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urbookishamiga's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
4.0
Okay so I’d been putting this book on the back burner for a while because I was in my ✨alien romance era✨… but in 2025 we’re going a little more Paranormal. And lemme tell you, this was a great book to start 2025 with!
First, I loved that this book isn’t just like all the other vampire books where the blood sucker can’t walk in the sun. This was great because we get to experience the “creature” stalking Alina during the day and night time. It was just *chefs kiss
Second, I loved that Alina isn’t some pink-wearing-damsel in distress (not saying this is a bad thing), it’s just so nice to see a different kind of FMC who’s not afraid of wearing mourning black and accepts that she is different, that she is intelligent/a woman of academia, and she’s a bada** poisoner. She’s seriously one of my new favorite FMC’s. Like seriously she’s so cool.
My heart was racing for the most part of the book until about 60%. There was a tiny bit a lull, HOWEVER, it was necessary as her “quiet time in a lab” is important for the books plot. I had a baby inclination of what would happen in the end, but I did NOT anticipate what truly happened. The baby cliffhanger left me wanting more and I cannot wait to read book 2.
Please make sure to read the triggers if you are sensitive to dark subjects. I personally went in blind but can see how this read may affect sensitive readers. Please make sure you are comfortable with the TW’s before continuing. Your mental health matters.
First, I loved that this book isn’t just like all the other vampire books where the blood sucker can’t walk in the sun. This was great because we get to experience the “creature” stalking Alina during the day and night time. It was just *chefs kiss
Second, I loved that Alina isn’t some pink-wearing-damsel in distress (not saying this is a bad thing), it’s just so nice to see a different kind of FMC who’s not afraid of wearing mourning black and accepts that she is different, that she is intelligent/a woman of academia, and she’s a bada** poisoner. She’s seriously one of my new favorite FMC’s. Like seriously she’s so cool.
My heart was racing for the most part of the book until about 60%. There was a tiny bit a lull, HOWEVER, it was necessary as her “quiet time in a lab” is important for the books plot. I had a baby inclination of what would happen in the end, but I did NOT anticipate what truly happened. The baby cliffhanger left me wanting more and I cannot wait to read book 2.
Please make sure to read the triggers if you are sensitive to dark subjects. I personally went in blind but can see how this read may affect sensitive readers. Please make sure you are comfortable with the TW’s before continuing. Your mental health matters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death and Mental illness
Minor: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Kidnapping
Please read the TW’s before starting your read.taymorin's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence
o_kay's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.0
This book had potential but reads like something off of wattpad. The author tried to do too much with one book and as a result the plot lines fell flat and the characters were undeveloped. *A note about content warnings: The author characterizes some of the sexual content as “non-con/dub-con” but the fmc is tortured until she lets the big bad guy fuck her, which is fine, but minimizing that rape does a disservice to readers who need those content warnings. Let’s call a spade a spade.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Torture
one_more_chapter96's review
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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, and Alcohol
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Toxic relationship
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
fireinherveinzz's review
dark
mysterious
medium-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? Yes
2.75
It had all the ingredients I loved to make a good dark academia but having 2 rape scenes … is a huge no . Also the plot holes ? Like if she’s poisoning successfully members of the nest why wasn’t Silas affected ?
and just the cringey syltherin snake smut vibes not in a fun way .
Silas is a giant obnoxious man child . The only redeeming factor was the writing was lush and good and phoebe and her leaving it all behind to move elsewhere.
and just the cringey syltherin snake smut vibes not in a fun way .
Silas is a giant obnoxious man child . The only redeeming factor was the writing was lush and good and phoebe and her leaving it all behind to move elsewhere.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Torture, Blood, and Medical trauma
novellearts's review against another edition
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."
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 howAlina 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.
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cannibalism
thombe's review
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Drug use, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Stalking, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death and Cannibalism
astra_witch's review
Looked at the endingand saw the fmc gets raped while the love interest let it happen/participate. I don’t care about their romance and even if in the next book he says I was trying to keep you safe or i had a plan, he's not worth it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Torture
thegabscast's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
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? No
3.0
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spicy meter: This is spice with heavy themes, so I’m not quite sure about this one.
