Poison Heart by Mae Pierce

Views 1.0K April 11, 2024

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Her marriage was a lie.

Anita Orazio had never been interested in any man before she met her handsome new husband. He’d courted her with a relentless energy, and she’d fallen hard and fast, like a fool. Until she overheard him saying he only married her to get an introduction to The Gardener.
Everybody in Greenich Bay whispered the name of the reclusive assassin. The anonymous poisoner who could provide wares for anyone who could afford him, or find him.
Romeo needed help from The Gardener and he’d made a deal to marry Anita to get it. He was heir to the Orazio empire, but if he didn’t act soon, there would be no legacy to inherit. A dark poison was running through the veins of his father’s organization. The only way to combat it was a stronger poison. Romeo hadn’t wanted to marry, and Anita was too sweet, too innocent for the world he lived in. He had to keep his distance, even if it broke him.

But Anita had a secret, one her husband would kill for. He wanted an introduction to the famed poisoner, The Gardener?
Too bad he didn’t realize he’d married her.

Book Details
Table of Content

File Name:poison-heart-by-mae-pierce.epub
Original Title:Poison Heart (Toxic Hearts)
Creator:Mae Pierce
Language:en
Identifier:MOBI-ASIN:B0CT4HP2N6
Publisher:anonymous
Date:2024-04-11T00:00:00+00:00
File Size:2.017 MB

Table of Content

1. Dedication
2. Content Warning
3. 1. Chapter 1
4. 2. Chapter 2
5. 3. Chapter 3
6. 4. Chapter 4
7. 5. Chapter 5
8. 6. Chapter 6
9. 7. Chapter 7
10. 8. Chapter 8
11. 9. Chapter 9
12. 10. Chapter 10
13. 11. Chapter 11
14. 12. Chapter 12
15. 13. Chapter 13
16. 14. Chapter 14
17. 15. Chapter 15
18. 16. Chapter 16
19. 17. Chapter 17
20. 18. Chapter 18
21. 19. Chapter 19
22. 20. Chapter 20
23. 21. Chapter 21
24. 22. Chapter 22
25. 23. Chapter 23
26. 24. Chapter 24
27. 25. Chapter 25
28. Epilogue
29. Thank you
30. Want More?
31. Adelaide
32. About Mae Pierce
33. Also by

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1 comments

Kiley O：

Content Warning: Poison Heart has dark themes and may not be suitable for all readers. This story is set in the 1960's and as such reflects misogynistic ideas and other practices that were prevalent at the time. Please read below to decide whether it is safe for you to read.

Non-consensual kissing, Death, Gore, Blood, Torture, Poisoning, Drugging, Death of a parent/s, Grief/depression, Brief discussion of suicide, Parental neglect/abuse, Rough sex, Biting, Gun violence, Misogyny, Smoking, Sexually explicit scenes, Domestic abuse (not main characters, Postpartum anxiety, Pregnancy in epilogue, and Eluding to terminal illness/death in epilogue

Side Note: While this book was the second in the series, it actually took place before The Burnt Heart. This story was about Adelaide's grandparents. It would probably be best to read this one FIRST since there are several spoilers focused on The Burnt Heart.

Poison Heart, Book 2 of the Toxic Hearts series, was about 20-year-old Anita (Bianco) Orazio. (She was 19 when she was introduced to Romeo, and they were married 6 months later. So I'm assuming she turned 20 on her birthday that they celebrated in the book), and her new husband Romeo Orazio.

When Anita learned three weeks into their marriage that her husband Romeo had made a deal with her cousin, Paolo, to marry her in order to get an introduction to the assassin known as "The Gardner", it nearly broke her. However, given who she was, she pulled herself together, confronted her cousin, and set out to teach them both not to mess with her...because SHE was "The Gardner". What she didn't know was that everything Romeo had said to her cousin was a lie he had spouted with the thought of keeping her at arms' length.

But Romeo did not realize she had overheard his conversation with her cousin, so when she threw a dinner party a few days later, he was shocked by the change in his once-adoring wife. She was cold, calculating, and no longer looked at him with the longing he had often seen in her eyes during their courtship. To make matters worse, one of his former mistresses showed up to cause trouble. When she told Romeo she was pregnant with his baby, she gave a triumphant look over his shoulder, alerting him to the fact his wife had heard her words.

The story took off from that point, with the angst and drama both being OTT, but in a good way. This book was better than The Burnt Heart because it had less fluff-n-stuff and more needed information. It didn't dwell on the past, mainly because it WAS in the past from Book 1. It filled in many of the unanswered questions from The Burnt Heart.

The emotional rollercoaster ride had its usual twists and turns, with a few surprises thrown in to make the loop-de-loops more palatable. There was more than a little push/pull between the two main characters, and the conflict was enjoyable to see play out.

Both the MMC and the FMC were well-developed and mature, and both of them did a lot of learning and growing as needed. The FMC was strong and not the usual doormat most authors prefer to create. She was more alpha than beta, and she was an awesome character. The MMC wasn't too shoddy either, and they both melded together in such a way that kept the reader glued to the pages.

Since this book actually took place before Book 1, you'll have to read the other story to see if there was a potential for a third book, because this one pretty much introduced the characters for The Burnt Heart.

While there were some grammatical and punctuation errors in this story, they didn't detract from the flow of the book, so I felt that it earned a full five-star rating. I also included it in my Keeper for the Shelves collection.

Reply13 days ago