Poison

Reviews / Votes

The fairy tale retold with a welcome bite of cynical realism. Disney eat your heart out. -- Claire Nicholls * SCI FI NOW * Poison is Pinborough's take on Snow White, and while all the recognisable furniture is there, she takes the story in directions that would have Walt Disney's (apocryphally) frozen head spinning in its cryogenic chamber. Loads of fun and very saucy with it. * INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY * Pulls you into the fantasy world from the first word. A fairy-tale for grown-ups that should delight and shock in equal measure. * SCI FI BULLETIN * Sarah Pinborough's reimagining of the classic fairytale will enchant you. Expect the unexpected as Pinborough uses her own winning-brand of magic to entice the reader. * PRESS ASSOCIATION * More Grimm than Disney, Poison is a fun, fresh take on Snow White with a sucker punch of an ending. If you're a fan of Once Upon a Time or Snow White and the Huntsman, you'll find Poison very palatable indeed. There's enough sex and skulduggery here to satisfy fans of Pinborough's other works too. * Geek Planet Online * Poison proves that fairy tales are no longer just for children. This is an intelligent, dark and enthralling read. I am absolutely left wanting more. * THE ELOQUENT PAGE * Poison by Sarah Pinborough is everything you know about Snow White and, what's more important, everything you don't know about her. The characters are dark and extremely natural - the story could have happened anywhere. Even though it's set in the original fairy tale type world, it is astounding what Sarah Pinborough did with the story. To explain it better, she knew when to use blood and when to use glitter. * La Penseuse Surnaturelle blog * An altogether darker and sexier version of a story we know well. Poison is a treat of a read to devour in one sitting, ideal for readers of all genres who are looking for something a little dark and different. * ONE MORE PAGE * Sarah Pinborough strays true to the classic tale of Snow White but has managed to put her own very sexy stamp all over it. It's dark, dangerous, thrilling, adventurous and devilishly sexy. * FICTION FASCINATION * A nice shake up to the traditional Snow White fairy tale. * SISTER SPOOKY * The twisting of the tale is genius and the interweaving of other fairy tales, but with a Sarah Pinborough twist, was fantastic. This ain't no Brothers Grimm and it ain't no Disney story! * BOOK GEEK SAYS * When you hear the phrase 'fairy tale', what does it make you think of? Disney? Princesses, witches, a handsome prince? In Poison, Sarah Pinborough brings us all of this and more, viewing the story through grown-up eyes and telling it for adults, while still playing with the conventions we grew up with. Poison is a really enjoyable read; it's a fairytale reimagining in the most full-blooded way, very different in tone from something like Angela Carter but, I think, quite similar in the way in which female characters are foregrounded and empowered, for good or evil. * ADVENTURES WITH WORDS * This is not a fairy-tale for children but definitely one for the grown-ups who like their stories a bit darker than they remember. Poison is a wonderful retelling of Snow White, it is inventive and sexy and really fun to read. * BOOK CHICK CITY * It's a dark, contemporary retelling of the fairytale and is perfect for fans of Snow White and the Huntsman and Once Upon a Time. Fast-paced and completely addictive, Poison is a joy to read and I was hooked from chapter one. I love twisted fairytales, and this is just that! * WONDROUS READS * A lovely, well written, beautifully illustrated retelling of a family favourite fairytale with a new twist. * LYNN'S BOOK BLOG * A wicked, delicious and sexy fairytale and well worth reading. * GAV READS * Pinborough is the master of the darkest sort of romance, passion so filled up with bile, bitterness, lost hopes and desperation that the narrative is incredibly compelling and very human. The characters are simultaneously both fantastic and believable. It is dark, but in a delicious sort of way; like good chocolate or a fine wine; at no point do we have gratuitous nastiness, all the energy in Poison has gone into making us care about the characters (before making them suffer) rather than adding horror for the sake of it. * STARBURST * Poison puts a surprising (and sexy) new spin on the story. * THE TELEGRAPH *