The Potion Diaries by Amy Alward

Pages: 320
Publish date: 2 July 2015
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 978-1-4711-4356-4
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

The Potion Diaries:

I received a copy of The Potion Diaries by Amy Alward from Simon and Schuster in exchange for a review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

Firstly the premise of The Potion Diaries was intriguing. A main character that can mix potions, therefore coming the perfect competitor in a deadly quest to save the princess. For anyone that loves fantasy – this is what will pull them and it did pull me.

I have mixed feeling about Samantha; the main protagonist of The Potion Diaries. I loved when she was in her element mixing potions, the way that her mind was working throughout the book. It was different from other young adult books that I have read before. It’s rare that you have a protagonist that is smart the way Samantha is.

But then she was so whiny and annoying. She was trying to save the princess, but she was still longing for ‘love.’ For someone who is so smart, she was blinded and distracted by the thought of love.

Zain…what can I say about him. I didn’t like him too much. He was the person that always got on my nerves, that whatever he did, I just could not like him. Especially at the ending, the way that he was forgiven so easily.  I wanted to scream at Sam.

I found the romance lacked. I could not get into it and I felt disappointed.

I truly enjoyed the Kemi family –and that is not saying that I say often. I liked the way that the family worked, how they acted towards each other. It was nice seeing a family unit that worked – most of the time.

I found the world of The Potion Diaries interesting, but I felt that the world building lacked. I was left hanging a lot of the time, asking myself all these questions. We were just pushed into this world that was somewhat high tech but was using potions.

Though I felt disconnected from the world. The Wilde Hunt was interesting. It was exciting, intriguing, and had me on the edge of my seat. What was going to happen next? Are they going to be okay? Those are the types of questions the reader is posed with while the hunt is on. They kept the book going and it was interesting.

I also would have liked The Potion Diaries more if it was only from Sam’s perspective.  Princess Evelyn while under the love potion annoyed me so much. I understand that she was poisoned and was going kind of insane, but I felt that it was unnecessary.  This could still have been shown this side of the princess through Sam’s eyes.

The Potion Diaries is being said to be a cross with The Hunger Games and The Princess Diaries.  And I do have a slight problem with this. I don’t really understand how it was like The Princess Diaries. But I could see how it was like The Hunger Games. A teen girl put into a dangerous game, where people can die with media watching, but then it stops there.

I liked Amy Alward’s writing style, it was intriguing and I didn’t feel that someone older (an adult) was telling the story. I felt that it was a teen girl who was whiny, wanted to be loved but was also smart.

Furthermore, I enjoyed reading The Potion Diaries by Amy Alward. It was different and refreshing. Yes, there were some problems that I had with world building and the characters, but I overall enjoyed this fun and exciting read.

 

 

Have you read The Potion Diaries? What did you think of it? Are you going to read it?

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