A review by ceruleanshelves
The Poisoner by I.V. Ophelia

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

I was a gentleman. I liked to get to know my prey before I ate them. It was only polite.

“I try to kill you, and you take it as flirtation?”

dark, gothic, erotic. a fun cat and mouse chase where the mouse learns to bite back.

alina is an intelligent and driven scientist who's taken up poisoning abusive men. silas is the creature who becomes obsessed and then enamored with her. the two collide in harmony with both harboring their own secrets. their chemistry and banter is delicious, and silas makes a wonderful psycho golden retriever bf to alina's black cat gf vibes. oh and he's got some *ahem* fun embellishments, if you will.

“I quite like your poisons. I have acquired a taste for them.”
He leaned close to my ear. “It is not the only thing I have developed a taste for.”

“You know, you’re quite cute when your lips turn blue.” His eyes glanced from my lips to my eyes. “I can understand why you prefer to execute people this way.”

the victorian london setting heightens the gothic atmosphere and the sense of alina's misplacement in the world as a woman driven by her intellect and curiosity. there are fun details including the botany, the scientific knowledge of that current time, the fashion and propriety, and more to immerse yourself into the story's world.

It was humbling for a creature who’d spent all his life with no interest in this sort of thing just to choose me, the woman who had tried to kill him on multiple occasions. Maybe that was why he liked me.

as this is a dark romance, there are dark themes and content. tw for blood, gore, SA, dubcon/noncon (on page and in memory), and lots of murder. there is going to be sexy times, but also angst with a bit of a cliffhanger ending.

overall, i really enjoyed this arc. this is a very strong debut novel for the author, with an intriguing vampire story and complex characters. one thing i would note as critique (spoiler)
i'm not sure what is preventing silas from immediately seeking revenge on luka. i feels disappointing or a bit anticlimactic for the mmc who's been positioned so powerful/possessive to not impulsively seek repayment. i can rationalize it adds to the angst at this point of the story and further pushing alina and silas apart for now.


i'm excited to see their story continue.

I would give her anything, body, mind, and soul—if I had one. It was all hers to take.

an honest arc review <3
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