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!

3.5stars rounded up.

Thus book was so good. The beginning and the end were perfection. But (big but!!) The middle was so so so dull and long and drawn out.

Is it worth it? Yes
Did I question my judgement 75% of the chapters?...... also yes!

I do have to start by saying that I think this book is mis-categorised as YA, simply due to the graphic prevalence of swearing, violence, and sex. Once I approached it as an adult/new adult novel I enjoyed it so much more - do with this what you will!

The Poisons We Drink is a raw and visceral tale of grief and the lengths we go to for control and power. Baptiste created an immersive and endlessly creative alternate USA with a truly incredible magic system and a complex and intertwining cast of characters.

The narrator of the audiobook gives a truly heart stopping performance with incredible displays of emotion at every possible opportunity in both dialogue and narrative voice. Their differentiation between characters was effortless and easily parsable, and their voice engaging and easy to listen to, even during very raw acting moments.

The Poisons We Drink is a tale of two halves. I really struggled with the first half, I felt it moved super slow and could tell my mind was wandering at times. All that changed in the second half though. Things really picked up and the ending was fantastic.

I loved that the magic that was being focused on was brewing potions, it was unique and different from a lot of other fantasy books I've read recently and that is always appreciated. I would classify this as urban fantasy as it's our world, and I liked how Baptiste wove new things into our current state.

The Poisons We Drink does have a fair amount of political intrigue going on, so keep that in mind going into. Non-binary rep that I felt was very well done.

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 love this Bethany Baptiste. I cannot believe this was a debut. It is so good! I was listening to this all day while I did my chores and went to the gym. I was hooked.
I don't want to reveal much but I loved that Presley. They are so cool. The narration was absolutely perfect too!

5 stars. Five fantastic, heart breaking, incredible stars.

We’ve got Black girl magic, potions, angry girls, morally grey characters, difficult family mechanics and grief. Y’all, this book was such a good experience.

Bethany Baptiste is now up there for me with N.K. Jemison and Liselle Sambury as a powerhouse of an author that I will always buy from.

The Poisons We Drink follows Venus Stoneheart, a love potion brewer. A witcher, living in DC. Witchers are treated horribly. Due to a law, there can’t be more than 12 witchers in a given area together. They are heavily policed, heavily scrutinized, hated for their mere existence.

Sound familiar?

The book is full of amazing, living, breathing Black characters. And not only that but we get some queer rep to in the form of Presley who uses they/them pronouns and it’s just accepted. No one, not even the villain, has anything homophobic, queer phobic, transphobic, to say. Which was a relief. It was hella Black which also put a smile on my face.

I heard my people in this book. That’s a gift I can’t ever take for granted.

I don’t even know how to review this because I want to talk about everything all at once.

Venus and her younger sister Janice have a strained relationship with their mother. Especially Venus. It almost seems as if her mother hates her.

Love is what this book is about. In every way. How people use it to manipulate others, how some withhold it because they think it’s the right thing to do. The only way to keep people safe. How some love to hate what’s different.

This book had me in tears. There were just so many parts that made me tense, hold my breath, and cry. Bethany Baptiste is a master of emotion. I couldn’t get enough. Even when I wanted to stop so I could do other things with my day, I couldn’t do it. I had to keep listening. Had to finish the chapter.

Now, this is where the trigger warnings come in. First, this audiobook listed them and I was so grateful! It’s not a spoiler so miss me with that.

There is police violence, brutality and the spilling of blood in rituals. And yes, the violence is detailed. But if you can sit through that, you’ll be in for a treat.

Each character, for the most part, had such fantastic growth. Janice, girl I don’t like you but you got a little growth in you so I’ll give you a pass. To see these characters, side characters, have their own goals, their own mysteries, and be fully fleshed out was fantastic. They brought a roundness to the story that many lack due to the shallowness of the side characters.

The worldbuilding was A+. I never felt like I was being bored by the information being given. There weren’t paragraphs and paragraphs of explanation, it was natural the way things were explained. And when I say I loved the magic system, I mean it. Brewing potions has a very harsh rebound. It’s something you don’t generally see in many fantasy books. Magic having a real cost. A cost that lasts. A cost that can kill.

Y’all, please buy this book. Get it into your eyes, your ears, however you can.

Oh and this narrator? Ma’am ate down!

Normally I don’t care about the narrator too much but Lynette R. Freeman gave a whole cinematic performance for the ages! 10 out of 10!

This is a 5 star book. I think everyone should read it. Do yourselves a favor and pick it up as soon as you can. Please!

A big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this audiobook. It was a delightful experience!

The Poisons We Drink was a strong debut from Bethany Baptiste. The book absolutely had me in a glued to the audiobook (the narrator was world class!) and I found it hard to put down. Event when I wanted to due to some of the heavy themes in the book. There are some really fun scenes and interactions between characters featured around all of the heaviness, and it was what kept bringing me back to this audiobook. The author also did an incredible job of world building and character development in this book. It was easy to imagine the scenes in the narration and to also imagine how the characters interacted with each other. The details were so vivid that it felt like I knew the characters and I tried to predict what they were going to do next.

