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smagzisreading's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Racism, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
jkreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
3.5⭐️
I had really high hopes for this one which I probably should have tempered going into it, because it may have affected how I perceived the book overall. I was really drawn in at the start and it felt really promising, but I felt like there were too many characters and plot points going on towards the middle and end of the book which really impacted the author‘s ability to explore them all adequately.
The MC and the ensemble characters all showed great potential but I feel like we only got to know them on a surface level. Same with the world-building and magic system - it was interesting, with a lot of potential but the depth just wasn’t there.
I loved seeing a non-binary romantic interest, that’s something I’d love to see more representation for in YA fiction and just fiction in general!
I read this book on audio and would highly recommend doing that if you’re wanting to check this one out - the narration was great! I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for books read by Lynnette R. Freeman in the future because her voice is gorgeous.
Overall this was a pretty solid YA fantasy, again I think if I hadn’t set my expectations so high I would have enjoyed it much more. This is definitely one I’ll recommend to anyone looking for a witchy YA read!
I had really high hopes for this one which I probably should have tempered going into it, because it may have affected how I perceived the book overall. I was really drawn in at the start and it felt really promising, but I felt like there were too many characters and plot points going on towards the middle and end of the book which really impacted the author‘s ability to explore them all adequately.
The MC and the ensemble characters all showed great potential but I feel like we only got to know them on a surface level. Same with the world-building and magic system - it was interesting, with a lot of potential but the depth just wasn’t there.
I loved seeing a non-binary romantic interest, that’s something I’d love to see more representation for in YA fiction and just fiction in general!
I read this book on audio and would highly recommend doing that if you’re wanting to check this one out - the narration was great! I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for books read by Lynnette R. Freeman in the future because her voice is gorgeous.
Overall this was a pretty solid YA fantasy, again I think if I hadn’t set my expectations so high I would have enjoyed it much more. This is definitely one I’ll recommend to anyone looking for a witchy YA read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
blakeandbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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
3.5
Thank you to RB Media, Recorded Books, and NetGalley for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
I was super drawn into the premise of this book several months ago, and I was so excited to get the audiobook ARC!
What I enjoyed about the book: There was action constantly the entire book. I enjoyed the 1st 35% of the book and the last 15% of the book. There is something so intriguing about witchers with different magical abilities. I loved how everyone had their specific lines of magic that they focused on. I loved Venus as the main character. She is passionate about what she wants, and she will do anything and everything to protect her family and found family. I loved her relationship to Presley and how they continued to protect each other in whatever ways they thought best. When Presley sets this strong boundary with Venus to basically say that they’re going to be there for each other no matter what, and they have to stop pushing the other away when things get scary. Venus and J’s sister relationship was so good!! It felt so real and relatable. And wow, I honestly loved all the plot twists. The big reveals at the end were so good, and I am definitely interested in reading more of Baptiste’s work.
What I didn’t enjoy about the book: The pacing felt off to me. I think the book needed to be condense, because it was difficult to follow after about 35% of the book. The middle needed less and more focus on certain key points. It felt a bit confusing and hard to keep up with.
I was super drawn into the premise of this book several months ago, and I was so excited to get the audiobook ARC!
What I enjoyed about the book: There was action constantly the entire book. I enjoyed the 1st 35% of the book and the last 15% of the book. There is something so intriguing about witchers with different magical abilities. I loved how everyone had their specific lines of magic that they focused on. I loved Venus as the main character. She is passionate about what she wants, and she will do anything and everything to protect her family and found family. I loved her relationship to Presley and how they continued to protect each other in whatever ways they thought best. When Presley sets this strong boundary with Venus to basically say that they’re going to be there for each other no matter what, and they have to stop pushing the other away when things get scary. Venus and J’s sister relationship was so good!! It felt so real and relatable. And wow, I honestly loved all the plot twists. The big reveals at the end were so good, and I am definitely interested in reading more of Baptiste’s work.
What I didn’t enjoy about the book: The pacing felt off to me. I think the book needed to be condense, because it was difficult to follow after about 35% of the book. The middle needed less and more focus on certain key points. It felt a bit confusing and hard to keep up with.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
justinekorson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
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? No
4.75
Thank You to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC for this story!
SPOILERS TO FOLLOW
HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY TO BETHANY!!!
