Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Legacy #2

Poison

Rate this book
Arthurian legend mixes with modern-day witchcraft in this haunting sequel to Legacy.

After the riveting—and romantic—events of Legacy, Katy has won Peter’s heart and is now claiming her place in the magical world. Though half the students at her boarding school come from witching lines, the use of magic is expressly forbidden at Ainsworth, so as to keep the witching world hidden from the blue-blooded preppies, aka Muffies, who also walk the halls.

But the Muffies have at least a notion of magic, because Katy catches them staging a made-up ritual—and to her astonishment, the girls collapse at Katy’s feet and fall into comas. When Katy is blamed, she becomes desperate to clear her name and finds herself battling all odds to harness her growing magical powers in order to save the Muffies and dispel the Darkness once more.

369 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 4, 2012

13 people are currently reading
603 people want to read

About the author

Molly Cochran

34 books90 followers
aka Dev Stryker

Born in Tokyo, Japan, Molly Cochran lived in Europe and was educated at the University of Pittsburgh and the Sorbonne in France. She has written 26 books, including 12 ghosted novels, and the non-fiction bestseller, Dressing Thin, before her own first novel, Grandmaster, was a New York Times Bestseller.

Since then, she has written almost a dozen other suspense and fantasy thrillers, including the international best-seller, The Forever King.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
79 (25%)
4 stars
106 (33%)
3 stars
95 (30%)
2 stars
22 (7%)
1 star
11 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
Profile Image for Briar's Reviews.
2,316 reviews579 followers
September 29, 2025
I loved this! It's the 2010s era of YA that I absolutely fell in love with and still love to this day. There's just something about it that feels so magical and takes me away from all of my problems as I read it. So, now I need book 1 and book 3.

This book has the perfect mix of 2010s YA drama, fantasy twist, magic, and of course a school with people who have magical powers.

I did not like the dynamic that is happening between Katy and her boyfriend. Despite not reading book 1, I was pretty engulfed in that whole relationship. I'm assuming Book 3 will wrap up that plot line...

Either way, to me it was a solid guilty pleasure YA read that I didn't analyze too deeply. It was a fun read for me.

Four out of five stars.
Profile Image for Chelsey Wolford.
685 reviews110 followers
December 7, 2012
Katy Ainsworth is a Whitfield witch, meaning she lives in the town right next to the famous Salem, Massachusetts. So you can imagine the fascination with her kind. She attends a school that has been in her family for generations, hence the name: Ainsworth School. But the school is not filled with entirely witches; some of the students are cowen, or non-magical folk. She and her close circle of friends and boyfriend, Peter, have to walk on eggshells and hide their magical abilities for the sake of their school and lives. Their lives are pretty normal or at least normal to the outsider’s eyes; until Katy walks in on four regular school girls practicing some not so ordinary magic. What happens after that may just change Katy’s life forever.

I have always been intrigued by witch stories and I never tire of reading them. Katy wasn’t your average witch and I didn’t think that she possessed the usual confidence and charisma that most of your typical “witch” characters carry, but I still loved her spirit and enthusiasm. As soon as we reach the conflict in this story, Katy’s Nancy Drew skills kick into gear and there is no stopping her. She is such a determined little witch and I loved learning more about her craft and her powers as she strived to understand how four girls could just drop before her eyes.

Katy’s relationship with Peter Shaw and Hattie, who Katy and Peter both work for in her small hometown restaurant, make this book all the more enjoyable. I like the tight knit magical community that Molly has built. All of the supporting characters like Hattie and Katy’s best friends, Becca and Verity, have small roles that really pack the punch. They all bring something different to the table and learning about each of their magical abilities was very interesting. I thought Peter and Katy’s relationship was adorable, even though I had to wonder at times if they were going to last. All good relationships have to face some storms right?

The supernatural side of this story was very well written and somewhat different from others. I liked that while I was mostly reading about a magical community, there was still a non-magical community existing outside of it. Katy was a witch that had crazy magical powers, but she had a limited amount of people that she could share it with. Then a few other magical characters step into the scene and just add to the supernatural splendor that is Molly Cochran’s writing. Each new detail and as each chapter progressed it’s like another piece of the puzzle was put into place. It was complete by the end and I loved it. I am anxiously awaiting the next novel in this series!

***Thank you to Molly Cochran and her publishers for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review***
Profile Image for VictoriaSong.
63 reviews7 followers
Want to read
June 13, 2012
The cover is so beautiful -- although randomly I hope when I buy this book the binding will be in good shape :O
72 reviews1 follower
July 28, 2016
Very entertaining story. I was engaged from page one through to the end.
Profile Image for Cameron.
252 reviews28 followers
April 9, 2016
Originally posted on the blog: What the Cat Read

Have you ever really been looking forward to reading a book only to discover it wasn’t at all what you were expecting it to be? I’m sure for most of you this happens frequently, so it probably doesn’t seem like a big deal. But I for one, really hate when it happens to me, especially when I can’t exactly put my claw on what it was that didn’t thrill me. This really was a hard story for me to get into, there’s simply no other way for me to describe it. I tried to like it, and there were elements to the book that I did in fact enjoy, but overall this was a meh story for me. And before anyone ruffles their furr and feels like hissing, please allow me the chance to try explain/share my thoughts here.

I really enjoyed the Arthurian legend tie-in and I loved the new characters that were introduced in this book. This is what eventually sold the book for me and pushed it away from the dislike column and into the like side. Morgan was fascinating and I loved her backstory. Bryce was also a lot of fun. His introduction to Katy left me smirking because I could easily picture him in his clothing and manners and it didn’t take me all that long to figure out who he was in the grand scheme of things. The overall development of their plot line was well done and it kept me reading past the point when I should have gone to bed. I think had the book started off immediately with Morgan and Bryce, rather than with the problems Katy was having at school, I’d have enjoyed the book more than I did because the appearance of both these characters is when things finally began to get interesting.

What didn’t work for me?

The first 100 pages of the book. They completely threw me and I almost didn’t want to keep reading. I felt lost when I first started and actually stopped in order to see if I’d missed something…some sort of novella or short story which fell between this book and the previous one in the series. It felt like this book had been written by someone other than Cochran, herself. It simply wasn’t working for me. But, seeing as I’m not the type of feline who stops reading a book simply because it doesn’t grab me initially, I kept on reading, and eventually the story did grab me. It’s just a shame that it took well over 100 pages to do so.

Also, I was rather shocked to see Katy go from the strong character that she became at the end of the first book back to the rather weak, insecure girl she was when I was first introduce to her. She was once again a social outcast and it made very little sense why this was happening. I honestly couldn’t see her being alienated by her classmates again…at least not by everyone…and the reason for it didn’t fit with what I had learned about the school from the first book. Yeah, I guess one could assume that practicing magic at the school would be frowned upon given that some of the students there weren’t magical, but not once was ever mentioned in the previous story, and if it was then I obviously missed. It really felt out of place to me and seemed to come out of nowhere. And as if that wasn’t enough, Katy’s insecurity about Peter and her pity party over being alone on a Saturday night, not to mention her pity party in general, drove me crazy! This was not the Katy I had come to love from book one.

And Katy wasn’t the only one who had changed from the first book. Miss P, a character that I liked wasn’t at all the sweet woman that she was when I first met her. She actually struck me as having it out for Katy during the first half of the book, which really rubbed my fur the wrong way. And Hattie also was different. Her hot/cold attitude from book one was much more pronounced this time around, which killed my liking for her. In truth, most of the characters in the book felt off to me for one reason or another. I’m not sure how much of it was the result of the book on a whole, or the fact that they really were different from their original introductions, but something really just felt off the entire time I was reading.

Now having said all that, as I stated before this book did eventually win me over…but I still didn’t like it nearly as much as I did Legacy. However, like Legacy, this was a fast read once I got into the story. Events happen quickly and the new aspect of her magic that Katy discovers keeps things from become stale where her powers are concerned. It’s not the same magic as before, so just as Katy grows so does her magic.