Note: PLEASE read the trigger warnings and make sure you have a good understanding of them. The author did provide a comprehensive list of them and even lists a chapter to avoid. This book is not meant for everyone and the trigger warnings should not be overlooked.
Who this book is for: Fans of truly dark romance, a gothic setting, Victorian London, vampires, supernatural creatures, flawed characters. If dark romance, erotica, blood, or any of the things mentioned in the first two pages of the book are not things you’re comfortable with, then this book isn’t for you and that’s okay.
This book brought me out of a months-long reading slump and I’m still digesting it. I was really excited to read it and am now trying to figure out how I feel about it overall? Without giving too much away, the premise is a poisoner (overly- curious woman in STEM with a flawed sense of justice) catches the attention of a vampire when she fails to poison him and her whole life is turned upside down. All of the characters are deeply flawed and more morally super dark gray than anything. If I could have, I would have read this all in one sitting because I wanted to know where the story was going. I truly appreciated the way the exposition was done and the writing style overall. The author’s take on vampires was interesting, some parts I didn’t love (the spikes). This does lean more towards spice with a story, but the story was so intriguing. The characters didn’t really get to the “love” part. This book really was such a different read that it’s hard for me to articulate how I felt about it. However, the story did feel rushed towards the end and I do feel like that could have come together more cohesively while also being a cliffhanger. Silas did act out of character and I’m curious what his plan was because he really failed to protect or help Alina. She also had a major point in that he could have just not gone to see her and THAT one additional traumatic scene could have been avoided. Also, Phoebe…wtf…. I understand all of the characters are deeply flawed, but it kinda felt like who they were supposed to be throughout the story was lost at the end. I was truly drawn in and then the last few chapters kind of fell apart. I am curious enough to want to read the next one and find out where everything is going. But, I cannot emphasize this enough, PLEASE mind the trigger warnings and skip this book if you do not feel comfortable.
Spicy meter: This is spice with heavy themes, so I’m not quite sure about this one.
Note: PLEASE read the trigger warnings and make sure you have a good understanding of them. The author did provide a comprehensive list of them and even lists a chapter to avoid. This book is not meant for everyone and the trigger warnings should not be overlooked.
Who this book is for: Fans of truly dark romance, a gothic setting, Victorian London, vampires, supernatural creatures, flawed characters. If dark romance, erotica, blood, or any of the things mentioned in the first two pages of the book are not things you’re comfortable with, then this book isn’t for you and that’s okay.
This book brought me out of a months-long reading slump and I’m still digesting it. I was really excited to read it and am now trying to figure out how I feel about it overall? Without giving too much away, the premise is a poisoner (overly- curious woman in STEM with a flawed sense of justice) catches the attention of a vampire when she fails to poison him and her whole life is turned upside down. All of the characters are deeply flawed and more morally super dark gray than anything. If I could have, I would have read this all in one sitting because I wanted to know where the story was going. I truly appreciated the way the exposition was done and the writing style overall. The author’s take on vampires was interesting, some parts I didn’t love (the spikes). This does lean more towards spice with a story, but the story was so intriguing. The characters didn’t really get to the “love” part. This book really was such a different read that it’s hard for me to articulate how I felt about it. However, the story did feel rushed towards the end and I do feel like that could have come together more cohesively while also being a cliffhanger. Silas did act out of character and I’m curious what his plan was because he really failed to protect or help Alina. She also had a major point in that he could have just not gone to see her and THAT one additional traumatic scene could have been avoided. Also, Phoebe…wtf…. I understand all of the characters are deeply flawed, but it kinda felt like who they were supposed to be throughout the story was lost at the end. I was truly drawn in and then the last few chapters kind of fell apart. I am curious enough to want to read the next one and find out where everything is going. But, I cannot emphasize this enough, PLEASE mind the trigger warnings and skip this book if you do not feel comfortable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Trafficking