The Poison Diaries by Maryrose Wood

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

In the right dose, everything is a poison. Even love . . . Jessamine Luxton has lived all her sixteen years in an isolated cottage near Alnwick Castle, with little company apart from the plants in her garden. Her father, Thomas, a feared and respected apothecary, has taught her much about the incredible powers of plants: that even the most innocent-looking weed can cure -- or kill. When Jessamine begins to fall in love with a mysterious boy who claims to communicate with plants, she is drawn into the dangerous world of the poison garden in a way she never could have imagined ...

Review:

Ever since I first heard about The Poison Diaries I've been looking forward to reading it, since the cover is stunning, even more so in person; the premise seemed to be something new and unique; and the setting seemed like it would be one to provide beautiful descriptions, ones that would make the reader wish they were right there with the characters. Luckily, it was all of those things and more, making this one novel I flew right through and am eagerly awaiting the next additions for.

The Poison Diaries is almost like nothing I read before because of many reasons. For one, the premise blew me away. I loved the idea of a boy being able to communicate with flowers and how each one had their own voice, desires, and were considered either good or poison. And the facts that the poisons had a leader, who could make everything go awry, to the fact that even Jessamine's old, gentle father, had poison, dire poison to be exact, growing in him as well. Adding this to one sweet but forbiddon romance between Weed and Jessamine, The Poison Diaries is one book that I'm sure many will consider to be elegant beauty, just like that of one of those alluring but dangerous flowers in the poison garden.

In addition to the premise, I liked the characters a lot. Jessamine is a simple and sweet girl, one that dreams of a life of friendship and love, and she receives both when the brooding, mysterious, and handsome Weed arrives. I actually enjoyed reading Weed's parts more than Jessamine's because he gave an interesting look into the world of plants, one that never proved to be dull.

The writing of this was never something too extraordiany nor made the story jump of the page, but with the premise and characters I liked, it wasn't the biggest of deals. Lastly, I  had a bit of a problem with the beginnging because it was a bit hard to get into and boring but after the first few chapters it left quite the opposite effect.

In all, Maryrose Wood suceeds in making The Poison Diaries a winner in my eyes, and I'm hoping that come it's July release date many others will agree with that statement.

Grade: B+

The Poison Diaries will be released July 20, 2010.

Source: Publicist at HarperTeen

Book Trailer: