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A review by escapistlit
The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
4.5
this is an urban fantasy ya featuring angry black girl magic. it’s on the upper ya side of the spectrum for me. if na were used in trad pub, imo this is na not ya (which is prob why i enjoyed it).
i liked the world building and how it was informed by the real world - racism and segregation and shitty politicians to name a few elements. i also really liked the portrayal of generation trauma in a way - the failures of adults inherited by their children, the secrets of the people that were supposed to protect the kids, affecting them and becoming the kids’ burdens.
this also features an f/nb b-plot romance! is it a relationship that’s a good idea? not particularly and they both know it. it’s very secondary, tertiary even.
but i did have a few issues in the execution. the pacing was quite choppy and felt like there were too much back and forth with oh we figured it out, oh never mind, here’s the real, real culprit. there were also a few elements that i may have missed but didn’t feel resolved or wrapped up enough for me. especially as this is a standalone. the open-ish ending makes sense for the story there were just a few loose details that felt forgotten with all the different threads that did run through this.
but overall, a really good debut (and a fab cover!!. it’s a rough read at times, it’s dark, it’s very real - magic aside. vaguely reminiscent of the general vibes of HELL FOLLOWED WITH US - angry kids trying to reclaim their lives.
thank you sourcebooks uk for the review copy
i liked the world building and how it was informed by the real world - racism and segregation and shitty politicians to name a few elements. i also really liked the portrayal of generation trauma in a way - the failures of adults inherited by their children, the secrets of the people that were supposed to protect the kids, affecting them and becoming the kids’ burdens.
this also features an f/nb b-plot romance! is it a relationship that’s a good idea? not particularly and they both know it. it’s very secondary, tertiary even.
but i did have a few issues in the execution. the pacing was quite choppy and felt like there were too much back and forth with oh we figured it out, oh never mind, here’s the real, real culprit. there were also a few elements that i may have missed but didn’t feel resolved or wrapped up enough for me. especially as this is a standalone. the open-ish ending makes sense for the story there were just a few loose details that felt forgotten with all the different threads that did run through this.
but overall, a really good debut (and a fab cover!!. it’s a rough read at times, it’s dark, it’s very real - magic aside. vaguely reminiscent of the general vibes of HELL FOLLOWED WITH US - angry kids trying to reclaim their lives.
thank you sourcebooks uk for the review copy