Overall, I have to say that this is a Your Mileage Will Vary book, even for me. And by that I mean, I could pick this book up later down the road and find that everything I originally felt was off actually was fantastic. But that just wasn’t the case for me with this first reading. I liked it…I didn’t love it and I didn’t hate it. It was simply, okay.
Profile Image for Megan.
1,884 reviews52 followers
June 25, 2013
Review originally published at Love, Literature, Art, and Reason Book Review Blog

I loved Poison! I really liked the first book in the series, Legacy, and Poison didn't disappoint; it proved to be just as interesting as the first book. I couldn't put it down! There's something about Katy, the main character and narrator, that I absolutely love. Maybe it's her awkwardness, her need to be involved and help whatever the cost, her love for Peter, or the way she's always an outcast for some reason or another. She's so normal, even though she's not, if that makes sense. I find her to be so relatable and down to earth. She's a loner with woe-is-me moments, but she's not lame like heroines with similar feelings. She's still tough, but she's totally vulnerable and I love her.

When Poison first began, I thought it was really predictable and almost cookie cutter, which I kind of disliked. After so many of the negative reviews for book one were about the author's use of a formula or a stereotype, I was worried that book two might have been guilty of just that. However, despite the predictability of the first half of Poison, I thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless. I like Katy, her town, her story, and her adventures, and no amount of plot predictability got in the way of that. The second half of the book, though, was completely unpredictable, with tons of cool twists in the story that I appreciated.

I love what the author did with the plot in Poison. It's almost funny how I thought I knew what would happen and I was completely thrown by the time the second half of the book rolled around. I didn't expect such an intense and complex backstory and twist and I really enjoyed it. I love how the author weaved a story around legends most of us are familiar with. Poison went from being a fun and entertaining YA witch novel to an intelligent and interesting twist on familiar tales and legends in just a blink of an eye.

The romantic conflict in Poison was great. I was so torn and confused about what was happening between the characters and Katy's emotions had an effect on me throughout the novel. I lost hope when she did, I gained it back when she did, etc. So many YA novels with good vs. evil plots have the heroine fulfill some important role with guides and encouragement. In the Legacy series, however, older witches try to handle things without the assistance of teen witches. I like how it gives the series a bit of relatability since the real world is pretty much the same way. Teens aren't really given the go ahead to control or be responsible for life and death situations and are considered more of a hindrance than a help. I thought it made Katy and her world more real and believable in this regard.

The underlying themes in Poison were important, too. Katy's rejection, her feelings of loneliness, and her journey to understanding the motives of people around her helped her figure out her world and life in general. I felt like Katy grew up quite a bit in Poison compared to her growth in Legacy.
Overall, I highly recommend the Legacy series and Poison. I love the plot and I can't ever seem to get enough. For a YA witch in a boarding school story, it has it's own unique spin and it's totally entertaining.

Quotes I Enjoyed:

"'We all want that.' she said. "sometimes it happens, and someone does care. But when it doesn't, we have to be enough for ourselves. Do you get it?'
I nodded. 'Be my own hero.' I whispered."


"There is such promise in that faintly glowing blue stone, such a feeling of good times to come. That is how evil works, I've learned. It is not some dark, spectral thing that sets your teeth on edge. Sometimes it's lovely, compelling, a mermaid on the rocks, something sweet and laughing, with a knife between its perfect teeth."
Profile Image for My Urban Fantasies.
43 reviews5 followers
July 1, 2013
Review originally posted on My Urban Fantasies

There were a few things I was worried about before reading Poison. Thankfully my fears were unfounded. The whole boarding school with magical students has become a little cliché. I was pleasantly surprised to find that most of the book takes place outside the school. I was also worried about the Darkness coming back. I was afraid that there were going to be harbingers again and blah, blah, blah. That doesn't happen.

My biggest fear was the Arthurian influence. The story of King Arthur has been told so many times that I was worried it would overpower the story. What Molly Cochran wrote is simply amazing. This is not the same overused reference to King Arthur and the Round Table. Cochran approaches King Arthur's story from a completely different angle. The genius of her writing though is that she takes all that Arthurian influence and subtly layers it into the Legacy world. Cochran makes it fit beautifully and the Arthurian influence ends up enhancing Poison instead of taking away from it.

Poison takes place a couple of months after Legacy. Katy and Peter are still together. They do not get to spend as much time together as either one would like. This strains their relationship a little and does not bode well for Katy's abandonment issues. I was happy to see that Katy is now friends with Becca Fowler, especially after what happened in Legacy.

I've completely given up on Katy and her dad's relationship. I'm sure somewhere inside him he loves Katy, but his behavior in Poison was ridiculous. The man needs to grow a pair and be smacked upside the head. Seriously. What kind of man lets anyone convince him that a steak and a piece of ass is more important than helping his daughter? It's called priorities. Rescuing your daughter is always on top moron.

