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Vivien Cheng on 23 Sep 2016
“Day Zero made me feel like I was reading Poison Princess for the first time because I was acquainted, or reacquainted, with the characters all over again. It was eyeopening to say the least to see how certain characters lived before the games started. Some characters knew about their powers/had some affinity to it and it was cute seeing it. It's clever how everything was coincidental. I loved seeing the characters hone in on the powers. Honing in your powers = character growth in my opinion. The story also provided "the other side"-some characters didn't want to play the game and wanted to escape it. We've always seen the characters fighting and really sure, but seeing them reject the game made it seem normal and more realistic.

I loved most of the perspectives, but I thought Kresley should have focused more on the characters we've never seen. I already know that Death knew about the game, was building alliances, and pining for Evie/The Empress. It felt unnecessary to read his perspective AND Evie's because we read it in POISON PRINCESS, or we know it from the parroting in the series! It's repetitive! Instead of reiterating, why not provide a newer and fresher narrative?!

Narratives I consider worth mentioning are:
1) SELENA's! Her perspective shocked me the most. It was the most informational, character wise, in my opinion. It had me shook. It seemed really teenage girl rebelling against society because she doesn't want to conform. It's triggering for certain people though...
2) Kentarch's. I found his character really interesting. I think a lot of people will like him too/this series because he's "diverse" and the whole series is "diverse".
3) Tess'. Out of all the characters, I thought her powers were the coolest. After the Flash wasn't the best place to "showcase" her power, so it was really nice to see how her powers would work at her full potential. I also found her story quite heartbreaking. All the perspectives are dark and heartbreaking, but I found Tess' really saddening. The whole situation... The dialogue... It's just so sad. All I was think was, "those are AMAZING parents." (I'm not even being sarcastic or a troll when I say that, they genuinely are!)
4) Circe's. I thought Circe's backstory was adorable, but it's when she comes into her powers that's amazing. Circe is this AWESOME lady of the sea. She has a trident, tentacle legs, blue scales and fins! She has the best power, in my opinion, and she's the most visually interesting. She leaves a lasting impression.

The other narratives were in the middle. Sure, I learned a lot, but I didn't feel drawn or particularly connected to the character. Kresley could have wrote about the "interesting" characters that didn't get a lot of air time: Guthrie, Vincent & Violet, Arthur, and Ogen. These are considered the "villains", but I think their stories would have been really cool because it would have your skin crawl. They're all sick, twisted people.

I do appreciate how Kresley mentions the game's origin. I thought it was super interesting and it gave me a whole new perspective. I saw details lining up in the most interesting way. It's fantastic how everything connected! It was a very smart idea.

I don't have much to say on the writing, it's a guide after all, but the same "flaws" I noted in Arcana Rising were in here too. The author tried to relate with teens (the audience) by implementing teen-speak, but it seemed really force. Everything was still romance driven. Yes, the guide was somehow able to be romance driven despite not having a "real" plot! I think it would have been better if it was pitched to the NA/Adult audience.”