Thanks Netgalley/Two Laurels Press for the eARC!

Oh, this is a tough one, because I desperately wanted to love it. It combined everything I love: fantasy, romance, and compared to authors like Grace Draven (whom I love.) But my enjoyment of a book will lie in its execution--and that's where THE POISONED EMPIRE fell flat. The crux here was the characters--and the lack of anything I felt with them. For an empire inspired by the Eastern Roman Empire, I felt the dialogue was oddly modern which was jarring and pulled me from the narrative more than once. The actual writing and prose needed a lot more development too, considering this is an Adult novel. The craft here lacked maturity. I felt the same with the characters themselves, and I wondered if this wouldn't have been better to be rewritten or revised to be a YA work instead, where it might've worked better with the author's writing style.

I’m not quite sure how to feel about this book. I thought the plot was great, with lots of mystery and politics, and I liked the set up with the variety of mages and the mage class system and also seeing how this had influenced different characters. I found Selene’s backstory to be somewhat intriguing, if underdeveloped and only briefly addressed.
Despite the intriguing plot, I struggled to enjoy this book because I found the characters a bit flat. Selene started off somewhat strong, and I enjoy a bold, mischievous lead who doesn’t conform to expectations but I felt I couldn’t connect with her. The other characters seemed to lack personality and I was bored of all of them, and the most chemistry I saw between any characters, despite the book having two main romances, was near the beginning between Marduk and Selene and it was one of their few interactions in the whole book. So, overall, a mixed bag for me. I think if the characters were more engaging and developed, and there was chemistry, I would have really loved this book.

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me this E-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

This story had such great idea and concept, I just wish there had been a little more development and it was a little less rushed.

My favourite part of the story was definitely Selenes relationship with Darius. It was entertaining and hilarious any time they were in a scene together. I was craving their interactions! I also really loved the idea of the silver-tongue mages, that was super interesting.

It was also a beautiful representation of women’s friendship between our two main characters Selene and Illiana.

The story itself was interesting, if maybe slightly underdeveloped in the beginning but the last 25% was extremely entertaining.

The story follows two different mages who are best friends, and I think that maybe trying to follow the two girls plus the Prince, emperor, and two other male leads was a little too many characters in a third person setting.

The story was a decent debut novel, and I’m interested to see where the story might go from here.

The tropes of the story include:
- fake dating
- magic
- sarcastic FMC
- marriage trials/competition

2.5 maybe??

This book started off so well and had so much potential😭 I was enjoying the beginning and then I don’t know what happened. I got bored and stopped caring about the plot and the characters. Everything felt too easy? Especially the romance. I can see that the characters chosen are meant to fit each other due to certain traits but I can’t help but think that Selene and Marduk (is that his name?) would have been a more entertaining pairing. But it’s kinda too quick of a romance and I don’t think Marduk as a sap suits his character that much.

Additionally, the writing and dialogue started to come across as quite childish to me. Some of the dialogue was a little too cringey or too sweet and made me wince as if I had licked sugar. (Saccharine!)

Either way I started skim reading at about 75% and couldn’t care less about the ending. A lot of it was predictable so I didn’t even feel surprised.

“While vaguely amusing, your prattle is beginning to bore me. Can’t you just slap each other to decide who will win this competition?”

I heard 'high fantasy world based on the Byzantine empire' and got so excited I almost fell off my chair. I got so excited that I was scrambling on Netgalley to apply for an ARC before I could even contemplate how long my TBR is already because I was completely ready to clear my schedule.
I am extremely grateful to Two Laurels Press and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this, but my unbiased review is this: it's not good.
It's really not good. The characters were juvenile and consistently made illogical, impulsive, and ridiculous decisions, all the while being told by side characters how intelligent and strategic they were. The dialogue is clumsy and the magic system just never really makes sense.
I wanted to love this. I wanted to love Selene because I have a soft spot a mile wide for rude, loud heroines, but she wasn't just rude and loud; characters throughout call her 'boorish', and that's the most apt descriptor. There's nothing sympathetic about her. She is abrasive with no redeeming qualities, and it makes her deeply unpleasant to have to read an entire novel about.