Overall a strong start by Bethany Baptiste and I look forward to seeing what she creates next.

Did not finish book. Stopped at 35%.

I loved the premise of this book with Witchers (witches) and potion making of love spells with a twist (love of an idea etc). The familial connection of the sister’s & extended family was very interesting to me and I loved their personalities.

However, the decisions of our MC following the big loss, felt too reckless and naive. She obviously made THE WORST choices & was being manipulated without stopping and thinking anything through. This was super hard to sympathize with and gave the feel of younger YA that doesn’t work for me.

I also felt some of the story telling came across as disjointed and a little hard to follow from scene to scene. At times I forgot why we were at a location or when we had left for another.

My main reason for DNFing was the set up for the main conflict didn’t appeal to me along with the little forethought of our main character.

Fantastic narrator, the story was brought to life!

The pacing was done so well, and each character had a distinct voice, which was a nice touch.

I enjoyed the story and believe it is a strong debut. The world-building and magical system is confusing but highly intriguing.

Thank you, NetGalley and RBMedia, for the ALC. I will post a full review on my Instagram page before pub day.

3.5 stars

Thank you to RB Media, Recorded Books, and NetGalley for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I was super drawn into the premise of this book several months ago, and I was so excited to get the audiobook ARC!

What I enjoyed about the book: There was action constantly the entire book. I enjoyed the 1st 35% of the book and the last 15% of the book. There is something so intriguing about witchers with different magical abilities. I loved how everyone had their specific lines of magic that they focused on. I loved Venus as the main character. She is passionate about what she wants, and she will do anything and everything to protect her family and found family. I loved her relationship to Presley and how they continued to protect each other in whatever ways they thought best. When Presley sets this strong boundary with Venus to basically say that they’re going to be there for each other no matter what, and they have to stop pushing the other away when things get scary. Venus and J’s sister relationship was so good!! It felt so real and relatable. And wow, I honestly loved all the plot twists. The big reveals at the end were so good, and I am definitely interested in reading more of Baptiste’s work.

What I didn’t enjoy about the book: The pacing felt off to me. I think the book needed to be condense, because it was difficult to follow after about 35% of the book. The middle needed less and more focus on certain key points. It felt a bit confusing and hard to keep up with.

I would like to thank NetGalley for giving me an audio arc in exchange for an honest review.

I don't know what I expected when I read the description for this book. And maybe that's because love potions were involved and I just didn't take it to be anything but a light read. Well, I was wrong.

The Poisons We Drink was a heavy hitting novel. The themes of discrimination, segregation, and the full-on oppression of a group of people are tackled in such a unique way with humans vs witchers. I was invested from the beginning all the way through the end.

There was some really cool magic in this book. On that note alone I would highly recommend this book. But everything about this book pulled me in. Were there things I wish I knew more about? Oh definitely. But it never once took away from the overall feel of the plot or the characters. I almost wish there was more to this just because I wasn't ready to say goodbye to this world. My only issue I had with this book was with one character, but other than that I loved it.

The audiobook itself was well done. The narrator really brings these characters to life in a way that I feel like if I had physically read this instead of listening then I would've missed out on that additional bit to feel truly immersed in this book.

Actual Rating: 4.5 stars

3.5⭐️

I had really high hopes for this one which I probably should have tempered going into it, because it may have affected how I perceived the book overall. I was really drawn in at the start and it felt really promising, but I felt like there were too many characters and plot points going on towards the middle and end of the book which really impacted the author‘s ability to explore them all adequately.

The MC and the ensemble characters all showed great potential but I feel like we only got to know them on a surface level. Same with the world-building and magic system - it was interesting, with a lot of potential but the depth just wasn’t there.

I loved seeing a non-binary romantic interest, that’s something I’d love to see more representation for in YA fiction and just fiction in general!

I read this book on audio and would highly recommend doing that if you’re wanting to check this one out - the narration was great! I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for books read by Lynnette R. Freeman in the future because her voice is gorgeous.

Overall this was a pretty solid YA fantasy, again I think if I hadn’t set my expectations so high I would have enjoyed it much more. This is definitely one I’ll recommend to anyone looking for a witchy YA read!

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for my ARC copy! This review contains my personal thoughts and opinions.

I was very intrigued by the synopsis of "The Poisons We Drink" by Bethany Baptiste. The concept held immense promise, but for me, the execution fell short for several reasons.

One of the most glaring issues is the lack of smooth transitions between scenes. This resulted in a disjointed narrative that was challenging to follow, especially in audiobook format. The pacing, particularly in the beginning, felt slow, making it challenging to engage with the story entirely. Additionally, there was not enough world-building, which left much to be desired. I could not connect with the book as I hoped without a solid foundation.

