OMG!!! THIS BOOK WAS EVERYTHING! The storytelling, the characters, the plot along with the development of the world! Thank you for creating a book that I can be seen and know that it's ok to be mad and be unapologetic for it! To say this is her first book, Ms. Baptiste HAS A FAN!!!

I am so grateful for this audiobook, however I couldn't get into the story. The narrator is great. As is the concept of the book. I think it might be too YA for me.

The narrator was amazing… the cadences, the range, the characters representation, and sound effects was down right astonishing!!!

Thoughts while reading:
While I understand there is political and social aspects weaved into this book, it is an urban fantasy book and is being rated as such.

This urban fantasy based in DC was a coming of age story of an amazing young Witcher named Venus. Despite many obstacles including the biggest one of all, losing a family member, Venus does not stop fighting for what’s right. Witchers and Humans alike deserve the same rights and privileges and with understanding a work together in that common goal. This story was very beautiful written and allowed me to connect with it through the world and characters building.



My thanks to NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Loved. the urban fantasy feel of this book. It had the same feel as One Dark Window, but in a different time.

Thank you to Netgalley and RB Media, Recorded Books for giving me an advanced reader copy.

The story is about Venus, who makes money out of brewing illegal love potions. It's a dangerous business, and she gets in a lot of messed up situations after her mother get murdered. When the Grand Witcher, head of her coven, offers Venus the opportunity to avenge her mother's death, she must agree to a difficult demand: create harmful potions to control D.C.'s powerful politicians, all for the sake of justice.

Bethany knows how to write an emotion. The audiobook did a fantastic job of capturing these moments. Lynette R. Freeman knows how to voice act and drag you into the story, not letting you go. Her talent for voice acting truly brought the characters to life.

The Poisons we drink was high in my must-read list for 2024, and I was super honoured to see I got accepted for this copy. It exceeded all my expectations, leaving me eagerly anticipating owning a physical copy once payday rolls around. It took me a while to finish the book, pure because I lacked time, not because the book was slow paced. Furthermore, it was anything but slow paced. There are so many characters that you get to know. Some more likeable than others.

This is excellent as an audiobook! The narration brings to life the black-girl magic that Baptiste writes so well. I am definitely a Venus instead of a Janice lol.

The Poisons We Drink is about an alternate 2023 where witches have been outed to society. And predictable as always, humans have responded by trying to repress, control and destabilize the witcher community. Venus is the daughter of two prolific witcher activists and has seen the toll that this persecution has taken. It's difficult enough to find a grocery store that is witcher friendly. Making a living is near impossible. So Venus takes up the magic of brewing potions to provide for her family. Brewers cannot practice other forms of magic because potions require too much of their own life force, which removes her from the normal witcher lifestyle that her sister and cousins exploit.

I loved the way that the author reveals each layer of this magical universe. Just as you start to grasp one repercussion, another is brought to light. By the end you have travelled through to the center of a rich and vibrant world and all you can think is: I'm ready for the next book! There's so much possibility! And Venus is a hero unlike any other. I related so much to her burdens as the eldest sister, the sole provider, the weight of her strict mother and the pain that is required to break free from limitations.

Though the premise is quiet different, I thought this was a worthy recommendation for fans of Crescent City. The writing style and story is just as vibrant with it's detailed magic and the way it sparks your imagination. Both share elements of Breaking Bad and a modern tone that is even more relevant here with the layering of Black and Witcher communities. I cannot recommend this enough!

Like many people, I heard of this book at one of the books targeted by another author to receive false negative reviews. I checked out the books that were targeted and after reading the description I was sure this book would be getting a lot of attention upon its release.
So I was excited to be approved for an ARC of the audiobook.

I love that we get an image of the main character Venus on the cover of the audiobook. Venus makes illegal potions in Washington DC. I enjoyed getting to know her and her world. I felt like Venus was an interesting and likable character who I could see myself wanting to follow through more novels.

Some of the elements didn't work for me that well. The romance was not my favorite, I am not a fan of romance though. Some of the word choices felt much younger than me which is fine because I am not a young adult.

I like that the fantasy in this book is within our actual world, giving you the feeling that these events could be happening right under our noses. I liked the explanation of how potions and magic work in this world and I enjoyed getting to know the cast of characters.

The person who read the audiobook did such a good job, giving characters unique voices and performing the emotions of each scene.

The Poisons We Drink would be easy to write off as a magical YA story. However, it is so much more than that. I went in not knowing what all to expect. What I found was beautiful prose, the most realistic borderline dystopic version of Washington DC, and a tale of complex familial relationships. Venus Stoneheart will do anything for her family. From brewing illegal love potions as the family business to committing dangerous and occasionally deranged acts to be able to brew said potions.

I appreciate that the character of Venus is messy. She makes questionable, and sometimes even bad choices. She's not always the nicest person. There were definitely times when she was outright bitchy. And not in a fun, quirky way. She's a complex character who has dealt with a dysfunctional family dynamic spearheaded by her mother and the family's matriarch, Clarissa. Trust me, that relationship has a chokehold on this story. As does the loving and literal blood bond between Venus and her younger sister, Janice.

This story also featured some delightful non-binary rep in the character of Presley. I truly appreciated that we only ever know them as THEM. They are never bothered as a result of their gender identity.

This is a story that does pick its battles. From magical racial politics to complex relationships, it dives into a fair bit. As a reader, the downright dystopic methods used by humans in the Witcher population in line felt not only feasible but realistic. Unsettlingly so, at times.

Baptiste's prose does occasionally skirt the edges of being purple prose-y. However, I refuse to count this as a fault as such a vivid picture is painted for those engrossed in the story. There were some things I just didn't care for, such as a decently heavy reliance on the main character passing out to move along the plot and setting to another day/scene change. All of the instances do feel earned and reasonable. It just happened one too many times for my personal taste.

I listened to the audiobook. Which I need to sing the praises of. Lynnette R Freeman does an exceptional job of giving each character a unique voice in which you can feel the heart of them. I did think she spoke on the slower side, but I think that of most narrators.

All in all, I would highly recommend The Posions We Drink by Bethany Baptiste.

This book had everything I enjoy in a modern fantasy book; political intrigue, a main character that shows growth throughout the series and a unique magic system where all magic comes with a price. Venus is a brewer that sells illegal love potions and brewing always comes with painful side effects. However, Venus is most frightened by the darkness that resides in her that she often calls "it". When her mother is suddenly murdered by an iron bullet, she is thrown into a plan to enslave the most influential political figures in attempt to throw out the most recent Witcher registration law.

I really enjoyed this book. This book was fast paced and had many different themes that were well written in this book such as racism, social injustice and politics. The events that occurred left me wanting to read more as Venus tries to figure out the mystery behind her mother's death, her plan to enslave the senators involved in the voting of the registration law while trying to contain the darkness inside her. The narrator for the audiobook does a great job for each of the characters and I truly enjoyed listening to this book. I highly recommend the audiobook for anyone interested in The Poisons We Drink.

The Poisons We Drink is out now.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the opportunity to review The Poisons We Drink. All thought and opinions are my own.

venus makes her living as a brewer making illegal love potions. it’s a dangerous business, which becomes even more clear when her mother is killed by an enemy. when venus is given the option to avenge her mother, she takes it, despite the steep price of having to make poisonous potions to use against D.C.’s most influential politicians.

i’ve been looking forward to this book for a long time, and it was absolutely worth the wait! i really enjoyed the magic system, as i think the potion aspect is very unique. it was also unique how this magic had negative physical effects on venus. i loved reading about how this affected her and how she pushed herself anyway (even though she really shouldn’t have) to reach her goals.

i listened to the audiobook and thought the narrator suited venus and the story so well. i highly recommend this book to ya fantasy fans!

Urban fantasy with a strong level/focus on fantasy discrimination (human vs Witches) and pretty brutal magical consequences for brewers like our main character. Its definitely not a feel good story and at times it really felt a little too close to home if I'm being honest. Also filled with unlikable characters and relationship issues of various kinds, it was rough. But surprisingly I was here for it the whole time.

I'm going to say this was a wild ride. I've been in my own sad girl feels so pretty early on into the book I was a little unsure if I'd be able to handle due to its intense topics. Really grateful for the trigger warnings even though I usually dont need them personally. But In this case I thought i might, surprisingly I was so invested and impressed that I kept coming back and managed to finish the book in two days. (I did listen to the audiobook arc provided by net galley which was for sure the only way I could read it with my current mental state) BUT I"M so glad I did! I ended up "enjoying" the book so much!

I've always found it hard to read fantasy and barely read any, but I decided I would read more of the genre this year. Something about this cover was appealing to me, and I love audiobooks so I gave it a go.

I'm impressed with the brilliant writing style and world building, commendable for a debut author. The fact that it's an urban fantasy definitely helped me visualise better, but I found the storyline pretty weak. More than a regular novel that shows the journey from a clear point to another, this one reads like an autobiography, just covering a part of the MCs life. I felt like I was just reading random events in sequence.

An added drawback was how the language wasn't suitable for Teens in any way. There's so much cussing and bad language, so now I think the only reason one might think this novel is YA is because of the age of the MC.

The one thing which carried my reading experience was the narration. I think the narrator was great and gave it all in her performance. The only complaint I have here is that some voices- particularly the MC's sister- were super annoying.

Overall, I totally recommend listening to this book as an audiobook, though I'm not sure I would recommend the book itself.

I received an ARC of this YA urban fantasy thanks to Netgalley and the publisher.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the audio performance. The magic system was extremely unique and I really loved the concept of the brewing.
I love stories about witches but they often tend to be the same, which is not necessarily bad but this one was a completely different take on witchery.
Instead of over explaining how everything is set up and works, the author explains it through short encyclopaedia articles at the beginning of every chapter. This way the reader gets to know the alternative US piece by piece which was really exciting and refreshing.
As for the characters I loved them all and was really invested in their fate. Queer characters had personalities and complex backgrounds which is amazing.
Sometimes it was hard to follow the story because there were a lot of side characters and no one was exactly introduced but this might be because I listened to the audiobook.

The complex mix of fantasy and politics was absolutely amazing and I really hope there will be more books in this universe.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very interesting urban fantasy novel. I thought the system of magic was very well done and I loved learning about it. I want to learn more about this magic and the events that happened before this novel. I really enjoyed this book and all the complexity in the book.

Venus is a messy and determined character and I ended up loving her. She is dealing with politics and family drama and trauma. It is a lot! The author does an exceptional job making the Witchers fit into modern society. There are multiple parts of the book that are frustrating and scary in a realistic way.
I just can’t express how this book was so much more than I expected it to be.

The best way I can think to describe this book is: interesting plot, subpar execution. Did I hate or even dislike this book? No! But it just didn't live up to the excitement I had for it.

The pros: GORGEOUS COVER! Interesting premise - "witchers" are folks with magic and in the public eye and there are humans who want them eradicated (very reminiscent of today's society); each witcher has different magical abilities.

The average parts: the world building - nothing crazy, since it's based in modern day America, but just with different technology and witches that have magic running around. Exposition was fine and I don't think I was ever too confused. The majority of the characters were fine too.

The things I didn't love: JANICE. This is once again not to say I hate her because she is a young teenage girl, and more times than not, they are not thinking about the needs of others over their own wants. But there were SO many moments where she made me so mad that I wanted to put down the book. It seemed like every life or death issue stemmed from something Janice had decided to do by running off and not telling anybody. The book would have been over in 100 pages if she hadn't been around.

Overall, this book was just very average to me - a very solid 3 stars. Enjoyable, and I think I'll remember certain plot points, but nothing that will stick around in my brain for too long. Give it a go if you're interested!

#ThePoisonsWeDrink #NetGalley

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media, Recorded Books for the early copy of the audiobook version of this book. It took me longer than I anticipated to finish this audiobook. I am not sure if I was on a reading slump or if I am just not vibing with the audiobook.

The narrators were fine. I think the story and themes of the book itself were so heavy for me that I kept on pausing the audiobook. The pacing was fine as well. There were a lot of things that happened, and the author gave enough time for the readers or listeners to relate to the main character. The world, witches, and spells were carefully explained too.

I would recommend this to those who like character-driven fantasy readers. The plot is somewhat predictable, but the characters involved really grew from the first to the last pages of the book. I still enjoyed my time listening to this, and I encourage readers to seek trigger warnings before going in.

This cover does not lie - a beautiful and harsh look at life, inclusion and how to create an even playing field. At times, I got lost between all the characters.
Baptiste does an amazing job illustrating the distortion between us and them, us vs. them. Attempts at working together have stalled - and now the High Witcher is doing what she feels she must. Sacrificing her people for the greater good. Venus isn't up for it - fighting to protect her younger sister and social justice without sacrificing her morals.

The Poisons We Drink is a extraordinary, diverse, YA fantasy. The writing is lush and the world is well thought out. I will definitely be recommending this to my students when it releases. The narrator was a great fit for this story as well.

This book to me to on quite an adventure. I loved the storyline and the characters although a few of them were annoying (but I believe that was the point). The only things I had trouble with at first was Percy and their pronouns. I was so confused as to who they were but I eventually realized it was a pronoun thing and the story’s pacing seemed a tad too slow for my liking. Overall, I would recommend this book. I read along as I listened to the audiobook, both courtesy of NetGalley.