Poisoned Empire
Thanks to NetGalley for the free ARC. This review is entirely my honest opinion of the book.
Rating: 5 stars
Selene and Iliana were exciting protagonists- a great combination of daring, hilarious, and badass. I loved that they didn’t let other people walk over them, and they could hold their own in the black market. Selene and Iliana both had cool powers. I don’t know if I have ever read books with poison powers or metal powers, so it was nice to see how these characters could make use of their gifts. It didn’t entirely make sense to me that they would be discriminated against simply for their powers not being elemental when they were both clearly super powerful, but I liked the concept enough to let that part go.
I’ve read many books with the marriage competition trope, almost to the point where it gets a little repetitive, but this book had an interesting enough plot for me to want to read it. Both romances were great. I absolutely loved the banter between Selene and Prince Nicephorus in particular. It was also great to have a book with two female friends that had such a close bond. I love a positive powerful female friendship in books, and it was great to see Selene and Iliana fight for each other.

Once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away, I picked up an advanced reader copy of Elyse Thomson's delightful book, "Poisoned Empire." With its Cinderella retelling, magical twists, and enough political scheming to match Game of Thrones look, this book had me hooked from the very first page.

Anyone who knows me, knows I'm a die hard Disney fan. Give me magic, give me love. However, I've always particularly hated Cinderella. I can't get past Cinderella meeting a guy for what, 3 hours?, and then deciding she wants to go off and marry him. Absolutely not the kind of story I'd want my daughter to look up to.
However, in this retelling we meet our protagonists, Selene and Iliana, who are the epitome of strong independent women, who don't need no man. In the Mage Kingdom of Lethe, only elemental magics are deemed worthy of acceptance in higher nobility, and despite this, Selene with her mastery of Poisons magic and Iliana with her metals, the women are absolutely to be feared and respected. The best friends are on the run constantly by thier noble sires who wish thier bastard daughters erased and do what they can to scheme and survive the harsh commoners life in Lethe.

Fear not, dear readers, because fate has something else in store for our heroines. Enter the Heir to the throne, Prince Belisarius, and his bride show, where things take a deliciously dangerous turn.

Thomson weaves a magical web of friendship, justice, and girl power in a kingdom that desperately needs a gender equality workshop. It's a refreshing twist to see two strong female best friends fighting against a system built on rank and societal standing, especially in a predominantly male-owned kingdom. Smash that glass slipper!

Now, let's talk about the romance, shall we? There's a sprinkle of enemies-to-lovers goodness that adds just the right amount of spice to the story. I won't give away any spoilers, but there's actually something hot about two very intelligent people playing a game of mental chess and razor sharp word flinging as a form of flirtation. Slow burn baby!

Thomson's writing style is as enchanting as the magic she portrays. Sure, it took me a minute to fully grasp the intricate world and the dizzying array of titles being thrown around. But hey, that's part of the fantasy experience, right? Once I detached myself from the urge to shout, "Hey, this is just Cinderella with magic!" and embraced the unique twists and turns, I found myself thoroughly enjoying the ride as its own unique story.

It's important to include in a review things that I didn't find so great, to make it fair for the reader. I did find we lost track of the main purpose of the bride show for a while, or the magical foul play was secondary to the story of court happenings. Perhaps it felt a bit rushed? I enjoyed the ending, some didn't I know. There was a moment where it almost felt like a WINX Club episode and I thoroughly enjoyed that though it seemed a bit young for a NA book. I also felt like one of the two love stories was fast and maybe a bit predictable but I still enjoyed it and I hope they continue to find happiness in the next book.

On a scale of magical whimsy, I'd give "Poisoned Empire" a solid 3.5 out of 5. It's a whimsical and fast-paced fantasy read that strikes a delightful balance between the light and fluffy and the epic and grandiose. It's the kind of book you can devour in a single sitting while sipping a cup of coffee.

So, future readers, dust off your glass slippers, and dive into "Poisoned Empire" with a heart full of laughter and anticipation. I, for one, can't wait to see what enchanting adventures Elyse Thomson has in store for us next. Until then, happy reading and keep dreaming ✨️

You can find my goodreads review HERE so you can add it to your TBR.

Pre-Orders for the book are underway and the book is being released on July 12. You can order it from Amazon HERE (I am not an affiliate, just spreading the good word).

3.5/5

Labeled as a Cinderella retelling, I can see it very loosely in that you have the Cinderella like character (Selene) who unwittingly falls in love with the Prince (Belisarius) and their story unfolds in that manner. This is where the similarities end and I think this could easily be just it’s own story instead of being labeled as a retelling.

The other elements of the story are great - political intrigue, unique magic system (the main character is a poison mage for example), and there are definitely a few spicy scenes! There a few reasons why I chose to give this book a 3.5/5 rating and none of them are to do with the story at all - just some of my own preferences. There are a lot of subplots throughout the book that are sometimes hard to keep track or seem forgotten at times and there are just a lot of royal titles (Illustra, Domina, Strategos, Magister - to name only a few of the dozen!) to keep track of even with a legend.

If you enjoy political/royal intrigue, strong FMCs, and a little bit of enemies to lovers, then you might enjoy this one! Thank you to NetGalley and Two Laurels Press for the advance reader copy!

What a fun read. I was a big fan of the initial setup of the world and the characters. We start off with a peek into the magic system and a bit of drama — what more could you ask for? Plus, Selene and Iliana’s friendship?? *chef’s kiss*

It was fun to lose myself in this world the author created, following the stories of the main and side characters, while trying to determine the inevitable plot twist coming our way. One thing to note were the many gaps in the plot, but I expect those will be worked out with a final edit prior to its official release.

Plot holes and typos aside, this was a 5 star read up until the end. The plot twist & ending left me frustrated, and not in the “wow this book just ripped my heart out and I loved it” way. I won’t go into too much detail to avoid needing a spoiler tag, but the final scene seemed more like a rash and irresponsible decision rather some large romantic gesture.

Overall, a very fun read and an impressive debut novel.

What happens when you mix illegitimate daughters, magical powers, scheming "family," and an Emperor-to-be trying to figure out exactly who is trying to take over his kingdom? You get an entertaining, surprising heartfelt love story. Poisoned Empire is an enchanting mix of magic, court politics, traitorous machinations, and advantageous "faked" relationships. Although, as often occurs, the relationships take a turn toward being real, and the evil ends up being more widespread than originally imagined.

Belisarius is the son of the Emperor, trying to figure out who is trying to upend his family's rule of Lethe. Marduk is his strategos, advisor, and friend, steadfast by his side. They stumble upon two women at what is ostensible a bride presentation, Selene and Iliana. The two fierce women are the bastard daughters of high-ranking magisters and end up being brought into the fold to seek out exactly what is going on in Lethe (and maybe get revenge on their fathers).

Selene and Belisarius are consummate foils for one another. Selene is a poison mage, and she is ruthless in her pursuit of anything that can help her remain alive and get out of the kingdom that has kept her down. Iliana can wield magic into metals and is the friend that anyone would want on their side. The strength in both her and Selene is refreshing to see. And to see them maneuver through the ladies of the court is a fascinating dance to watch. The pairing up of Selene and Belisarius, and Iliana and Marduke, makes for two couples that span the spectrum. Iliana and Marduke are almost sweet as a couple, while Selene and Bellisarius are much rougher around the edges, neither being able to actually let go of their preconceived notions long enough to actually realize that they are ostensibly fighting against themselves to avoid saying the quiet part out loud.

The magic hierarchy and court stratification were interesting. There were a few minor things I wish would have been expanded upon, such as more character background for Belisarius and Marduk, and maybe more for why the whole past with Belisarius' family was happening, and a few times where phrasing felt more modern than the rest of the setting felt. Honestly, I just wanted more details, and to spend more time with this world. However, the story kept me engaged, and the plot was full of everything that I love in a good fantasy book.

I'll start by saying I received an arc of this through netgalley so thank you!
Hold up. this is a debut novel for Elyse Thomson? Coulda fooled me

Selene, a young woman gifted (or cursed) with poisonous magic, and her fellow bastard Iliana (a genius metal mage) are constantly on the run from their noble magistri fathers until one unfortunate night when they are kidnapped and forced to impersonate their half sisters. Both are thrust into an imperial court rife with unknown traitors and potential political instability. Selene and Iliana must work with the crown Prince Belisarius and his court in order to lure out the treasonous magistri that have been illegally siphoning the souls of their children to enhance their own magic.

I'm not going to lie. I didn't think I was going to like this book mostly because Selene seemed a bit obnoxious to me at the beginning. A little too good at making a spectacle of herself to draw attentions away from her sisters, as what was demanded of her by her father, she was quite annoying to me. I get that she's supposed to be the typical badass fmc that doesn't take shit from anyone but she seemed over the top sometimes.

It's a testament to Elyse Thomson's story telling skills, and ability to develop a character, that as the story progressed I found myself endeared to Selene and even better I didn't even recognize it happening. I'm usually quite stubborn about my opinions on characters once they're formed but I was swayed by the writing in this story. I went from being annoyed by Selene to rooting for her. I was invested in the characters as much as the plot which doesn't always happen for me in books. The magic system and world building in this story were really fun too.
Besides that, I thoroughly enjoyed the progression of enemies to lovers in this. Romance is my genre so even if the story is fantastic, if I don't enjoy the romance that does tend to change my opinion at least a little bit. That being said, the chemistry between Selene and Belisarius was very well written and believable. Their teasing and banter were so fun and their passion for each other is palpable. I am invested in their relationship and definitely hope (read: need) to see more of them in future books

Am I getting tired of fantasy stories not being stand alones or duologies anymore? Honestly, yeah a little. Is Poisoned Empire one of the rare exceptions? Absolutely. I cannot wait to dive back into this world and will most likely snatch up any and all books in the series to come!

3.5 Stars

The story is about two mages who were forced to impersonate noble women to help the Prince expose traitors in his court.

I like the idea and concept but wanted more development from the story. Especially when it came to the romance between the Prince and Selene. I wish there were more interactions between the two. Also, a little more world-building was needed.

Other than that, it was an entertaining story about friendship, betrayals, and love.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Elyse Thomson, and Two Laurels Press for graciously sending me the ARC to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

Thank you Two Laurels Press and NetGalley for providing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. My review is my own and not influenced by others.

The cover and description drew my attention and I couldn’t wait to start reading this book.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book! The main characters and their interactions with each other were things I liked a lot. The humor, romance and world building were well present. The pacing however, was something that didn’t work for me. It wasn’t constantly, there were times when there was a lot of action, followed by long pages where nothing really happened.

I think this book could definitely work for a lot of readers, especially if you like best friends, banter, romance, a bit of steamy scenes, action and main characters with their own gifts.

I just couldn’t care about anything that happened in this book. At first the over the top grimdark setting seemed entertaining in a “all the characters are so evil, it’s hilarious” sort of way. But then the Bride Parade started, and Selene’s snark really got to play a factor, and all stakes appeared to go out the window.

I just don’t think I connected to the characters or the humor of their lines or situations, even when it switched back to grimdark, it just felt so contrived and it wasn’t so much that I wanted them all dead, as I just wanted it to end so the book would be over.

An enchanting and enchanted magical and political tale of an empire in crisis and three young adults trying to fix things. I would have preferred it if the author had stuck with the Byzantine Greek naming theme rather than sticking in odd names like the Hittite Marduk and the Celtic Selene.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Poisoned Empire is a fantasy novel that follows two bastard female mages with gifts that are considered lesser by the Elementalist elite as they are forced by their terrible noble fathers to infiltrate a bride show held by the prince.

I found the world the story was set in very interesting, specifically the dynamics of how different types of mages were treated. I’m excited to see how the sequel continues to explore how classes interact and the power dichotomy of the magic system. The plot was fast-paced and each scene fit well into the larger story. I also found the small clues left throughout until the final reveal to be subtle enough not to give it away but they made it clear to the reader what had happened throughout the book.

While I enjoyed the characters, I felt some of their interactions, especially the romantic relationships, progressed too quickly to be authentic. Perhaps more time went by than it felt like, but it felt like the characters who fell in love did so because of the plot, not because their relationships had progressed naturally. If there had been more time spent exploring the development of the relationships and more showing of their feelings than telling, it would be easier to buy their feelings.

