Has anyone seen the horror movie Midsommar? This book gave me somewhat similar vibes minus the gruesome detailed horror. In ‘The Poison Season’ this small community lives on an island surrounded by poisonous water and they live within an evil bloodthirsty forest. They protect the forest and the forest protects them in turn. Outsiders who live off the island are considered dangerous and are given a choice whether they go into the lake or the forest if they are found on the island.

Let’s talk about the betrayal. I figured out who would betray who but I wasn’t expecting it to go down the way it did. The betrayal, while expected, happened a lot later in the book than I figured it would but when it happened it went quick. It had the whole community shook up and pitted characters against each other. Secrets went flying and chaos reigned down all at once. It made the ending so unexpected and good. It had me glued to the screen to finish it. I even had to go back a couple times to reread it so I could capture all the tea that got spilled at once. It was captivating and it was intense.

The story itself was suspenseful and it had you clutching the book at each turn to figure out when the lies were going to unravel and secrets that were going to be spilled. The ending happened to be extremely cute after all the betrayal happened. Overall, I’d highly recommend this book. It took me by surprise and was very good.

4.5 stars

This story takes place on a small island isolated from the outside by a poisonous magical lake that'll kill anything that tries to cross it, human or animal, and whose inhabitants are a peoples in possession of a magical ability that manifests through their voice, which they use to sing and lure creatures into the Walking Forest, a creepy wood that's supposed to take care of the islanders in exchange for these as sacrifices.

In this island live Leelo and her small family. She is a Watcher, or guardian that looks out for trespassers attempting to invade her islet, whilst worrying about her unmagical little brother at risk of being sent away from the island due to this lack in his nature, and her mother suffering from a mysterious condition. One day, Leelo stumbles into Jaren, an outsider that somehow managed to land on the island and whom she must get rid of for trespassing as per the law. But will she? Before she can, Leelo hears from the stranger boy things about the outside as well as the island that make her question the narrative she's always been fed, and slowly starts to unravel the messy tangle of lies, unmasking the wicked people that are behind the ills that are affecting her loved ones, who aren't those she'd have suspected initially.

It's a very "closed" world, a very small world, you could call it cozy if it were a cheerier atmosphere. It feels so small, like it all happens around your house, but also very familiar and with an aura of intimacy, of homely relatability. Given that we're just poking out heads out of confinement, it'll read at home for a lot of us. And it also demonstrates two things: that you don't need an ever-sprawling, worlds-spanning storyline for a Fantasy yarn to be engrossing and enjoyable, creating a small little corner can be just as good worldbuilding as a whole new planet with dozens of kingdoms with different cultures; and that "slice of life" plots can be as good and as compelling as fat multiple-volume ones. Often, we become too focused on the grand worldbuilding that we forget about the characters in the little cottage.

Additional points go for the Charlie Bowater cover! She's one of my favourite artists, but not many use her gorgeous artwork for book covers. Leelo is a bit more rugged and wild than the pretty girl Charlie depicts, but I think she got the enchanting atmosphere well.

Would you have the strength to act against everything you were taught and raised to know, just to save someone’s life? Leelo, our main character in The Poison Season, has grown up being told that the lake is poisonous and the Forrest protects them in exchange for their help. That if outsiders find their way to Endla, they are to kill them or be killed. But when a stranger accident stumbles onto their isolated island of Endla she risks everything to do what her instincts tell her is right.

The Poison Season has it all! Creepy Forrest, deep and dark family secrets, unique magic system, a sweet and tender love story, need I go on? This was a twisty, tender story and I loved every second of it. The plot was clever, the characters were written so strongly, and the romance sub-plot was tastefully done. We see incredible character growth with our main character Leelo, who starts out so meek and timid. I loved seeing her grow in to her own, and really makes a stand. The world building was incredibly immersive, to the point where I could easily picture Endla and the Wandering Forrest changes but without it being too wordy. Mara’s writing is always so immersive and magical, and The Poison Season is another incredible story to add to her repertoire. I cannot wait to add a physical copy of The Poison Season to my collection of Mara’s books!

