Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

I love, love, love the writing style Natalie Mae uses in the Kinder Poison, the sarcastic tone gave it some life and made it a lot more interesting and a lot easier to get into.

I also love the amount of morally grey characters in this story. Truthfully, I loved the characters overall, they gave so much to the story and I genuinely can't wait for the next book.

This was a high stakes, fast paced fantasy that felt both original and familiar. I really enjoyed the magical aspects we got to see and the core plot kept the story driving forward. I loved the breadth and depth of the secondary characters that wove in and out of the story as well.

I do wish there had been a bit more world building but the story didn’t follow a traditional path which made up for that. It also took me a bit to warm up to Zahru; she just felt like an amalgam of every reluctant female protagonist in every YA fantasy series I’ve ever read so it was difficult to get a handle on who she was. I kind of got Laia vibes with Celaena sarcasm with the occasional colloquial comment that pulled me out of the story a bit, but eventually I did feel like I grasped what her personality and driving force was.

I was feeling like this could’ve maybe been a stand-alone but then the last few chapters roll around and we get that jaw dropping ending and now I can’t wait for the next book!

Thank you to PenguinTeen for sending me an e-arc through Netgalley. This review is my honest opinion on the book.

3 heirs to the throne are in a race called The Crossing. Zahru gets mixed in a family rivalry all because she wanted some chocolate. Haha not really but it's a cute thought in the book. She gets caught up by being the sacrifice and not because the gods chose her.
Through out the entire book Zahru is tested and even in times of quitting she still pushes through. I just love her character. She's very understanding, her kindness not just for animals but for people show what kind of person she is. Zahru is also resilient and very clever, I'd catch myself wondering how she would get out of certain situations and I was always surprised.
I enjoyed all the characters we get to know each heir and why they are the way they are. You can help but love them or hate them.
After reading a few chapters i got immersed into this incredible world of magic. Was I expecting it to love it as much as i did truthfully no. The beginning to me sounded similar to other books but wow! Was a wrong. That ending also was like a punch to the gut, i wasn't expecting it. Im definitely looking forward to the next book in this series.

I really really liked this book! And I thought I'd already review it...oops!

Where to begin? I was pleasantly surprised by this book on so many levels. One, it did NOT go how I thought it would and I absolutely loved that! It wasn't so much that what happened was "so crazy" or anything, but I loved that the author took time to step away from what would "most likely happen" to what was "most interesting" to happen. I thought for sure at the early stages I could guess what was going to happen but you know what? I wasn't totally right!

Another aspect I enjoyed about this book was the world. I loved the elements taken from ancient cultures but also how the author loved them into a new tapestry. I could easily picture the world but at the same time it wasn't like anything I would have guessed.

Lastly, and to avoid spoilers I'm not going to say much, but I love her treatment of her "villain". It was unique and I could totally get on board with what was happening!

I highly recommend this to lovers for YA fantasy! You'll be immersed by the world building, fall in love with the characters, and be swept up by the magic! Can't wait for the next book!

In the land of Orkena, everyone is born with a magical ability they eventually grow into. Zahru is a Whisperer, meaning she can talk to animals. Unfortunately for Zahru, this is not a necessarily interesting ability, and therefore, she doesn't live an extremely luxurious lifestyle. Every 10 years, the Crossing occurs in order to choose the next heir to the throne. The first heir to make it across the desert and kill the chosen human sacrifice wins the throne. Zahru and her friend Hen, decide they're going to sneak into the palace to witness the Crossing Ceremony that determines the teams the royal siblings will take with them into the desert. That's when Zahru finds herself as the next sacrifice and the adventure begins.

I would not have thought this was a debut novel based on the writing style! I was so invested in the characters and their story right from the first chapter. The characters are what really drove the story home for me. I loved each and every one of them. Even the characters who were morally get, that you aren't necessarily supposed to like, made me have a soft spot for them. The sibling rivalry between the two princes was definitely interesting and I loved how there was also some conflict with their sister as well. The overall family dynamics were so intriguing, I loved learning more about each of the siblings and their relationship to one another while trying to win their father's approval. I can't decide who I was the most interested in. Sakira seemed to be the superficial party girl, but as you got to know her more, you saw that she did care about the kingdom in a way you didn't expect. Kasta was definitely the most intriguing in my opinion, and honestly, I was rooting for him in the end. Jet was also really interesting to read and learn more about, he was definitely the one who I wanted to win the crown. I was also a big fan of Zahru, who has a great sense of humour. She definitely grew a lot and came into herself even more as her story progressed. There is a bit of a love triangle between Zahru, Jet and Kasta but honestly, I was here for it. I also found the side story of Maia, the demon shifter, to be super interesting and terribly heartbreaking, I hope we get more of her in the second book!

I am definitely intrigued to see where the story progresses from here.

4.5 stars overall.

I enjoyed this book so much! It gave me the political intrigue that I adore, and the characters were so believable! I was actually surprised when I found out that this was a debut novel, because I feel like it was written SO WELL!

I want to start off with my favorite part of this book, the talk about classism. We have Zahru, a whisper, which makes her a lowly citizen. Whispers can communicate to animals and they are seen as 'not important' or 'disposable'. Then we have one of the three royal siblings, Jet, who spends a lot of the book realizing that what he took for granted, or privileges he had aren't something that everyone in his kingdom has access too. Multiple times Zahru had to give Jet 'the talk', that she's not seen as anything more than a stable hand and is realistic in the fact that that will probably never change in her life time.

Well written political intrigue gets me every time, and this book gives it to me! We have three siblings who are pit against each other in a race across the desert. Zahru, after some nonforeseen circumstances become the sacrifice. This means that whichever sibling is in possession of Zahru and kills her as the sacrifice at the end, obtains power and the status of King or Queen at the end. This also plays with the whole classism topic I mentioned above, Zahru is used as an object or a possession, instead of seen as a person.

The characters were so well written and you get so much of their personalities. Natalie Mae also wrote with such feeling that whenever a character did <i>or</I> didn't do what I wanted them to, I felt excessive emotions while reading. Zahru has so much to her character alone, that when you get to the three royal siblings, you may not expect their characters to be as flushed out. But you really get so much from each sibling and Natalie wrote their interactions so well that you may have yourself throwing your book (or ereader) whenever they do something stupid, or when they repeatedly do something just completely idiotic. The characters, especially the royal siblings, each have a huge internal struggle, and it's written where each one is going back and forth. They play with the thought of each derision they 'could' make, which as a reader I think we sometimes forget that in life, weighing pros and cons and changing your mind constantly is extremely realistic!

This also had a VERY well written cliff hanger, and now I can't wait for book 2!

Honestly the storyline, the characters, the political intrigue all had me emerged from beginning to end! I took off a half star because there are a few characters I wanted to play a bigger role, they were at the beginning of the book, but then they dissipated a few chapters in. I'm hoping the squeal gives me these!

The Kinder Poison by Natalie Mae is my kind of fantasy!
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This book was SO GOOD y’all. I was trying to come up with a good comparison for it, but the best I could get was Aladdin + The Amazing Race + The Hunger Games + characters with magical powers. I was not okay with Zahru being the human sacrifice meant for the race because obviously I loved her and didn’t want her to die. This book kept me reading the whole time and I didn’t want to put it down. I loved the characters and the forbidden love, and THAT ENDING. I’m warning you, the cliffhanger is huge, and is going to make you crave the second book. I can’t believe we have to wait a whole year!
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Thank you so much to @PenguinTeen for the eARC! I liked it so much I had to go out and buy my own copy!

While I think many would enjoy The Kinder Poison, I think it reads a little too YA for me. I absolutely enjoyed the beginning, right up until the main character was "captured". Everything kind of went downhill from there for me. I was very frustrated by the main character and her indecisiveness that seemed to carry on throughout the entire book. I also was not a fan of this battle between the two brothers and one sister, and constantly going back and forth where one minute one sibling is the enemy, and the next minute they're not. It made me very tired. I think that it is was very hard for me to stay engaged because of all of those things. I just feel like I was the wrong reader for this particular book.