I did not like Hattie as much in Poison. The woman was all kinds of mean towards Katy. And, do not even get me started on Verity. I did not think it was possible to like her even less than I did before. Surprise. I was wrong, again. How Verity does not understand such a simple concept as loyalty is beyond me. I have no idea why Katy remains friends with her.

Katy is such a strong character is Poison. She goes through a multitude of trials. It must have been horrible to feel that completely alone. As a result of these trials Katy goes through an amazing transformation, and I'm not just talking about her powers. She starts out looking at the world through teenage goggles. It's about how everything affects her. As the book continues Katy's outlook slowly shifts. The goggles slowly come off and she sees the world from a completely different view. Example: At first she is upset with Peter because he is spending so much time with his uncle. From the goggle point of view the only thing Katy sees is the time Peter is spending with him, is time he could be spending with her. Over time she realizes that Peter needs the job with his uncle to get into Harvard. He needs a career where he can take care of Eric if something happens to Hattie. Katy realizes that just because they love each other, does not mean they need to spend every waking moment together. It was an amazing journey to watch.

My absolute favorite part of Poison is the end. For obvious reasons I cannot tell you why, but we're talking about crocodile tears here people. I am impatiently waiting for the next book in the series.
Profile Image for Shannon Rogers.
Author 1 book25 followers
June 12, 2013
Say what you will about how many books are set in boarding schools and how many are about witches, but in this second installment to Molly Cochran's Legacy series, she takes this story to an entirely new level. The story was already unique to others of its kind in Legacy, but in Poison, the author made it even more unique and exciting. I haven't previously seen a pairing of witchcraft, boarding school, and Arthurian legend before, and that is what really made this book stand apart for me.

Katy is still the same great character she was in the first book. She's smart, resourceful, and caring. I love how she puts her mind to figuring something out and then goes after it tenaciously. This is not exactly a damsel in distress, and she seemed to have a newer confidence in this story...which is something I felt like she needed due to the circumstances surrounding her. She seems very alone in this story due to the fact that, although she and Peter are still going strong, he is distracted by issues of his own, her friends are making themselves scarce, and the town still treats her lie she's a problem, or a small child that should be seen and not heard. So once again, I felt kind of sorry for her, even as I rooted her on for being strong throughout this.

She learns more about her powers, grows into them, and puts her investigatory skills to work trying to figure out what happened to the girls. Luckily, also, the author introduced two new characters into the mix that I thought were great and timely additions. They added new layers into the story and led me off in an entirely unexpected direction. I loved the Arthurian legend aspect, as this has always been a favorite element of mine, and as I said above, I had never seen it weaved into a contemporary story before in quite this way.

As in Legacy, the writing was exciting. The book picks up pretty much where Legacy left off, which was a nice change to what I see in other series sometimes. The story was very fast-paced and pulled me along from one event to the other very comfortably. It didn't take long for me to look up and find that I had completed the story and was already wanting to read the next. The author has a great way of making you care about her main character and feel such sympathy that you can't help but cheer her on. This was a great sophomore book for this series and I'm definitely looking forward to the next one!

Profile Image for Jess.
762 reviews306 followers
January 16, 2015
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars

I ended up liking the first book, Legacy WAY more than I thought I would. It pulled me in and I was reading that book like mad. It was great! So then I started the sequel, which is this book, Poison and my expectations were high, but they were also wary. I'm going to be honest and say that this book wasn't QUITE as good as the first, but it was still a nice, solid sequel that I definitely enjoyed reading.

Character Rundown:
Katy: I loved her in the last book, but she wasn't as fantastic in this one. She just seemed so needy sometimes. She wasn't bad the whole time, though. She was still strong when it came down to it, and I liked watching her handle situations with that confidence.

Peter: I will forever have Noah Shaw flashbacks every single time I see this boy's last name. But luckily they fade quickly because these boys are two totally different people, and I heart them both. I didn't think Peter really changed a bunch in this book. If anything, he got stronger. And THAT made me loads of happy. Yeah, I'll gladly call him my boy. <3

Plot. This story is separate from the first book. The characters are the same and the world is the same, but it's not like we were left on a cliffhanger and we NEEDED this book to figure out what came next. That said, this was a great sequel in terms of having things actually GOING ON. It wasn't just a filler book like some books are in trilogies. (Because I think this is going to be a trilogy, right?) So yay! There was a specific plot, some shockers, and stuff like that. WOOT!

