A review by bellebookcorner
The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste

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. 
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