The Kinder Poison

By: Natalie Mae

Narrated by: Jesse Vilinsky

"A delicious high-stakes adventure." (People magazine)

Perfect for fans of Victoria Aveyard and Holly Black, The Kinder Poison is an enthralling fantasy adventure that follows a teenage girl chosen to be the human sacrifice in a deadly game between three heirs who will do anything for the crown.

Zahru has long dreamed of leaving the kingdom of Orkena and having the kinds of adventures she's only ever heard about in stories. But as a lowly Whisperer, her power to commune with animals means that her place is serving in the royal stables until the day her magic runs dry.

All that changes when the ailing ruler invokes the Crossing. A death-defying race across the desert, in which the first of his heirs to finish - and take the life of a human sacrifice at the journey's end - will ascend to the throne. With all of the kingdom abuzz, Zahru leaps at the chance to change her fate if just for a night by sneaking into the palace for a taste of the revelry. But the minor indiscretion turns into a deadly mistake when she gets caught up in a feud between the heirs and is forced to become the Crossing's human sacrifice.

Now Zahru's only hope for survival hinges on the impossible: somehow figuring out how to overcome the most dangerous people in the world.

©2020 Natalie Mae (P)2020 Listening Library

Wow! Different!

Great story and a little different from the usual books in this genre. I definitely think a little more background and world building would have been helpful. I’m going straight into book 2

Love it!!!

This series is a hidden gem that needs more recognition!!!! Amazing characters and storyline. Love!!!!!

A driving intentional story tha captured my heart!

Natalie, gave me many characters that not only could identify with, but throughout my life I also experienced within my own ups and downs of life. But, then helped me to see that kindness is always the answer even when you are in opposition to some or something that even seeks your own life. Good job!!!! Natalie.

Great read!

I highly recommend this book. This book has it all adventure, action, and even a little romance. This story has a strong storyline and great characters that you can relate to her. The main character is a strong heroin who doesn’t play damsel in distress the entire book. Narrator also does a really good job.

One of my all time favorites

I feel so lucky to have found this book. It is nonstop action from start to finish and
the characters are written beautifully complex and feel so real.

Jesse Vilinsky is a phenomenal narrator who really brings the story to life.

I am someone who is very sensitive and it can often feel overwhelming and even like a weakness, but Zahru was the main character that I really needed.

This book is very underrated and I would recommend it on all regards. :)

Gawds, the narrator kills me

I'm only to chapter 8 and I finally had to stop to rate the narrator. The beginning was rough for me. The reader has the same emotion and tone for everything. Anxious and questioning intonation with random pauses. Her quavering voice would be great in moments that necessitate it but not throughout the entire book. There seems to be one emotion for the entire narrative. anxiety. I've somehow reached the point where I'm interested in the story despite the narrator, but I'm still debating on getting this book in print. I have over 200 audiobooks and this was the first one that I haven't been able to stop "hearing" the narrator over the book. I'm going to try and muster through. I'll update my review once I finish the book.

Update: I guess I grew accustomed to the reader or she improved throughout the book. I stopped fixating on what I mentioned above, slowed down the listening speed, and was able to get into the story. Interesting magic and culture setup. The main character grew over the story and it had some good story developments. I'm off to start the second one.

Amazing Climax, Characters, & Narration

PROTAGONIST: I personally liked the main character Zahru. She may not have been the smartest or most powerful, but she had this kind of empathetic, optimistic charm that pulled me in.

KASTA: The main antagonist Kasta’s characterization was masterfully done, and my favorite character hands down. The tension of his relationship with Zahru (and with his brother Jet) was the main highlight of this story for me - especially in the moments where Kasta’s malicious, paranoid “darkness” slides back to reveal a scared boy who wants to believe in Zahru’s kindness and no longer be alone.
I also love how he’s such a complex, contradictory character. He’s cruel not out of heartlessness, but out of a twisted malice rooted in a childhood of fear and self-preservation, constantly expecting betrayal but longing to have someone he can trust. His own mind is his greatest enemy - poisoned by a lifetime of paranoia the same way he inflicts poison on others - making him incapable of trust, or being trusted, ultimately driving him to extreme measures and isolation.

CLIMAX: The rest of the story was good, but the climax near the end is what really made me fall in love with this story. The tension of that scene is stunning. Everything else in the story seemed to be building up to that single, explosive scene, where all the physical, emotional, ideological conflicts and tensions come to a peak. I was truly at the edge of my seat in this climax; with the story feeling like a car that suddenly started to accelerate, hurtling faster and faster the closer it was to the end, before suddenly stopping - leaving me teetering on a precipice, holding my breath in a delicate, tension-filled silence, waiting for the wavering car to finally tip over and determine destruction or salvation.

NARRATION: The narrating was amazing in this story. Her voice and tone portrayed the protagonist’s character in such a likable way. And in the climax, the narrator was absolutely phenomenal at portraying the characters’ emotions and the tension of the scene, so much so that I’ve listened to that scene over and over again, and it can still bring me to tears.

OVERALL: The main characters are phenomenally developed and are the real stars of this story. Their motivations and emotions are what truly drive this plot forward. The world building is interesting and the plot is fun, though I ended up skipping around a bit at places where the pace seemed a bit too slow (though never in her interactions with Kasta 😌). But the amazing climax more than made up for it. Also, the underlying symbolism (I mean, just look at the title) just added more thematic depth to this story which was like icing on the cake.

Good storyline

Some choppy bits of audio where it seemed like a word or 2 was missing, but otherwise the plot was engaging. Would recommend. But zero spice if you are looking for that.

Criminally Underrated!

This sat in my library for far too long. I’m kicking myself for not starting it sooner because this series is FANTASTIC! It’s SO suspenseful and literally kept me guessing until the very end! The FMC is a tiny bit of a Mary Sue in the first book, but still worth rooting for. I like her a lot and she proves her worthiness over and over. I love her and the MMCs as well. Costa in particular is very complex and I loved rooting for him too. The story is perfectly paced and the character development is so satisfying. There is romance, but it doesn’t drive the plot and it’s the most delicious slow burn.

Narrator did a great job. All her characters had distinct voices. She made this journey so fun!

10000% recommend. Officially one of my new favorite series! And while I normally hate comparing books, this reminds me of the Powerless series, but this is MUCH MUCH better. That book left me disappointed because I felt it was a bit juvenile and felt it was missing something. But THIS series has it. And it came out first.

Don’t delay! Download this now and enjoy the ride! Then hype it up so it can get the recognition it deserves!

It’s fine

The world building is interesting and obviously Egyptian-inspired but I kept getting wildly frustrated with the main character. She’s naive and trusting which would be fine if her wants and desires weren’t spelled out over and over and over again with little to no change in how they’re stated. Every time she makes a stupid choice and calls it out as stupid I don’t sympathize with her, I just agree. Not to mention for a villain that’s painted to be deep and complex, the oldest prince is frustrating in his own right fluctuating between being written as conniving and clever and bone numbingly dense. This is the case for every royal we meet. There’s the bones of something good here but I turned up the speed of this performance in the interest of getting through it faster. The shifter is the best character put to page and it kills me she doesn’t have more screen time, nor does the Chekhov’s Fire Horse in the early chapters who shows up to never be seen again like you would assume a good planting and payoff would guarantee. I wish the time spent reiterating the main character’s lackluster Bella Swan personality was replaced with more satisfying turns of fortune.