4.5 🦄

I’ll say this, if I were Zahru, I would straight up just take out the royal family. Seriously I’d be like, the world is better without you murderous psychos in it and none of you should rule. Then I’d peace out ✌🏻

This is a 5/5 in teen drama
5/5 twists
5/5 in teen romance
But 4/5 in potpourri aka there was a ton of back and forth and back and forth and being here then there and then this brother and that brother then the sister and all over agin! Which will annoy some people. But it was highly entertaining and kept me guessing.

Highly enjoyable, dramatic, fantastical teen read (I’m 28 and I still enjoyed it and it did not feel too young). Had my attention from the get go and held it. I took a break in the middle to move house and came back a few weeks later remembering all of it because it’s just that good. I was really, really frustrated with the royal family. Was I supposed to actually like them? Sometimes I did but that didn’t take away from the fact they were a group of powerful bigots who were comfortable killing someone for power. It seemed like a lot was focused on maintaining part of the status quo and I was ready for the revolution. But BECAUSE of this, the story was a lot more complicated. How can Zahru work within the system to create a better homeland and survive the race? She had to be clever and kind and persevere in the face of royalty and the gods. It’s a lot for someone so indoctrinated into a strict hierarchy among godlike royalty and the evidence of the gods disfavor constantly before her in the form of the Forsaken, the magic-less. So I understand and appreciate what this story did even if it didn’t quite suit my revolutionist sympathies. Honestly a quick and enjoyable adventure with a reluctant heroine. Pick this up! I’m surprised it wasn’t in book boxes it was that good.

Natalie Mae’s debut novel is the first in a planned fantasy series that follows a young woman named Zahru (sometimes called Lia) who is probably the unluckiest person ever. She lives in a kingdom called Orkena where she is a lowly Whisperer in their strict social hierarchy. Since The Kinder Poison is the first book in a series, there is a lot of worldbuilding, and Mae creates such a rich fantasy society! Through Zahru’s eyes, we learn not only of the social hierarchy of Orkena under which she suffers, but of their religion, cultural customs and norms, and even some regional slang. It’s one of those traditions that initially gets Zahru in trouble: she sneaks into the royal palace to secretly join in on a party and ends up getting roped into a death-defying race called the Crossing, after which the winner must kill a human sacrifice. Zahru gets caught up in a feud and is forced to be the human sacrifice. What I like about Zahru is even though she is, as I mentioned earlier in this review, basically the unluckiest person ever, she doesn’t exhibit a “the world is out to get me vibe”. She accepts her circumstances and tries her best to work through them. In doing so, she develops tentative relationships with some of the participants in the Crossing race, all of whom are complex in their own rights, even if they’re only supporting characters.

While I’m not entirely sure where the story started in The Kinder Poison is going to go in the sequels, the world which Mae creates is rich enough for various stories and characters to play out. If you’re looking for a new fantasy series, I definitely recommend this new book and new voice.

The Crossing brings forth promises of a kingdom to the winner of this perilous challenge. Myth and reality unfold over the desert sands and destiny will fall into the hands of those who cross the treacherous land. Zahru finds herself caught in a dance between three heirs who all strive to win the Crossing for different intentions as a sacrifice for the winner to claim their birthright at the end of their journey. While Zahru always dreamed for a life of adventure the chaos of reality and the impending threat of her death, she find herself in a haze to escape this trance of fantasy and return to her father and serve with their humble profession as a Whisperer who can understand, and speak, the language of animals.


Her fate is beyond her hands and seems to be unfolding in the same light as a fabled tale. However, life can provide invisible winds of choice where Zahru can take mastery over her own destiny and take command of her own journey.


She just has to save herself before her role as a sacrifice comes to fruition.


