Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - The Poisons We Drink

There was a lot going on in this book. I was listening to it on audio and if I zoned out for even a second I'd end up very confused. The world building was both too much (lots of exposition and telling) and too little (big gaps that should have been filled in). I wish the deviations had been explored more - still not sure what that was all about. The political machinations were very complex and somewhat hard to follow. The final villan reveal and twist didn't have much impact. I appreciate the coverage of many important topics that parallel our own world.

Content Warnings

aroma_of_books's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring tense fast-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

Content Warnings

frannook's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

4.25

Content Warnings

bellebookcorner's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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

3.0

I have mixed feelings regarding this book….

There are some parts that I like and some parts that didn’t really work out for me even though the blurb sounds very interesting.

The characters are well developed and very complex, there’s a lot of morally grey characters with their own secrets and reasons for their actions which sometimes makes it hard for me to pin point the culprit behind Venus’s (FMC) mom murder.

Venus was a great character, I admire her love for her sister, her intelligent and her strength.

The world building is unique but at the same time it’s also quite complicated, especially regarding the witches and their powers.

I struggled to remember all the terms and information given at the beginning which sometimes can be confusing for me.

I found out there’s a glossary at the end of the story that explains some of that information. It would be nice if it was put at the beginning of the story.

This story felt too long and also dragging in some parts, the main plot also didn’t start until it hit the 30% mark. Although, the last few chapters are quite intense and I was surprised by that plot twist!

Just a warning that some parts/topics in this story can be sensitive to some readers, there’s a list of trigger warnings inside the book but I’ll listed here for you if you want to know beforehand.

For a debut novel, it was pretty good – I love the plot idea and the unique world building.

It would've been better if the length was shorter and maybe made this into a series so the readers can immersed into the world building slowly.

Thank you to Turn the Page Tour, Netgalley, author and publisher for giving me an e-ARC of the book and for having me on this book tour. I’m leaving this review voluntarily!

⚠️ 𝐓𝐖: This story contains morally grey characters, complicated parent-child relationships, police brutality, fantasy violence, fantastical racism, magical coercion, gun violence, politics, parental death, child death, and dying/death.

In addition, there are depictions of post-traumatic stress disorder anxiety, and depression.

Self-harm, blood, gore, sexual situation, fantasy drugs, underage drinking and profanity.

Content Warnings

jasminedaria's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense 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

Definitely a 5-star read, and I am so excited we decided on this book for our book club. Characters were relatable and experienced development, though everyone may not have been likable. There were no loose threads in this story - every plotline had a resolution. The actual formatting of the chapters was so accessible and easy to read. Would highly recommend for readers who like YA/Sci-Fi, but also readers who enjoy reading about complicated family dynamics and social issues, power vs nature vs magic vs fate, friends to lovers storylines, diverse characters, and stories set in fictional versions of real places.

Content Warnings

kingjk2002's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

bookcaptivated's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional mysterious reflective tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

More...