Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Poisoner

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

taymorin's review

Go to review page

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

rewritingrosie's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark tense medium-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

4.75

❛ —- ARC REVIEW ෆ

[ SMALL SPOILERS, NOTHING BIG! ]

RATING:
★ ★ ★ ★ ★

CW :

* dub con / non con
* bdsm
* detailed gore, murder & depictions of violence
* substance use
* sa survivor
* discussion of sa

KINKS LIST:

* impact play
* primal / chasing
* knotting ( but a unique twist! )
* biting & blood play & spitting
* mutual stalking, we love to see equal obsession
* definitely brat / brat tamer, switch chaos

GENRES:
* horror
* erotica
* romance

REVIEW:

Oh, dear friends, you are in for a ride!

I’d recommend this to anyone fond of all books decadent as they are grim, provided the reader is mindful of the tw’s! As a gal who is obsessed with crimson peak & penny dreadful, I can say for sure — I.V. Ophelia absolutely delivered! From the jaw dropping aesthetics, the snarky dialogue ( accompanied by equally viscous characters ), and the unique take on vampires, the storyline grabbed me by the throat, and refused to let me go.

I absolutely adored Alina! Bewitching and hungry for knowledge, it was a true delight to see a woman taking vengeance by the balls. Her headspace was unique, cunning, and her twisted sense of justice felt satisfying & unnerving in the same breath, reminiscent of Cassie from promising young woman. You climb into this world, expecting a sweet mouse to get devoured by the snake — Silas — only to realize who the danger has been all along.

As for Silas, I tried SO long to cling to my morals, and ignore the devilishly charming nature of this vamp, but characters with psycho golden retriever energy are just TOO good to deny. His obsessiveness was almost comedic at times, and as the story progressed, the transition from seeing Alina as a means to an end ( food & entertainment ) to much more was tastefully done. The chasing, the fighting, and the way he assisted her in the name of stem ( wink wink ) had me clamped with a hand over my mouth, attempting not to scream.

Out of it all, I cannot for the life of me, however, brag enough about the existence of Vipera. I.V. Ophelia did their research, and brought a creature of fantasy into my favorite era via science, and it was so satisfying to see the beginning thumbs of politics. I am drooling while awaiting book 2, and need it immediately on my bookshelf! ( pronto! )

SOME NOTES ( please read ):

* If you are heavily triggered by writing of SA, dubcon, or noncon scenes, I recommend checking your heart, and making sure you’re able to handle reading this without affecting your mental health. As an SA survivor, I found the way IV. Ophelia wrote about the subject to be very thoughtful, while brutal, and she was ALWAYS checking on the arc readers ( me included ) to make sure I was okay with the content. I had to take a moment break during chapter 48, it was HEAVY, and to me, was very noncon, though I understand people thinking it to be more dub con. I was a bit disappointed regarding Silas’s reaction towards the villain after finding out what the villain did, but I know that as with everything, IV. Ophelia writes with purpose, and the ending has us ALL hanging on by a thread. Overall, just be mindful to trigger warnings, be kind to yourself, and if it’s not something you can handle, please don’t feel bad!

LAST WORDS:

* thank you, IV. OPHELIA for the arc, and for being so kind to all of us readers! We see your passion, and you are also an amazing person overall! I’m so proud of ya, and can’t wait to see what you bring to the table in the future!

Content Warnings

zoelzebub's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

What a wonderfully macabre and interesting romance.

This book will not be for every reader. But as a lover of horror, unusual characters, romance, and Victorian era settings - this has become one of my all time favorite books.

I truly look forward to the next two books in this series as they come out.

Content Warnings

woodsybookworm's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.0

The Poisoner follows Alina, a botanist who also happens to be a well accomplished poisoner - she's taking out shady men left and right and getting away with it too. That is until she runs into Silas, an avid playboy who is seemingly immune to all her tricks. Silas happens to be more than just a snake in the bedroom, he's downright vicious, and now he's got his sights set on tormenting Alina. In a game of cat and mouse between two killers, which creature will come out on top?

I really truly wanted to love this book but I found myself so annoyed by the main characters and their actions. I was screaming at certain chapters like "just talk to each other like normal people!" Is it absolutely gorgeous? Yes! The cover, the artwork, the little details were absolutely stunning. Is it something I find myself wanting to read again? No.

Content Warnings

csmoke85's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious 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? No

4.0

A deliciously wicked cast of characters. I loved them and hated them all at the same time. Definitely a book for dark romance readers who like a villain. I enjoyed this story, especially the darkest parts.

Content Warnings

cyncynreads's review

Go to review page

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

1.75

Uneven pacing and contradictory pacing mar this story. There was such promise in its premise, but it does not deliver. Heavy on dark themes, suddenly becomes very explicit near the end.

Content Warnings

novellearts's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings