Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste

30 reviews

ksilvio's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

delta1juliet's review

Heavy handed metaphor overshadowed the story

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death and Death of parent

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

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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.

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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

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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

honeyland's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful inspiring 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

4.25

I loved this book. The start was a little slow but once it got going, I really loved it. Family dynamics (both living and difficult), current politics cleverly wrapped up in a fantasy setting, a strong female main character (this is one of the few books that actually managed to make the main char cter be my favorite (besides Ty, of course)). But I also really enjoyed the side characters. I feel like all of them had important motivations and character development of their own that made them feel like they weren't just there to support the main character.
I also loved that this book was so casually queer, it was just part of the world, both for protagonists and antagonists.
The politics were super interesting, especially the last few chapters and it just felt so thought-through with many twists and intrigues that just...made sense.

I kinda felt like Levi was a introduced a little late or at least didn't show up enough by the time he did for how much of an important role he played but I didn't mind too much. It made him feel a little bit like a late story scapegoat bc despite seeing the signs looking back, I think all of them were a little too subtle to actually make me think "ooh I should have figured that out!" But since I still enjoyed him as the antagonist he was, it doesn't make or break the boom to me.

I also just generally enjoyed the world this was set in, the way magic worked, the familiars and all that came with it. One of the books that again reminded me why I love reading fantasy novels.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Gun violence, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Cancer and Pregnancy

betweentheshelves's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

Let me start by saying if you read this, I highly recommend the audiobook because the narrator is phenomenal. The way she does different voices throughout the book really pulls you into the story and the world that Baptiste has created. Great job all around!

The story itself is dark and twisty, with an interesting magic system set up in a modern society. There is a bit of a political intrigue, though I was more interested in the family dynamics and how those relationships played out in the book. I do think it is a little on the long side, but that might have been more of an editing choice.

If you like darker, urban fantasy with family drama and complicated politics, this is definitely the book for you! The plot twists will definitely keep you guessing up until the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Death of parent

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, and Murder

Minor: Child death, Hate crime, and Vomit

vanessamariebooks's review

adventurous 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

3.75

Bookclub discussion: https://www.youtube.com/live/L0GNH8W7CAU?si=OG-rwimTPy_ZTpoE 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, and Murder

Minor: Death of parent

antimonium's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

There was a lot going on in this book. I was listening to it on audio and if I zoned out for even a second I'd end up very confused. The world building was both too much (lots of exposition and telling) and too little (big gaps that should have been filled in). I wish the deviations had been explored more - still not sure what that was all about. The political machinations were very complex and somewhat hard to follow. The final villan reveal and twist didn't have much impact. I appreciate the coverage of many important topics that parallel our own world.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Racism, Blood, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Child death

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

4.25

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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