Jessamine Luxson lives with her father, Thomas, an apothecary, in an isolated cottage near Alnwick Castle. Thomas′s pride and obsession is his locked garden full of dangerous plants, which Jessamine is forbidden to enter.
When a traveler brings an orphan to their cottage, he claims the boy has special gifts that Thomas might value. Jessamine is drawn to the strange but intriguing boy, called Weed. Soon their friendship deepens into love. Finally, Weed shares his secret: he can communicate with plants. For him they have distinct personalities-and some are even murderous. From the locked garden the poisonous plants call to Weed, luring him with promises of deadly power.
I purchased this book because: Saw this on a book blog site and loved the cover :)
Opening lines: 15th March ... Gray skies, the rain came and went all morning. A cold wind blew in gust, worsening as the day went on, until the lowest branch of the great chestnut tree in the courtyard splintered down the middle and crashed to the ground. If I had been standing underneath, I would have been crushed.
This is a new wee series of the 1st in a set of three and it is quite an easy read that you will finish in know time ... The concept is really interesting with the idea sparking from the World Famous Poison Gardens at Alnwick Castle in England ( which is the castle that is also famous where they filmed Hogwarts for Harry Potter)
I love my Young Adults reads and this will be added to my list ... I did find it abit young at the start but then the story really developed ... Jessamine's world is quite a solitude life with her only company being her father until a strange young man named 'Weed' turns up ... Jessamine's eyes are suddenly opened up to a beautiful world around her ... But still there is a fascination for the poison garden behind the locked iron gates which her father forbids her to enter .. I suppose with anything if you are told not to go near it your curiosity is peaked ...
I have to say I loved the way the authors wrote about the poisons and how they described nature ... Truly beautiful and pulled you in .... You can see the lure of danger with the poisons by the way she describes them it is very seductive ...
I am excited on how the series will develop ... As they left us with a cliffhanger at the end ...
Some of favourite quotes in the book where: Her fathers description of Belladonna ... " Remember, Jessamin," Father warned, " you will be raising a litter of assassins" Pg 8
"I am easy prey, I think, a motherless lamb, alone in the world. No flock, no friends, no green field I can call home. And the skies are full of ravens." Pg 35
"You see, Jessamine, love is a kind of poison; one of my favourite kinds, in fact. It infects the blood, it takes over the mind, it seizes dominion over the body" Pg 225
So in end ... we have a choice ... we can either use the plants for good or evil ...
I rate this book 4 ****
Check out a short interview with the author .... Enjoy :)
The books in order of series:
1) The Poison Diaries
2)
3)
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