Nightshade

"This book is absolutely phenomenal & truly a masterpiece! The author does a beautiful job of creating a world where angels, demons and other beings roam unto what may be earth, heaven, hell, purgatory or beyond. The universe that she’s created in this story is nothing less than captivating & mesmerizing! I will be impatiently awaiting the next book!<br/><br/>“A love so forbidden, it would shake the heavens.”"

"The YA market is currently oversaturated with dark fantasies. In order to stand out, an author has to have a very unique concept. That is exactly what Maryrose Wood, with the help of The Duchess of Northumberland, has with The Poison Diaries trilogy. The first book in the series was a gothic tale of love, plants, and a startling revelations. Nightshade, the middle book of the trilogy, takes an even darker turn, adding murder and political intrigue to the mix.<br/><br/>After recovering from her illness, Jessamine Luxton wakes to find her betrothed, Weed, has fled. Depressed, she goes about her day working as a healer and trying to avoid the voice of Oleander, the Prince of Poisons, in her head. However, it is with his help that she discovers the cause of her illness and her mother’s death. Enraged, Jessamine sets out to poison her father, and ends up killing another man in the process. Now she must disguise herself and flee Northumberland with only Oleander to guide her. Shortly after she leaves, Weed comes back for her only to surmise what she had done. With the plants in England too scared of the prince to tell Weed where Jessamine is, he travels to Italy, to the Orto botanico, the oldest garden. There he falls under the tutaledge of Signora Baglioni, the gardener, a wise and trust-worthy woman interested in Weed’s gift of talking to the plants. But while Weed is bettering himself, Jessamine is falling further under Oleander’s power, possibly past the point of no return.<br/><br/>While The Poison Diaries was dark mostly in an atmospheric sense, Nightshade was dark all around. Jessamine’s life starts off dim and gets darker and darker as she progresses through the blonde healer Jessamine, the auburn embroidery and cosmetics merchant, to the raven-haired poison dealer. Weed’s life, on the other hand, seems to lighten a little once he reaches the Orto botanica and is able to learn more about how to use his gift for good. However, through it all, he still carries the burden of his murderous transgression along with the worry of loosing Jessamine to Oleander. These emotions make for tense, fast-paced reading.<br/><br/>Nightshade was a good I simply could not put down. Maryrose Wood shows great prowess as a storyteller in all aspects of writing. I simply cannot wait to see how The Poison Diaries trilogy ends."

"This was a slow start for me, but it quickly picked up and had me hooked. This is so completely different from most other werewolf stories that I was able to delve into a new world and learn about these creatures without having too much of other werewolf stories to compare it to. Because it is so unique, it is hard to compare it to any other werewolf series.<br/><br/>Halfway through I wanted to cry. Why do I always pick the guy who seems to be on the losing side? This is probably the reason why I tend to shy away from novels with love triangles. I liked Ren, maybe I have a thing for cocky guys. I liked him more than Shay for Calla. I know, I will have to wait for the next two, but I have a feeling I'm on the losing team.<br/><br/>Most books, I really hate cliffhangers. But this is a trilogy, a planned story, so I'm able to cope with the cliffhanger better. Other series that do it just to try to get you to buy the next can drive me crazy. But with this one, I'm glad to know it has an ending insight and that the cliffhanger leads into the next chapter and not as a ploy to get the next book sold."

"Gothic dark PNR is now my favorite trope. I didn't see this book coming; let's just say I am beyond highly impressed. The author is so incredibly talented. Keri Lake wrote about a paranormal world that I could see unfolding in from of me, and she went into such great detail.<br/><br/> I apologize ahead of time; this will be a vague review. To get the full experience of this book, it is best to go in blind and be prepared to have your mind blown away.<br/><br/> What's a girl to do when you have so many questions unanswered? Our girl Farryn goes by any means to find the answers. What she finds is something out of this world and forbidden love that is deep with a unique bond.<br/><br/>The author paints a picture of an extraordinary world of heaven, hell, and purgatory. Demons and Angels, and throw in some witches. Oh, I can’t forget the cult society. Dreams vs reality and past lives.<br/><br/> As this book is fictional, there are some events based on our history. I was sucked in from chapter one, and from that point on the book makes you think. I was a little worried about the book being written between the past and present, plus the length of the book, that the plot would fizzle out. Rest assured, that never happened.<br/><br/> Let’s talk about Jericho. He is not only hot and has an obsessive love; he stole my heart. I always loved an alpha, grumpy man that was the villain of the story and would burn down the world for the one he love.<br/><br/> This book is a masterpiece, and I wouldn’t want anyone interested in it to lose out. I can’t wait to see what happens next. Nightshade is my first book by this author. I am in total awe of her writing and imagination. Needless to say, this will not be my last.<br/><br/>Merged review:<br/><br/>Gothic dark PNR is now my favorite trope. I didn't see this book coming; let's just say I am beyond highly impressed. The author is so incredibly talented. Keri Lake wrote about a paranormal world that I could see unfolding in from of me, and she went into such great detail.<br/><br/> I apologize ahead of time; this will be a vague review. To get the full experience of this book, it is best to go in blind and be prepared to have your mind blown away.<br/><br/> What's a girl to do when you have so many questions unanswered? Our girl Farryn goes by any means to find the answers. What she finds is something out of this world and forbidden love that is deep with a unique bond.<br/><br/>The author paints a picture of an extraordinary world of heaven, hell, and purgatory. Demons and Angels, and throw in some witches. Oh, I can’t forget the cult society. Dreams vs reality and past lives.<br/><br/> As this book is fictional, there are some events based on our history. I was sucked in from chapter one, and from that point on the book makes you think. I was a little worried about the book being written between the past and present, plus the length of the book, that the plot would fizzle out. Rest assured, that never happened.<br/><br/> Let’s talk about Jericho. He is not only hot and has an obsessive love; he stole my heart. I always loved an alpha, grumpy man that was the villain of the story and would burn down the world for the one he love.<br/><br/> This book is a masterpiece, and I wouldn’t want anyone interested in it to lose out. I can’t wait to see what happens next. Nightshade is my first book by this author. I am in total awe of her writing and imagination. Needless to say, this will not be my last."

"I will admit this book has its slow parts but its one of my favorites, i am curently rereading the series. "

"This book has forever wrecked me for all academy tropes out there (of the non-magical variety)! It is that good. If you don’t like being hung out over a cliff waiting for the next book then step aside but otherwise add this to your TBR pile because it’s freaking awesome. Want to know what it’s about read someone else’s review. Just trust me when I say it’s beyond good."

"You're welcome I have the hardcopy and just started rereading yesterday "

"It was a great book. My favorite character is Calla."

"Let me ask this…has anyone read this series because I have and I love it?"

"#werewolves_and_shifters "