In The Kinder Poison by Natalie Mae imagination and fate take flight across the land of Mae's creation where readers are thrown into an adventure that is destined to be written in the history of her nation. An element that particularly engrossed me in the story was Zahru's insightful nature that provided a detailed profile about the kingdom of Orkena, the magical system, and the motives that the heirs-Kasta, Jet, and Sakira-have to win the Crossing. Kasta is an individual who struggles with his inner nature and borders between destruction and a great mind. He was someone who had a promising future, but after having to incessantly compete for his father's approval, and an mission that went awry, Kasta is a broken character who needs someone like Zahru to bring him back from the abyss.


Jet is Kasta's predominant rival and, even though he's the bastard son of the king, he still holds the king's favor, much to his dismay. Jet wishes to have a life away from the politics of his kingdom and develop a brotherhood with Kasta yet that possibility has worn over the years. Meanwhile, Sakira's carefree nature has the best intentions for Orkena and won't hesitate to prove herself by ending Zahru's life. Zahru herself is a fantastic narrator who gradually went into the role of the heroines she admired from countless tales she shared with her best friend, Hen.


The Kinder Poison by Natalie Mae was such an intricate read and I honestly can't wait to read the sequel after such a thrilling finale! I don't want to give away any spoilers, but I honestly got chills when I read the epilogue between Kasta and another integral character.

4.5 stars.
What an incredible debut novel! The writing style was extremely easy to follow, and absolutely blew my mind with the amazing world building and descriptions. This book has amazing friendship (which I always love to see in my books), and so many different complex characters with different personalities. Didn't love the love triangle, and felt like sometimes we could learn a bit more about the world in this book. But, overall, I really did enjoy this and can't to read the next book!

This was honestly and truly such a fun fantasy book! I've recently dipped my toes back into the world of young adult which has been sooo much fun! I haven't read anything outside of the romance genre since 2015 when I started reading An Ember in the Ashes. Fantasy is still one of those genres I just haven't read much of, but have been reading a lot of lately.

So not only do we have this really amazing fantasy and world that Mrs. Mae has created, but we have a slow-burn romance - which I am ALL here for! I loved Zahru's character and development throughout the book. That is probably one of the most important elements for me in the story. Am I seeing character growth? Am I truly getting a mental image of who that character is? How do they overcome obstacles?

Another favorite element of mine that just made it that much more entertaining, was the humor. Here's a little snippet that had me laughing!

"Forget what happens at the end of this week. Right now it's just you and us, and an entire desert full of opportunities. I have a lot planned for us over the next few days. It's going to be the time of your life."
I look pointedly over. "Seriously? The time of my life?"
"Until you die honorably and painlessly."



I'm honestly very excited for future books from this author, not just in this series, but in general. This was an amazing debut book!

Review Posted on Goodreads (July 7, 2020)
Review Linked.

3/5 stars!

I have very mixed feelings on this book. I thought that the world that was created was super interesting, but in the end, I didn't end up really loving this book like I thought I would. I think that is because I never really connected with the main character. I liked the side characters, but I never really ended up liking the main character that much.

One thing that I also didn't enjoy was the pacing of this book. The pacing was almost too fast at the beginning and then too slow throughout the rest of the book.

In the end, I finished the book wanting a lot more from this story than I got. I might pick up the sequel, but I'm not sure if I will.

Thanks for reading!
Caden

Thank you to PenguinTeen and NetGalley for a copy of the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn't sure what I would think of this book but it looked really good and overall, I'm really glad I was able to get a copy of it!

What I liked:

1. The world building! I loved the different types of magic and I'm a sucker for "one country has magic but we don't know whyyyyy" being in fantasy novels.
2. Most of the characters! The MC, Zahru, is a really smart girl and I enjoyed her perspective on things (I, too, go to parties just for the food). Also, loved Kasta (don't @ me) and Jet was fine. Mostly I loved the FRIENDS. Hen was to die for.
3. That mouse. You know which one. I liked that mouse.

What I didn't like:
1. It had some pretty long slow patches for me - namely, any time Sakira (the princess) showed up - but it's a longer book so that makes sense.
2. There's an instance (not graphic) of bodily mutilation I wasn't thrilled about, but it served a purpose and didn't go into detail.

Overall, a solid 4 star read for me and I look forward to reading the next book!

First of all, I love this cover. Before I dive into my review, I wanted to take a moment to appreciate this stunning cover. I’ll be honest, this cover is the first thing that drew me into this story. Then, I read the synopsis and I knew I had to read.

This book certainly did not disappoint. I loved everything about it from the first page to the very end. The book is well written and the plot caught my attention. it is a fast-paced story and I read this book pretty fast despite having 416 pages.

I loved Zahru and her personality. I was able to relate to her and I enjoy reading about her. I was always eager to know what would come next.

The siblings have an interesting dynamic. It was interesting to read about them and their own motivations. The world-building is well done and I found the magic system interesting. This book was definitely an exciting ride.

You should definitely add it to your tbr. 🙂

This one is an absolute rollercoaster. The author does a great job pacing the book with high-intensity action and slower, more developmental scenes. I always felt like I could catch my breath right before the next big scene occurred.

The writing style is quick, direct, and I was never confused. I also thought everything was well organized and planned out.

At times, I struggled to connect with the characters. Since it is so fast-paced, the slower moments are critical in establishing a connection. I felt like I didn't get to spend enough time with them. Besides Zahru, Maia is my next favorite character. I don't want to say too much, but I thought her story was very intriguing.

Now, my favorite part was the world-building. I always love stories where people have some sort of elemental magic. This one takes it a step further and branches out for a full range of magical abilities. One of the things that was lacking was the full development of the nation. There were some explanations of the social system that were vague that I hope will be addressed in the next book.

This one reminded me of The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh. If you are looking for a fast-paced fantasy book, I highly recommend checking this one out.

I really enjoyed this book! I've been having a hard time getting into fantasy novels lately, but when I saw all of the amazing reviews The Kinder Poison was getting I just had to give it a chance. I wasn't sure that I even wanted to read a book about a deadly competition, but I wound up really loving it. This was a fabulous fantasy and I really loved the story and its characters.

I think a big part of what made this book so fantastic was the world building. It was easy to sink into, yet had a lot of elements to it. The politics, religion and magic were each explained well, but without too much detail. Even though The Kinder Poison was over 400 pages and I've been going through a fantasy slump I flew right through this book, which has been a really hard thing for me to do lately. It all came together really well and I just thought that the idea was so fascinating. I was not really excited about the idea of possibly a tropey "deadly game between heirs" but the story wound up being so much more than that and I really just loved the whole thing.

The plot was great. There were several unexpected twists and the way different plot lines came together was truly masterful. I loved the races because those parts of the book just got me so excited. I found myself reading as fast as I could so I could know what happened next. I just really enjoyed this book.

Review also posted on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

The Kinder Poison is a fantastic debut novel. The world-building is interesting and immersive, with fascinating mythology and a fun magic system. Fun is probably the word I would say best describes this book- from the writing style, to the plot and the characters- it was a fun ride.

The writing style was easy to jump into, but what I loved most was the sarcastic tone. It brought a lot of humor to the book that I didn't expect, and I'm obsessed with it. The writing style also lends itself well to the fast pace of the book. From page one I was hooked, and I continued to be hooked until I finished it. And that ending? Let's just say I'm very excited for the sequel.

Now, for my favorite part, the characters. I really enjoyed the cast of characters we got to know over the course of this book. Zahru is an amazing heroine. Her desire for adventure is unmatched, and her friendship with Hen is such a great part of this book.

We had a lot of morally grey characters, which is my favorite thing, and I really enjoyed learning the histories and backstories of the characters we meet. Also, there's a great romance building. It does feature a love triangle, but so far I don't hate it!

Pros- great writing style, strong characters, interesting world
Cons- love triangle, world-building could be a little less vague
Overall- 4.5/5 stars.
The Kinder Poison was an amazing read and I am so excited to see where the series goes!!

I loved this book! I was hooked from the very first chapter and got Sarah J Maas vibes. I loved all the characters, the continued action and how the magical elements had.a bit of a different spin than other YA fantasy books. I am definitely all in for this series!!!