This is one of my most anticipated books for the year and it did not disappoint. I was so intrigued by the magic and the world that Bethany built. I wish that the book was longer (I think I remember reading that it was meant to be a duology? But Bethany had to make it a standalone instead?? Not sure If I'm remembering that correctly). Regardless I thoroughly enjoyed the characters. Venus was stubborn and vengeful and I can totally get behind that. I liked watching her navigate her magic and Witcher Society to get what she wanted. Presley was also a really great character that I enjoyed seeing in the story. Their loyalty to Venus was unmatched, even when they were upset with her. One character that I could not get behind was Janice. I did not like her because she was giving so much shit to Venus for lying to her and because she deliberately put herself in harms way by going to that protest against Venus' wishes. She'd promised to not go and then snuck out anyways so she's ALSO a liar which makes what she did to Venus very hypocritical. Anyways, the rest of the story and all the plot twists were very fun. There are a few things that I'm confused about but I think that's mostly because I was listening to the audiobook and not actually reading it myself so at some point I want to get a physical copy so I can understand the story fully!
SPOILERS TO FOLLOW
HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY TO BETHANY!!!
This is one of my most anticipated books for the year and it did not disappoint. I was so intrigued by the magic and the world that Bethany built. I wish that the book was longer (I think I remember reading that it was meant to be a duology? But Bethany had to make it a standalone instead?? Not sure If I'm remembering that correctly). Regardless I thoroughly enjoyed the characters. Venus was stubborn and vengeful and I can totally get behind that. I liked watching her navigate her magic and Witcher Society to get what she wanted. Presley was also a really great character that I enjoyed seeing in the story. Their loyalty to Venus was unmatched, even when they were upset with her. One character that I could not get behind was Janice. I did not like her because she was giving so much shit to Venus for lying to her and because she deliberately put herself in harms way by going to that protest against Venus' wishes. She'd promised to not go and then snuck out anyways so she's ALSO a liar which makes what she did to Venus very hypocritical. Anyways, the rest of the story and all the plot twists were very fun. There are a few things that I'm confused about but I think that's mostly because I was listening to the audiobook and not actually reading it myself so at some point I want to get a physical copy so I can understand the story fully!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
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? It's complicated
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
We follow third-person limited POV of Venus Stoneheart, as she meets with and prepares for a new client, who wants a love potion for his son. Venus' mom Clarissa (this is not a spoiler because it's in the premise/description lol) is murdered so Venus begins to investigate what really happened to her mom. She also has to look out for her younger sister Janus, whose dad Malik is absent from her life, while continuing to make ends meet with potion-making, which is incredibly dangerous and risky! Venus is also navigating being reunited with her former best friend Presley (they/them), which is fascinating because *something* happened three years ago that caused them to stop speaking to each other!
I especially enjoyed the first 30% and last 20% of this novel! I think Bethany Baptiste has such great promise, with such relatable and authentic character dynamics (familial, romantic, platonic, systemic), fun worldbuilding, and bittersweet mysteries. I really appreciated that the cast of characters was representative of the world we live in, with an array of identities represented: bi, nonbinary, aroace, and aspects of mental health were discussed (PTSD, anxiety, depression). Venus' family is Black, and there are South Asian characters too, like Nisha and Matrika.
The twists and turns were a bit hard for me to keep up with at times, because I felt like there was a lot going on. The corruption in politics and commentary on how morally bankrupt certain people or witchers were (the ones after so much power) was woven in moreso throughout the latter half of the book, but no doubt, mirrored our American society. This would be a fun book to adapt onscreen! Overall, I had fun in this world, and I would read from BB again in the future!
We follow third-person limited POV of Venus Stoneheart, as she meets with and prepares for a new client, who wants a love potion for his son. Venus' mom Clarissa (this is not a spoiler because it's in the premise/description lol) is murdered so Venus begins to investigate what really happened to her mom. She also has to look out for her younger sister Janus, whose dad Malik is absent from her life, while continuing to make ends meet with potion-making, which is incredibly dangerous and risky! Venus is also navigating being reunited with her former best friend Presley (they/them), which is fascinating because *something* happened three years ago that caused them to stop speaking to each other!
I especially enjoyed the first 30% and last 20% of this novel! I think Bethany Baptiste has such great promise, with such relatable and authentic character dynamics (familial, romantic, platonic, systemic), fun worldbuilding, and bittersweet mysteries. I really appreciated that the cast of characters was representative of the world we live in, with an array of identities represented: bi, nonbinary, aroace, and aspects of mental health were discussed (PTSD, anxiety, depression). Venus' family is Black, and there are South Asian characters too, like Nisha and Matrika.
The twists and turns were a bit hard for me to keep up with at times, because I felt like there was a lot going on. The corruption in politics and commentary on how morally bankrupt certain people or witchers were (the ones after so much power) was woven in moreso throughout the latter half of the book, but no doubt, mirrored our American society. This would be a fun book to adapt onscreen! Overall, I had fun in this world, and I would read from BB again in the future!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment
caseythereader's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Thanks to Sourcebooks Fire for the free copy of this book.
- THE POISONS WE DRINK is a dark story, full of characters overflowing with rage and love, fighting against a system designed to eliminate them.
- I loved the world Baptiste built here. There’s a complex magic system that promises real rewards and major consequences. It’s also set in DC, which I love, and you can tell Baptiste has true familiarity with the city.
- There was so much going on in this book that it was often too much - the interpersonal relationships and politics became a bit confusing as the layers of treachery built, and it was a bit overly long for me in the portion in the middle where Venus was uncovering secrets.
- Still, I am excited to see where Baptiste goes as an author, since POISONS is stuffed full of unique and exciting ideas.
- THE POISONS WE DRINK is a dark story, full of characters overflowing with rage and love, fighting against a system designed to eliminate them.
- I loved the world Baptiste built here. There’s a complex magic system that promises real rewards and major consequences. It’s also set in DC, which I love, and you can tell Baptiste has true familiarity with the city.
- There was so much going on in this book that it was often too much - the interpersonal relationships and politics became a bit confusing as the layers of treachery built, and it was a bit overly long for me in the portion in the middle where Venus was uncovering secrets.
- Still, I am excited to see where Baptiste goes as an author, since POISONS is stuffed full of unique and exciting ideas.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content
readwithria's review
This was very much a case of a good book not finding the right reader. It was easy for me to put down and hard for me to pick up.
I think that the premise is interesting, the magic is unique, and the themes are important. I hope this book finds the readers it deserves.
I think that the premise is interesting, the magic is unique, and the themes are important. I hope this book finds the readers it deserves.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Self harm, and Blood
libraryofnyla's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Thank you to NetGalley for providing an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
I was super excited to read this ARC as I'm always on the hunt for diverse fantasy and the premise of this book sounded exactly like the kind of story I would want/do read. An urban fantasy with diverse characters and gritty social-political commentary on real-world issues, plus, a stunning cover - what's not to love! Unfortunately, I didn't love it... at all.
To start, The Posions We Drink is marketed as YA which, in my opinion, is not the correct readership. I get that the YA label is an easier sell, but this book should have been a New Adult. The characters are not facing the kind of issues typical of a YA, the FMC is an established character whose main issue is dealing with providing financially for her family and protecting them whilst navigating political and criminal organizations in a world that is weighted with metaphors of real-life systems of oppression. I'm not saying YA readers can't read this material, I just don't see how that's the target audience. There is also frequent swearing, graphic violence, and sexual content - nothing egregious (I've read far worse) but, again, arguably not appropriate to be aimed at YA readers.
Secondly, the writing itself reads as very amateur. I understand this is a debut and an ARC, both of which could be contributing to the problem, but there is a number of copyedit issues. Such as: typos and awkward phrasing and repetitive prose. Beyond the opening chapter, which was very good, the rest of the book read like an early draft.
Thirdly, the storytelling is rough. The pacing is all over the place with long bouts of needless dialogue and interiority then back-to-back action interrupted by more clunky descriptions and dialogue. The book was just non-stop irregular pacing. Character development was also next to nothing, the FMC (and supporting cast) barely changed over the course of the entire book, despite the surplus of external circumstances that could have easily pushed character growth. The plot itself was also very predictable, even with the erratic story beats. I ended up checking the page count to see how much I had left to get through instead of hoping it wouldn't end.
Lastly, the worldbuilding... Ouch. The worldbuilding in the story had SO much potential and yet, it was so badly executed. Every chapter started with an excerpt from an article or a potion or the like outlining some aspect of the worldbuilding and magic system instead of having that information organically being fed to the reader through the story itself. This resulted in me literally skimming the majority and retaining none of that information whatsoever. Additionally, within the story, the worldbuilding isn't woven in but wedged into scenes via long-winded and clunky explanations. Honestly, the worldbuilding was the biggest disappointment because I really wanted this concept to work.
