Poison's Kiss (Poison's Kiss) Paperback – December 12, 2017

This book is a must-read! It tells the story of Marinda, a visha kanya, a poison maiden, who was trained from birth to serve the Raja. She kills the Raja's enemies with a single kiss. She hates doing what she does, but does it to protect her brother -- until she is ordered to kiss a boy she knows -- a boy she believes can't have done anything to deserve to die except befriending her brother. The story has its foundations in Indian folklore. The twists and turns will surprise you. The story will stay on your mind long after you have finished the book. Excellent debut book for this author!

Poison's Kiss heroine embodies the qualities that I look for in a protagonist, especially female heroines. She's not afraid of making the tough choices, and she's firm in her convictions. Marinda is a visha-kanya, a poison maiden, her kiss is fatal to anyone who comes into contact with it. She was created as a weapon, forced to be used as a tool in war that is as old as time. Marinda hates the countless anonymous men/boys she is forced to kiss and kill for the Kingdom's benefit. It's only her young sickly brother Mani, that influences Marinda to stay in her captivity instead of seeking freedom. Paired with her in her deadly deeds is Ilya, who charms the marks that Marinda is slated to take out. She woes them and sets up the chance meetings between the anonymous men/boys and Marinda. While Marinda and Ilya have grown up together in this arduous predicament together and share love for each other, we come to see the many layers beneath these characters and the turmoil that brews just beneath the surface.The thing I appreciated the most due to Shields superb execution is her vastly complex characters. Each character had many layers to them, and as a reader, you are forced to accept these characters as they come. It was hard to gain a concrete connection to some of them because of their erratic behavior and multiple motivational driving forces. While some may see that as a negative, I see it as a challenge. It put me on edge at all times because I was always trying to guess what would a character do next. You have Ilya who is beautiful and is able to lie easily, so you're always questioning who has her fealty. You also have the enigmatic Deven, Marinda's love interest, who's gentleman ways tend to distract you from him trying to complete his mission. Then we have the infamous Gopal, Marinda's "handler". He's the one who utilizes her skills in regards of the Kingdom. He's ruthless in his control and uses a web of lies to govern Marinda into submission. Gita is also an enigma because she plays as both Marinda's surrogate mother figure and also manages her behavior when Gopal isn't around. And lastly, we have Kadru, the snake charmer who's past is both mysterious and intriguing to say the least.Shields does a fantastic job at interweaving Marinda's internal dialogue with the many plot-twists and pivotal events throughout the story. We come to find that Marinda will stop at nothing to protect her brother Mani from harm. In her quest to uncover the secrets behind her role as executioner, she begins to see what failing at protecting Mani truly entails. This sends her into overdrive and we see our protagonist truly tested.What I also admired about the story was the amount of research Shields did to help build her solid and fascinating world. A lot of her world is built on Indian folklore and culture, however, her world is uniquely her own. Folklore has always interested me and I find ones from other cultures to be even more fascinating, since they aren't my own. Marinda's role as visha-kanya and the backstory of the many Raja's and their history were deeply entrancing and I couldn't wait to see more details coalesced into the story.Poison's Kiss by Breeana Shields is a story about love, betrayal, loss, a journey of self-discovery, and staying true to ones own beliefs. Filled with mysterious Indian mythology, we find ourselves immersed in Shields' world. Once you dive in to the story, you will be hard pressed not to want to finish the book in one sitting. This is definitely the ultimate page-turner.

I had the chance to read an early copy of Breeana Sheild's lovely debut, Poison's Kiss. Marinda is a visha kanya--a poison maiden whose can kill with a kiss. Though Marinda hates her role in the death of so many anonymous men and boys (albeit men and boys she's been told are threats to the kingdom), she doesn't see any other choice, not if she wants the medicine that keeps her little brother alive.But that was before Marinda got to know one of her marks--and this time, she'll have to decide exactly how willing she is to follow orders or follow her heart.Marinda's relationship with her brother was well-drawn, and her background was heart-breaking. I thought her interior conflict was believable, and I loved the complicated relationship with Deven. The pacing was fast and enjoyable, and I'm looking forward to seeing where the series goes in the next book!

Very seldom do I have the experience of falling in love with the characters that I read about but this book did it for me. In a world where most female leads are only supporting characters or mere love interests Marinda is powerful, brave and strong but not from her ability to poison or any special talents but sheer determination and love for a brother who helps her keep her humanity despite her circumstances. The love interest is kind without being a wimp-he is also strong and a good match for Marinda and "[he] can't help but be a gentleman even when [he] thinks [she's] been trying to kill [him]." His kindness melts me (did I mention falling in love with characters myself?) Well researched, intriguing story line with lots of twists and turns. I think this book could easily be made into a movie.I missed an opportunity to hear the author speak due to misunderstanding the time. Originally I had thought it would be fun just to hear an author speak but now I'm tempted to travel to Idaho to hear her speak again. I would love to know more about the legends, her research, and how the story came together. It's so exciting and I'm anxiously awaiting her future books.

I really loved this book! It follows Marinda who has been raised to be an assassin, a poison maiden- a girl who can kill with a kiss. She does not know the men she kills but she is haunted by their deaths and her role in it. When her next target turns out to be Deven, the cute boy she meets at a bookshop, she refuses to kill him and sets off a deadly chain of events that leads her to question everything and every one and to fight for what she wants.This story is set in the fictitious land of Sundari, a place that is influenced by India and its myths and culture and I have to say I really loved that aspect. The backstory and culture that Shields created is very rich and is something new. The idea of a girl who is toxic and can kill with a kiss was something really interesting so I really loved reading about that aspect and what it actually means to have that. I enjoyed following Marinda and seeing how she changes throughout the story. She is very naive, through no fault of her own, but as her eyes are opened to what she is, how she was raised, and what she has to do, you see the inner strength that she has and she becomes more than a pawn.This was a book I breezed through and I cannot wait to read the follow up book.