Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Poisoner

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Reviews tagging 'Murder'

kaylamac's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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kinsportch's review

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dark mysterious 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

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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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condls27's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

1.0

This book made me wish I didn’t know how to read.

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thegabscast's review

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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.

Content Warnings