and she felt the life pulsing from her fingertips into each beautiful plant. The magic was there, but with it a looming darkness was emerging. Behind her a deadly plant arose, its vicious thorns protruding from a deathly black stalk. It moved forward, wanting to prick her with its poison and drain the life from her.

This Poison Heart completely wowed me. Kalynn Bayron just penned a masterpiece and I can’t wait for the next book in this series to come out so I can continue reading Bri’s story.

Bri has a special magic allowing her to grow and cultivate plants. When she inherits a house from her biological family, a dormant garden and a house full of secrets awaits her. I was drawn into this story immediately and couldn’t put it down. Mystery, murder, Greek mythology, and magic? Yes to all of that!

I also learned so much about plants and Kalynn wrote some gorgeous descriptions that had me perfectly picturing each one (even the crazy poisonous ones). I couldn’t get enough of Bri’s story and with that cliffhanger ending… I’m excited for more!

If you want a YA fantasy with Greek mythology, mystery, and magic, and you’re a plant lover… you’ll want to pick this book up immediately!

TW: Death of a Loved One, Murder, Poison.

Whoever proofed that summary deserves some recognition because it’s more than up to the task of giving you just enough to whet your appetite, without giving much of anything away. And trust me, there’s a big part of this narrative that the summary shrewdly practices the Five D’s of dodgeball, as it carefully dodges, ducks, dips, dives and dodges. What can I tell you, I appreciate a good summary and this one is a goodie.

So, with my dramatics out of the way, Kalynn Bayron is back with This Poison Heart, a book that is such an unapologetically joyful reading experience, that I seriously can’t imagine anyone not liking it. Let’s get to it, and we’ll start with temperature, humidity to be exact. In a book about botany, the greenhouse effect is immediately apparent as we are inserted into a hot and sticky modern day Brooklyn summer, and to make this infernal hell more so, there’s no air conditioning.

Yes, Bri’s moms, Angie (Mo) and Thandie (Mom) work and live in the same building, with their apartment sitting just above their street fronted flower shop, the aptly named “Bri’s Flowers”. Everything is going up in price, including the literal cost of doing business, so first-world luxuries like air conditioning, are just that, a luxury. And when they receive notice that their rent is going up, again, they’ve reached their breaking point financially.

Bri’s origin story, that is to say the source of her powers, falls under the “Superpowerful Genetics” category, or someone who has inherited their abilities from a parent or ancestor. She of course hasn’t really figured this out yet and still doesn’t know the limits of her resources, so she tests them whenever she can in secret. For their part, Angie and Thandie are aware Bri has certain gifts, they’re certainly aware of the side effects when she uses them, but out of fear, they do their best to keep it under wraps. But Bri has been toiling in mithridatism as well, testing her immunity to poisonous plants and flowers, something her mom’s definitely don’t know about.

Before we go much further it’s important to take a little break here and talk about Kalynn’s set-up, because it’s important. We are presented with a Black family struggling amidst tough financial times, with social assistance programs like rent control nowhere to be found. They are of course, thanks to systematic and financial institutional racism, kept from achieving the “American dream” , not given access to traditional wealth-building tools such as access to capital or conventional small business loans. Most Black families who are self-employed are either forced to close or are reliant on endowments from family members (very rare) that could help ease any burdens. In the case of Angie and Thandie, the miracle they need and the answer to most, if not all of their money problems, happens to occupy the second bedroom in their cute, but tiny apartment.

Call it coincidence, call it fate, but Bri’s powers are perfectly suited to solve her family’s financial woes. Her ability to grow/revive/sustain plant life would allow them to produce as many of, and any type of plant or flower the shop requires, allowing for more business and relieving them of that cost, which is significant. Bri is more than willing to do this, but every time she flexes this muscle there are side effects which can’t be ignored. Side effects Angie and Thandie refuse to be a party to, no matter how slight the discomfort, and even if the end result meant total financial freedom.

Imagine if you will, that the answer to all your life’s problems is in an envelope on the moon, and you’ve got Captain Marvel at your disposal, but you’re asking her not to fly. Why would you do that? Especially when they’re willing to make that sacrifice? I’ll tell you why, love, the best kind, the purest kind. We’ll get to more of this later.

