Unfortunately I was not able to finish this book; personally, I did not care for the characters, the plot, or the writing. I'd read about 2/3 of it and very little had happened. The characters were bland, and I found the writing to be a bit too melodramatic.

For some reasons that I've yet to find out, I actually like history (eventhough I dislike memorizing it--I just like to read it!). Which is why, whenever I found books set in sometimes in the past, I'll add it to my TBR faster than ever. An Affair of Poisons is no different. The other thing that made me interested to read it (other than its gorgeous cover, of course) is because it mentioned the Sun King and rebellion in the summary. So basically, history + royal court dramas + rebellion = my kind of books.

Now, because I love lists, I'll give you some reasons why you should read An Affair of Poisons :
+ It is based on real events! I admit, I only know halfway through the book that almost all of the characters (with the exception of our protagonists) are a real figures in the past. Catherine Monvoisin, the mother of Mirabelle, really tried to poison the Sun King back then, eventhough she didn't succeed in the end. An Affair of Poisons is basically Addie's imagining of what if she succeed? Since I'm a history nerd, finding out that these are all real is a bonus point.
+ Great and sweet relationship between the characters. In this book, the relationship that I love the most is between Josse and his half-sisters. It's so great and made me wish for the thousandth time that I had an older brother. And of course, I also love the romantic relationship between Mirabelle and Josse. I admit, it took me almost halfway through before I start shipping them, but only because I think the romance is very subtle and definitely not the main focus. Still, I love how they progress from enemies to something more!
+ Fast-paced plot. Usually it took me almost a week for reading 400 pages books, but it only took me 4 days to finish this one. I just couldn't stop reading and need to know what happen next since there's a lot of twist and turns. One thing that I didn't expect is, there's a lot of time jump here and I feel kinda weird that it's pretty long. It's definitely a me thing, since I guess I'm just used to reading fantasy books without any time jump
+ This isn't part of the story, but I love how Addie Thorley includes an author's note explaining the real events and the comparison between what's fiction and what's real. It actually helps me understand the book better!

In conclusion, if you love historical fiction, definitely check out this book. The only thing that left me wanting more is, I need more siblings-relationship between Josse and his half-siblings. There's a lot in the beginning, but practically none in the middle and only a little in the end. Personally I think it's the best part in this book, and I just wish there's more.

When I first read the synopsis for this book, I was extremely intrigued. I wasn’t sure what I should expect going into this, and honestly those expectations were not high. An Affair of Poisons proved me wrong in the most wonderful way: I absolutely adored this book so much more than I thought I would.

The first word that comes to mind when in describing An Affair of Poisons is fun. There are a lot of things to love about this book. Female alchemists? Yep. A broody, bastard prince? Check. Enemies to lovers romance? You got it. The writing is completely compelling and the fast-paced, interesting plot easily keeps the reader entertained. The plot is full of magic, murder scandals, and mayhem; all set in a historical French setting and based on real historical events (see: L’affaire des poisons). The story Addie Thorley has created is so imaginative and well-crafted. A lot of time, effort, and research went into creating this book and it easily shows.

An Affair of Poisons was the alternate YA historical fiction story that I didn’t know I needed. I really enjoyed this unique and fascinating twist on historical events and the characters that were written to perfection. I’m looking forward to whatever Addie Thorley has up her sleeve next!

Disclaimer: I received this ARC courtesy of Page Street Kids through Fantastic Flying Book Club. I am grateful for the opportunity to review an ARC for my readers, but this will not influence my final rating. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and based solely on the book. 

Mirabelle's passions lay in the curatives she concocts for her mother's Shadow Society. Though she is equally skilled at boiling up a deadly poison, her true love is seeing the benefits of a hunger tonic in the hands of the homeless. 

Meanwhile, Josse is the king's bastard, and he never lets himself forget. He loves his half-sisters more than anything in the world but cannot extend that love to himself. 

