I was really excited about this when I saw it promoted on Twitter/X, largely because the characters and premise sounded like there was a lot of room for depth and exploration.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to see if that hype was true, as the writing made it impossible for me to get more than a few chapters in before I could let myself stop forcing it. I almost never DNF, especially on debuts, but this one just did not have the execution that its beautiful story needed. Overwriting, stretched-out pacing, and an early confusion about the "rules" of the world just all came together to make this one I couldn't finish. It has a LOT of promise, though, so I'll keep it in mind to revisit later if I find myself with free time and nothing to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book to review.

I love an urban fantasy, especially one that resembles our present day. I was intrigued by the politics, the use of Witchers instead of racial divides. I thought this was a great way to present the hard divides in this fictional world. This story is quite a page turner. I found myself pulled in quickly and at times I could not stop reading.

The writing could use some polishing. The author went a little too hard and tried to throw so many things at the reader. It could have been simplified and even shorter. The paragraph count in this book was a little too high. The longest paragraph was probably only 3-4 sentences. Comprehension was a bit disjointed at parts because of the writing.

If you like soft magic (i.e. magic that easily explains everything that happens after it happens), this book is for you. I prefer the magic system to be explained more before things just happen if that makes sense. Instead everything that occurred was just explained away by the magic.

If there is a sequel, I would love to see where this author improves. The bones were good, but there needs to be some polishing in future books.

This is a new adult urban novel following 18 year old Venus trying to find her way after the death of her mother. This book covers a lot. The pacing is a little rough at times and it took me a while to read but the way magic works is interesting and I appreciated Venus's journey. There is a lot of setup to understand the magic system, the politics, and the background of each character. This is the author's first adult novel and I'm excited to see what she writes in the future.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars

I tried very hard to like this.
The overall idea of the way magic works, the price the magic user has to pay, and the morality involved with using said magic should have made for an excellent novel. (This is the only reason this books gets two stars and not one). Bethany Baptiste had an opportunity to really send a message to her readers in this YA/Teen novel that sometimes the ‘right’ decision is hard. It could have promoted self reflection, critical thinking, and the difficulty of determining morality. Instead, the best word I can come up with to describe the justifications for the choices made in The Poisons We Drink is problematic.

Hypocrisy
There is blatant hypocrisy from: toting freedom, free will, and autonomy, alongside binding blood oaths and love potions (given to people unknowingly!) without any morality being addressed. Bethany Baptiste addresses this once (maybe twice), early on, as the lead gal has a conscience momentarily. But then it’s gone and it’s like the entire book is built off the premise that our leading character crew ‘know best’. This kind of attitude is what leads (eventually) to discrimination, egoism, and a divided society!! How ironic that in a book about bringing down the egoist barriers they literally put up new ones that seem okay; but only if you 100% believe in our characters being ‘right’. Sorry but that doesn’t work for me.

Wheres the Remorse?
Additionally, there is little to no remorse (especially towards the end) for the usage of magic that takes away free will. From the beginning we are told that the oppression of the magical community is abhorrent, the proposed registration act is a disgusting attempt to control people, and that the world assumes magic users are dangerous because of their inherent powers which is unfair. I agree these are all awful things and solid themes that should be discussed. Instead of critical representation and questions we are given a slew of excuses for why it’s okay to hurt others to gain something important. Even going so far as to say:
”Only monsters get things done.”
Not only is reality not that simple; but I’m not convinced half our ‘good’ characters are in the right! If you are going to write YA/Teen books then you should consider your core audience and how impressionable they are. Choosing to be awful as the only way to survive is not what I want any child, teen or, for that matter, adult thinking is necessary. This argument is not an acceptable justification to make potions that take away people’s free will and convince them of things that aren’t true, or make them flat out follow orders.

A continuing theme in the end is that It’s okay to do these awful things as they are in the name of good. It’s not okay to use similar tactics to control others just because they are using them to oppress you! This seems obvious to me, but as of late there are a lot of YA/Teen books (Iron Widow comes to mind) that seem to tote power or control as equality. This book even goes so far as to justify someone’s persecution because they did other ‘bad things’ even if they didn’t do the thing they were initially accused of and received punishment for! (I could also rant about fair justice and not prejudging situations or people; but this review is long enough already!)

The Writing
Moving on to the actual structure and writing of the book. I really disliked the narrator of the audiobook. Some of her character voices were annoying and at times ridiculous. It’s perhaps worth noting I’m pretty new to audiobooks (only my 8th ever) but I just couldn’t handle the narration; so I switched to an ebook halfway through to complete The Poisons We Drink. I had hoped that the issues I was starting to have with pacing and immature writing (don’t tell, show!) were partially because of the audiobook. Sadly they were not.

This book goes from being boring, to sudden activities that knocks you over the head. However each step of the way events are convenient and clearly fits into a pre-set puzzle. The plot is so transparent that the ‘twist’ fell flat for me. In no way did the twist feel smart, clever, or even all that unique for me. Unfortunately the one emotion I did have upon finishing this novel was relief. I was relieved to have it be over, thankful I get to post a review about it it’s issues, and ready to tell folks not to bother with this problematic story.

Sorry to hate on this
I know many of you love this one and I’ll probably get comments about how I’m being too harsh or otherwise judgemental. I’m truly sorry you may feel that way.

For me, I cannot in good conscience endorse problematic stories. You can be a good person who gets caught up in a bad situation (which is the attempted argument in this book) but you don’t get to then continue being awful ‘just because’ once the immediate situation is resolved. What the story should be about is feeling remorse for your actions and how to come to terms with what you did (accepting the terms NOT justifying them). Think of the third Hunger Games novel where Katniss struggles to reconcile her numerous kills even though without them she would not have survived. This is what I think novels like this should address and struggle with because it’s realistic and sets up serious critical thinking by the reader.

Needless to say I will not be reading book 2 in which (I assume) our gal and her crew rise to more power to further their interests and toss aside anyone (using a potion of course) that is in their way. No thanks.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review..

What an absolutely fantastic debut from Bethany Baptiste. Sometimes I devour books like a starving women, but with The Poisons We Drink, it was eating a 5 star meal, each bite meant to be savored. My heart breaks for all the bullshit she had to go to in order to publish this book, and I really hope Bethany gets her flowers at the end of the day.

To be honest, this was mostly a cover read, but wanted to check this out especially after it was a subject of controversy. But this standalone contemporary fantasy blew me away with intricate world building, fast pacing, and characters that were well developed.

First off, this book has some graphic violence, body horror, tons of profanity, some sensual content (no explicit sex), deep discussion of racism paralleling race relations in the USA, body burning, along with some other things, so this might not be appropriate for all audiences. Second, this one is a big book, and I savored every single word.

My favorite part of the book so far is the world building and the magic system. This takes place in an alternate version of 2023 USA, where many Black people can do magic, and in some ways, this is a fantasy version of race relations in current day USA, with the Witchers being restricted because of what they can do, ever since they revealed themselves to the world about 20 years before the story started. The magic system is a total win, especially the brewing, which we get the most depth on, as its Venus’ specialty magic. Magic has its consequences, and in many cases, it’s deadly, but it’s not so horrible that one would not want to use it at all. I love the short quotes at the beginning of each chapter that helps flesh out the world in small bits that doesn’t interfere with the flow of the story.

We follow Venus, though also important is Janus, her adoptive sister, Tyrell, her cousin, and Presley, a friend that’s back after being away for a while and ex-lover. Venus is a brewer, and she doesn’t much care for the politics of things, just do her jobs brewing potions, and get her cash to keep those close to her taken care of, especially in the midst of political and cultural turmoil. As events transpired, she’s forced into the world of politics super quick, and has to keep the ones close to her in line while also performing this job. All while trying to keep the dark side of her magic in check.

While I’m not the biggest cheerleader of black-and-gray morality personally, this was presented in an in-depth and intriguing manner. The characters are fleshed out with their own motivations and most of them were understandable. Though by the end of the story, I disliked a few characters for good reasons. The plot was fast paced despite it’s length. There were plenty of twists and surprises that I didn’t see coming, especially in the last quarter of the book, and it moved me emotionally a few times. I appreciate that the romance was mostly back burner, and it was more about building trust between Venus and her loved ones, which goes through a lot throughout the story, and I love how the main crew used their magic in various ways in the situations they find themselves in.

The prose itself is easy to read and kept me reading for longer than I intended more than once.

I’m going to keep a lookout for future books! If you’re up for it, please read this book!

Unfortunately, this is a book I will be tapping out on at DNF 57%.
Generational harm and trauma set the stage for this story, but the reveals as to what happened in the past to explain why characters are making the choices they do come so slowly that major plot points are hard to follow and various character decisions inexplicable. The magic system is interesting but either Venus’s family doesn’t know the rules potion brewers are bound to or don’t care about the consequences to her if she breaks them. Or the rules aren’t as strict or dire as communicated to the reader? Otherwise her sister and cousin (but mostly her sister), characters we are supposed to like, are unconscionably terrible. I’m a forgiving reader who tries to find or create a reasonable in-universe justification for any and every confusing character decision, but even I have my limits.
I think this book has an audience, unfortunately that audience is not me.

‘I was very excited to read this book for a long time. I am always happy to see Black girls on beautiful book covers. I love seeing more Black queer representaion in YA overall and specifically in fantasy.

Venus Stoneheart brews illegal love potions to make money for her family. After her mother is killed, Venus is charged with making potions to control power politicians.
I really enjoyed the author’s writing style, especially how emotions are described. I think the worldbuilding specifically around the magic system was very intriguing and explained very well. The characters were very vivid and complex. I could imagine each of the characters in my mind.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for giving me an arc.

Michael Machira Mwangi sold me on this book with a gorgeous cover.

The Poisons We Drink is a long one. I’m not sure if it could have been edited for a faster pace. It did drag at times, but every detail ends up being important in the end. Bethany Baptiste gives us action, mystery, drama, and betrayal. Plus they include a hefty dose of family loyalty and a touch of romance.

The story is filled with diverse characters which I love. Baptiste celebrates their diversity by giving them starring moments.

I got sucked into the drama and the mystery. This is exactly what you want from a book and Baptiste gives it to the reader. I love the battles, the magic, and at the core Venus’ love for her family. The Poisons We Drink is magic itself.

I didn't know what to expect from The Poisons We Drink, but it wasn't this stunning work in which magic practitioners pay for their work with pain, and prejudice against those with power has spread through all levels of society and politics, mirroring today's biases and the complex society we've created.
Venus comes from a family of magic practitioners, but she only wants to live in peace. Unfortunately the magic to which she's pledged, creating love potions - love for others, love for ideas, love for anything - is in high demand, and she's the primary breadwinner for her household since her mother broke a cardinal rule and sacrificed her own powers. Venus's younger sister Janus is keen to be in the middle of the social and political movement battling against anti-magic legislation. The sisters, their friends and families, and the larger magical community intersect and separate as we do in our own world.
The world building here is spectacular, and the created one balances the similarities with our own existence with enough difference to make it completely understandable and still something new and engaging. Magic is presented very differently from the typical vision, causing readers to consider the negative, personal impacts that have special abilities can create. While the complexity of the story leads to occasional hiccups in pacing, they don't detract enough from the story to truly interrupt it.
Character development, plot lines, political intrigue, social upheaval, and dynamic relationships all add to this engaging story.

The Poisons We Drink is a respectable debut with no shortage of interesting ideas and relevant commentary, but I found it difficult to really invest in the story. The pace and plot is a little meandering, and I sometimes found myself not understanding the characters' actions or aspects of the magic system. I think another round or two of polishing could have really made this book shine.

Venus is the Love Witcher: brewer of potions that make people fall in love--with other people, with ideas, with themselves... It's not a job she wants, but it's a job she has to do. And it's a job that comes with danger, and loss. In a version of America where witchers and humans live alongside each other (though not always peacefully), being any kind of witcher is dangerous--especially in DC, where politics run society and anti-witcher humans are emboldened. Venus's only goal is to protect her family, but that's easier said than done. And when the unthinkable happens, she finds herself turning to more dangerous options out of desperation.

The Poisons We Drink has magic as an allegory for race, while also having a Black MC in a story set in an alternate version of our real world, and it does these things incredibly well (this is why we need stories from Black authors, y'all). It's painful and emotional and beautiful, and I was sucked in by the characters and the magic.

TW for hate crimes and harassment that mirror real-world ones, and for police brutality at protests. These things are handled well, and with care.

This book was good. The magic system was interesting, though I had to keep notes to keep all the rules straight in my head. And I’m still not sure if it was killing someone that gave Venus and Presley their deviant or what. If so, you would think a lot more people would have the dark aura given the vibe of the city and how tense it is between Witchers and humans.

For this being a YA novel about social justice and civil rights, I really liked the overall story. Corrupt politicians were to be practically expected. But what I really loved was how nobody was really portrayed as a saint. Fighting for what they believed in didn’t make the Witchers blameless in all aspects of life. Though I was glad none of them were responsible for Venus’s mom’s life.

As for characterizations, I think I enjoyed the side characters the most. The girls’ uncle. Presley. Tyler. There was a lot of emotion to go around. But when it came to Venus herself… I think a lot of authors try for tough, steady FMCs, but in the process, something ends up missing. Or lacking? It’s difficult to describe. I just felt like I was reading about her rather than being captured and placing myself in her story.

I also need to comment on the errors (in this review copy). Words would be missing or phrased weird. And not in the dialect of their dialogue. It took me out of the story a bit.

Overall, enjoyable. But I wanted a bit more.

Firstly, thank you NetGalley & Sourcebooks for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I rated this a 3.5 ✨

Genuinely, I thought this was going to be a duology or a series and I was wrong. This is a standalone novel which has a lot jam packed into it that made it seem as though it should have been a much shorter and delved into first book of a duology or trilogy.

With that being said, there was a lot that I loved and that I related to. The aspect of grief and trauma and wanting to deal with things on your own was relevant on every single page of the book and I loved that Bethany Baptiste took it there. I liked the writing, I liked her characterizations (more on that below) and I liked the political intrigue.

It did begin to get choppy and muddled and repetitive towards the middle/end of the novel. I was a little confused on the characters and some of the plot elements as I was listening to the audiobooks so some reveals went over my head because I didn't know if their importance.

But a lot of the novel I did love. I loved the comedic relief that offset a lot of the heavy topics, I loved Venus's strong will and loved the magic system and the world. It was a VERY interesting world to dive into.

{3.5 stars}

Thanks to Sourcebooks Fire for gifted access via Netgalley.

In a world where witches are recently outed and feared, Venus and her family are embroiled in a fight for survival. She is a Love Witch brewing potions that literally sap the life out of her. Her parents have both died for the cause and both her sister and her love’s lives are at risk. Venus must outwit the political factions on either side as well as manage the demon inside herself to stop the vote to out all witches.

This is one of those fantasies where the premise is perfect, but the execution didn’t always work for me. I liked the political aspects of the plot but how it resolved just added more unethical behavior. I liked that the characters were diverse and queer, and yet I feel like none of them really had much of a soul. I totally get that you fight oppression with any means necessary, but I had kind of hoped for a glimmer of ethical substance there in the end. The magical system with potions and familiars was really cool though. There were a couple of nice reveals throughout, but overall I think this one was about 100 pages too long for me.

So this is a hard review to write - I was really excited about this one but I had trouble getting into the story. I love the idea of the witches and magic. It was interesting but it felt hard to stay on track because the world building and the characters felt really intense. The plot was very complicated and I found myself having to go back and re-read to make sure that I was understanding of what was going on.

I'm going to also think that it's a me thing - I'm hitting a struggle bus with focusing on reading and I definitely think that I want to try again in the future. Maybe a re-read would be a good way to feel like I am fully taking in the story?

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for the E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This story was a wild emotional ride. I loved the use of magic and that in this world it had legitimate consequences. The amount of twists and reveals had me unable to put this book down. Venus is one tough soldier for all the things she endured. Her fight within herself was a journey in self love and maximizing one’s potential. There were so many different dynamics and bonds that blended so well together . I would love to see a spin off following her sister Janus or cousin Ty on and adventure.

The discrimination, the fight of magic against non-magic, and a hard nock protagonist who's fighting for the people she loves. This book has an excellent premise. But the characters and plot get a bit lost in the slow pacing, the clunky sentences, and over writing. The story is good but it drags on too long at the beginning before picking up and the whole thing would benefit with a little smoothing out.

Wow. This was a super unique story, I am having a hard time thinking of another book I've read to compare it to and coming up blank.
A Contemporary fantasy that deals with segregation, oppression, corrupt politicians, and people willing to fight for whats right. A very powerful read that should make you at least a little uncomfortable in the best way.
The representation in this of a non-binary character is done so well in how matter of factly its handled I love to see it.

The Poisons We Drink


This book was quite the ride. Twists and turns all throughout, and I never knew what was coming next. This story is a great mix of fantasy and political intrigue.

The main protagonist, Venus Stoneheart, is a potion maker; she makes her living mainly selling illegal love potions. In her world, witches and humans are divided and constantly at odds. When tragedy strikes her family, Venus is thrown into a political struggle for which she wasn’t unprepared.

The world-building is rich and incredible. The little blurbs at the beginning of each chapter help you to put the pieces of the world together. The characters’ harsh reality reflects many struggles in our current society. Venus is a unique protagonist; she is definitely not perfect and tries her best to protect and provide for the people around her. She is a young woman with the weight of the world on her shoulders, and I enjoyed following her story and seeing how she dealt with everything thrown at her. Overall, this was an intriguing read, with beautiful characters and a fascinating world.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.