5 stars are not enough

This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I was already set on reading another novel when I checked my postbox and found the printed copy of This Poison Heart that I had been waiting for for a while.

I loved Cinderella is Dead a lot, but I not even about a third into the book I knew I was going to like this even better! Move over, Percy Jackson, here comes Briseis Colchis, a descendant of a much older Goddess than those Greek impostors, a descendant of Hekate, much older, whose myth some think dates back to somewhere around 4000 to 3000 BC.

Greek myths link Medea and her aunt Kirke to Hekate, but the story Kaylynn Byron tells here about Briseis Colchis and her abilities, that are a mix of those of Demeter and Persephone as well of Hekate herself, is much better than the various Greek myths I read about Medea at school. In fact, this is an absolutely thrilling mix of fantasy and today’s reality with a really nice romance thrown in, to spice up the development Briseis makes as she finally comes to accept her powers.

Good and bad players are equally well developed here and thoroughly believable, from Briseis two mothers by adoption to her fake new male friend or the woman she falls for to the mother and aunt she never knew, they all come to life and keep you spellbound. I read the book in one sitting from lunchtime to 3 a.m. the next morning.

Having been trained in Homeopathy I was very well acquainted with most of the poisonous plants Briseis finds in her search for her ancestry and I could very well relate to and root for her. Hekate is one of the Goddesses associated with the Moon and Capricorn in my new favourite Tarot and I thought it really funny, that not too long ago, when I read it for my young protegée Angira, I called myself jokingly and old witch.

In all, this one may really turn out my top favourite book of the year. Five stars aren’t anywhere near enough!



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