Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

The Poisoner by I.V. Ophelia

19 reviews

one_more_chapter96's review

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dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Unique and really cool premise to the book, enjoyed the historical gothic setting and the oddities of the main character but she was strong and intelligent and likeable. Some cool twists to the story that I didn’t expect near the end, it got quite dark towards the end which was unexpected but overall a great story and look forward to the sequel to see what happens! 

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novellearts's review against another edition

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

4.0

No star rating yet as I'm not sure how I feel about this one at the moment. I picked this book up for the beautiful cover and because I thought it was a horror book. I was very surprised once I started getting into it and finding out that it was more vampiric dark romance.

That being said, I liked Alina a lot as a character, I liked Silas a lot less. There were some really hot scenes and there were some that I didn't care for. I will say that I personally hate when books include any version of knotting. I find the concept repulsive and invasive especially as the books that include knotting usually love to use it as a "surprise." 
  • “I’m sorry,” he whispered, kissing the skin on my shoulder and up to my neck, his fingers tangling in my hair and keeping me in place, pushing his hips firmly into mine.   “You said you wouldn’t,” I breathed.  “I lied,” he said lowly.   “Why?”  “Because you are mine.”
  • Quote of Silas and Alina's conversation after he knotted her, saying that he wouldn't and that he "doesn't do that to humans."

I did mostly enjoy the banter in this book, but I wish that it centered more around Alina's job and her actually poisoning men.

Overall, I think I liked this until around chapters 46 and on. Up until this point, there were definitely a lot of instances of abuse, stalking, and toxicity but (and I know this sounds crazy) it was a tolerable level. Both characters mostly reciprocated the same energy to each other and it wasn't completed unwanted. Chapters 47 and on took a turn. Chapters 48 and 50 were not my cup of tea.
The rape scene with Viktor in Chapter 48 really pissed me off, especially with how he "revealed" what he did to Silas. Then in Chapter 50 with Viktor and Silas both feeding from Alina.


The Poisoner story felt incredibly reminiscent of Haunting Adeline to me. It just felt like a vampire version. Though I will say, I liked this story more than Haunting Adeline and I liked the characters much more. I also kept finding myself wishing that Alina would just end up with Phoebe, because let's be honest, that would've been much better than Silas or Viktor.

The ending of this was unsatisfying to me as well. It was so rushed and incredibly open-ended. We didn't learn as readers how
Alina and Phoebe made it out or what happened to anyone in the Nest.
I understand that this is book 1 and that it'll most definitely be covered in book 2, but I personally would've liked a lot less ambiguity here.

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thombe's review

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

2.75

It was dark, twisted, with a lot of trigger warnings. There were points where it dragged, but I liked the strong FMC who got her revenge.

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2j4d3's review against another edition

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dezzella's review

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

1.5 Stars

I think this book had a cool concept - a woman killing vampires via poison. However this did not hit very high for me. There are lots of dark things in this book (stalking, death, poisoning, SA, etc.) so I would suggest looking up the warnings before continuing to read this book.

My biggest gripe about this book is that it feels to vague the entire book. It doesn't feel like characters, emotions, setting, or plot are described fully, instead things are left vague and the reader has to infer. Because of this, I ended up not caring for any of the characters or situations. Also, while many people consider this a dark romance I would say that there is very little actual romance. There is spice, yes, but majority of the book is focusing on the characters stalking/being stalked and doing some academic studies. I feel like some of the plot points came out of nowhere, and I wasn't sure whether I had read it wrong or if it just wasn't hinted at earlier. While I do enjoy dark romance, there were also a couple scenes after the halfway point that gave me an ick/did not sit well with me (I'll avoid mentioning for spoilers).

I liked the first couple of chapters but after the halfway point I kept reading only to see if things eventually tied together or started to make sense. To me it did not, and left me disappointed by the end.

Overall, concept was cool but I think the execution was too vague and the characters were not built up enough.

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regent_ace's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75


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isabelleroyall's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0


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emmydoil's review

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dark emotional mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75


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denacolada's review against another edition

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

3.75


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pissylissy666's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.75

CHECK THOSE TRIGGERS!!!! 

I’m not really sure how I feel about this one tbh — I enjoyed it. It got my emotions going. I love the twisted “vampire” snake combo. I love the gothic tones and mystery. There were a lot of pitch black elements — like time to read something light hearted so I don’t find myself too focused on the darkness — but overall I loved the story. I rate 4 stars because it just didn’t have the ending I wanted 😭😂 I know that’s rough but I feel like we (the readers) went through a lot with little clarity at the end but also when is book 2 coming out???

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