Thank you Netgalley, Lake Union Publishing and Lydia Kang for free- e-ARC in return of my honest review.

I was intrigued by Opium and Absinthe synopsis and cover. I love the time frame of late 19th-early 20th century, particularly in America. It was such a rapid growth in many areas of lives, particularly in States, as in New World.

The reader meets Tillie, a second daughter of an aristocratic family in New York. Her older sister disappeared and later found dead with clean bite marks on her neck. New book Dracula is just hitting the bookshelves of New York stands and bookstores, and the simulates are clearly uncanny. The rumour is the killer is a vampire. Tillie does not trust neither police not her family in finding her sister's killer and she starts her own investigation.

It was quite entertaining read. Tillie is such a naive but adorable character. Her addiction are troublesome but she is strong willed to overcome obstacles. She is the new woman of new generation. Plot wise is was, some in-discrepancies in killer explanations and too many themes were chosen to work on (murder, addiction, sexual assault, abuse); however, it might be attributed to the complexity of life back then.

Overall, I enjoyed it.

When her sister, the perfect daughter is murdered, Tillie is shocked, but determined to find out more - that is, as soon as she is feeling better.


This was an interesting story, wrapped in the hysteria of the newly released Dracula. I enjoyed reading through this book! Great for weekend reads or those rainy days where you want to stay on the couch! Perfect for book clubs too!

Opium and Absinthe
By Lydia Kang

Lydia Kang is an exceptional storyteller. A murder mystery involving a vampire, with some opium and heroin in the mix and this made this read superb! This was an amazing story set in 1899 NYC in the midst of a Bram Stoker's Dracula being released and her sister ends up dead with two puncture marks and drained of blood. Tillie Pembroke plays the amateur sleuth trying to solve the mystery behind her sister's death. With the help of Ian, she venture in a quest to the dark side. Masking her pain from her injury and later on from her sister's death, she battles a horrid addiction from opium, heroin and morphine. This was a fascinating read with amazing research on the medical treatments during the Victorian period. The writing was fully immersive with the rich details of this historical fiction thriller. I highly recommend this book!

I must say I absolutely loved this and the only reason it’s not 5 stars is because I found the drug addiction a bit tiresome after a while. I wanted more of the mystery and hints of vampirism. It is a wonderfully twisty and gothic historical mystery loosely inspired by Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It kept me guessing until the end and I never suspected who the killer was!

Tillie’s character is a touch annoying in the beginning but it’s short lived and she becomes someone to inspire and root for. All of the characters are so richly portrayed even the hateful ones. It’s impossible not to find them all engaging and get caught up in their webs.

Beautifully written and utterly unputdownable.

Thank you to Netgalley, Lake Union and Lydia Kang for this e-copy in return for my honest review. Interesting premise and range of characters. My first book by Lydia Kang but definitely not my last. Loved the writing style but I'm tired after spending one too many nights reading great books into the early hours.

I loved this dark mystery book, the twists, the turns, the characters! Everything about this was fantastic. I can't wait to read more by this author!

Lydia Kang’s Opium and Absinthe is a work of historical fiction that gives the reader a look at the mind of a young woman struggling through substance abuse while shining a light on a serial killer.
Tillie (Mathilda) Pembroke is trying to find herself in the wilds of 1900’s New York City. As she makes her way through the social life of the beautiful and wealthy, she finds that she prefers to spend her time among the books and exhibits of the libraries and the museums. She enjoys letting her mind wander through the curiosities that are in the world around her. She is living her life in the shadow of her beautiful sister Lucy. Tillie seems fine with this arrangement since it allows her the freedom to explore and think through the many meandering questions that fill her mind. Life turns a corner for Tillie and she faces daemons she never thought were real.
Tillie’s inquisitive mind becomes her treasure and tool as she tries to solve the dark mysteries of the people who surround her. She wonders how much she missed while Lucy was covering for her. Along the way, Tillie blazes a path that not many have traveled before her. She has one role model to follow, at least that’s what she thinks.
This is a wonderful read. Lydia Kang masterfully wended her way through Tillie Pembroke’s mind as she fights societal norms, family expectations, and substance abuse. We follow her thoughts through her many curiosities including ranges from what an elephant smells like to how fangs work.

I struggle to give this a rating. While I found the story generally enjoyable, there were times I just didn't want to read it. I'm sitting between a 3 and a 3.5.

They story wasn't bad, it was well written, however I felt it focused so much on Tillie's drug addiction that it took away from other areas of the book that could have been more detailed or fleshed out. I honestly got really tired of hearing about all these drugs she kept getting addicted to.

I know the book is called Opium and Absinthe, but come on...

The characters were ok, besides being annoyed by Tillie's addiction most of the time. She did have her good points, she was strong and determined, she cared very much about finding her sisters killer and she loved learning things a woman of that time had no business knowing.

Tom was perhaps one of my favorites, the way he cared for the children, Tillie and his interest in always helping Tillie. I wanted a bit more from some of the other characters, though I suppose it fit together well with the storyline.

The world building wasn't too bad either. It set the mood for that time period and how certain things would have been taboo or what was expected of certain characters.

Fort the most part, I did like the ending, once things started to unreavel. It was interesting to hear the killers motive and technique. I'd be interested to see what comes next from this author.