Romantic things. This was better around the end. In the beginning and towards the middle, it was a little irritating because Peter was so distant and Katy was so needy. But then they got better and I liked it more and all was well. I still like this couple. :)

The ending. ...I'm definitely going to be reading the third book, which I looked up last night and will be called Seduction. So...yeah. The ending was good. And now I want book 3.

Overall, Poison was a really good sequel, and a nice addition to the series. While not quite as great as the first book, it still held its own and left me wanting more.

You can find more from me on my blog: Just a Booklover
Profile Image for Gillian (Tattooed Book Review).
224 reviews70 followers
June 25, 2013
See this review and more at www.tattooedbookreview.com!



A clever mix of legend and contemporary paranormal romance, Poison is an exciting journey in to witchcraft and wizardry, past and present, told through the eyes of an insightful and supernaturally gifted teenage girl.

Filled with a relatable teenage angst, Katy must face issues the issues of average teenagers: who are my real friends? Do I fit in? Am I pretty enough? Where will I go to college? Does my boyfriend really love me? Will I pass chemistry? All while being a witch with a somewhat checkered past and a very uncertain future. She must battle unseen evil, all while those around her doubt her abilities. Love, loyalty, friendships and powers are tested; the lines between good and evil are blurred. Through everything, Katy’s character shows great strength, yet remains vulnerable.

The book has a cast of relatable teenage characters, witches, non-witches, Travelers, and immortals. The characters add substance to a fast-paced, mysterious, and thrilling plot that doesn’t really firm up until the second half of the book. When the pieces fall together and motives and objectives become clear, an epic battle ensues, with Katy at the forefront. With the help of an unlikely ally, Katy has the ability to save an entire realm, though she may not be able to save herself.

In this second installment of the series, Katy and Peter’s love is tested, and though strong, their future is filled with questions. Their romance as well as the story is YA appropriate, but enjoyable for any fans of the supernatural/paranormal genre.

“But even this, I thought, even this pain, this failure, was worthwhile. Because I’d tried. I’d done my best, and I would keep trying until the very end, and that meant I was something more than poison. I was a human being- flawed, maybe, wrong, but still a person whose life had been worth living.

‘Forgive me,’ I whispered, knowing that I was worthy of forgiveness. That we all were, no matter what we’d done, and why.

I blinked away my tears. I wasn’t the only one who needed forgiveness. We all had something of the Darkness in us. We all just did what we could.”



*I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Profile Image for Marsha.
Author 2 books39 followers
December 1, 2014
This novel left me with quite mixed emotions. While the drama and terror were credibly written, enough so that I wondered how Katy would get out of the horrid mess that life was handing her, I felt a creeping sense of dissatisfaction as I kept reading.

Katy’s problems are very real. Her father has hooked up again with his manipulative, controlling and whiny ex-girlfriend, she’s getting pushed out of her job and her boyfriend is getting seduced by the dark side.

Peter still apparently cares about Katy. But he’s being gradually drawn into the Shaw world, one that has denied its magical roots for centuries. Unable to fit into Katy’s life, he’s being tempted by the carrot that is the Shaw wealth. Power, privilege, fancy trinkets and the allure of money that can provide care for his mentally crippled brother Eric are dangled before him. It’s easy to see the seduction that this world poses for him. No wonder poor Katy feels as if she’s losing him.

But what makes me lukewarm about his book is that the main focus seems to be on Morgan Le Fay. We are drawn again and again into her memories, her feelings, her past. The book in a way revolves around the decisions she made over a millennium ago. At times her drama overshadows that of Katy, which is a bad idea in a book that’s supposed to be about Katy dealing with her own magical heritage. Her personality also shifts so that she can seem more sinned against than sinning, which has the effect of making the reader drawn to and repelled by her—much as Katy seems to be.

In fact, the problems in their lives are meant to be a mirror to each other. Katy is suffering the same insecurities and the same seduction of power that Morgan did. Her ability to pull away from this seduction, in the end, is what makes her differ from this sorceress.

