AMAZING! I DONT TYPICALLY READ FANTASY or lots of YA but this was one that would make ME change my mind totally!!!I I loved this book it was something different and interesting! I WAS A STUNNING YA FANTASY. The world building was amazing!

This was a really rough read for me. Especially since this was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024. There are things about this book that I thought were absolutely phenomenal! I loved that there was a spectrum of love when it came to brewing potions. I loved that Venus was truly a “morally grey” character, and that it was family above everything. The complexity of the magic system and how witches brew their potions. The different powers that each witch possessed, and how the brewers couldn’t delve into each other’s respective practices.

Annnddd I think that’s where my love for this book dies.

I found myself being frustrated with the pacing, the plot, and the characters.

The pacing of this book truly threw me off. It was terribly staggering, and sometimes just slow. I felt like plot lines linger for what longer than they need to. The so called “gotcha” or the big revelations that happened just fell so flat for me, that as I was reading I had to keep verbally saying “huh” “what” “why did that happen” because the lead up, and dialogue before had just didn’t build up like how it was supposed to. I almost DNF’d at 60% because I kept have to rereading and going back thinking I was missing things. I don’t really want to spoil anything, so I’m just gonna leave it at that.

When it came to the characters I truly did not like Venus OVERALL. Yes, I did appreciate some parts of her character and personality BUT her as whole was just infuriated my soul. At some parts it felt like she was combative to just be combative. Like holy crap girl you are staggering your own progress in your own ordeal. And then it just kept happening over and over and over again. Like… at some point in even morally grey characters have to have some kind of growth in their demeanor in order to get to that next step right?

I didn’t rate this any lower because I feel like I did enjoy a lot of parts when it came to reading this BUT I didn’t have a good experience overall especially with this being such a highly anticipated book for me.

While I liked the concept which I thought was very good and original, I didn’t care as much about the characters. I liked Venus, I sympathized with her and her struggle but I didn’t click with her either. I had moments but in the end, I kind of didn’t care about her. I thought she would go down the path of rage and she didn’t which I’m a little disappointed about. The other characters were pretty much the same in the way I felt towards them, especially the sister whom I thought to be a little immature and reckless but she’s a teenager so I’ll let it pass. What stood out to me was the world and how the author is really trying to say something with it which I think is what fantasy ought to do. The witchers were a super cool take on your typical witch and the overall machinery of the world was very fun. 3 stars

I'm having a bit of a hard time articulating my thoughts on this book. I went into the book thinking that I was going to love it, but unfortunately I found it boring and really needed to push myself through it. I thought the book had a lot of potential, but could have ultimately used more heavy rounds of editing to get it to the well-polished finished product.

What I enjoyed:

I liked the overall premise of the book. A fantasy novel that takes on the very real themes of racism, classism, mental illness, and political corruption is important and interesting. I loved the way that Baptiste articulated the trauma that comes from racism and the real physical and emotional responses that come as consequences of that trauma. I think that it is moving and necessary and incredibly emotional.

My drawbacks/criticisms:

The writing was slow and choppy for me. I really had to push myself to keep reading because I just couldn't get invested. The narrator kept telling you instead of showing you emotions and developments, which made it difficult for me to fully encompass the characters and make an emotional connection to them. I wanted more depth to them. Let me into their thoughts and feelings more wholly so that I can feel what they do. Give me more information about their relationships to each other so that their arguments and feelings make more sense. As it stands, there were too many shallow relationships to characters which prevented me from caring about what was happening to them.

There were quite a few plot holes that I noticed throughout the story. I won't lay them all out here to avoid spoilers, and they're things that I could look past for the sake of the story, but they were definitely there and pretty obvious. To go along with that, there seemed to be a lot of instances where things happened very conveniently. I realize that this is fiction and that the author can make whatever she wants to happen, happen, but it's more believable if the magic and details are built up early on in the story and then come into play later. Instead it was more instances of "oh no, this went wrong, but don't worry, we can do this thing that we haven't told you at all about yet that solves this issue perfectly." That happened multiple times.

I'm not trying to write an overly negative review, because the book wasn't bad. It has a lot of potential and I think that Baptiste will only grow as an author given the opportunity to hone her writing. I think (and hope) that a lot of people will enjoy this book, it just was not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste is a fresh new voice in YA fantasy that I'm glad I read. The world is alluring and the use of potions was very smart and interesting.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Fire, Netgalley and Colored Pages Book Tours for the e-ARC!

