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kimapede's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing and Terminal illness
Minor: Alcohol
dogoodwithbooks's review
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
In this YA urban fantasy debut set in an alternate universe Washington D.C., humans and witchchers have been at odds for decades. At the heart of our story features Venus Stoneheart, a witcher love brewer, who is thrust into a world of D.C. politics to stop an anti-witcher law from being passed, while also looking to avenge her mother’s murder.
The Poisons We Drink is such an engaging read with parallels to current issues facing society today, as shown in Baptiste’s world-building for this book. I felt that Baptiste did a good job highlighting the various aspects of the withcher world and how that intersects in the human world (though it is considered an alternate universe). Additionally, I liked the character development in this book, especially when we get to see the conflicting values facing our characters, especially for Venus, as they try to decide what’s worth fighting for and the blurry lines that comes with power. Yet, at the focal point of the story, Baptiste illustrates the power of love as a call to action.
Overall, I can see a successful career for Baptiste after reading The Poisons We Drink. If you want a YA fantasy with a morally grey MC and their complicated family relationships, political intrigue, and how love influences our actions, I definitely recommend checking out this book.
The Poisons We Drink is such an engaging read with parallels to current issues facing society today, as shown in Baptiste’s world-building for this book. I felt that Baptiste did a good job highlighting the various aspects of the withcher world and how that intersects in the human world (though it is considered an alternate universe). Additionally, I liked the character development in this book, especially when we get to see the conflicting values facing our characters, especially for Venus, as they try to decide what’s worth fighting for and the blurry lines that comes with power. Yet, at the focal point of the story, Baptiste illustrates the power of love as a call to action.
Overall, I can see a successful career for Baptiste after reading The Poisons We Drink. If you want a YA fantasy with a morally grey MC and their complicated family relationships, political intrigue, and how love influences our actions, I definitely recommend checking out this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Police brutality, and Murder
Minor: Child death and Vomit
peachylite's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal death, Sexual content, and Pregnancy
riverlasol's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
4.0
this was a powerful debut about magic, discrimination, and family bonds. i did get a little lost with some of the world building moments but it was WORTH IT
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, and Death of parent
wylder's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gore, Violence, and Vomit
Minor: Gun violence
thatqueengabby's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
this book was jam packed with action and crazy twists. it was phenomenally done and the concept of magic with such a distinct negative side is something under explored in the genre.
i really hope baptiste and venus can find a new agent and publisher because i'd love to see a sequel 🥺
i really hope baptiste and venus can find a new agent and publisher because i'd love to see a sequel 🥺
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Police brutality
nightjar656's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
There are a lot of really great ideas in this book. The problem is that there may be too many ideas in it. Namely- in this book, Witchers are magic-users and are an oppressed group, and a lot of the plot involves fighting anti-Witcher legislation. Meanwhile, the plot also involves a lot of corruption within the Witcher community and secret plots and etc. Both of these were great ideas for a book, but paired together, at times I thought they detracted from each other? At the same time, the two ideas did work well together at times and both very much contributed to the themes of the book- the combining of the two was a little clunky at times but well-done overall.
Another thing I noticed was that, at the beginning, the book was almost doing too much, too fast? It got into its stride after about 100 pages, but I think the intro could’ve used some time to breathe and better establish relationships and worldbuilding. That being said, once it was past the rougher part, I really did think it was an excellent book pacing-wise and plot-wise.
I loved the worldbuilding- you can really tell that the author put a lot of thought into the magic system. There were a couple things that didn’t make sense but overall I thought it was excellent. I thought the character arcs were very good, and it was interesting to watch them clash more and do darker things as the book went on. You can tell the characters care about each other, but they’re all very flawed and have their own motivations behind things. Also, the twists were both logical and unpredictable- this book was a wild ride by the end, and the plot holds up while still shocking the reader.
TL;DR: an amazing book with some rough edges. I’d recommend this to people looking for witchy books, themes relevant to today’s world, a cast of complex and often morally grey characters, complex plots with political intrigue, and darker YA fantasy.
Another thing I noticed was that, at the beginning, the book was almost doing too much, too fast? It got into its stride after about 100 pages, but I think the intro could’ve used some time to breathe and better establish relationships and worldbuilding. That being said, once it was past the rougher part, I really did think it was an excellent book pacing-wise and plot-wise.
I loved the worldbuilding- you can really tell that the author put a lot of thought into the magic system. There were a couple things that didn’t make sense but overall I thought it was excellent. I thought the character arcs were very good, and it was interesting to watch them clash more and do darker things as the book went on. You can tell the characters care about each other, but they’re all very flawed and have their own motivations behind things. Also, the twists were both logical and unpredictable- this book was a wild ride by the end, and the plot holds up while still shocking the reader.
TL;DR: an amazing book with some rough edges. I’d recommend this to people looking for witchy books, themes relevant to today’s world, a cast of complex and often morally grey characters, complex plots with political intrigue, and darker YA fantasy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore
frannook's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
bellebookcorner's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I have mixed feelings regarding this book….
There are some parts that I like and some parts that didn’t really work out for me even though the blurb sounds very interesting.
The characters are well developed and very complex, there’s a lot of morally grey characters with their own secrets and reasons for their actions which sometimes makes it hard for me to pin point the culprit behind Venus’s (FMC) mom murder.
Venus was a great character, I admire her love for her sister, her intelligent and her strength.
The world building is unique but at the same time it’s also quite complicated, especially regarding the witches and their powers.
I struggled to remember all the terms and information given at the beginning which sometimes can be confusing for me.
I found out there’s a glossary at the end of the story that explains some of that information. It would be nice if it was put at the beginning of the story.
This story felt too long and also dragging in some parts, the main plot also didn’t start until it hit the 30% mark. Although, the last few chapters are quite intense and I was surprised by that plot twist!
Just a warning that some parts/topics in this story can be sensitive to some readers, there’s a list of trigger warnings inside the book but I’ll listed here for you if you want to know beforehand.
For a debut novel, it was pretty good – I love the plot idea and the unique world building.
It would've been better if the length was shorter and maybe made this into a series so the readers can immersed into the world building slowly.
Thank you to Turn the Page Tour, Netgalley, author and publisher for giving me an e-ARC of the book and for having me on this book tour. I’m leaving this review voluntarily!
⚠️ 𝐓𝐖: This story contains morally grey characters, complicated parent-child relationships, police brutality, fantasy violence, fantastical racism, magical coercion, gun violence, politics, parental death, child death, and dying/death.
In addition, there are depictions of post-traumatic stress disorder anxiety, and depression.
Self-harm, blood, gore, sexual situation, fantasy drugs, underage drinking and profanity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Vomit
jebecky's review
I got bored about halfway in; it felt like there was very little character development and it was a lot of self sabotage. I hate that trope....
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Gore