Review - Poison by Bridget Zinn

Title: Poison

Author: Bridget Zinn

Pages: 288

Series: Stand Alone 

Published: March 12th 2013 by Disney Hyperion 

ISBN: 9781423139935

Source: Publisher via Netgalley

 

Description: Sixteen-year-old Kyra, a highly-skilled potions master, is the only one who knows her kingdom is on the verge of destruction—which means she’s the only one who can save it. Faced with no other choice, Kyra decides to do what she does best: poison the kingdom’s future ruler, who also happens to be her former best friend.  But, for the first time ever, her poisoned dart . . . misses.  Now a fugitive instead of a hero, Kyra is caught in a game of hide-and-seek with the king’s army and her potioner ex-boyfriend, Hal. At least she’s not alone. She’s armed with her vital potions, a too-cute pig, and Fred, the charming adventurer she can’t stop thinking about. Kyra is determined to get herself a second chance (at murder), but will she be able to find and defeat the princess before Hal and the army find her?  Kyra is not your typical murderer, and she’s certainly no damsel-in-distress—she’s the lovable and quick-witted hero of this romantic novel that has all the right ingredients to make teen girls swoon.
I Give This ...

  

I was immediately drawn to this book.  I've noticed that lately I've gravitated towards young adult fantasy and this fit the bill perfectly!  The beginning was awesome, the middle a little rough, and the end rounded it out nicely.

I really enjoyed Kyra.  Her brilliance in potion making is evident very quickly and I loved learning her story.  Her situation is interesting considering she's on the run for trying to kill the princess, who happened to be her best friend.  We don't start to get the bits and pieces to this story until further in the novel.  By that point, I couldn't imagine Kyra hurting anybody.  In Krya's quest to finish the job, we learn about the devastating visions that lead to this point.    Krya begins to question what might really be happening in her kingdom.  And it's definitely not the way she thought it was.   

We get some great secondary characters in this novel.  Fred was not what I was expecting.  He was quirky and seemed to have a knack for getting on Krya's nerves, but at the same time made her see herself and her surroundings much clearer.  The little pig steals the story without ever meaning too.  To top it off there are some twists that I wasn't expecting (and a couple that were easy to figure out) that brought the story to a new level.

All and all, the book was just fun.  It had a little bit of everything in it and was a quick read.  

*I would definitely read this author again.  Sadly, upon trying to figure out if there was an intended sequel for this book, I learned that the author has passed away.  It was her dream to published!  Almost 4 years to the day of receiving the diagnosis of colon cancer, her book was published.