Opium And Absinthe is a beautifully written.
A page turner that had me wanting more!
I couldn't wait to start this book when I seen that I was approved for the ARC from NatGalley!
Has some historical fiction crime genre in the mix.

Thank You NetGalley and Publisher

This was a great piece of Victorian fiction with a paranormal twist mixed in. This book was easy to get lost in for the day. I definitely recommend this unique and beautifully written story.

After injuring herself in an accident, Tillie Pembroke awakes to find her entire life turned upside down. Her sister, Lucy, has been murdered in what appears to be a vampire attack, and Tillie begins to rely on opiates to relieve her physical and emotional pain. She resolves herself to finding her sister’s killer while battling an opiate addiction and attempting to evade the disapproving watch of her family.

I have to say, I really enjoyed this book despite not being a huge fan of the gothic genre in general. Usually gothic novels are very stiff in my opinion, and are somewhat challenging to read. Opium and Absinthe however was very fast-paced, enjoyable, and kept me turning pages until the end.

Although I was a fan of it, I feel it may not be for everyone. The murder-mystery aspect of it wasn’t the biggest draw, as I had figured out the “why” and was very close on the “who” at about 60% in. I don’t think that really hindered my enjoyment of the story though, because I was so invested in the journey and the way the novel was narrated.

I also thought that the characters were not the most lovable; the only one I really liked was Ian, and maybe the newsies, though they were not a large part of the story. Tillie was incredibly naive, almost unbearably so. I understand that as this took place in the 1890s, Tillie leads a very sheltered life as one of the elites, but it still was a bit unbelievable. I was constantly torn between feeling great pity for her because of the way her family treats her, and anger at some of her decisions. Despite that, I did greatly admire her perseverance, and desire to pursue knowledge despite her family’s views on a woman’s place in society.

In the end, I can’t quite put in to words why I enjoyed this as much as I did. Nothing about it stuck out, but the writing/story flowed in a way that was very pleasant to read. For now I am giving this a 3.5/5 rounded to 3/5, but I may round up after thinking on it a little more.

Content warnings: assault, murder, death of a loved one, mentions of rape, drug abuse
Intended audience: Adult

Opium and Absinthe was a great historical fiction crime novel. How could you not want to read it once you have seen that beautiful cover? The author's ability to to describe the setting was fabulous. It did have a slight YA vibe.

The premise of this book sparked my interest when I saw it in the line-up of Amazon First Reads. I was happy to see it pop up on Netgalley as well. Many thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy!

This book is about Tillie Pembroke whose sister is found dead with two puncture wounds in her neck. The book takes place in 1899, around the time Dracula by Bram Stoker is published. Needless to say, Tillie who is interested in science and research jumps on the challenge to search for her sister's murderer. She comes across mysterious figures and she has a hard time trying to figure out what's real and what is not.

I leave the fact that Tillie is addicted to opiates out of this premise, because it's something that would have stopped me from reading it. Protagonists who are addicted to any kind of drug while researching a crime is one of my major tropes. I try not to touch books that use this concept, because I think a mystery should be a strong mystery without the need for the main hero to be confused by her own thoughts.

That having been said Lydia Kang executes this concept perfectly. Tillie starts using opium to ease her pain after an incident. This is how the addiction starts, which was something that happened often back in the 19th century. Sure, she didn't always remember what happened the day before; however, we did which I think was a strong way to eliminate my trope from the plot.

This novel has strong and well-developed characters and relationships. I can identify with Tillie to a certain extent, because I loved horror stories when I was younger so my real world also started to get muddled with the fictional world. I like the way she approaches the mystery and how she tackles her research. The way this novel is built up, you get to know the side characters really well, including what motivates them which adds to the mystery.

The writing is a bit of a mix between YA and Adult. I guess it's something you should be open to if you choose to read it.

Other than that, I enjoyed this Sherlock Holmesian novel a lot. I'm eager to read more of Lydia Kang's books now as they seem to be right up my alley.

"From the bestselling author of A Beautiful Poison comes another spellbinding historical novel full of intrigue, occult mystery, and unexpected twists.

New York City, 1899. Tillie Pembroke's sister lies dead, her body drained of blood and with two puncture wounds on her neck. Bram Stoker's new novel, Dracula, has just been published, and Tillie's imagination leaps to the impossible: the murderer is a vampire. But it can't be - can it?