In the end, the book partially redeems itself. Both Katy and Peter see what is truly important. Whether they’ll hold on to that knowledge—and each other—remains to be seen.
Profile Image for Dorine White.
Author 7 books111 followers
January 7, 2013
The Story-
Katy and Peter are now together, however life is not that simple. Peter's Uncle has taken an interest in him, and they've made a deal. Peter will work for his uncle in return for tuition to Harvard. Slowly Peter's Uncle begins to take over his life, and Katy sees him less and less.

With plenty of unwelcome time on her hands, Katy makes a new friend, Morgan. Morgan is a shape shifter and works at her Aunt's store in town. They become fast friends, but something is just a little off about Morgan.

And meet Bryce, the new kid in town. He comes from Avalon and is on a retrieval mission to re-capture a missing sorceress. All these new characters are in Whitfield, but so is The Darkness, and it is ready to kill.

My Thoughts-
I enjoyed the continuing story of Katy and Peter. The arrival of two new characters are a great catalyst. The reader can feel there is something wrong with Morgan, we just don't know what until the story progresses. And Bryce has a great arrival in town. He shows up dressed as a monk and speaking Old English. He is a real mystery, and as the story moves on, we learn that he has a key role to play.

A new twist is the addition of the King Arthur and Merlin legend. I am a little tired of Merlin stories, but I am happy to say that this book takes it to a whole new and different level, and doesn't focus solely on Merlin. The author adds some creative twists to a tired story.

There were a couple things that troubled me. First, Hattie, a character who I love from book 1, seems to turn anti-Katy. It is weird. She feels mean spirited and insulting. I didn't like the knew change. Also, the story did not feel as adventurous as book 1. It is a creative story, but I just didn't feel the tension that I felt with Legacy.

Overall it is a good read, and if you haven't read book one first, I suggest you do. The witches of Whitfield are a fascinating bunch, and I look forward to more of their trials.
Profile Image for Katelyn.
213 reviews49 followers
May 17, 2013
After enjoying the first installment in the series as much as I did I had high hopes for this sequel and I have to admit that it surpassed my expectations. At times I was frustrated but mainly with myself and my inability to read any faster than what I was. I was trying to scrape any time I could together during the day and at night so that I could open up this book and get a little further into it. I was hooked and there was no way I was going to be satisfied until I was finished.

Once again Cochran brought back her wonderful characters, and the exciting plot that I enjoyed so much the first time around. Katy and Peter were of course the ones that I wanted to hear most about, and while I was surprised with the way things played out through this installment between the two of them, only Cochran and her amazing writing talent could do their relationship justice. The muffies were back and they were as bad as ever, always stirring the pot and causing trouble, but this time around they didn't get off scott free....better get to reading if you want to find out more on that. The other old and familiar faces that I was eager to see more of were back and again they didn't disappoint.

Cochran brought some new characters into her story as well as some Arthurian myths and legends that were so much fun I had trouble closing the book at times. Morgan and especially Bryce were awesome additions and as much fun as they were refreshing. Their added story lines were unique and entertaining from start to finish.

As always once I made my way through to the final page I just couldn't help but want to start on the next installment in the series right away. The only problem...it's not out yet. Still in the works, but by now I have no doubt that Cochran will produce another amazing and highly entertaining installment in the Legacy series and I can't wait to get the chance to read on.
Profile Image for Stephanie Ward.
1,225 reviews115 followers
June 12, 2013
'Poison' is the second book in a thrilling and fun young adult paranormal series that continues to follow leading lady Katy Ainsworth as her magical abilities cause more problems at her boarding school in Whitfield, Massachusetts. Things become much more complicated when the Muffies - mean preppie girls who aren't witches - are targeted by advanced witchcraft at school. Katy keeps getting caught in the crosshairs and becomes determined to find out who is really behind the dark doings at the school in order to clear her name. She finds more than just mean girls playing pranks though, and must face off against the Darkness once again.

This is a wonderful second installment in a highly entertaining and exciting YA paranormal series. Katy is a great main character for the series. She's smart, a talented witch, devoted to her family and friends - but she also has a mischievous side that often gets her and her big mouth into trouble. Katy's character grows again throughout the book as she has to mature further in order to defeat the Darkness once again. The use of slang and fun dialogue throughout the book created an atmosphere that was easy to lose myself in. The plot wasn't entirely unique, but was full of adventure, thrills, and even some romance. The romance wasn't a huge part of the story, so I didn't feel like it overshadowed the main storyline of the book (which I liked). The writing was a great example of how talented the author was. I found myself easily identifying with the characters and I could imagine being inside the school alongside the characters. This is a book and a series that fans of witches and YA fantasy/paranormal fiction should definitely not miss out on! I'm already eagerly awaiting the next installment to see what Katy and her friends will get tangled up in.

Disclosure: I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Tammy Dahle.
160 reviews9 followers
March 1, 2013
My thoughts:
Poison is the exciting sequel to Legecy and author, Molly Cochran wastes no time picking up where we left off.
Katy is a full time student at Ainsworth School where she does she best to hide her magical abilities from the Muffies who are normal kids who attend the same school.
Katy has adjusted well to small town life with friends, family and sweet boyfriend, Peter. But bad luck finds Katy as she stumbles upon a few mean Muffies trying to cast amateur spells. Unfortunately they unwittingly unleash the Darkness that has been lying in wait for the opportunity to spread death and chaos.
My favorite character in this story would have to be Morgan-a new character to the trilogy with a interesting and complex past. Is she friend or foe to Katy?
Katy and Peter's relationship also reaches a new level of difficulty and maturity as he establishes a relationship with his biological family who can give him wealth and security-but at what cost?
One small annoyance I did have with the story is minor character-Hattie. I was very confused by her role and relationship to Katy. I feel like Hattie(Peter's surrogote mom) was thrown into Poison because she was in the first story but didn't really have a place in the sequel-when she was present she seems to dislike Katy-hissing or snapping at her-why?
All in all I really liked Poison and I've enjoyed the series so far. I would definielty continue to read about the adventures of Katy Ainsworth.
Thank you to Simon and Schuster for providing me with this ARC to read and review.
Profile Image for Liv Downing.
6 reviews
January 7, 2021
Poison overall was a very good book I highly recommend it to young adult readers and kids over the age of 12 it's about a girl named Katie Ainsworth and her boyfriend Peter Shaw and they are witches. it is yet another book about whiches at a boarding school. In the book Katie and Peter go through many struggles and befriend other witches while trying to stop the evil darkness that is coming. what's more, is that Katie befriends a girl named Morgan Lafay she is merlins daughter and her goal is to destroy Avalon which is basically a kingdom where the witches were founded and nothing ever changes there of course people die and people are born but nothing ever changes. their quest brings them on a magical journey full of loss hope fear love and most of all magic and it is a one-of-a-kind book that you won't get in other which boarding school books this book is a very good and I highly recommend it and it's a very fast pace read I read it in about three days but it was in increments with a very very short time to read every day but in the end it was totally worth those hours that I spent pouring over this book it is an amazing book and a very very good read I highly recommend it and I hope if you read it that you would like it. Please feel free to leave any suggestions for new books to read I have a bunch of battle of the books books to read next but after that I'll be right back into reading the books I want to read so if you have any suggestions please comment at them ...yeah that's all
Thanks for reading liv
Profile Image for S.M. Blooding.
Author 41 books583 followers
June 24, 2013
This was a good read. I wasn’t expecting a whole lot. The blurb is very similar to several other books I’ve read before, but they’re books that I enjoy. You know how you hit those ruts where you’re really, really, REALLY craving a certain type of book? This book definitely fits into a Crave Worth mind munchy. If you like witches and the supernatural, this book is something you should totally read!

The storytelling was great! I didn’t get the opportunity to read book 1. I usually don’t sweat it. Typically, I can keep up rather well. There’s always those “That already happened and we’re not going to tell you” teasers that make you want to go out and pick up book one. There were definitely a few of those this book, but it was a good thing.

The characters really came off the page. Katy had a fresh voice and was quite confident, but there were other times I wanted to wring her neck. She was a real person, which was fantastic. I loved the connection she had with all of her friends. I was driven to keep turning the page. It was also really nice to have a real book in my hands. LOL!

