The Tasters Guild

Poisons of Caux #2

by Susannah Appelbaum

The Poisons of Caux, Book II

A macabre and funny fantasy trilogy

After the perilous adventure of The Hollow Bettle (Book I), the dark reign of the Nightshades is over at last, and a new day has arrived in Caux, a land long ruled by poison and deceit. The ancient Prophecy-the coming of a Noble Child to cure the one, true King-has finally begun.

But fear still grips the people of Caux, for they live in the shadow of the powerful, poisonous Tasters' Guild. Sequestered high within its corrupt walls sits Vidal Verjouce, the Guild's diabolical Director, his dark magic more potent than ever. Eleven-year-old Ivy, famed healer and Noble Child, and her friend and taster Rowan must venture inside the Guild itself if they are to find the door to their sister world, Pimcaux-and fulfill the Prophecy. But a deadly weed-once thought extinct-threatens their scourge bracken, a plant dedicated to domination and destruction, also known, ominously, as Kingmaker. Who else has detected it? And will Ivy's remarkable gift-her dominion over plants and nature-be enough to thwart it?

Susannah Appelbaum's imagination soars with poison inks, flower codes, catacombs, secret crypts, and sinister twists in this middle volume of the macabre and magical Poisons of Caux fantasy trilogy.

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Adventure, Young Adult, Chapter Books, Childrens, Magic

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Susannah Appelbaum realized at an early age that the world contains both good and evil—and she wanted nothing more than to write about it. By day, she does so. The night is reserved for keeping the world safe from shadows and demons. She has lived both in Paris and at the Carlyle hotel, where the service is exquisite and the food is never burnt. Susannah resides in New York’s Hudson Valley and is the critically acclaimed author of the Poisons of Caux series.

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

I want so much to love this series. I had to re-read book one before I could get into book two because I was totally confused from the start. I have real trouble with the writing style of this author. I feel like a lot of the information has to be inferred because the story, and points of view, keep shifting without "markers" to let me know it has shifted. (If that makes any sense!) While the story line is VERY intriguing, I feel perpetually confused while reading this series. It's almost like this would make a better movie than book because "visual clues" are needed to follow what the author is talking about. She does not do a very good job of establishing physical presence. In The Tasters Guild, things just seem to turn out very conveniently to make the story reach an acceptable ending prior to the start of book three. I do love the cover art though!

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book in the series. Ivy and Rowan must venture into the deadly lair of Vidal Verjouce within the Taster’s Guild in order to find a doorway into Pimcaux so that Ivy can complete her destiny by saving the King. But along the way, they find out about a new threat; an ink made from scourge bracken that threatens to destroy their world. Even more ominous is the nickname for the plant; the Kingmaker. Ivy faces many challenges with the support of her friends and finds some new ones along the way. Although her mission may be within reach, the book sets up the final chapter of the series with some twists that lead Ivy in a new direction.

[Sugarrr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just like the first book this one , the second in this trilogy , it's only 3 stars for me. The story was kind of boring and the writing style was not very pleasant to read for me :( I was hoping this would be better than the first book.

[max theodore · Rating 5 out of 5]

see my review of the first installment. this one starts out a lot slower but the entirety of part 2 in rocamadour was fundamentally formative for me as an eight-year-old. (ALSO. COLORED TEXT!!!)

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Tasters Guild is a decent follow-up to The Hollow Bettle, with more revelations (including a rather obvious one that at least the characters admit is obvious), some interesting plot mechanics, and a more established sense of danger and threat. Just like the first book, I still started on the fence about whether or not I would actually enjoy the book. I liked the first one enough to read the second, but now that I know what to expect in terms of style and voice, that gave me more opportunity to reflect on other things, such as characterization.

There are some prominent weaknesses of The Tasters Guild. For one, it highlights even more how absurd and rushed the ending of the first book is. There’s a whole lot of handwaving going on and I still don’t buy what happened as a plausible or realistic option. Once I noticed that, I noticed how specifically tailored the chapters in the book are to deflect attention. The beginning of each chapter is always a distraction, either through the use of filler or switching points of view in order to avoid explaining important details. I actually grew quite irritated with the way the chapters are structured. At least twice during the novel, some things happened that needed more explanation, but instead—chapter break, viewpoint switch, convenient hand waving.

I may get the last book just to finish out the trilogy, since I do think there is some promise yet even though I grew quite frustrated with The Tasters Guild. I still like the characters, even if both Rowan and Ivy seem to make the same mistakes over and over, and there were some plot developments that I thought were interesting that I would like to see resolved. I’d have to bear with the irritating chapter structures and the glossed-over worldbuilding and plot mechanics, though, and I’m not sure I’d end the trilogy in a very good mood if that’s the case.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put this down! The Poisons of Caux is lavish with rich imagination and wit, it saddens me to think there is only one more book to read of this series....I will read these over and over and over!

[Rachel Dillinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

My new favorite author!
Read my review of her first book, The Hollow Bettle.
A fantastic trilogy, perfect if you like Philip Pullman and Lord of the Rings.

[Shanshad Whelan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent second book, will be waiting for the third.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another adventure, where Ivy does get into Pimcaux this time, finds out who is her father, and meets the king.

[Cullen Kisner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is awesome and I just finished it and dont have the next one... I love this series!

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

continuing the journey through the land of caux and it has been a fun one. i look forward to the seeing what happens to ivy and her friends in the last book!