For the full review, click the link below...

https://www.cinelinx.com/off-beat/this-poison-heart-book-review/

What a fantastically imaginative YA fantasy novel. Bayron breathes new life into the genre with an inclusive take on Greek mythological narratives. I can't wait to see what she writes next.

Thank you, NetGalley for the review copy of this book.
3.5 rounded up.

I enjoyed this quite a lot. Our characters were great and the story was fun and unique. The idea of plant-based magic is really cool as well. It is softer magic and while we get some explanations we aren't fully versed in all the magic rules.

I loved our MC and her two moms, the moms may be my favorites of all!

There were some predictable moments that I didn't hate but could see coming to a while off, and honestly, I thought the romance seemed very rushed and forced and it was the one real thing that I just didn't truly believe.

I did enjoy it though and will read the next book when it comes out.

Wow!!! I can’t believe Kalynn Bayron managed to combine gothic estates, Greek mythology, and poison gardens into one fabulous mystery. This book is possibly everything I’ve ever wanted and I loved it so much. Briseis is a thoughtful and hilarious protagonist, alongside her amazingly supportive (lesbian) mothers. While I had some issues with the pacing, I can’t deny what a great time I had reading and can’t wait for the next installment.

I smiled the entire time I read this book. It is Poison Ivy (or Rapaccini's Daughter) with an inherited mysterious house. Of course, the house has secrets to include a garden only the main character could enter. Plus, there is greek mythology influence sprinkled throughout. And, to top it all off there are two sapphic style romances that do not overwhelm the story. I got to the end of reading this book and instantly wanted to be picking up the next book in a series.
It is oriented towards teens, but the plot of the story is capable of drawing anyone in. And, while there are comments made in regards to the main character's skin color in a small town in upstate New York, it is equal parts important but not an overwhelming element of the story. I can not express how much I loved this book.

“I wanted to know what it would be like to be myself, right from the jump. No secrets, no hiding. But it was too late for that…How much more of this could I take before I reached a tipping point? Before I did something I couldn’t take back?”

THIS POISON HEART is an enchanting and thrilling YA novel (the first in a series) about a queer Black girl with magical powers caught up in a Greek mythology-inspired story that bursts with family secrets, mysterious people, and poisonous plants. Briseis thinks she’s spending her summer in Brooklyn, helping out at her family’s flower shop and experimenting with deadly plants in a hidden corner of Prospect Park. But when she learns she’s inherited a mansion in the rural upstate town of Rhinebeck from her birth mother’s sister, her plans are turned upside down - for better or for worse. As the house and townspeople begin to reveal their secrets, Bri has to deal with a more significant inheritance than she thought and learn how to harness her powers for a battle of epic proportions.

This book is SO GOOD. It’s a fantasy novel, but it has more contemporary YA vibes than others in the genre that I’ve read recently, and I liked that. The mysteries in the story unfold slowly, revealed piece by piece as Bri discovers secret rooms, follows clues like a scavenger hunt, and encounters different people who drop tidbits of information. The pacing is immaculate and I loved how the story evolved and grew, with centuries-old legacies and otherworldly figures - I can’t wait to read more. The setting is so enchanting: old mansion, woods, creeping vines, plants of all shapes and sizes moving, growing, communicating. Also the place Bri and her moms move to: a charming small town that, while mostly white and not without its problems, is full of quirky characters and also working on defunding their police department (!) with social workers (!!!).

The primary characters are mostly Black and mostly queer. Bri is fantastic, a heroine to root for and admire, and also a teenager dealing with regular coming-of-age stuff. The budding romance between her and her love interest (sapphic) is compelling and may just break all our hearts. Bri’s moms are amazing - there’s really positive, accepting parenting going on, allowing Bri to stretch and grow while also protecting her, supporting her researching her birth family and not feeling threatened by it. They are also utter hams and add a lot of comic relief. Plus! Sapphic moms! I’m not sure it’s a queernorm world, but I didn’t pick up on any homophobia. There’s also a minor side character mentioned who uses they/them pronouns that I hope we see more of in the rest of the series. While the book is primarily concerned with Bri’s powers and the fantasy historical conflict she steps into, Bayron also incorporates current issues into the story, such as gentrification, racism, and policing.

This story to me also contains powerful allegories. Bri hiding her powers from some out of fear they won’t understand and her joy when she is able to share this piece of herself and be accepted all feels similar to the ways queer people hide themselves and the beauty of feeling safe enough to be out, of being known and loved as a queer person. Similarly the family history that’s been hidden away from her, including the crimes that have been covered up, could be seen as a parallel to the lost legacies of Black families in the US, who were in many ways denied the ability to stay connected to the ancestral lands they were taken from, forbidden from maintaining their own traditions, and denied the resources to maintain their own histories - and the ways in which our society continues to deny and diminish its racist history. I don’t know if Bayron intended readers to make these connections, but regardless I got so much from the depth and richness of her writing.

I absolutely loved this book and I will be on the edge of my seat waiting for the sequel. Thank you to Bloomsbury YA for the ARC! This book came out 6/29 and the gorgeous hardcover is not to be missed.

Content warnings: death of a family member, physical violence, poisoning, some gore, murder

I loved this! Cinderella is Dead was one of my favorite books last year, so of course this was one of my most anticipated reads. It definitely did not disappoint, and I loved the overall haunting, fairytale-like atmosphere.

Briseis has a hidden talent--a green thumb, if you will--where she has a knack for growing flora and fauna, which she begins to explore in-depth to see how far her powers go. Having been adopted by parents who happen to own a flower shop, Briseis' gift is more of a burden. When a biological aunt is pronounced dead, Briseis learns that she is to inherit an estate. An estate with an attached apothecary, a secret garden, and within a community that is filled with odd characters and secrets.

DC's Poison Ivy meets Greek mythology meets Little Shop of Horrors meets The Secret Garden (it's actually a party at this point) in the first book of Kalynn Bayron's new series. Bayron includes a lot of Greek mythology without making the narrative super convoluted. This book is told from Briseis' perspective and follows her as she uncovers the mysteries of her powers, new home, and community. There were a lot of details that made characters more substantial, in particular, Bri and her moms, and, although they were spoken of in the past/not alive within the narrative, Circe and Selene. Some characters like Karter, Nyx, and Marie were shrouded in mystery (understandable considering the situation) and I was interested in getting to know them more as secrets were uncovered. I was wary of everyone Bri met and was left on the edge of my seat and suspecting everyone. Even Bri's relationship with Marie felt off (not just the age difference) because I thought Bri was WAY too trusting of Marie too quickly.

The pacing was also a bit off where there was a lot of explanation and exposition in the first part of the book, but went too quickly in the second-half of the book. I think pacing is always an issue with the first book in a series where world-building, character-growth, and motivations are established. Overall, I enjoyed This Poison Heart and cannot wait for the next book!

Briseis knows she has a rare gift--with just a touch, she can grow plants. But this gift also attracts attention. So when she inherits an estate in rural New York from a relative, Briseis and her moms see this as a chance to get away and perhaps learn to control her power. Upon arriving at her new home, Briseis finds it to be beautiful--and mysterious. The property is filled with secret gardens and the house itself with notes and clues about her family's past. Then the local townsfolk start showing up at Briseis' doorstep, and she realizes the house once served as an apothecary. Briseis has an uncanny knack for whipping up the healing potions everyone desires, but the more she investigates, she realizes there is a darker side to the house and its powers. One that could have dangerous consequences for Briseis and her entire family.

"I was pretty sure that growing a poisonous bush in the park wasn't what they had in mind for how I should spend my summer."

This was a completely awesome book! The story is totally engrossing. There are poisonous plants, secret gardens, Greek mythology, and a gothic vibe--what's not to love? Briseis is an amazing character. She's strong, brave, and tough; she's also bisexual and loved unconditionally by her two moms, Mom and Mo. The book offers such a great family dynamic, with an excellent attitude toward adoption. It's no big deal that Bri is bi or that she has two Moms--it's just a fact of life. How I appreciate that in a YA book.

"'Did I--did I inherit the Addams Family Mansion?'"

I've read several books lately with Greek mythology and didn't care for them, but this one broke the mold. The stories are woven in perfectly and add to the plot flawlessly. The story is completely captivating and I loved all the strong women in it. It's also part mystery, part myth, which adds to the page-turning aspect. (Be forewarned, this is book #1, so this ends on a bit of a cliffhanger.)

Overall, cannot recommend this book enough. It's a unique and mesmerizing fantasy. The fact that it's so queer inclusive is lovely. I'll be impatiently waiting for book #2.

I have to start by saying, the cover of this book is stunning and I really wanted to read it, as I read Cinderella is dead by this author as well - it was okay, but I found the pacing to be a little off and I have the same critique of this book, so I'm not sure this author's writing style is for me. It's not a bad book, overall I liked the story, but the initial pacing is slow and it took half the book to establish the setting without really focusing on storyline, then it picked up, the ending felt incredibly rushed and I was left without feeling like it concluded well. I loved the poisonous plants and apothecary vibes, but this was just good for me.

Thanks to NetGalley & Bloomsbury USA Children's Books for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Bri has always had mysterious magic around plants, they love her and she loves them, but it's a problem when she's trying to take a test in class and the teacher's plant is inching closer to her. Life is stressful for Bri and her secret until she finds out that she inherited a large mansion on the outskirts of NYC. She and her family move in there, ready to leave as soon as anything spooky comes out, but they discover Bri's heritage have deeper roots in history than they could ever have imagined.

Oh man, I absolutely LOVED this book. I especially appreciate the tonal shift when Bri moves into the mysterious manor. In the beginning, it's more like a typical "I'm afraid of everyone finding out about my secret plant magic!" story, and then it switches into a gothic mystery. Really cool switch in genres!

The side characters all had mystery and it was fun to try to figure out what secrets they were hiding. I especially loved Bri's moms, they were snarky and hilarious and brought some light to the book. It was also sweet to see an orphan like Bri having been adopted by two loving mothers, a lot of YA protagonists' parents are long dead or something. So it was nice that Bri had a strong support system throughout the story.

I will admit a lot of this is sequel bait which usually annoys me but I didn't mind it so much here because it's juicy drama. I'll take it! Can't wait to read the next one! ;)

I’ll be honest, I went into this book completely blind. All I needed to know was that it said “Kalynn Bayron” and I was 100% sold. I loved Bayron’s debut Cinderella is Dead so much that I knew I would read whatever she put out next.

If you’re willing to go into this blindly like I did, I fully recommend it. It made reading Briseis’s story endlessly more fun and unexpected. I was constantly left wowed by Bayron’s flare for storytelling.

Be prepared for the final act of the story to knock your socks off.

If you want a super barebones idea of what this story holds, know that, unlike Cinderella is Dead, it takes place in modern times, and there’s plant magic. I just want you all to know how much I adored this entire book. Bayron definitely has a fan in me.

Additional note: if you haven’t seen the movie Get Out and want to, I recommend watching it before reading this because there’s a massive spoiler mentioned. But you know, it’s an amazing movie so you should watch it anyway.

The gorgeous cover drew me in right away!! The book did not disappoint. I loved the concept behind the fantasy and the mysterious characters. I definitely wasn’t expecting the ending, but have strong hopes for a book 2!

DNF,

Requested this before I started her previous book and realized I didn't enjoy her style.

*Thank you to the publisher for this eARC.

This Poison Heart was a book that I had anxiously been waiting for since I first heard about it. I got the sense that it was going to be like a retelling of The Secret Garden with perhaps a more sinister calling ala Little Shop of Horrors. And I happen to love both of those things. So, when I was approved for an advanced copy, I snuggled under my soft blanket and began to read.

The main character is a teenage girl named Briseis who has a unique ability when it comes to plants. This has been helpful with the family store however also very scary because she is unsure how to control it within the barricades of small city life. She and her mother's find out that she has inherited a house from her birth family, and decide to make the trip to check it out. On the outside it looks like an old dilapidated house with tons of land but, what is actually going on inside and outback is so much darker than that.

I was immediately drawn into the setting of This Poison Heart. It started with the descriptions of Brooklyn and the small plant shop with apartment above it. I could tell that this was a close family unit. I loved how they interacted with each other, and how you learn more about each of them as the story progresses. You also learn secrets about Briseis birth family and how they are connected into the mystery of everything that is going on around her. This mystery, a mixture of fantasy and Greek mythology, kept me turning pages. The descriptions of the house and garden and the little town of Rhinebeck. The descriptions of the plants moving and wrapping themselves around Briseis felt so very real to me. It was almost as if I was walking right next to her and feeling them brush up against me. As someone who has been to Rhinebeck before, I could visualize what Kalynn Bayron was talking about. I also found appreciation for the commentary on racial and social concerns within living in a suburb of America.

The Poison Heart kept me on my toes throughout. There was a couple times where I got suspicious of certain characters and my suspicions turned out to be either correct or way off base. I enjoyed the mystery and the connection between all of the characters. I look forward to seeing these characters and continuing on this journey in the sequel. Hopefully all of my questions will be answered too!

Rating 4.5 Stars

This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron was a great read. I featured it as Book of the Day on all my social media platforms, and I included it in my monthly roundup of new releases for my Black Fiction Addiction blog.

This has been the year for fantasy rooted in nature and Greek mythology reimagined. Both of which bring my readerly heart such joy.

This new contemporary fantasy YA novel by Kalynn Bayron, This Poison Heart, combines my two favorite tropes, into a fantastically fun reading experience.

Briseis, a teen girl with unique powers, has the ability to grow plants from seed with one touch. She and her adoptive parents are clueless as to why grass, vines, and even tree limbs gravitate toward her as she walks down the street. When Bri’s aunt dies and leaves her rural New York estate to her, it provides Bri with the opportunity to finally learn how to control her gift. Leaving Brooklyn behind, their seemingly charming new house is more sinister than they imagined with an old-school apothecary, walled gardens with deadly botanicals, and secrets to Bri’s unique family lineage. She soon finds herself up against a centuries-old curse that includes the deadliest plant on earth.

This book surprised me. I went into it expecting a flowery YA fantasy, but its complexity was actually incredibly refreshing. It is layered with rich elements of Greek Mythology, descriptive and memorable botany lessons, along with commentary on social and racial issues, and LGBTQ+ representation.
I’m purposely being vague about the Greek mythology twist, but I will share that it’s about an underrated character I’ve been eagerly waiting for an author to write about.
With a nod to my childhood favorite, The Secret Garden, this book could easily be one of my favorites this year.

It is a perfect book to add to your summer reading TBR. I can’t wait to read Cinderella is Dead, Kalynn Bayron’s debut novel.

As you might be well aware, Greek mythology is often tragic, and the only tragedy about This Poison Heart is that I have to wait for the sequel!

Thank you to the publisher, @bloomsburyya and @netgalley for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I received an advanced copy of This Poison Heart from the publisher so I could share my review with you!

Content Warnings: Violence, gore (mild), death of a loved one, rituals, and poison.

Briseis has a gift, but it seems like it's more work than it's worth. Bri’s presence has a special effect on plants, allowing them to flourish from decay instantaneously. With her touch, seeds burst into blooms and trees, but she has little control over the influence she has over plants. When she’s in public, she finds all the greenery leaning her way, desperate for a taste of her magic, which can be a little hard to explain. So, when she inherits a mysterious rural estate from the birth family she’s never met, Bri embraces the chance to finally let her powers stretch. Upon arriving at her new home, though, Bri discovers a complicated family past attached to her birth mother. Everyone in the town seems to know more about her family than Bri herself, yet no one has clear answers to give her about her powers or her past. It seems that Briseis inherited more than just an estate from her family, but even she couldn’t have expected the darkness lurking in the abandoned gardens.

You can get your copy of This Poison Heart on June 29th from Bloomsbury YA!

When I picked up This Poison Heart, I thought it was a standalone novel, but thankfully I was wrong! The sequel will be coming in 2022, but I don’t know how I will wait after reading THAT ending! Until then, I will have to settle for staring at the gorgeous cover and hoping for a happy ending for Bri.

This Poison Heart has won its place as one of only a handful of 6-star reads for me this year! I adored the characters, the magic, and the mystery. I was a fan of Kalynn Bayron’s debut “Cinderella is Dead,” but I feel as though she really came into her own in this sophomore novel. The plot was extremely engaging, and I felt a real connection to the characters and their circumstances. Bayron has cemented her position as an instant-buy author on my list with This Poison Heart!

My Recommendation-
If you love twisty magical stories with plenty of mystery, you need to pick up a copy of This Poison Heart. This book would be perfect for fans of Poison Ivy, Black Girl Magic, and all things witchy!