A solid explanation of the magic system is the most crucial aspect of any fantasy novel. In this book, that explanation was lacking. This lack of clarity added to the confusion and detracted from the reading experience. There were a lot of characters that were hard to keep track of. However, the narrator deserves commendation for her fantastic portrayal of the characters, using distinct voices that help differentiate them—a saving grace in an otherwise convoluted narrative.

Overall, this book had a lot of potential but was not for me in the end.

Rating: 2.5/5

Finally an urban fantasy I can say I like! Since moving on from my own teenage years to high fantasy I've been looking for an urban fantasy that hit the spot and this was definitely it. From the start I knew I would be rooting for Venus, obsessed with the unique magic system, and in love with the way Baptiste interpreted how our society would look with the presence of magic for only some individuals.
I truly cannot wait to read anything Baptiste comes out with!

Thank you Netgalley, Bethany Baptiste and RB media, recorded books for the audio Arc of The Poisons We Drink.
Narrated by Lynette R. Freeman

I really enjoyed listening to this YA book and it delivered a lot of potential that I was hoping for. I really enjoyed the premise of Humans and Witchers and the story was inclusive and on some deeper level not far removed from what's happening in the world as it is today.

The first half of the book is quite slow paced, building the world around Venus, character building and setting up the logistics. As Venus's world starts to unravel after her Mother being killed, the story picks up and gathers speed with a proposition of seeking her revenge. The final was well executed, fasted paced and a great pay off. Im looking forward to coming across more of Bethany's work in the future

A really enjoyable debut and I will be watching for what else Baptiste creates!

I really loved the story in this book but I had some issues with the pacing. Venus was such a compelling main character, I really enjoyed the perspective she had and her character goals where very clear. The side characters stood on their own fairly well too.

Overall a solid book that was well written and only had some small flaws in my opinion!

oh my gosh i am hooked this book is audio so fast paced which i always need ,

the plot is wonderful i think Bethany has done a brilliant job .

I love the narrator oh my gosh!!!! i love love love tells the story so well and the voices for each character are incredible, i'm so sucked into this world and invested in each character .she makes you feel every emotion of every character .
the story telling will have you feeling the same .

Bethany should be so proud of this book she has made a magic world also very relatable with each and every character ,

There are some hard hitting moments in this but i think it was very delicate and great storytelling .

this story is now rent free in my mind

five hard hitting stars from me

The illustrations that the author presents with her words kept me intrigued. Her world building is simple but at the same time complex as you dive deeper and deeper into her world. She doesn’t overwhelm you with her world building like I’ve seen done before which makes the book that much more enjoyable.

You find yourself following Venuses along on her story through a suburb in DC. With the way that Venuses divination presents itself it almost reminds me of Tarin from Forth Wing (which I really enjoyed). Venus hits the spot (IMO) for every oldest daughter, she protects her family and loved ones at whatever the cost, no matter if her life ends. The butting heads we experience between Janice(J) and her kept me entertained, especially with the sass and spunk we get from Janice. Venuses troubled relationship with her mother and the secrets she keeps was something that added another dynamic to the story, almost giving it a mystery/thriller aspect. I will say, her reservations about the Ouija board had me laughing because, same girl same.

If I’m being honest, Janice(J), was one of my favorite characters. I feel like that won’t be the same for a lot of people, but I loved her. She wasn’t afraid to go after what she wanted and do what she believed was right. She didn’t hold back, and that made me love her even more. Yes, she was reckless but it didn’t stop her.

The relationship with Presley I absolutely loved. The non-binary representation made my heart swell with happiness. The childhood friend to lovers trope complicated the story and intertwined it in a way that kept you on your toes.

The relationships that we see entwined together with her family and friends reminds me of my own and gave me a sense of home, the way that the cousins play as if they are more siblings than cousins and the way they protect one another is something I don’t see very often done.

The Poison's we Drink is an exciting debut novel. Bethany Baptiste has created a wonderful world with a creative magic system. This is a well thought out book that is a joy to read.

The magic is a strong factor of the book. It is well developed and has consequences. At any time that Venus makes her potions she could die if it is too strong and then she needs a long time to recover after. The potions are detailed and I loved the variety of love potions that Venus could brew.

The characters are engaging as well. Venus is such a strong character. You feel the struggle that she goes through to protect her family. Janus, Venus's sister, is one of my favorite characters. She's a fighter and wants what is best for her people.

Now I got an ARC for the audiobook. The audiobook is a must listen. Lynette Freemen is a real good narrator. She brings each character to life with different voices. There was no confusion in which voice was speaking. Lynnette is a narrator that I will want to listen to.

This is a must read if you like interesting magic, revenge tropes, political intrigue, and interesting characters.

I wish there was more of this book. I really enjoyed it. I dont know if there will be a sequel but I can hope.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC copy of the audiobook for The Poisons we Drink.