I could not stop reading this book. It pulls you in with descriptive writing and makes you feel connected with the island and the people who live there. But the story is what made me read 3/4 of the book in one sitting. Even though it doesn’t have some crazy twist (besides that one part) it was such an enjoyable read that I didn’t realize I had been reading for half the day. Definitely recommend

The Poison Season was EVERYTHING I hoped it would be.

This is Mara’s most beautiful writing, and I fell in love with her stories back when Crown of Coral and Pearl came out. The atmosphere is ethereal and visceral, the concept fresh and deliciously creepy. The twists took me by surprise, and I’ve rarely had so many theories about a book (even running back through past pages to check them!).

As always with Mara’s books, the romance was top-notch. So delightfully slow-burn and believable, with just the perfect amount of pace and tension. She captured the shy exhilaration that comes with first love, and my cheeks hurt from smiling so hard for so much of the story. Jaren is such a unique male character, always getting lost in his head, and I have so much love for Leelo. She’s strong and fierce, kind and thoughtful, and I absolutely loved getting to see her from Jaren’s perspective. The tension of loyalties that played out in her thoughts unfolded masterfully.

One of my favorite parts of Mara’s stories is the sibling/family relationships, and Leelo’s relationship with her cousin is no exception—their tempestuous friendship is SO layered and fleshed out, and the differences between the girls perfectly contrasted one another. I loved—and dreaded—watching both of them start in similar places, heading down very different paths for very believable reasons. I ached for Sage, even if she was terrifying at points.

And those last several chapters—whew. They do get tense.

One of my favorite books all year, and I can tell it’ll be a comfort read I come back to again and again. The Poison Season is perfect for fans of Shea Ernshaw, Margaret Rogerson, and Erin Craig.

Abounding thanks to Inkyard and Mara for an arc! I can’t wait to hold a physical copy in my hands.

-A

*Spoiler free*

I really, really wanted to love this one. It has a lake full of poison. It has a forbidden romance. It even has complicated family dynamics and a creepy forest. Unfortunately, I just didn't end up loving it.

The world was fascinating. The forest is hungry; it requires sacrifice. That's really freaking cool!!! I wanted more of that. I wanted to dig deeper into the world. I wanted more background, I wanted to the book to go as dark as everything it presented promised it would be. But, it just never did that. It felt like it skimmed the surface of this incredible thing and that was it.

I think part of the reason I felt this way is because there was a lot going on. There was the family dynamics, both Leelo's and Jaren's. There was the romantic plot progressing. And there was the island and the lake as well. There was a lot happening, and a lot to be shoved in one book. While it all could have interwoven and aspects could have pulled off each other, for me, it didn't feel like they did. They were grappling for attention, instead of working together. This made me want more from all of them.

This isn't to say I hated the book. I actually did enjoy reading it. I thought the world was cool, and I actually came to like most of the characters, and even came to be invested in their relationships. I just wanted more from everything. The writing threw me off a little, which I think was totally a personal preference, but added to the disjointed feeling of wanting to be more fully immersed. Really, I just think it wasn't a book for me!

WE GOT A SOLID STANDALONE, PEOPLE! Rejoice!

The Poison Season is the latest from Mara Rutherford, and though there isn’t really a scary moment in it, it wrapped up like a super satisfying horror story and I loved every moment.

The basic gist is we follow our main character Leelo, a sensitive girl who lives on an island called Endla with a Wandering Forest surrounded by a poison lake, who believes she and her community live on this island for their protection from outsiders, and also to protect the forest. With voices that can lure animals and men to their deaths—among other things—Endlans have been persecuted throughout the years and now live in a place that gives them solace. Or so they think. . . .

This book was very atmospheric. I had images of fog and mountains and an eerie silence that had an ominous presence from beginning to end.

