Poisoned Ivy

Title: Poisoned Ivy
Author: Scot D. Ryersson
Publisher: Bristlecone Pine Press
Genre: Historical
Length: Novella (88 pages)
Rating: 4 stars out of 5

A Guest Review by Aunt Lynn

One Sentence Review: A different and interesting tale of a love triangle that leaves you guessing in the end.

THE BLURB

Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, Autumn 1916. Crale, the ambitious Senator’s son, Wynter, the talented artist and Marrok, the football prodigy. Their paths cross in strange and unexpected ways. Full of haunting shadows and mysterious goings-on, Poisoned Ivy is set against the background of the hallowed halls of the Ivy League, its arcane secret societies, the college gridiron, and the artist’s canvas. Green-eyed jealousy, blue-eyed ice, and amber-eyed fire all combine to create a delicious and mischievous tale that will leave you wanting more.

THE REVIEW

Poisoned Ivy is the first book in Bristlecone Pine Press’s new Vintage series, which will be historical novellas inspired by antique photographs or paintings of men. In this story, the author used “Football Hero” by J.C. Leyendecker (painted in 1916). I thought this idea was an unusual and intriguing one, so I picked up the book eagerly. Overall, I liked it and I think the book succeeded in what the publisher was looking for, the photo providing a centerpiece for the story to work around.

Yale senior Crale has his sights on junior Wynter, determined and sure that the young artist will be his. The privileged and ambitious Senator’s son has it all planned out, including choosing Wynter to be his partner in one of Yale’s most secret of secret societies. Enter Marrok, the university’s new star quarterback. Marrok is a beast of a man — different from Crale in every way — and Wynter is drawn to him immediately and inexplicably. Tasked with painting Marrok for the Yale alumni magazine, Wynter is eager to immortalize the rugged football player onto canvas, and Crale is livid at both the attention Wynter is paying Marrok and the intentions Marrok is insinuating. If he can just get past the night of the society’s ceremony, Crale is sure all will be well, but Marrok throws a wrench in with explosive results.

I’m not sure how to classify this relatively short, well-written, unusual tale, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I hesitate to label it a romance — though there are romantic elements — and although it is somewhat mysterious, I’m not sure I would put it in a mystery category. I could also say that is definitely suspenseful at times. There is also a paranormal undertone that may or may not be evident depending on each reader’s understanding or assumptions. Additionally, it was difficult to review because to do it justice, I would need to include spoilers (which I won’t do). What I can say is that it left me with more questions than answers, the ending left open for reader interpretation.

While I found it a little slow to start, it took off for me and I was engrossed. Note that it is a little dark and you really do have to pay attention to what is happening, and even then one is left guessing at what really happened in the abrupt ending. There is a short epilogue, of sorts, that had me scratching my head even further. I am sure this is part of the author’s intent. Note that while there is definitely desire apparent on all three sides, there is no smexxin. I also found it very…atmospheric in that there is an overall sense of ambiance and mood throughout, much of it dark because much of it happens at night or within the confines of dark places (gothic-style dorm rooms or the society’s tomb-like building), which I thought worked well with the overall tones of the story.

The story is told third-person POV mostly via Crale and Wynter (though there are a few scenes where there is an omniscient POV with a few minor characters), and since we don’t get to see anything of Marrok that isn’t colored though their eyes, the third protag is left largely as an enigma and much to the reader’s imagination. Is he what they all say he is? What really is his story? Who is he?

I admit to really disliking Crale, and maybe that was the author was going for. I had lots of descriptors in my review notes about him — spoiled, possessive, obsessed, jealous, coveting, conceited, scheming, delusional. He is all of those things wrapped up in apparently a perfect physical package, which just shows that sometimes beauty is only skin deep. I thought perhaps of the three protags, he is the one I knew the best, partly because his POV is what we get the most.

My only niggle — and really, this is subjective — was the continued references to Marrok as a wolf or lupine and Wynter as frozen which, honestly, grated on me just a little bit after a while. Again, this may be just me and it may not bother other readers at all.

OVERALL

If you are in the mood for an unusual, hard-to-define historical, I recommend picking up Poisoned Ivy.