This Poison Heart: From the Author of the Tiktok Sensation Cinderella Is Dead

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I couldn’t look straight at her because I didn’t know where my gaze would land—her wide eyes? The full curve of her bottom lip? “How do you know that it’s in my bones?”

I think Bayron was masterful in writing quirky, fleshed out, lovable characters in this book. Seriously, I loved every single character! The plot development, character set-up, and writing was definitely a step up from Bayron's debut novel, Cinderella is Dead, although I was also a huge fan of that book. Briseis has a very unusual power – she can control the plants and flowers around her. But she's struggling to keep her gift under wraps, and it's starting to alienate her friends. So when she discovers that she's inherited an old house from her birth family, she and her adoptive mothers agree that it might just be the fresh start they need. P. Paul Fenech, lead singer of the psychobilly band the Meteors, covered the song on his solo album The "F" Word in 2006.I adored Briseis relationship with her Mums. Their love for Bri was so incredibly beautiful. Mo and Mum’s relationship actually made me laugh out loud at certain points. Mo, in particular, was hilarious but I loved how much they wanted the best for Bri. They moved out to the middle of nowhere just so Bri could discover more about her birth mother. Something that takes a lot of bravery to do so. Especially when you have no idea what you may find. The plants under my window turned toward me. The bluebells opened like tiny gramophones, and the bush of baby’s breath that had taken over an entire corner of my room looked like it was breathing. The marigolds and snapdragons all shifted toward me. These plants were quiet. Quiet plants might perk up around me, but they didn’t uproot themselves or destroy a fence to get close to me. They didn’t turn obscene shades of their natural colors when I was around. Another problem I had with this story was the use of the immortal love interest trope. It is revealed later in the story that the love interest is actually three-hundred thirty-six, but in the body of a seventeen year old. The main character is barely seventeen, yet is supposed to be dating someone hundreds of years her senior? This might not bother some people, but it's a definite no from me.

Marie straightened, a smirk on her lips. “Anyway, the plants and herbs here are just better. They stay fresh longer. They don’t rot in their containers. Why do you think that is?” Initially, the storyline seemed simple as Briseis, her family, and their situation was established. Once the stage has been set, the story's tension slowly builds as the mystery surrounding Bresis's birth family unravels and suspicious events occur. There is danger, action and several twists as the story races towards a gripping climax. Yet, even as everything comes together, a new challenge emerges, which sets things up nicely for the next book. First you tell me you don’t have any, then Briseis goes and finds the best-looking flowers I’ve ever seen,” he said happily. As you can imagine, this is a problem in the nonmagical world of our current times, and especially in the concrete jungle of New York City where every plant is noticeable.In a time of typewriters and steam engines, Iris Winnow awaits word from her older brother, who has enlisted on the side of Enva the Skyward goddess. Alcohol abuse led to her mother’s losing her job, and Iris has dropped out of school and found work utilizing her writing skills at the Oath Gazette. Hiding the stress of her home issues behind a brave face, Iris competes for valuable assignments that may one day earn her the coveted columnist position. Her rival for the job is handsome and wealthy Roman Kitt, whose prose entrances her so much she avoids reading his articles. At home, she writes cathartic letters to her brother, never posting them but instead placing them in her wardrobe, where they vanish overnight. One day Iris receives a reply, which, along with other events, pushes her to make dramatic life decisions. Magic plays a quiet role in this story, and readers may for a time forget there is anything supernatural going on. This is more of a wartime tale of broken families, inspired youths, and higher powers using people as pawns. It flirts with clichéd tropes but also takes some startling turns. Main characters are assumed White; same-sex marriages and gender equality at the warfront appear to be the norm in this world.