Scan barcode
storiesatstarfall's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Xenophobia, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent, Gun violence, Death, and Murder
kimwritesstuff's review against another edition
dark
inspiring
tense
slow-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? Yes
3.25
This book was a little bit of a slow burn for me and took me a few chapters to really get into it. Venus is a tough-as-nails character who brews love potions in order to support her family. Magic has a cost, and being a brewer means there are horrific blowbacks from potions. Every time Venus brews, her potions have effects on her, such as broken bones or burned skin.
Regardless of the blowback, Venus is the main breadwinner of her family. Her mother, Clarissa, sacrificed her magic by breaking a magical vow, and her father is dead. When Clarissa is killed with iron bullets, Venus is sucked further into the underground trade of magic potions. The world is about to burst with humans demanding that witchers be on a public registry, a registry that would allow people to find them and likely kill them. Venus gets roped into a political scheme to poison senators with love potions to sway their opinions.
The story builds its tension beautifully, and while I did find some plot points fairly predictable, this book still had plenty of twists and turns. Venus's little sister Janus can create portals and is determined to follow in her activist father's footsteps. A lot of Venus's motivation is to protect Janus. I thought the push-pull of their relationship was so realistic and well done. I also have a half-sister, and the dichotomy is similar.
Presley's character was easily my favorite character. I thought the expression of their gender fluidity/non-binary expression was well done. Too many people get caught up in the idea of pronouns. Presley didn't have a painful coming out or confrontation. They just were. I enjoyed that the author didn't try to add an additional level of struggle.
I did think that the secondary storylines were a bit hobbled together. We understand Venus's motivation isn't political, but the other characters seem to have no motivation but power. It just didn't flow well. I kept expecting like a villain info dump to better understand the power dynamics and struggles. The issues between humans and witchers also lacked nuance, which sort of made sense when looking at the parallels of racism.
Overall, I thought this was a good read, and I'd read the next in the series.
Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the ARC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Blood, Violence, and Xenophobia
Minor: Vomit
booksthatburn's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol and Blood
Minor: Police brutality, Gun violence, Death, Cursing, and Violence
beccisays's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Definitely recommend you to read this book, the magic system is so unique that I struggle to draw comparisons to anything else I’ve read recently.
The story is heavily steeped in deep lore, originality and magical elements, which truly show the author’s creativity and charm. I wish we could have seen more of these aspects, like make-dos, magical artefacts and other character’s gifts, earlier on as they were really captivating. Chapters began with excerpts of articles, books, letters etc, which reminded me of Fourth Wing and really helped to flesh out your understanding as a reader.
The world Bethany Baptiste weaves is rich in black culture, history and sociological commentary, the parallels between the plight of witchers in her society and POC in our own is enlightening and thought provoking. Especially so with the rights movement and the ample blood spilled and lives lost on the road to freedom. The representation for realistic and true to life ethnicities, cultures, genders and sexualities was refreshing, particularly within a fantasy book.
It did take a while for me to get immersed into the book, I would say around at 50% things took a turn and I finished the rest in one sitting.
The story is heavily steeped in deep lore, originality and magical elements, which truly show the author’s creativity and charm. I wish we could have seen more of these aspects, like make-dos, magical artefacts and other character’s gifts, earlier on as they were really captivating. Chapters began with excerpts of articles, books, letters etc, which reminded me of Fourth Wing and really helped to flesh out your understanding as a reader.
The world Bethany Baptiste weaves is rich in black culture, history and sociological commentary, the parallels between the plight of witchers in her society and POC in our own is enlightening and thought provoking. Especially so with the rights movement and the ample blood spilled and lives lost on the road to freedom. The representation for realistic and true to life ethnicities, cultures, genders and sexualities was refreshing, particularly within a fantasy book.
It did take a while for me to get immersed into the book, I would say around at 50% things took a turn and I finished the rest in one sitting.
Thank you Sourcebooks for providing this ARC for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Grief, Hate crime, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Death of parent, Police brutality, and Racism
snapeygan's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
OMG, that was so good!!! I fell in love with the books in the first few pages, and I had to go back to the beginning and notes everything in the notes app to be sure I was following EVERY lead and remembering every character correctly! It was so well written, the world building was great and each character was complex and nuanced, I LOVED IT!! The only negative thing I could say about this book was that it wasn’t long enough! But then, I could’ve read thousands and thousands of pages of that book, so that’s on me hihi!! Oh and also, I love how one of the character used the pronouns they/them and it wasn’t a big deal at all! Everyone just went with it, it wasn’t in the spotlight or anything, I loved it!
If you’re searching a book with a black girl with magic, a great critic of the world and of racism, a good story that’ll make you laugh, cry and reflect, The Poisons We Drink is the perfect book for you!
*thank you Netgalley for the ARC!
If you’re searching a book with a black girl with magic, a great critic of the world and of racism, a good story that’ll make you laugh, cry and reflect, The Poisons We Drink is the perfect book for you!
*thank you Netgalley for the ARC!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Blood, Murder, Police brutality, Death, Death of parent, and Abandonment
womanwill's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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? Yes
3.75
This was a magical and political debut YA/NA fantasy from Bethany Baptise that faltered occasionally only by trying to do too much. I loved Baptiste's overall focus on the juxtaposition of human power v magic and how humans wield their fear as power to even control witchers who are full of immense magic.
Baptiste deftly outlined some of the divides of our current society and politics--divisions between those we see as other--and projected them onto a SFF dystopian DC. This backdrop of DC gentrification and proximity to power illuminates her theme that not all monsters are bad--some act out of love against oppressive forces.
The pacing was a bit off at times - driven by Baptiste taking on too much and not spending more time on flushing out characters. I enjoyed the first part of the book as the worldbuilding unraveled, and Baptiste introduced characters, but then the story spun its wheels for a while. I think Baptiste could have threaded some of the political underpinnings earlier in the story. Then, at about 80%, it's pure action until the end. The pacing made parts of the story confusing. Some of the side characters were flat enough that I couldn't remember who they were or what their motivations were. Even Janus's anger at Venus didn't make sense to me at times because we weren't allowed to sink into it as readers.
But overall, I loved the world building, the special Witcher magic, the attention Baptiste put into the brewing and potions, and the setting of a dystopian ish DC where witchers carve out a place of belonging and resistance much like Black people have in the U.S. for centuries.
I can't wait to see what Bethany puts out next and how she settles into her voice as an author.
Baptiste deftly outlined some of the divides of our current society and politics--divisions between those we see as other--and projected them onto a SFF dystopian DC. This backdrop of DC gentrification and proximity to power illuminates her theme that not all monsters are bad--some act out of love against oppressive forces.
The pacing was a bit off at times - driven by Baptiste taking on too much and not spending more time on flushing out characters. I enjoyed the first part of the book as the worldbuilding unraveled, and Baptiste introduced characters, but then the story spun its wheels for a while. I think Baptiste could have threaded some of the political underpinnings earlier in the story. Then, at about 80%, it's pure action until the end. The pacing made parts of the story confusing. Some of the side characters were flat enough that I couldn't remember who they were or what their motivations were. Even Janus's anger at Venus didn't make sense to me at times because we weren't allowed to sink into it as readers.
But overall, I loved the world building, the special Witcher magic, the attention Baptiste put into the brewing and potions, and the setting of a dystopian ish DC where witchers carve out a place of belonging and resistance much like Black people have in the U.S. for centuries.
I can't wait to see what Bethany puts out next and how she settles into her voice as an author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Violence, and Murder
quiteawful's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I really loved the characters. The magic system was really solid, and quite different to many of the other series I’ve read.