Overall, this did feel like a YA novel (though I wouldn’t put it in that category because of the few spicy scenes) because it lacked some complexity, but I found it an enjoyable high fantasy read!

I just finished reading my very first fantasy romance novel, Poisoned Empire by Elyse Thomson, and it was a nice switch up to my usual reads.

Creativity: 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Story: 📚📚📚📚
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Poison mage Selene and Metal mage Iliana are both living in exile. Until each of their noble fathers kidnapped them and forced them to impersonate their half sisters.

Prince Belisaurius is convinced some of his noble subjects are using forbidden magics in an effort to overthrow the crown, but he is unsure how far the scheme stretches. To determine the traitorous from the loyal the Prince, his beast mage strategos Marduk, and praetor Nicephorous hatch a plan to draw the nobles to the kingdom under pretense of a bride show.

Selene and Iliana’s goal is to keep the Prince’s attention off on their hollow, power-drained sister, but neither anticipated the sizzling romances that they each find themselves in.

I really enjoyed this novel. The level of spice was just right and the chemistry between the women and their love interests was fabulous. I am new to stories with so much world building so I struggled with keeping some of the fantasy elements straight. And because both women had such similar paths in the first few chapters things felt a little redundant, but as I leaned more about each character I had no trouble telling them apart.

This novel has ample intrigue, passion, humor, and action. I highly recommend it and plan to read more books by this author and by others in the same genre.

This book was action packed with a two strong female mages , handsome princes, and a kingdom on the verge of war.

I fell in the love with this story instantly and could not put it down. Our story has multiple points of view. Selene , a strong willed and snarky poison mage. Iliana , Selene’s best friend and a powerful metals mage, a stubborn prince , a strong and handsome beast mage , a mournful and lazy emperor , and many more.

I usually dislike it when characters don’t think before doing but Selene is absolutely hilarious and I love her confidence. I like that she begins to soften a little as she realizes that she is worthy of love. Iliana is a true friend and I love that she is sweet and kind but also incredibly ruthless if she needs to be.

The romance is definitely really sweet. I enjoyed the different types of romance tropes we see. Which include friends to lovers and an enemies to lovers like scenario. The two romances fit the characters perfectly and I loved it when switching between the different POVs to see everyone’s feelings and opinions. Selene’s development was especially interesting because she has so many walls up that it was nice to see her lower them as the relationship went on but not losing her confidence and sense of humor.

I will say I was super close to throwing my kindle out the window as I neared the end but I have to say I don’t mind what came to pass , the ending sums up everything nicely and as it should be to fit the story. I am so excited to continue this story in the next book and I am itching to get my hands on it already ！

Overall, this is one of my favorite reads of the year so far.

I loved the characters in this story and the interactions between Selene and Iliana were particularly funny. However, it felt like there were a ton of characters, plot, and conflicts jam-packed into 350 pages. These could have likely been reduced and Iliana could have her own book. It seemed like a mad dash until the end when yet another issue arose. I would still read more from this author in the future!

Posting on goodreads on 4/29.
www.goodreads.com/nelliereadsalot

This was a very enjoyable read. The unconditional friendship between Selene and Illianna was a high point. I found the characters relatable and they got themself into enough trouble to keep things interesting but nothing stupid enough you started hating them! I will say at times it was fairly predictable, though I didn’t see the big twist until right before it happened. I didn’t love who the “bad guy” ended up being, but it did help that it wasn’t a character I loved so I wasn’t left heartbroken by that! One thing I didn’t totally find believable was that neither Selene or Illianna were seen as useful in society with their magic being as baddass as it is. Like Selene is one of the only poison mages and nobody cares to try to have her do something useful with it? And then Illianna had crazy useful magic with metal/tools as well. I suppose they were hiding from their families so they kept it under wraps, but the foundation for the caste system could have been more clear/made more sense. Like what a coincidence that they happened to befriend each other and live together for years, meanwhile both sent to impersonate a family member? But I digress - while some of the things I just stated could have been written a bit more smoothly, I still really enjoyed the book. The plot was engaging, the characters were likeable, and there was a good balance of romance and plot. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for the next installment :)