Poisoned Honey By: Beatrice Gormley

Title: Poisoned Honey
Author: Beatrice Gormley
HARDBACK
Amount of Pages: 320
Publisher: Knopf
Release Date: March 9, 2010
Geared Towards: Teens
From: Random Buzzers (ARC)

"Remember Safta's story about Miryam's Well? You have a gift for finding the opposite kind of well: one that poisons all who drink from it."

Summary (From B.O.B):

Who is Mary Magdalene? A prostitute? A saint?

A madwoman? A goddess?

This story begins with Mariamme, a vulnerable girl who knows little of the world. Much as Mari wants to control her own destiny, she soon learns she has no such power. She must do as her father and brother see fit, and when tragedy strikes, she must marry a man she does not love and enter a household where she is not welcome, for the good of her family.

But then an Egyptian wisewoman teaches her a small way to comfort herself-by escaping into the spirit world. In this hidden realm, Mari is exhilarated to find she has power. Here, she does control her fate. But does she really? Or does the magic control her?

This gripping portrait of one of the most misunderstood and controversial figures in the Bible traces a young girl's path through manipulation and possession, madness and healing, to a man who will change the world forever.

Wdebo's Review: Since I am not a very religious person, this book was a little confusing since there are some biblical references that I had to ask my friends about, but apart from that, to me it is actually just a very nicely told story.

I have actually never actually been able to read a lot of books set in this kind of setting and idea, so it was a nice change of pace. The writing was quite well done, a little shaky at times but not bad.

The character of Mariamne annoyed me sometimes by the way she talked and also when she was possessed her actions were annoying also at times, but she was pretty ok overall through the whole book. I do like how she was able to tie together Mariamne and Matthew,the tax collector's son, story together, but their interaction together was a little disappointing, I thought there would be some kind of romance brewing between them. Which leads me to another thing, I was kind of sad how there wasn't that much romance in the book, I guess since it is focusing more on Mariamne's growth and how she fights her possession, but a little romance never hurts! :)

Cafe Cover Chat: I think the cover is pretty pretty it's a nice shad of purple however, there is something that makes it seem a little averege. (B)

All in all, a good book for those more religious readers, but it can also be an entertaining read for those who aren't very religious.

Grade: B

Wdebo :)