Poison by Bridget Zinn
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Source: Borrowed
ISBN: 139781423153412
Release Date: March 12, 2013
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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.
Poison is a cute, fun, short book. It throws you right into the adventure from the start. It skips over the assassination attempt and starts with Kyra having been on the run for months.
Kyra is fierce, independent, brave, and stubborn. The great making of a fun main character. You could tell that after months of being on the run she is lonely and dealing with the aftermath of trying to kill her best friend. She is racked with guilt, but still perseveres to save the kingdom from what she saw in her vision. I enjoyed the romance between her and Fred, and that it didn't take main stage. The story focuses more on the adventure of saving the kingdom then on the two of them.
Kyra meets Fred while crossing a stream in her underwear with a pig on top of her head. Fred offers to help only to be rebuffed by Kyra. It was great that they both had an opportunity to save each other. Kyra was not just a damsel in distress. She could fend for herself (probably better than Fred could), but still need saving sometimes. Fred was hot and arrogant. I enjoyed how the author described Kyra's attraction to him when they first met.
His face looked like a painting of some kind of trickster god-equal parts mischief and pleasure. Like the world had been created as his playground and he was enjoying every minute of his time here.
Rosie the Pig had added to the fun. She was adorable even when Kyra didn't want her and only saw Rosie as a worker and not a pet. Rosie and the wolf-like dog, Langley, took to each other right away and became adorable besties.
Overall, I really liked this book, but you could tell it was geared towards a younger YA demographic. It had a bit of everything in it, adventure, drama, comedy, and romance. It was a bit predictable, but I did not see the little twist with Kyra's family, which was nice surprise. Even though the author did drop a clue earlier in the book.