The plot was good. There was quite the twist that I didn’t see coming which was refreshing. But the pacing was well orchestrated. It was fast when it needed to be, but Ms. Cochran still found a way to slow it down so we could enjoy hanging out with this cast of characters. All in all, it was a very good book! Definitely worth the read!
Profile Image for Bella.
531 reviews210 followers
June 19, 2013
First off I want to give a huge tanks to Molly Cochran for this one! This one was a for sure page turner!

I need to read more books about witches I always love them! This one was not one to disappoint either. I read book one and two in 2 1/5 days and I was just hooked! Katy was just awesome in this one and like in book one I loved to follow her story. After dealing with a brush with death and learning so much about her self, her past and the people she now shares her life with and goes to school with she is once again faces with the fight to save her self. After the death of four girls in her school and the blame passed to her Katy is determined to find out what really happened!

You will get more of who Katy is, what her powers are and what she can do. You will never want to put this one down while you take the journey with Katy in this one! I love all the supernatural background in this one and just all the closeness of the families in town. I never felt like I was missing anything and for a paranormal book I get that sometimes. Cochran fir sure did a fantastic job on this one! Not only will you get a captivating story about witches you will also get HOT guy and crazy adventure! DO NOT miss out on this series you will not be disappointed.
Profile Image for Melissa.
105 reviews
January 8, 2015
This book had me held captivated from page 1. I love how the author put the spin between modern times and King Arthur.

Katy comes from a family of powerful witches. She is living in Whitfield which is a town close to Salem, Massachusetts. This book starts off that Katy gets accused of hurting 3 Cowan classmates by using witch craft. Left without friends she finds a lady named Morgan, who Katy doesn't realize is part of darkness. Morgan however is actually the daughter of Merlin in King Arthur's court. Morgan escapes into Katy's realm and is released from an ancient relic. So Katy gets caught up in going back in forth between modern realm and Avalon. Battling darkness will Morgan turn from darkness and help Katy or will she drag her into darkness where she will never see family again. In the mean time Peter her BF is hurting Katy by spending a lot of time with the boy who brought Morgan to Whitfield. She gets jealous when Peters father asks him to take some one else to the winter dance.

I have to say again this author did an amazing job in spinning history and modern times. She made all the characters very likable and believable. Enjoyed this read very much and can't wait to read next installment.
Profile Image for Rebecca.
Author 12 books29 followers
May 29, 2013
Meh.

There's nothing to hate here but there's nothing to get excited about either. "Poison" is yet another book featuring witches at a boarding school. Katy is the most promising witch so why she's an outcast and doesn't have a mentor is baffling. Prodigies need support and guidance or they go off the rails. Katy goes off the rails a lot and then the responsible 'adults' in the community all dump on her for 'meddling'. Although, to be fair, it is a little disturbing that Morgan LeFay comes to town and the supposedly powerful witches completely overlook her visits. At one point, Katy discovered 4 girls trapped in dolls. She takes them to the head witches who then say they can't release the girls without Katy's help. Okay, then, but why do you keep telling her to stay out of everything?

I've like Molly Cochran's other books, but this series strikes me as flat. The characterizations aren't very exciting, the plot is dull and derivative of her other works, and there are few surprises.

It's not a bad read, but I expected better from this author.

Profile Image for Natalie.
1,780 reviews29 followers
July 29, 2013
Katy Ainsworth already defeated the Darkness once. But after three of the non-magical girls at her school fall into comas and suspicion falls on Katy, she knows that danger is coming. This is an entertaining and fast-paced fantasy, good for a long plane or train ride. It's not particularly memorable, but it kept me reading for all 359 pages.
Profile Image for Kristi  Allan.
2 reviews
April 13, 2014
Hated this book. Story line could be good but characters didn't make sense, timeline and plot had no flow, and the ending was just done. Haven't read the first book and there is another one coming out? I won't read them. Sorry to be so harsh.
Profile Image for Donna.
Author 3 books11 followers
January 27, 2013
Even better than the first book in the series, Legacy. I'm looking forward to the third book.
65 reviews1 follower
June 21, 2013
It is a good book and I can't wait till the third book comes out.
Profile Image for Coranne.
572 reviews28 followers
June 11, 2013
3.5

Enjoyed this, absolutely more for younger readers. Full review to come!
Profile Image for Sabra.
977 reviews
November 25, 2013
The first one was definitely better. I found all the characters in this one mostly just irritating, especially Katy
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.