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A review by nightjar656
The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
There are a lot of really great ideas in this book. The problem is that there may be too many ideas in it. Namely- in this book, Witchers are magic-users and are an oppressed group, and a lot of the plot involves fighting anti-Witcher legislation. Meanwhile, the plot also involves a lot of corruption within the Witcher community and secret plots and etc. Both of these were great ideas for a book, but paired together, at times I thought they detracted from each other? At the same time, the two ideas did work well together at times and both very much contributed to the themes of the book- the combining of the two was a little clunky at times but well-done overall.
Another thing I noticed was that, at the beginning, the book was almost doing too much, too fast? It got into its stride after about 100 pages, but I think the intro could’ve used some time to breathe and better establish relationships and worldbuilding. That being said, once it was past the rougher part, I really did think it was an excellent book pacing-wise and plot-wise.
I loved the worldbuilding- you can really tell that the author put a lot of thought into the magic system. There were a couple things that didn’t make sense but overall I thought it was excellent. I thought the character arcs were very good, and it was interesting to watch them clash more and do darker things as the book went on. You can tell the characters care about each other, but they’re all very flawed and have their own motivations behind things. Also, the twists were both logical and unpredictable- this book was a wild ride by the end, and the plot holds up while still shocking the reader.
TL;DR: an amazing book with some rough edges. I’d recommend this to people looking for witchy books, themes relevant to today’s world, a cast of complex and often morally grey characters, complex plots with political intrigue, and darker YA fantasy.
Another thing I noticed was that, at the beginning, the book was almost doing too much, too fast? It got into its stride after about 100 pages, but I think the intro could’ve used some time to breathe and better establish relationships and worldbuilding. That being said, once it was past the rougher part, I really did think it was an excellent book pacing-wise and plot-wise.
I loved the worldbuilding- you can really tell that the author put a lot of thought into the magic system. There were a couple things that didn’t make sense but overall I thought it was excellent. I thought the character arcs were very good, and it was interesting to watch them clash more and do darker things as the book went on. You can tell the characters care about each other, but they’re all very flawed and have their own motivations behind things. Also, the twists were both logical and unpredictable- this book was a wild ride by the end, and the plot holds up while still shocking the reader.
TL;DR: an amazing book with some rough edges. I’d recommend this to people looking for witchy books, themes relevant to today’s world, a cast of complex and often morally grey characters, complex plots with political intrigue, and darker YA fantasy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore