Love and Sacrifice
The Kinder Poison:
The Kinder Poison is by far one of the best books I have read this year. Following a common teenage peasant in a world full of prestigious, wealthy nobles, Zahru has to find her way into the life that was chosen for her. That is, until the Mestrah, the high ruler of Orkena, relights an ancient royal tradition; The Crossing. The three possible heirs of Orkena must compete in a deadly race through the desert and arrive at a sacred location where a human sacrifice is taken. Whoever completes these tasks first and receives the mark of a god, will be crowned the next Mestrah. Each heir has a chance to take on two expertly trained nobles to be on their team. Orkena is a magical kingdom, where your status is decided on how powerful you are. Zahru and her best friend, Hen, are only lowly commoners, not powerful magics. However, they find a way to the palace, but things take a turn. Before she knows it, Zahru and the human sacrifice of the The Crossing and in the hands of an heir who will do anything to win. In the heat of this death-defying competition, Zahru has to find her way out alive and back to her family.
The Kinder Poison is every adventure story you could ever have imagined in one book. If you took Aladdin, Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles, merchants, pirates, and kingdoms, with a dystopian and middle eastern twist, the imperfection of a teenager, and a very big desert, you get The Kinder Poison. The overall world that is created is incredible and comes through beautifully in the writing style. The beginning and end did drag on and I had some difficulty getting through some parts, but overall, The Kinder Poison was a great read. Everything mentioned was spot-on and magical. And I just feel the need to mention the description and imagery of this book. As a writer and student, I know firsthand how difficult forming an entire new world is, including food, clothes, cities, languages, new words, etc. Sometimes, when authors name things of their own creation, the titles tend to be wordy and hard to read. That being said, every aspect of this book flows so well together and blends perfectly. There was hardly any romance in this book, however, there is an overlying sense of tension between two of the heirs, Kasta, the oldest, and Jet, the youngest, who are both attracted to Zahru. I bring this up because Natalie Mae creates a rigidness that you can practically feel while reading. She also is able to build intense moments without gore or blood, which I can appreciate. The Kinder Poison is a solid 5 star book and is appropriate for readers ages 13 and up. This novel is definitely a diamond in the rough and I would recommend it to anyone.
The sequel, The Cruelest Mercy, is just as thrilling and enchanting as the first book. And the third and final part to this trilogy is soon to come out next year!
Happy reading,
Evelyn Harrier