A ravenous reader and researcher, Tillie has something of an addiction to truth, and she won't rest until she unravels the mystery of her sister's death. Unfortunately, Tillie's addicted to more than just truth; to ease the pain from a recent injury, she's taking more and more laudanum...and some in her immediate circle are happy to keep her well supplied.

Tillie can't bring herself to believe vampires exist. But with the hysteria surrounding her sister's death, the continued vampiric slayings, and the opium swirling through her body, it's becoming increasingly difficult for a girl who relies on facts and figures to know what's real - or whether she can trust those closest to her."

Vampire mania and opium addiction? I'm in!

Lucy is the perfect daughter. Lucy is the oldest child. Lucy is dead.

Tillie, the younger sister, already feeling less than, finds it coincidental that her sister's death seems straight out of a newly released novel, "Dracula".

Rather than staying cooped up in a world of wealth and privilage, Tillie sets off to solve her sister's murder and find out what really happened. In the process, she discovers a whole world waiting for her, but one that's not always what she dreamed it might be.

As a nurse, I enjoyed reading about the old school treatments for common ailments and the way of life lived in this time period. I enjoyed the adventure from cover to cover! Tillie was a truly remarkable character.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this and give my honest opinion.

Enjoyable plot and while we aren't supposed to judge a book by it's cover, it's a very pretty cover! There were times though that I couldn't tolerate Tillie. Without revealing any spoilers, there are situations where she definitely puts herself in harm's way. I felt that the story dragged a bit in the middle and I would have liked it to be a bit more faster paced.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Set in New York City, 1899, Kang has created a spellbinding story of addiction and intrigue. When Tillie’s sister is found drained of blood, her murder is too close in method to Bram Stoker’s recently published Dracula to be denied. Despite her eagerness to uncover the murderer, Tillie is hampered by a marriage proposal, a proud, overbearing family and an opium addiction. Unfashionably inquisitive yet succumbing to the seductive solution for her pain, Tillie struggles to make sense of the secrets she stumbles upon. The truth could be more sinister than even Stoker’s own story.

This is a well crafted and compelling story from Kang. The narrative is dark, delicious and infused with sinister undertones thanks to the insertion of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

dnf :( unfortunately I couldn't get into this one. It was pretty slow and I couldn't really get into the characters. I think you'd maybe like this more if you enjoyed Stalking Jack the Ripper.

Opium and Absinthe provided the perfect combination of romance and historical fiction. I found both the plot and characters incredibly engaging, and truly appreciated the way Kang was able to create such wonderful imagery of this time period!

This was the first book I have read by this author but will not be the last. I really enjoyed the story and had to keep reminding myself of the time period the book is set in and that this explains away the reasoning and rationale of the constant drug abusive the book concerns as at that point in History this was the norm. The storyline is well written and the characters well thought out and considered. I would heartily recommend this book to all who enjoy a good read.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. The world building of Ms. Kang was extremely well done. I was pleased with the level of effort put into making this realistic. While I did certainly enjoy Tilly, I always love the scrappy heroine who knows too much, I just had a difficult time getting into this book. For me, there were the beginning to something great here, but it was almost as though the author Was rolling a d20 to see just how much adversity she could throw at the main character. Just how impossible she could make it for her. There is a suspension of disbelief to a point with any book like this but for me I couldn’t get past it all.
The world building as I said was lovely, some of the characters were truly excellent. This just wasn’t the book for me.

Tilly is a young and interesting woman from 19. century era, and when her perfect sister Lucy is found dead, she immediately thinks that the murderers were vampires. She also battles her own demones, addiction to opiates due to her recent accident.

For me it was description and cover love for the first sight. As a fan of Bram Stoker and Ann Rice and all other vampire themed literature I've enjoyed the book even it was a little slow for me and I recommend it.

Thrillingly told, with snippets from the original 'Dracula', Opium and Absinthe is not to be missed.

I admit that it was cover love at first sight when I saw Opium And Absinthe, but I was completely sold as soon as I read the blurb. I've enjoyed Lydia Kang's books, including The Impossible Girl, in the past, and another historical setting with a medical twist sounded simply fantastic. On top of that, Opium And Absinthe promises to present us with a fantasy/horror retelling element involving Bram Stoker's Dracula, which had me even more excited. I know I'm basically allergic to vampire stories, but I did actually enjoy the original Dracula classic and I have to say that I really liked how Lydia Kang decided to incorporate this element into her story. It definitely ended up being one of the things that stood out for me!

That said, despite having high expectations for this story, somehow it didn't work as well as I thought it would for me. I'm struggling to point out exactly why, but I'll try to explain below. Part of the reason probably has to do with the slow pace as well as a bit of a repetitive plot with surprisingly dull moments. The slower pace made it harder to stay focused, and the lack of surprises and dull moments didn't help either of course. I know that the book is set in 1899 and things were different back then (I actually enjoyed those historical descriptions), but the plot was just too repetitive and dull for me and it didn't manage to engage me as I thought it would.

I also struggled with the constant repetition of the opium, morphine and even heroin use as well as the focus on just how dependent the main character Tilly becomes on it as it starts taking over her life and actions. While in a way realistically portrayed, I felt like it was turned into too much of a cliche and I didn't feel like I was able to get to know the character too well due to this focus on Tillie's spiralling addiction and the other characters both reacting to and fomenting said addiction. The characters themselves are not likeable at all (with the exception of Ian maybe) and as a result I struggled to connect to them. The main focus is on Tillie, and I found her to be too frustrating to really care for her and once again I found the focus on her substance abuse to be too much of a cliche and it took away the focus from more interesting elements such as the investigation into Lucy's death, the medical details and the vampire element.

I confess that I saw most of the plot twists coming from a mile away, although I did manage to stumble upon one or two surprises. This wasn't enough to make up for the things that didn't work for me though. I liked the historical setting, the Dracula element and the investigation into Lucy's death as well as the medical details... But the slow pace, the repetitive and sometimes dull plot and constant focus on the substance abuse instead of a proper focus on character and plot development ended up being mostly a letdown for me.

Oh to be a high society female in 1889 is hillarious where to think independently for yourself is considered " Female hysteria" instead of wanting more then to get married to someone rich as you or your equal and have kids to continue that bloodline.

Mathilda Pembroke and Her sister Lucy ( The perfect one) because Mathilda is more questioning everything such as why I guess you call that a curious mind. Instead of a dutiful daughter and constient. Takes place in New york when mysterious and sad circumstances happen. Bram Stoker's Dracula is mentioned and compared a lot which is really appealing to me.

It points out opiod addictions and there use ( to keep women in check or to get rid of reality) What is reality and what is fantasy ? They also talk about abinsthe alot which was very popular in the writing and acting scene especially around early 1900's. Aka the green fairy. New york Immigrant culture is mentioned alot for historical accuracy.

I was given this Arc by netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A terrific book that had me hooked right from the beginning. It features a strong, if flawed, heroine and a fascinating, detailed look at life in Gilded Age Manhattan. As a murder mystery, it has many twists and turns, which are resolved in intelligent, satisfying ways. I really enjoyed “A Beautiful Poison” by Lydia Kang, and this book is reminiscent of that one in the setting and use of old-fashioned medical practices.

For me this was very much a fun read.
Tillie was a spirited character,who over the course of the book becomes one of the biggest drug takers I can think of,yet still functions almost normally.
Blending a murder with the recently released Dracula was a great idea...
All loose ends were neatly tied by the end,with no major surprises.
An enjoyable read. I'll look out for this author again.

I thoroughly enjoyed being taken away to a different time in this charming novel. Things get going right from the start with Tillie breaking a bone and her sister Lucy being murdered. Due to the broken bone, Tillie develops an addiction to laudanum and then morphine which makes her investigation of what happened to her sister complicated. However there is more than her addiction complicating things, her standing makes moving about and meetings with Ian even more difficult.

I loved the vampire aspect and how that fit in the setting and time. There are quotes from Dracula throughout that added to the charm and mystery. But the strength for me was in the characters. Of course Tillie was my favorite but all of the secondary characters had draws and motivations that made them come to life. The grandmother gave me the shivers, and I could imagine her presence making everyone shrink back. The pace was snappy making it a fast read for me that is easy to recommend.