What I loved:

THE CHARACTERS
• I’m reminded why I love Mara Rutherford’s writing so much. There’s a complex cast of characters and it makes for a very layered story. People do bad things, say hurtful things, make some stupid choices, and yet show humanity in other sides and it feels so realistic. There are no two dimensional good guys or bad guys here. Every character is fleshed out in a way that makes you think of them as a believable, real person

• Leelo is sensitive and caring and is attacked for it throughout the book—this hit a bit close to home, and I loved that ultimately her sensitivity was her strength. She reminded me of my younger sister which made me very concerned for her throughout the story and I never felt detached or indifferent about her fate

• Jaren. Jaren must be protected at all costs. I have to admit I’m not usually a cinnamon roll fan, and I don’t want to gush too much about *why* I loved it this time without spoilers, but it worked. Jaren&Leelo4eva

• Leelo’s family. Again, the dynamics here were just so believable. A lot of YA doesn’t feature adults more than necessary, and if they are present they’re either a dastardly villain or an overlay kind and passive figure. But here, the adults get plenty of dialogue time, motivations, fears, etc. I really enjoyed being able to read about characters all ages realistically.

• The forest. I know you’re sus but I freaking love you, Wandering Forest.

THE PLOT
I’m not a very eloquent reviewer so I don’t know if I can adequately express the way this story wrapped around me from the beginning and just squeezed tighter until the bittersweet conclusion. I loved the world from the beginning—Sentient nature is really cool and under used, and I loved that Rutherford really embraced that side. I was intrigued by the small colony who felt the need to live secluded on an island, but didn’t trust that it was really necessary so I was eager to discover the secrets propelling everything. About 1/3 of the way through, the world had been richly built and I was enjoying the writing like a cozy cup of tea, and I thought—what’s the catalyst of the story? The very next chapter it showed up, and from that point on I couldn’t put the book (my phone lol) down. The pace changed to something more urgent, although the writing flowed the same and there wasn’t a switch between wordy world building to all action plot, like sometimes happens. The quality stayed the same, but the event itself drove the reader forward. Several times throughout reading I even thought to myself, every scene drives the plot forward or develops deeper feelings for the characters—it didn’t feel like there was a single wasted word or line of dialogue. The twists were really great, and I liked that they were set up from the start. It didn’t feel like they came out of nowhere just for the sake of it, it was more of a “oooooh, so *thats* what happened” reaction which I liked

What I didn’t absolutely love:

There’s a part of the book I disagree with morally that unfortunately I can’t say anything specific about because it’s a big spoiler. But something was written off as kind of ok or understandable for a character to do, and I didn’t support that. However, it didn’t change my ultimate enjoyment of the book and was written realistically, so I couldn’t tell if the story was trying to tell me it was acceptable, or just the character, and that provided some food for thought.

As mentioned above, though I really love the way the romance played out, I generally like a different type of guy for my romance. That just means while I won’t be claiming Jaren as a personal book boyfriend, he worked for Leelo. Obviously if he was my type of guy it would make the book more perfect for *me*, but doesn’t change the quality of the book itself so that’s a subjective issue. But I did want to share just to help balance the review and give my whole perspective.

The forest was such a fascinating subject that I really would love to see more. I’m not sure if it could have been done without making other parts of the book suffer, so I imagine it was for the best. But like I said above, a companion folk-lore type of book that features the forest would be reeeeeally cool and I would gobble that up.

Overall: New favorite for sure, and I am SO satisfied when a story holds up to the beautiful cover encasing it. Would recommend for fans of Margaret Rogerson, Erin Craig, and Joanna Ruth Meyer.

Like the poison lake itself a stunning cover draws you in only to succumb to a mediocre story.

Normally here is where I write a little quick synopsis of the book but I find I am having a hard time drawing out what to include to fully represent what was being told. One one hand this has all the elements I love, hungry forests, small town secrets and magic but the way this is put together is very clunky.

Our main character Leelo is very easy to like and root for as she moves through this make or break moment in her life. She is growing up and looking to what it means to be an adult honing her magic and the unfortunate consequences that come to those in their community that do not have such talents. The reason I am rating this so high is because she and Jaren are able to confront the truth between their two worlds and realize that there is more than one way to live and I really liked their time together.

My biggest issue however is the world building itself. We have a forest that keeps them in and punishes those who try to make their way inside and maybe even those who leave? It’s never fully explained which is somewhat frustrating because the book both begins and ends with this idea that it’s alive and hungry but yet it is practically nonexistent of a threat until the briefest of moments when it’s necessary. The lake however was perfectly done though it does conflict with the title as the season is hardly important but that’s neither here nor there. I’m not quite sure on the magic system there was a lot of conversations to just how powerful Leelo was and how it was important she be on the island and yet we never see it? I truly wouldn’t have known magic was even a thing here I’d the word itself wasn’t used.

The more I type the less I am able to justify my rating so it’s probably best to wrap it up. I think there is something there with this story but if you look too closely you’ll find all the holes and that’s never fun.

**thank you to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

**Thanks to NetGalley, Mara Rutherford, and Inkyard Press for this ARC**

The Poison Season by Mara Rutherford will be out December 6th, 2022

The plot: The Poison Season tells the story of two teenagers - Leelo and Jaren. 17-year-old Leelo lives on Endla, a magical island surrounded by poisonous water, with her mother, her brother, her aunt, and her cousin. The Endlans are an isolated people who are cared for by the forest and care for it in turn - offering it blood sacrifices by singing magical songs that lure animals to them. Jaren lives in a small town on the other side of the poison lake with his family. When the two meet, Leelo begins to question what she knows of right and wrong and to wonder if outsiders are ALWAYS evil.

Review: I really liked this! The setting, a spooky, sentient forest, was captivating and I appreciated the exploration of morality and family throughout the novel. It raised a lot of questions about what we do for love and if that love can ever go too far. This was a fun twist on the "I came to kill you and fell in love" trope and it was interesting reading a fantasy set in such a small area. The author mentioned that she was inspired to write this by the isolation of quarantine and I enjoyed reading something so different from the sweeping adventures common in fantasy. This was my first read by Mara Rutherford and it definitely won't be my last.

Overall, I quite liked this book. I enjoyed the concept of what you may know may not always be right. And the plot twists, wow I didn’t see them coming. But there were a few things I felt could’ve been done better.

The first major thing for me was that the first 60% was fairly slowly. It was a lot of setting up but I think it could’ve been parred down a bit. The second thing was the thing about the lilies and what poisoned the lake. You kind of get an answer but also kind of don’t; so I’m still confused on it. This big secret that you’re supposed to learn when you come of age keeps getting mentioned, but I’m not sure that was divulged. Lastly was Nigel. It’s assumed and implied he’s dead. Yet somehow at the end he’s not. I have a lot of questions about that.

The ending wrapped itself up fairly well and I liked that the characters have the option to be happy.

This was a fun read! Mara Rutherford always comes up with the most unique magic systems, and I really liked the Endlans' magical gift being song. Although this is a fantasy, it incorporates a lot of dystopian tropes, like the seeming utopia the main character lives in, the expectation that everyone blindly follows the rules, and distrust of outsiders.
I love the concept of a sentient, hungry forest and a poisonous lake, but I did think the descriptions left a little bit to be desired. Leelo and Jaren mostly deal with the lake, and even though the forest had a ton of potential, it wasn't mentioned besides a few scenes of it 'eating' some unsuspecting animal.
Leelo and Jaren pretty much immediately fell in love, and while I did like them together, everything felt a little rushed. Jaren's a great character, but Leelo fell for him because he was the first person she had met who wasn't from Endla and who she hadn't grown up with. The insta-love lessened my enjoyment of the book a little bit, but The Poison Season also explores Leelo's complicated relationships with her family, which I really liked. Her dynamic with Sage was complex and often sad, and I'd love to see a book in the future from Sage's perspective; even though I didn't like Sage, it would be interesting to see her perspective on Endla.