Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Poisoner

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

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!

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zoelzebub's review

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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? 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.

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csmoke85's review against another edition

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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.

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cyncynreads's review

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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.

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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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bekahzabel's review

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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

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