Happy Book Birthday to This Poison Heart, by Kalynn Bayron! To celebrate the release of this amazing new book, I will be sharing my review along with a fun painting I made inspired by the story, so keep scrolling to check it out!
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!
To create this drawing I used watercolor paints and micron pens! I also experimented with some digital color layering on top of the paint, and I’m quite pleased with the results!
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