Mira and Josse are both flawed characters. They blame themselves for mistakes they have made in their past, and keep themselves from happiness because they "don't deserve it." Mirabelle is quicker to own her guilt: she assesses her skills to find ways to help the people she has hurt. This endeared her in my eyes. Josse was much slower and it felt like every time he accepted a flaw, he quickly took another step back. He lashed out at others, blaming them for his weaknesses. After a bit, I stopped being compassionate and got frustrated. I wanted Josse to grow as a character, but not while he was tearing other characters down. 

A few plot points in this book were harder to swallow than others. Josse leaving his sisters behind for over a week because he fears his brother's wrath is one of them. The character's motivations were not always clear to me, and at times followed the plot more than their characterization. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the fragile relationship between Mira and her sister, Margot. La Voisin's mask of strength was another strong aspect in An Affair of Poisons. I relished the moments this deadly woman showed tiny cracks in her armour, betraying the humanity underneath. 

The characters of An Affair of Poisons all work towards an ending that signals a strong "you are who you choose, not what you were born into" moral. There is a cause worth a rebellion!

Review on blog: March 10 (https://bookprincessreviews.wordpress.com/)
Review on Goodreads: March 10 (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2705653069)

What I Liked
This story is AMAZING! You're immediately drawn into the world of Mirabelle and Josse, and there is not one peripheral character who is dull or unnecessary. The story has its roots in real history, and the descriptions and setting are extremely visceral. I got so into this book, I made a Twitter reaction GIF thread while I was reading!

What I Would Have Liked to See
At first, I felt like the timeline was moving very fast, but as I've finished now, I think the time jumps forward were a good thing to keep the story moving along.

My Favorite!
Josse and Louis's development. Sorry, everyone else! You weren't as infuriating, as heartbreaking, as stubborn, as sneery, as snarky, as surprising, or as tender as these two little twerps slap-fighting each other in the sewers of Paris.

TL;DR
When Mirabelle accidentally poisons the King of France at the behest of her unhinged, manipulative mother, she joins forces with the orphaned royal children in a desperate attempt to end the bloody revolution that's bringing Paris to its knees.

I don’t really have any bones to pick with this book, but it didn’t stand out or capture me in way. I’m not sure if it’s because there are just so many YA titles coming out about the French aristocracy that it just gets lost in the shuffle, or if the poisoning/conspiracy plot makes it feel too much like a typical YA high fantasy, but this one really isn’t memorable for me. I liked both protagonists but all the secondary characters felt a little too one-dimensional to be believable (the dauphin in particular drove me crazy). That said, it’s fast paced, well written, and pretty unusual. An especially fun time for anyone who likes alternative history.

A stunning story of love, betrayal and sacrifice that leaves you breathless. The book not only focuses on the romantic love, but the love we all search and long for in our parents and how not everyone has that luxury. Both sad and full of heartbreak, our characters growth into more humble human beings who work toward unifying all classes of peoples to make the world a better place.

An Affair of Poisons by Addie Thorley is an exquisitely written historical fiction with a dash of fantasy that blew me away!
If a book says it’s set in Paris, I am so there for it! When I heard about An Affair of Poisons, I immediately knew it would be a book I’d need to read! After she unknowingly helps her mother poison King Louis XIV, Mirabelle is forced to see her mother’s Shadow Society for what they are. They’re not the heroes they claimed to be, they’re murderers and now she is one of them. She soon meets a bastard prince and together they form a rebellion against the Shadow Society. This book, it was EVERYTHING. Just wow, wow, wow. I love the characters, Mirabelle and Josse were both amazing main character's and so brilliantly written! I really enjoyed reading the book through their separate points of view, it was my favorite part! The author blew me away with the writing, it was just so exquisite and vivid. I truly felt like I was transported back to 1679 Paris and I loved every minute of it!

Why I loved this book & I think others will too:
~ The writing is EVERYTHING.
~ PARIS!
~ The main characters!

An Affair of Poisons will dazzle readers and it is a must read for lovers of historical fiction!

Poison? Espionage? Murder? France? Count me all the way in.