Overall, The Posions We Drink, was a huge miss for me. It had all the pieces to make a great diverse fantasy but unfortunately the execution really failed to bring this original and fresh idea to life
I was super excited to read this ARC as I'm always on the hunt for diverse fantasy and the premise of this book sounded exactly like the kind of story I would want/do read. An urban fantasy with diverse characters and gritty social-political commentary on real-world issues, plus, a stunning cover - what's not to love! Unfortunately, I didn't love it... at all.
To start, The Posions We Drink is marketed as YA which, in my opinion, is not the correct readership. I get that the YA label is an easier sell, but this book should have been a New Adult. The characters are not facing the kind of issues typical of a YA, the FMC is an established character whose main issue is dealing with providing financially for her family and protecting them whilst navigating political and criminal organizations in a world that is weighted with metaphors of real-life systems of oppression. I'm not saying YA readers can't read this material, I just don't see how that's the target audience. There is also frequent swearing, graphic violence, and sexual content - nothing egregious (I've read far worse) but, again, arguably not appropriate to be aimed at YA readers.
Secondly, the writing itself reads as very amateur. I understand this is a debut and an ARC, both of which could be contributing to the problem, but there is a number of copyedit issues. Such as: typos and awkward phrasing and repetitive prose. Beyond the opening chapter, which was very good, the rest of the book read like an early draft.
Thirdly, the storytelling is rough. The pacing is all over the place with long bouts of needless dialogue and interiority then back-to-back action interrupted by more clunky descriptions and dialogue. The book was just non-stop irregular pacing. Character development was also next to nothing, the FMC (and supporting cast) barely changed over the course of the entire book, despite the surplus of external circumstances that could have easily pushed character growth. The plot itself was also very predictable, even with the erratic story beats. I ended up checking the page count to see how much I had left to get through instead of hoping it wouldn't end.
Lastly, the worldbuilding... Ouch. The worldbuilding in the story had SO much potential and yet, it was so badly executed. Every chapter started with an excerpt from an article or a potion or the like outlining some aspect of the worldbuilding and magic system instead of having that information organically being fed to the reader through the story itself. This resulted in me literally skimming the majority and retaining none of that information whatsoever. Additionally, within the story, the worldbuilding isn't woven in but wedged into scenes via long-winded and clunky explanations. Honestly, the worldbuilding was the biggest disappointment because I really wanted this concept to work.
Overall, The Posions We Drink, was a huge miss for me. It had all the pieces to make a great diverse fantasy but unfortunately the execution really failed to bring this original and fresh idea to life
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
storiesatstarfall's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Hate crime, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Death of parent, and Murder
kimwritesstuff's review
dark
inspiring
tense
slow-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
3.25
This book was a little bit of a slow burn for me and took me a few chapters to really get into it. Venus is a tough-as-nails character who brews love potions in order to support her family. Magic has a cost, and being a brewer means there are horrific blowbacks from potions. Every time Venus brews, her potions have effects on her, such as broken bones or burned skin.
Regardless of the blowback, Venus is the main breadwinner of her family. Her mother, Clarissa, sacrificed her magic by breaking a magical vow, and her father is dead. When Clarissa is killed with iron bullets, Venus is sucked further into the underground trade of magic potions. The world is about to burst with humans demanding that witchers be on a public registry, a registry that would allow people to find them and likely kill them. Venus gets roped into a political scheme to poison senators with love potions to sway their opinions.
The story builds its tension beautifully, and while I did find some plot points fairly predictable, this book still had plenty of twists and turns. Venus's little sister Janus can create portals and is determined to follow in her activist father's footsteps. A lot of Venus's motivation is to protect Janus. I thought the push-pull of their relationship was so realistic and well done. I also have a half-sister, and the dichotomy is similar.
Presley's character was easily my favorite character. I thought the expression of their gender fluidity/non-binary expression was well done. Too many people get caught up in the idea of pronouns. Presley didn't have a painful coming out or confrontation. They just were. I enjoyed that the author didn't try to add an additional level of struggle.
I did think that the secondary storylines were a bit hobbled together. We understand Venus's motivation isn't political, but the other characters seem to have no motivation but power. It just didn't flow well. I kept expecting like a villain info dump to better understand the power dynamics and struggles. The issues between humans and witchers also lacked nuance, which sort of made sense when looking at the parallels of racism.
Overall, I thought this was a good read, and I'd read the next in the series.
Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the ARC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, and Blood
Minor: Vomit