This Poison Heart

I was a little bit nervous picking this one up after not really enjoying Cinderella Is Dead, but it really surprised me. This is an urban fantasy story about a teen adoptee with plant powers and an immunity to poison who inherits a mysterious mansion from her birth mother. The powers are interesting and feel unique as we learn about them along with Briseis, and the mystery and gothic feel are compelling. I really liked most of the characters, particularly Briseis and her moms, who have a really great relationship. The romance is a little silly but it gets the job done.

I'm knocking off a star because the pacing got weird near the end (it's a bit of a slow mystery following a trail of breadcrumbs and then in the last 20 pages or so about 4000 things happen) but overall this was a huge improvement and I'm looking forward to the sequel.