My Rating: 3 hearts
Thoughts on the Novel: Maryrose Wood's Nightshade, the second book in The Poison Diaries series, picks up where The Poison Diaries leaves off. As a result, Jessamine and Weed barely have much page time together. It’s not that I think their romance is epic or anything, but I feel like things are more interesting when they’re together than apart.
In Nightshade, Jessamine discovers the truth about what her father has been up to and asks Oleander to reunite her with Weed. In exchange, she makes a promise to him to avenge her mother’s death. When Jessamine is forced to go on the run, she therefore becomes even more open to Oleander’s influence. This, when combined with the courage laudanum gives her, causes her to commit more terrible acts. In the meantime, (the sometimes awkward) transitions to Weed’s narrative allows the reader to learn that he is doing his best to find Jessamine.
In Nightshade, Jessamine discovers the truth about what her father has been up to and asks Oleander to reunite her with Weed. In exchange, she makes a promise to him to avenge her mother’s death. When Jessamine is forced to go on the run, she therefore becomes even more open to Oleander’s influence. This, when combined with the courage laudanum gives her, causes her to commit more terrible acts. In the meantime, (the sometimes awkward) transitions to Weed’s narrative allows the reader to learn that he is doing his best to find Jessamine.
Like The Poison Diaries, Nightshade places a large emphasis on plants, and it’s for this reason that I’ll probably read the final book in the trilogy. I didn’t like the darker, gloomy feel of Nightshade, but the idea of plants being able to communicate with Weed and what they have to say to him remains appealing to me. Wood clearly knows much about plants; and in this installment, she chooses to focus more on those that heal rather than harm.
Nightshade was released by HarperCollins in October 2011.
Comments About the Cover: I’m ambivalent about it, but I love the look of the title because tiny plants are either making up the letters or coming out of them.
This book was received from the publisher (HarperCollins) in exchange for an honest review.
The first book is on sale for 99 cents. This series sounds interesting but I'm still ambivalent and not sure if I should read it. Oh, decisions, decisions! But thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteCompletely off topic but I absolutely hate it when two completely different series have the same name. It's also a pet peeve of mine when characters are named the same. I wonder if authors check to see if the title/character names are already taken by others.
ReplyDeleteOk, back to the book. I'm still not sure whether to pick it up or not. I like the old school idea of special, magic herbs though. I think I'll put this one on the maybe list.
I just read another review for it & she gave it a three star rating too. I'm not going to read this, but I do love the cover of it & I do like that it's about plants. ;)
ReplyDeleteGreat review.
I have yet to read book one so I just skimmed your review Zahida, but the large emphasis on plants in both books is kind of intriguing. I kill pretty much any plant that crosses my path, but I think it would be fun to read about someone who can communicate with them!
ReplyDeleteI haven't yet read book one, but I've read a few review that have said it's much better than book two. I have to admit, the concept sounds pretty unique. If Weed talked to my plants, they'd probably ask him to cuss me out for not watering them enough. LOL
ReplyDeleteI haven't read this series yet, but I'm sorry this one didn't blow your mind away. But I really like the cover.
ReplyDeleteOoohhhhh, colour me intrigued! :) I don't think I've ever read a book about plants before and the whole concept with this one is so interesting! It's too bad that this wasn't a blow-you-away book, but the fact that you're still reading book 3 is a good sign, right? :D I think I might give this series a shot!
ReplyDeleteAwesome honest review, Z! :)
I find the characters' names interesting. Very poisonous indeed. :) I also think it's interesting that the book gives emphasis on plants. My mom is a bit of a plant freak. We have a small garden in the Philippines and sometimes, she recites the names, scientific names, family names and uses of them! Maybe she'll like this book.
ReplyDelete