until a nefarious group comes after her in search of a rare and dangerous immortality elixir. There is more to Bri’s sudden inheritance than she could have imagined, and she is determined to uncover it. One of the visitors is Marie, a mysterious young woman that Bri befriends, only to find that Marie is keeping dark secrets about the history of the estate and the surrounding community. When strangers begin to arrive on their doorstep, asking for tinctures and elixirs, Bri learns she has a surprising talent for creating them. But their new home is sinister in ways they could never have imagined-it comes with a specific set of instructions, an old-school apothecary, and a walled garden filled with the deadliest botanicals in the world that can only be entered by those who share Bri’s unique family lineage. Hopefully there, surrounded by plants and flowers, Bri will finally learn to control her gift. When Briseis’s aunt dies and wills her a dilapidated estate in rural New York, Bri and her parents decide to leave Brooklyn behind for the summer.

Parents and teachers may wish to note that This Poison Heart does include some limited swearing.Darkness blooms in bestselling author Kalynn Bayron’s new contemporary fantasy about a girl with a unique and deadly power.īriseis has a gift: she can grow plants from tiny seeds to rich blooms with a single touch. But be warned that the heart-stopping climax will leave you desperate for book two. Weaving in a thrilling reimagining of Greek mythology, the story has an epic feel, but also tackles relatable issues of identity and coming of age. This Poison Heart is a dark and mysterious tale which is also full of warmth, thanks to the supportive relationship between Briseis and her mothers – and it's fantastic to see such a naturally inclusive book, featuring a same-sex family set-up and a Black, bisexual teenager. So when she discovers that she's inherited an old house from her birth family, she and her adoptive mothers agree that it might just be the fresh start they need.īut there are some very weird things about their new house – from the locked garden surrounded by poisonous plants to the dusty apothecary and the fact that strange people keep turning up on the grounds.Īs Briseis uncovers the truth about the house and her family history, things begin to take even more of a dangerous and sinister turn. But she's struggling to keep her gift under wraps, and it's starting to alienate her friends.

Briseis has a very unusual power – she can control the plants and flowers around her.

This poison heart book