Told from two viewpoints, the story is an adequate reimagination of the Affair of Poisons in French history. It also contains magic, for better or worse.

DNF @ 51%. After getting about halfway through this book, I've decided to put it aside, because I don't think it's for me. Though the concept is promising, the execution felt mediocre. The story and the plot felt similar to other books I've read, and I found myself dreading picking it up. I'm sure the alternate-history-France setting and the alchemy will make up for the slow pacing for a lot of readers, but these elements weren't enough to keep my attention.

Had this been the only 2019 YA title that mixed French history and fantasy that I had been fortunate to read an early copy of, I may have enjoyed this one more, but unfortunately, AN AFFAIR OF POISONS suffers in comparison to the handful of other titles (at least four, all from major publishers) releasing around the same time. With that said, I did like the general idea behind this story and Thorley shows promise in her debut. I may not have been able to connect to this one fully, but I'm looking forward to seeing what she comes up with next.

I loved this book! The full review will be posted soon at kaitgoodwin.com/books! Thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity to connect books to their readers!

This book just did not hook me. The premise was really intriguing but the execution was bland, the writing uninspired and the characters uninteresting. Put this down for a few days and couldn’t even remember what happened when I picked it back up.

This was creative, entertaining and really super fun! I didn't know that this is essentially an alternate history of a true event (and some people) in 1600's Paris. The author's note is cool to read about the history. I really enjoyed Mirabelle for being smart, level headed in many situations and doing her best. Josse is a very dramatic and untrusting person for most of the book. I didn't connect with him as much as Mirabelle but his personality stayed true. I also loved his little sisters and Louis, the true son to the King. The author does a great job to capture the social norms, locations and attitudes of the time period. I can't wait to see what she writes next!