In this novel, we follow Mirabelle who longs to follow in her father’s footsteps by being an innovative apothecary. She’s allowed to brew poisons and antidotes, but only for her mother’s Shadow Society. When one of her poisons is used to kill the king, Mirabelle begins to rebel.

We also follow Josse, the bastard son of the deceased king. His main goal is to protect his younger half sisters from being murdered by the mob seeking all of the royals’ heads. These unlikely allies band together to bring peace to Paris.

This novel was just so fun! I’m glad it’s a standalone and not a series. Sometimes I just get really bogged down reading series after series. It was nice that this had a clear beginning and ending. The characters were all really well written and fleshed out. The only reason this wasn’t a five star book for me was that everything was just too… easy. Mirabelle’s mom was evil. Period. Josse’s father, who never paid attention to his bastard son, secretly had a heart for him (which we never see). Those things annoyed me. I honestly don’t think the king loved him and this was just brought in to give poor Josse another crisis in his life.

I enjoyed the fringe characters too. They had personalities without taking too much attention away from our main characters. The storyline of this book is fantastic and such a fun take on The Affair of Poisons! I had honestly never heard of La Voisin and her real life plot to kill the king of France! It was really cool to read the historical afterward and tie pieces of history to the fiction Thorley created.

This isn’t a true story, but it’s based in history. There were magical elements included with the alchemy that I thought were really cool!

I really liked this book and will be looking out for books by this author in the future.

This book takes a historical event - an attempt to murder king Louis XIV - and asks "what if?" What if the murder was successful? What if it involved magic?

Alchemy plays an important role in this YA historical fantasy, but so do questions about family, honour and doing the right (or wrong) thing. If you are familliar with historical affair of the poisons, all the better. However, no knowledge of history is needed for the enjoyment.

The book is a bit longer than needed and some of the themes are explored naively. Would royalty help commoners? (Not likely.) In an attempt to present "both sides" as equally good and bad, some of the message is lost. But this can be excellent food for thought.

Thank heavens for a standalone. For once a book isn't in a trilogy. That alone makes this interesting. But it also is fast paced, has fantasy elements that keep the reader guessing, and is very well researched and written.

This was a fast paced historical fantasy full of magic, deceptions, intrigue and lots of murder. I loved that this was actually based off an actual historical event where a woman did attempt to kill the king of France. I loved it even more when the authors notes at then end told us the actual story and the liberties she took on her characters. This book also wasn't just about the poisoning of a king but the redemption we try to find after we've done some pretty heinous things. And that maybe murder isn't always the best solution to an obstacle.

I know the author doesn't have a background in history but she captured 16th century France nicely. The huge gap between the nobility and commoners in Paris beautifully. And that it takes some time before the differences gets reconciled.

Overall this is great historical read with fantasy elements that both genre lovers will like. Also it's a stand a lone which is great refresher from all the trilogies we see.

A fantastic, tightly-paced story, filled to the brim with intrigue and colourful characters. It stands out as a standalone YA fantasy (a rarity) that holds itself together with tension and characters you feel for and can truly root for. It opts to play it safe, but its strength is mostly in its cast.

An Affair of Poisons is this historical fantasy mixture combining historical detail and simmering revolution, with smoke creatures and alchemy. One of the central issues within the book is when our good intentions go astray. Science and innovation are powerful forces to behold. But it's terrifying to witness our own creations turned not only against us, but against our very intentions. Even more than that, An Affair of Poisons grapples with the idea of limiting ourselves and of defying everything around us, to become who we truly are.

What I loved in An Affair of Poisons is how rich each of the characters are. From the side characters of Mirabelle's siblings, all the way to our main characters. Both Mirabelle and Josse are so starved of acceptance, but they've reacted in different ways: fierce commitment to pleasing her mother, and making his father see him even as he defies him. Yet their friendship brings out their strength to not only see beyond the cage of expectations, but to also realize their own potential.

I love anything that is inspired or based off of real historical events. So, once I read about An Affair of Poisons I knew I had to read this book. I enjoyed it, I had fun with it!
For me, the lead characters had a good building up to there relationship that it was easy to cheer for them. The way Thorley wrote their build-up was delightful, are they, are they not. I wasn't surprised by every single twist that happened, but that didn't take away from the joy I had while reading. This story, for me, was about the characters and not just the plot. I cared what happened to these characters from the king's death to the fight against the Shadow Society. There was one scene that lost a character that did hurt, I felt my eyes burn with a few tears.
Family plays such a strong role in this book, it's nice to see two different kinds of family, and how each side deals with these problems differently. Historical France is a beautiful place yet bloody place through the eyes of Addie Thorley!

Enemies fall in love, glorious descriptions, fantasy elements, what more could you want in a historical event inspired by L'affaire des poisons!!

Oh man, this wonderful book. So, I'm a serious francophile and cannot get enough of books set in France. The food! The clothing! Paris! This story didn't disappoint and from the get go, I was sucked in. Mirabelle is an engaging heroine with a knack for curatives (cue vintage apothecary amazingness. I'm so here for it) and she uses her talents to pursue what's right—even if it means going against her own mom. I love family drama, and this story has sibling relationships, a crazy mother/daughter dynamic (I kept thinking of Tangled, in a good way).

And the romance. SWOON! Enemies to Lovers is my JAM. Highly Recommend.

I am not usually a fan of anything history based but this book blew me away. In a read it in one sitting as fast as you can to find out what happens. The enemies to lovers added into a well thought out plot based on an actual time and person in the best of ways.
If you enjoy a tale filled with not just redemption but also pain, longing, and a universal acknowledgement that some things are your fault but growth can be had than this book is for you. Part romance but all heart.

This book took me awhile to get into, but once I was hooked I just could not stop reading! I loved the way the author entwined actual history with a fictional romance and magic. Both the hero and heroine were multi-dimensional and contributed their own strengths to the story. I love the way the book ended, but I almost wish there would be a second one so I could spend more time with these characters and the alternate history. I'll be on the lookout for Addie Thorley's next books!

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley— in exchange for an honest review.

An atmospheric historical fantasy set during the reign of King Louis XIV with an alternate twist of events.

An Affair of Poisons is based on L'affaire des poisons, the major murder scandal in France during the reign of King Louis XIV that resulted in 36 conspirators executed. Addie Thorley envisioned an intriguing alternate history to this event which involved La Voisin and the people of Paris. La Voisin was a French fortune teller, commissioned poisoner, and professional provider of alleged sorcery and became the central figure in this wicked affair. Now, that is an impressive resume.

From the very first pages, the lush descriptions and rich details depicted a dark and atmospheric tone. This tense and fast-paced tale is rooted in 17th century Paris on the brink of political revolution and depicted what happens when alchemist, Mirabelle and bastard princeling, Josse have to work together to stop the murder of both nobility and the common people after Mirabelle accidentally murders King Louis XIV for her mother’s (La Voisin) Shadow Society. Descriptions of alchemical magic and deadly smoke beasts gave the plot a wicked advantage.

Thorley was able to keep the intensity of plot without sacrificing the character’s individual, unique voice. Told to us through alternating perspectives, you find yourself quickly falling in love with Mira’s fierceness and courage and Josse’s loyalty and commitment. Together, Mira and Josse supported each other as they battled against their unique struggles of self-worth, acceptance, guilt, pain, trust, and loyalty.

Every character represented the hopes and struggles during this period; however, the story was afflicted by flat characterization. We see one side and a few traits, but most of the characters were generally the same from beginning to end. There is a romance, and it is slow and gives you a feeling of sweet hope without overshadowing the plot.

Overall, this is a memorable fantasy debut by Addie Thorley which tells a creative and alternate history of real life events. Be sure to read Thorley's author note at the end in which she shares the real events, and where exactly her inspiration came from. She also provides additional recommended reading if readers wished to learn more of the Affair of the Poisons.

CW: Murder, death of family, blood and illness, poverty and homelessness

The premise was interesting but executed poorly. There was not much intrigue into the characters and the writing appeared banal.