Poissoned Ivy by Ava Rani

 

Published on October 17th, 2025

398 pages

I read the e-book

Back Cover

Maxton Hall meets Rory Gilmore's college years in this decadent college romance that equal parts passion, privilege and mystery.

Malena Amin is two people.

At home, she the respectable, rule-abiding daughter that her controlling family expects. At her prestigious Ivy-League University, she's the risk-taking, adventurous woman that she wants to be. With parents who demand to know her location settings at all times, Malena uses a secret phone and secret bank account to make her double life possible.

But when her tutoring job falls through, she hits a snag in funding that double life. So, Malena sets her eyes on the prize money from a National feature-writing contest through the school paper. And when she intercepts an invitation to an ultra-exclusive secret society on campus-she has the perfect story.

She'll attend, lay low, and get an inside look.

Unfortunately, she's discovered early in the night by the notorious playboy and Hastings Media heir: Conrad Hastings.

The frustratingly attractive Conrad doesn't aspire to anything other than a good time. But when his newspaper-magnate father discovers that he's delinquent on work for the school paper, Conrad needs to complete it before his father can make good on an ultimatum. So, he agrees to let Malena into the secret society-temporarily- if she agrees to share a byline on the article they'll write together. Conrad fulfils his obligations, and Malena gets the inside look she needs for the contest.

But, the two soon discover an art world mystery hidden between lavish parties and Gothic libraries. And more concerningly: a palpable spark between them. With new clues unraveling before them, mounting desire they can't ignore and Malena's web of lies threatening to collapse-their partnership becomes a lot more than a simple deal.

My review

I only saw two episodes of Maxton Hall, but I admit I thought about Rory Gilmore and Logan Huntzberger a lot while I was reading this book. You will find a few differences, Rory never wanted to be a doctor and as for as a now Logan wasn’t a F1 fan, but they share the same qualities and faults, but if you saw the episode, You Jump Jack, I Jump, you might recognize some similarities.

Malena was my favorite character, knowing she wanted to distance herself from her family who put too much pressure on her. I admire her that she finds a way to be herself at the University even though she bought her into troubles which was fun to read.

I also liked Conrad (who had nothing to do with the one if The Summer I turned Pretty). At the beginning, I didn’t like him much. Like most of the student, I thought he was just a rich guy with a big head, but the more he is in contact with Malena, more I learned to like him. He put himself together and go for what he wants.

It’s the first book I read from this author and I recommend it for people who likes romance that are happening on a campus. Young adult might enjoy it more, but I am sure that even people in their 40’s will like to remember their lives back then. I would like to thank Good Girls PR for the arc.