Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The Poisoner by I.V. Ophelia

7 reviews

crinkledmochi's review against another edition

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

UM… imma be honest I was enjoying this until the last few chapters, there was a warning at the beginning of the book but  why did all the characters just act like that was normal 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Classism

bekahzabel's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I want to preface this by saying that this book is definitely not going to be for everyone. Who it IS for is for the extremely dark romance lovers who can enjoy MMC’s that are not meant to be idolized in real life scenarios. This story contains heavy cat and mouse tropes within the first half with the FMC & MMC stalking one another. 

If you’re someone who enjoyed the cat & mouse duet I think this is right up your alley. The author very clearly stated at the start that this book contains heavy triggers and the creature is not meant to be idolized as a real life love interest, this is why we read isn’t it? Ophelia is a strong headed fmc who runs an apothecary and underground poisoning operation. Tangled in societies norms as a black sheet she encounters a creature is stalking her and she becomes very intrigued by him and dives into deeper research on him. 

There is stalking, non con, quite a bit of consensual smut as well, 🩸play takes, vampiric themes, graphic depictions of violent acts, so please read the triggers. 

Tropes include joint cat & mouse, a slight love triangle, historical horror romance elements, reasearcher and subject, female friendship, and forbidden love. 

Although I was questionable at first this ended up as a solid 4 stars for me and 🌶️🌶️🌶️, I will absolutely be reading the sequel

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism and Death of parent

dezzella's review

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.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Stalking, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Violence, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

thecatconstellation's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Grief, and Death of parent

souleater_'s review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

dcnireads's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

1.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Vomit, Medical content, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, and Grief

livfowler's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

You know when people recommend you a “dark romance,” but then it turns out there’s just a little light choking or something? This is not that. Like actually, seriously, reader beware.

The main characters’ internal dialogue is sometimes a little stilted, especially at the beginning, but improves a lot as their interactions become more frequent and the stakes become higher.

Smutty bits were *chef’s kiss* delectable. Had me making feral clicking sounds that I didn’t think possible.

I think my favorite part of this book was that I predicted one plot twist from a mile away, but I was so focused on it that the next twist hit me like a train.

Speaking of, there’s a little train action (like actually on a locomotive train, get your head out of the gutter), and I sincerely hope for more in the next installment. Picture the already

incredibly erotic chase scenes from book 1

but across train platforms and through different cars as Silas pursues Alina

across the United States

. 

All in all, dying of thirst for book 2.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism