I was thoroughly immersed with The Poisons We Drink. I enjoyed how Bethany included current issues in marginalized communities to magical realism and fantasy. It was a heartbreaking, rage inducing yet enjoyable and adventurous read! I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

Thank you NetGalley for an audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review. I LOVED this so much!! The narrator did such a great job on the voices for all the different characters. I ADORED the magic system in this it was really intriguing. I think hands down my favorite part of this was the family dynamic between Venus and her family. It was almost like looking in a mirror at times. I’m definitely gonna give this a reread a bunch.

The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste is an urban fantasy centered on politics, civil rights, and complicated family dynamics.

Venus - a brewer of love potions with a malevolent magical entity restrained inside of her - leads this story with wit, ruthlessness, vulnerability, and strength. As far as protagonists go, she was very compelling and enjoyable to follow. The supporting characters were also rich and well-fleshed out with interesting motivations of their own.

The strength of this novel is the world building. The magic system is intricate creating not just moments of wonder but dark moments of heavy consequences. I loved that each chapter began with an epigraph "quoted" from an in-universe book, speech, police report, etc. that helped to not only tell the story, but broadened the world around the characters.

It did take me a couple attempts to fully get into the book, but once I did, I loved the ride. I'm rating this a 4.5, but rounding up.

Thank you Netgalley for providing an advanced audio copy in exchange for honest review.

The Poisons We Drink is an intense YA fantasy whose leading lady, Venus, has magic that allows her to feel the negative emotions of others. She also has a type of deviation, called It, living inside her that has a bent for murder and a mother running a criminal organization. As Witchers are facing increased discrimination by humans, the illegal potions that Venus is forced to make are becoming even more dangerous to produce. Venus must figure out how to become her own person with the pressure of her cruel mother, vivacious sister, and antagonistic society all coming down on her. And then an unexpected death throws another huge wrench into her life.

The magic system presented in this novel has traditional elements - Witchers have different types of magic such as shapeshifting and creating portals - as well as a very dark aspect - potions take blood and high level of bodily harm to create. This novel is not an easy read and starts with trigger warnings, including parental abuse, self-inflicted physical injury, police violence, and dubious drug use to name a few. However, it is worth the read. Venus is a great morally gray main character, and the world is a well-developed urban fantasy.

A really unique book with an interesting magic system and well designed characters. The world’s politics and race issues were beautifully handled.

The pacing was quite slow to begin with, but it picked up.

The audiobook was brilliant, with the narrator giving each character a distinct feel without it feeling too pantomime or silly. I really loved Venus.

DNF @ 25%

Thank you Netgalley, Sourcebooks and Recorded Books for the E-Arc and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

This book has such a great premise but for some reason it is not keeping my interest at all. I found myself so many times, as I listened to the audiobook, zoning out and not really being interested at what was going on. Even if the narrator is absolutely fantastic and does give an emotional performance, I really feel nothing for the characters. I thought once we got to Venus Mom dying it would pick up but I found myself not even caring about that. The worldbuilding with the different types of Witcher abilities was interesting but at the same time felt too much and was hard to keep up with. To the point that I was highlighting passages of each discipline but just stopped because it became overwhelming. I wanted to relate with Venus and felt for her but I just couldn’t connect with her. I didn’t dislike her but I did like her sister Janus more than I like her. The pacing was also very slow and just felt like the 25% that I did read/listened dragged on. So I think I’m just going to stop at 25% after trying to read/listen to this since last February.

This book is really hard for me to rate. It has a lot of good points, I love there's a lot of representation portrayed in a nice way, also showing the struggles of being a minority group. My issue with this book was its tone, it was a bit too YA for my personal taste. Some of the decisions of the characters were really questionable and I was pretty tired of the constant teenage attitude. 😅 On the other hand, I can appreciate it as a good portrayal of growing up with trauma and expectations being put on you. The plot was entertaining, the world building was quite unique!

Overall, I really appreciate what this book did, but it wasn't completely up to my taste.

This book was almost entirely saved by the narrator, the 3 stars are for Lynette R Freeman!

I'd love to tell you what this book is about but it is so confusing and convoluted that I struggle to understand myself.
The premise and opening chapter of this story had me so intrigued but the story started to fall apart soon after that, Our protagonist, Venus, makes love potions which her family depend on to bring income into there home. However every time she makes a potion it takes a physical toll on her body, she also has some sort of evil entity inside her who talks to her and wants her to commit evil acts.
Add into that a bunch of side characters making foolish choices, a strained mother/daughter relationship and an "us against them" dynamic between magic users and non magic users and you have this hot mess of a story,

This story was just trying to do way to much and ended up succeeding at none of it, which is just so disappointing, I think this book had immense potential and in parts the writing was very strong. This book needed to go back to the drawing board and some pf the fat needed trimmed from this story. I think this author has potential to produce a great fantasy book but its not this one.

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..

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, it’s over 16 hours on the audiobook, and I savored every single minute.

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 narrator, Lynnette R. Freeman, had a great vocal range, though I think my favorite was her Janus voice, especially during some of the more heartbreaking moments of the book. The prose itself is easy to read and kept me listening 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 book just isn’t really my style. I think the fantasy world and general plot is cool but the book is overall just not holding my interest. I don’t really like the characters and I think that’s just personal preference. Objectively this is not in any way a bad book, it’s just not my thing. I do think many people would really love this book and I hope they’re able to find it and enjoy it!!!

Initial Thoughts
This was excellent! There was a lot of excitement packed into this novel and I was quickly hooked. The cast of characters was fantastic and had a lot of depth. I wanted to see good things happen for Venus and those that she cares about. I listened to the audiobook and thought that the narrator did a fantastic job with this story.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Full review to be posted soon.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to get an early copy via audio!

Firstly, I love the narrator. She did a wonderful job of using different voices and dialects to distinguish the characters.

Although I love the world the author build, as well as the characters complicated dynamics with one another, I felt like the main character Venus was kinda dragged along into the events rather than taking authority. Granted, there are many moments where she creates plans, but was mostly thrown into situation by the other characters. Especially at the end during the main climax. Everything was literally shoved onto Venus for little reasons.

With that said, I did enjoy it and would recommend it to a friend.

The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste is a contemporary young adult fantasy in which humans and witchers (people with various forms of magic) are divided. Venus Stoneheart, the main character, helps support her family by brewing illegal love potions. On top of the risk of her trade, both legally and to her body because brewing has painful side effects, she has a sentient dark magic inside of her that can cause devastation if unleashed. Venus's life is already complicated and then her mother is murdered, which breaks her world apart in ways she never expected.

I don't even know where to start with this book because I loved it so much. It's written so beautifully and the world is so rich and full. It is obvious the lore and history runs deeper than the focus of our story and those are the kinds of things I love about stories. From the very beginning, I was pulled into the world of this novel and when it was over, I felt like I lost something and I can't wait to get it back (there's a sequel, I think, and I can't wait for it if there is).

The thing I appreciated the most about this book is that Bethany Baptiste understands exactly how to add complications to the plot that aren't superficial. Every time I thought things couldn't get worse, they did and the tension it provided kept me reading. Additionally, the characters are emotionally rich and the emotional complications of the character arc were just as tense as the plot. I was surprised at every turn (which doesn't happen often because I can usually guess what's going to happen) and it was so refreshing to be on the edge of my seat.

Magic in The Poisons We Drink also comes at a price that can be steep. It doesn't solve everything and the problems that come into play in this story aren't easy to fix just because magic exists. This is only outshined by how compelling Venus is as the main character. I am always a fan of morally gray characters because their stories are more capitivating to me, and I was capitivated by Venus.

If you're a fan of lore, rich contemporary fantasy worlds, and morally gray characters, this is the book for you.

DNF @ 44%

When everyone's emotions are overwrought and at a 10 to begin with, how can anything feel like it has actual stakes? I started this a month or two ago, put it down and just tried picking it back up because it was a review copy. I really wanted to love it, but it definitely suffered from bloated writing with overly purple prose descriptions. The themes were very heavy handed and the magic system was very convoluted, leaving me feeling dread at having another NINE HOURS left in the audio still at almost halfway through. I'm glad so many people are enjoying it and I love seeing queer representation in fantasy, but this is just not for me personally. I think I only got as far as I did because of the narration.

**Thank you to Netgalley and RB Media for the review copy, all opinions are my own.

This was such a captivating read! As with most fantasy books, there were a lot of characters and terms to learn and keep straight, but they weren't too difficult to remember. There were some majorly shocking twists that had me gasping out loud and I enjoyed the characters and their development. 
Also, the audiobook narrator, Lynnette R. Freeman did an incredible job!

An engaging YA read which highlights prejudice and its effect on people in an easily understandable way.

The magic system was interesting, and the characters felt well rounded. The pacing was fast and there was a lot going on.

Pretty enjoyable overall!

a captivating young adult fantasy novel that takes readers on a magical journey through a world filled with intrigue, danger, and dark secrets.

This one didn’t quite hit home for me. I wanted to absolutely love it, the concept is cool, the magic system sounds great and had potential but I just got really lost in the detail and structure that it made following it a little distracting.
I did find the narration a little over acted in places which may have also added to the distraction but I did like the atmosphere it created and the general storyline, when I got a hold of it, was good.
I think as a debut this shows some great potential, it could benefit from being a little shorter with better flow between the characters and the plot and in my opinion simplified for its target audience, at times I felt it dragged with info dumping and I found myself uninterested in some of the character, largely because there is a lot of them, I had to keep reminding myself who they were and how they were connected which detracted from being invested in them, but if your looking for a book with and urban setting, dramatic magical and political plots and complex characters with questionable motives, I think you would get on well with this book.

This was an entertaining read with good worldbuilding, an interesting magic system and engaging characters. While there is action, I felt this book dragged in some places and may have been longer than necessary. However, as I was listening to the audiobook, I could speed it up a little and the narrator kept me engaged with what was happening within the plot. They gave each character a distinct voice which made it easier to remember who was who in this relatively large cast. Over all, this was really enjoyable and I would read more by this author!