I am certain I’m only thinking this due to recent escalation of events, but it felt like a somewhat naive but hopeful take on the current genocide happening to the Palestinian people. Oppressors oppressing (with violence, threats, extremely one sided laws that severely impact on the oppressed’s movements freedoms and lives). We follow the lives of complicated and imperfect people who are subjected to these rules and regulations, and how they try to work within the system to make changes (mirrored back through recollections and discoveries of their parents ultimately unsuccessful actions). Perhaps naive isn’t the word - innocent/optimistic/gentle. Might not exactly be the target audience! Overall I found there to be a wonderful depth to the well woven plot - a very politically intrigue that provides a steady hand to the characters (without simply shoving them to the next plot point).
I think the author also rushed past some parts to the writing’s detriment, in places. I kept needing to re-read sections, unclear how or what had been gently indicated. (Perhaps it was my comprehension skills? Lmao. Real possibility). Baptiste can only improve and I can’t wait to see where she takes us.
I am certain I’m only thinking this due to recent escalation of events, but it felt like a somewhat naive but hopeful take on the current genocide happening to the Palestinian people. Oppressors oppressing (with violence, threats, extremely one sided laws that severely impact on the oppressed’s movements freedoms and lives). We follow the lives of complicated and imperfect people who are subjected to these rules and regulations, and how they try to work within the system to make changes (mirrored back through recollections and discoveries of their parents ultimately unsuccessful actions). Perhaps naive isn’t the word - innocent/optimistic/gentle. Might not exactly be the target audience! Overall I found there to be a wonderful depth to the well woven plot - a very politically intrigue that provides a steady hand to the characters (without simply shoving them to the next plot point).
I think the author also rushed past some parts to the writing’s detriment, in places. I kept needing to re-read sections, unclear how or what had been gently indicated. (Perhaps it was my comprehension skills? Lmao. Real possibility). Baptiste can only improve and I can’t wait to see where she takes us.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Blood, Medical trauma, Police brutality, Violence, Classism, Colonisation, Genocide, Hate crime, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Minor: Abandonment, Kidnapping, and Panic attacks/disorders
butterbrioche's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Huge thanks to Sourcebooks fire for approving my arc request of this.
Man, between this and So Let Them Burn I’m so fired up about familial relationships and how they inspire us to go farther and say “to hell with it all! I’ll do anything for my blood.” There’s something so powerful about this form of love and watching the way that Venus and Janus loved each other, in their own ways, was so beautiful to witness.
There were a couple of things that threw me off but ultimately I really enjoyed the pacing of this book. I enjoyed the way the characters felt so captivating and uniquely themselves. One of my favorite things was that I felt like no one character’s voice was lost or seemed to similar to the other. I felt myself being curious and interested in all characters presented in this story. It was so action-packed and the witches were not just witches in names only. Too often these days it feels like books are about witches without them actually practicing magic! The magic system that Baptiste created was so much fun to read as well.
I think this book is so prescient right now for many reasons and in order to find out why, I think you should read it. I feel like I’ve been consistently blown away by fantastic debuts for 2024 and this year as well. Definitely grab a copy from your local bookstore or library!
Man, between this and So Let Them Burn I’m so fired up about familial relationships and how they inspire us to go farther and say “to hell with it all! I’ll do anything for my blood.” There’s something so powerful about this form of love and watching the way that Venus and Janus loved each other, in their own ways, was so beautiful to witness.
There were a couple of things that threw me off but ultimately I really enjoyed the pacing of this book. I enjoyed the way the characters felt so captivating and uniquely themselves. One of my favorite things was that I felt like no one character’s voice was lost or seemed to similar to the other. I felt myself being curious and interested in all characters presented in this story. It was so action-packed and the witches were not just witches in names only. Too often these days it feels like books are about witches without them actually practicing magic! The magic system that Baptiste created was so much fun to read as well.
I think this book is so prescient right now for many reasons and in order to find out why, I think you should read it. I feel like I’ve been consistently blown away by fantastic debuts for 2024 and this year as well. Definitely grab a copy from your local bookstore or library!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Murder
More...