I found this novel to be meticulously researched in terms of the surroundings, but unfortunately I didn't find the main characters’ actions to be that realistic given their status in society. The story was reasonably well developed (although I found there were a few too many hints of who the killer was too early on).

Great characters, great story and fun plot. Good historical fiction. Hard to put down and found myself reading this late into the night. I found the writing really beautiful and interesting and with drug use and murder this really does pull you in and makes you want more - Read it if you just want something different that is really well written!

As much as I really wanted to, I didn't love this book. I love the time period, had no problem with the writing style but I found the main character very hard to like.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I seem to be at a difference of opinion from most the reviews, but I really wasn’t keen on this, I found it quite dull and uninteresting on the whole. I didn’t like atillie or find her appealing generally as a MC. Just not for me I feel as others seem to love it

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Opium and absinthe is a book I read in one siting because I could not wait to know everything despite me being proven right for most of it which took away some of the fun. Despite it being a little too slow in the beginning which almost made me not wanting to continue, it picks up after 80 pages or so and then the flow gets better and the writing also gets smoother and thus easier and faster to read. Love the idea behind it as I have never read anything like it so far.

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for the free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Picture this...

Its 1899 in New York City, and a young woman lies dead, her body drained of its blood AND she has two puncture wounds on her neck. There is a new book that was just released, its called Dracula. Surely the murderer couldnt be a vampire..could he?

Opium and Absinthe follows Tillie Pembroke’s on her quest to solve her sisters murder and it is one HELL of aquest. Tillie plays amuteur slueth with the help of a newsie named Ian. Not only is she pushing towards justice for her sister she is also battling a horrid Opioid addiction, which only adds fuel to the flames. But unlike Ian not all the characters have Tillies best interest at heart and their questionable agendas are steadily made clear and result in a satisfying conclusion.

Overall I loved this Murder Mystery, it had a nice splash of romance and paranormal that kept thing interesting and added depth to the story.

I recieved a digital copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m obviously the outlier with this one, but this book did not work for me at all. I found the writing to be dull. There’s no rhythm to the prose and the story drags. I found the MC to be annoying, not sympathetic, and simply wanted the novel to be over. The reveal of the killer also made me roll my eyes. I had high hopes for this book, but sadly, for me, the best element is the gorgeous cover.

This book was a good historical mystery book. Although, there were some characters that were just weird and annoying. And Tillie was just too trusting in everyone. The newsies were my favourites, including Ian.

Opium and Absinthe was pitched as a vampire book to me, but it was more about the reality of addiction in the late 1800s. We follow Tillie, a flawed young lady, who is struggling not only with a traumatic injury but the grief of her sister. Throughout the novel we see how society fails Tillie again and again: The medical mishaps, the relationships and class issues, no one listening to her because she’s young and a woman, etc. I loved the backdrop of NYC, seeing it at night when it’s most alive. You can tell how much care and research went into the writing of this book. I think a teen reader who enjoyed the Stalking Jack the Ripper series would love Opium and Absinthe!

I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and author Lydia Kang for providing me with an ARC of this novel.

I really enjoyed this novel! This was the perfect mixture of everything you need to make a good book. I loved the historical fiction aspect of this, as well as the paranormal/Gothic feel. Seeing the various stages of addiction was also incredibly interesting. This was an awesome read and I look forward to reading more of the author’s work.

I was excited to read this story as it was in the realm of books I usually read (Historical Fiction/Mystery) but it intrigued me because I usually don't pick up books with vampire themes.
Overall this book is about Tilly, who breaks her arm, and has to take opioids to help her through her pain. Her sister is mysteriously killed which aides in Tillly needing to continue taking opioids for her emotional pain.

Although this book initially drew me in, for the first 50-60% I started getting annoyed that there wasn't any plot advancements due to Tilly's addiction and as a character she got "annoying" because of her focus only on getting high. Many of the other characters were annoying too as they were not acting as you would think after the death of Tilly's sister.

However, once Tilly got clean towards the end of the book, I really enjoyed it as the plot picked up, and I saw Tilly as a fierce, independent, and strong female character (which I LOVE). Many people said they were able to predict the killer, but I was surprised at the end. .

I gave this 3.5 stars overall. Its definitely worth a read to gather your own opinion of the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an E-Arc!

After Tillie Pembrooke's sister is found murdered in the New York streets in a method oddly reminiscent of vampires straight out of a novel, she must investigate the true cause of her death while struggling with the darker side of her family's affairs.

I loved Opium and Absinthe so much- it truly had just the right amount of every good thing including a spunky protagonist with no regard for society's expectations of her, a swoon-worthy romantic side-plot, and a thrilling mystery that kept me hooked right up until the last page. Tillie was an amazing protagonist who was extremely easy to relate to, and her character arc was completely satisfying. It was heartbreaking to see her slow descent into substance abuse, but conversely, that made her climb back to sobriety all that more empowering. The mystery driving the book was also well plotted, with plenty of hints sprinkled throughout the book that I unfortunately did not catch until the final reveal.

My one critique of the book is that the plot doesn't really pick up until the last third of the book. The beginning tended to drag a bit and was rather exposition-heavy.

Overall, a strong book I would love to recommend to friends.