The magic system was original and fascinating, especially when we learned about the MC’s speciality: brewing potions. I loved how the author explored Venus’ family dynamics, her complicated relationship with her mother and the love she has for her sister and cousin. I also enjoyed how she handled the themes (racism, corruption, police brutality), and weaved them through the political intrigue.

I am not the biggest fan of the writing as there was a lot of telling not showing and a few instances of info dumping. I loved the magic system, but it remained vague on a few aspects (e.g.: the deviations) that should’ve been clearer to grasp the worldbuilding better. The pacing set the story efficiently, but it became uneven when it got to the thrilling parts because of the amount of subplots, and the ending was a little abrupt.

I. LOVED. this. book. It had incredible world building, a unique magic system, and a delicious layer of dirty politics. My only complaint is that it had to end. I would love more books from this world and I can’t wait to read more from Bethany Baptiste!!

I highly recommend this one for fans of YA fantasy and anyone who loves the mutant registration arc of X-Men!

Thank you so much to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

YA fantasy and mystery with a morally gray, BIPOC MC. I loved this book! The main character, Venus, was fierce, protective, and found her strength. And the world was interesting, angry, corrupt, and reflective. I definitely recommend this one!

I really wanted to love this book. A modern fantasy set in DC and full of political intrigue and morally grey deeds? Sign me up. Or so I thought. I had the hardest time with the Poisons We Drink. I'm not sure why. It felt impossible for me to connect with this book. Reading it felt out of body and not in a good way; just in a lucid dream kind of way. The plot moved so slowly, and when something that should have been immense happened, it felt impactless. The danger of brewing felt without stakes due to the single POV structure.

The characters fell into two categories: meh and intensely annoying.
Most characters were inoffensive like Venus and Bram.
Janus really ground my gears. I know she's meant to be young and impulsive but she felt, to me, intensely stupid, selfish, and not worth investing my time in. How many times do I have to read her say or do something whack before the apologies stop cutting it?

Venus' deviation It was so corny and one note. I really wished she had just named it rather than overusing the italics.

There is probably something interesting to say about the use of love potions at the cost of free will. But alas.
I'm not entirely sure that witchers vs. humans works as a metaphor for real-world racism if that was the intention.

And with one final nitpick I end this review: The constant detailed descriptions of Venus' outfits drove me up a wall.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC. This review contains my honest thoughts and opinions.

Truth be told I picked up this book after I heard about the controversy surrounding the author, and I wanted to support them in their writing. I really enjoyed the concept of the book this idea of magic and different people taking different roles within the magic and her mom being Someone that maybe didn’t know how to be a mom or was being the mom the best way she could. And while the story was interesting, I just thought it was way too long. I don’t quite understand this trend of why books being 400 pages along, there’s not a lot of kids that want to read that, especially reluctant readers. So While I did like the concept of the book, I just thought it was way too long

Really enjoyed this exploration of race, politics, revenge, and family, all told through a frame of magic. So much of this story focuses on the balance between what we owe to ourselves versus our family. Very thought provoking and moving frame with exceptional character development.

This one didn't do it for me. It felt really slow and was hard for me to stick with it and be in it. Ill give it another try another time by for now it isn't for me.

As she learns that every action has a consequence, Venus Stoneheart will make decisions that pull her ever closer to a dark future. A unique storyline that shows how revenge hurts everyone.

While quite long for a YA novel, I enjoyed the magical realism in the world created. Venus's journey got a little long winded in the middle with lots of back and forth and twists and turns, but overall, I enjoyed the ride.

First off, this book has a gorgeous cover and it drew me right in so I was eager to read this story. That being said, when I did read this book, I have mixed feelings. The world was pretty interesting with witchers and humans coexisting but also at odds with discrimination on both sides. Being a witcher is kinda cool, but not being a brewer. The way it took its toll on Venus as she brewed potions for her mother and the Grand Witcher was painful to read. I liked the familiars and shapeshifters like Tyrell and how Janus could open doorways but on the whole magic was not one I would like to have.

Okay, on to the plot itself. I was confused but intrigued for the first half as I learned the magic system and politics but I frequently got Matrika and Malik mixed up due to the similarity of the names. Plus the politics and actions of the witchers was confusing. Someone would betray someone and so many secrets. The big reveal at the end was a bit disconjointed and made all that happened with the mess of blood oaths and deaths of certain people not seem like a big deal because the big villain kinda came out of nowhere. I also wanted to know more about Venus's deviation, the terrible It.

So with confusion I will say I think I liked the story, at least enough to want to finish it. I will say the good bits outweighed the confusing bits and so I am glad I got the chance to read and review an advance copy of this book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to do so.

I was really enthused by this premise, and I particularly loved the imagery, and the worldbuilding. While I was charmed, I do think that I would've enjoyed this book better via audiobook, or if I was in more of a fantasy mood!

This book was painful. There’s no other way around how to describe it. From the heavy themes and emotional turmoil of Venus to the painful magic that this world has. It’s full of pain. You can absolutely feel what the author was trying to convey in every word she puts on the page.

Venus Stoneheart is a brewer, but she’s not just any brewer, she’s the love brewer. And under her mother’s tutelage she’s a damn good one. Until her mother is murdered and Venus is set on the path of revenge. But politics and deep unrest are battling her every step of the way. And Venus will do anything to keep her loved ones safe.

I loved this. I cannot explain to you how I felt reading it only that the author made me FEEL. And I loved that about this book. It’s painful but in all the best ways.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Where to begin? I ended up not finishing (DNF) the book around the 40% mark. The characterization and world-building felt clunky from the start. It puzzled me why the main character consistently referred to her mother by her government name, Clarissa. This practice extended to every adult in her life, which struck me as odd. Perhaps it was the author's attempt to address personal issues with her own mother, but it didn't resonate as intended. Both the protagonist and her sister referred to their mother as Clarissa, yet in the next moment would question, "Why is our mom like this?" This inconsistency was distracting.

Apart from this peculiar stylistic choice, the plot failed to engage me. When it reached pivotal moments like the mother's death and the revelation about the peculiar society of brewers, as well as the sister's entanglement with the law, I found myself utterly disinterested. I had to abandon the book for the sake of my sanity.

I think this would be a good book for a HS library! It's a fantasy where the year 2000 went very differently than it did in reality, and so by 2023 the country was on a different path--with a lot of the fights focusing on witches, as a proxy for (more than rather than) immigration and other ways that political battles about oppression play out.

So it's hard for me to frame it as contemporary fantasy or not, since it's VERY magical. If you like contemporary fantasy more along the lines of Shadowshapers and Bloodmarked, where the world seems predictable until it doesn't, it's not that. But also, in so many ways 2023 is 2023!

I had a hard time following the number of characters, but i think that part of that is that i get lost with worldbuilding. I think that more deep speculative fiction fans would LOVE this book.

The Poisons We Drink
by Bethany Baptiste
YA Urban Fantasy
NetGalley ARC
Sourcebooks Fire
Pub Date: March 26, 2024
Ages: 14+

In an alternative America, there are humans and Witchers, and the humans are afraid of the Witchers' magic and have passed laws that do not protect the Witchers from violence.

Venus is a Witcher and to make a living she brews illegal love potions. But these are not just 'the making someone fall in love with you' potions, these can involve making someone love an idea, any idea.

Then one night Venus's mother is killed and now she has to protect her little sister. The Grand Witcher finds the killer and gives Venus the opportunity to punish him, but in doing so she finds herself forced to pay the Grand Witcher back with a blood oath.

Having no choice but to brew potions for the grand witcher that would give her the power to control some of D.C.'s politicians, Venus finds herself torn between doing what is ordered of her, what is right, and what could save all the Witchers from the humans who only want to see them dead.


Even though it's the typical 'them against us' story, I liked the idea of magic being the dividing line. Venus lives in the 'gray' area, meaning she knows the difference between legal and illegal but because she is a Witcher she has no choice but to do illegal things in order for her family to survive. I get that, I can connect with her, but she had a self-centeredness that I did not like.

Also, the world-building and magic needed more. I wasn't deeply drawn into the story because it felt as if there was only one layer to it when there could've been more, and looking for those missing layers made it a slow read.

There's history to the world and the Witchers but it's vague, and the magic, I feel a lot is left out about the type and how powerful they can be. And the character 'It', where it came from wasn't explained in detail and I have no clue how it came to life and what it really is. And it's power: it needs more what and why, etc...

Another thing that made this a slow read was a lot of choppy, three or four-word sentences that would have made more sense combined, and some of the poor word choices (digits instead of fingers) made me cringe. I get not wanting to overly use words and to be unique, but it's better to say what you mean instead of making the reader think; what the heck?!

I did like the story, the idea, plot, but a little more depth with the magic, world, and characters could earn this one more star.

3 Stars