"The Poisons We Drink" is a book full of action, interesting magic, loving family and betrayal, and intriguing politics.

First of all, I love the cover of the book. It's gorgeous. I also loved the magic system of the book. It was truly interesting and unique as was the world-building. I also liked the writing style of the book and the main character Venus was a bad-ass, which I always appreciate from female MCs.

However, the book was way too long and dragging in some parts. I feel that some plot points could've been removed to make the book more compact and then I would've enjoyed it more. I also felt like some topics weren't explained well enough and some parts were a bit confusing to listen to and I found myself going back again to relistening. Maybe that's why I listened to the book for a whole week, while I usually get through audiobooks faster. It could've spent a bit more time on the editor's table to get the book more well-rounded.

And a little warning, there is a fair bit of violence and swearing in the book (if you're a person trying to avoid it).

For a debut novel, I think the author did a good job and I can't wait what else she comes up with in the future. My overall rating is 3.5 stars.

I would also like to give my thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for giving me the chance to review the book in return for an honest review.

I feel like this would have been so much better if less pages and a book two. It was a lot to follow and I started to lose interest because I couldn't find any attachment to any of the characters.

The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste

If I have to summarize this book with one sentence, I'd just say: I really did everything to like this book. This book just doesn't like me. But let's not blame everything on it. I was partially responsible as well. Despite my best efforts, I could not focus on it. The words, sentences, and action flew directly into one ear and escaped right away through another. That's quite an accomplishment seeing that I have an ear infection as of right now. Yet, there was something about it that couldn't bring my attention to it. I meditated on the plot for a long time. I know it wasn't the concept. The world in which witchers have their own society, our main character brews love potions, her mother is mysteriously killed, and she feels responsibility towards her sister when she needs to prioritize that over her still brewing new relationship she could not name. And when I said it to myself, exactly this way, knowing there was more to it, I knew what was bothering me in the first place. The speed of narration. There is so much going on, between scenes, and between characters that we don't get to spend time to stop for a bit and contemplate a situation. We just go from fact to action, no questions asked, no understanding necessary. As much as it might work for ones because it is YA after all, I had trouble connecting with ANYBODY. I do not know them. When the big reveal appeared, I didn't even recognize the name of the whole villain. So the mystery was lost on me. We jumped from one chapter to another, from one conversation to the next, and despite having audio and text in front of me, I couldn't comprehend why, where, who, what, and how.

With the biggest heartache, I need to give it lower than I wanted to. I appreciate the dynamic sentences. I appreciate the parallels between our world and the fictional one. I see how social problems and injustices towards whichers compare with those the Black community faces every single day. And I see that this solid YA book can bring the thought to a young mind. But it was way too chaotic for mine, tho the idea was fantastic.

Within the audiobook, I can only say that Lynnette R. Freeman did a splendid job. Her voice and intonation always brought me back.

** The posting to Goodreads is not possbile due to missing ISBN number on their site. I will be posting this review there manually. **

Venus is a love potion brewer, an illegal profession, fraught with dangerous side effects. Not only that, she has a dark magic within. When tragedy strikes with her mother’s murder, Venus takes over responsibility for her younger sister. When given the chance to get revenge against her mother’s killer, Venus must decide how far she’s willing to go into the corrupt political web.

Baptiste has crafted an interesting tale centered around illegal potion brewing and political intrigue. I really enjoyed the overall plot. The challenges Venus faced between trying to survive and keeping her sister safe were well depicted. The world building was very well done. Additionally, there was plenty of action and intrigue to you interesting throughout most of the story. The magic system was also well described including the various intricacies built in. The biggest stand out for Baptiste’s novel, though, is the characters. They’re well developed but contain believable flaws. The main issue I experienced with the overall story was the pacing. It slowed down too much at times making the book feel longer than it needed to. In terms of the audiobook, I enjoyed how the narrator brought the story to life. I also thought the narrator did a good job of inflecting emotion into the characters. However, I did have an issue with the audiobook. I’m not sure, though, if the issue stemmed from the Netgalley app or if it’s a true issue with the recording. The transitions between chapters were so long even at a speeded up rate that I thought my audiobook kept pausing. Make sure to check the trigger warnings at the beginning of the book.

3.5 Stars: I liked it

Genre: Urban Fantasy, YA/New Adult

You may like this book if you like:
Playing as Dark Urge in Baulder’s Gate III
Witchy Fantasy
Lost Girl (SyFy Series)
The Magicians (the series not the books)
Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury
X-Men

Summary: Venus Stoneheart is a brewer of illegal love potions that are organized and sold by her mother, Clarissa. When Clarissa is found dead after being shot with an iron bullet, Venus is given the chance to take revenge on her mother’s killer. However, the price for revenge may be steeper than Venus is willing to pay.

Thoughts: While I enjoyed this book overall, I think it was a bit crowded for one book of this length. I think it either should have been split into two parts or longer. There’s such a rich world to be explored and so much that happens that I felt like I didn’t have time to get to know the world and the characters as much as I would have liked. I also felt like the romance subplot could have been drawn out farther into the book or even to the second book. I felt like I wanted to know more about the couple separately and what drew them together. They have a history but I felt like that wasn’t enough to convey why they’re compatible. That may just be me though because I want everything to be slow burn.

After reading this book, there’s nothing I want more for Venus than to put her on a cruise or something because she’s been through so much and needs a break. I think for everything Venus is put through she handles it pretty realistically, which is to say she’s falling apart throughout the book. I appreciated that because to be grieving and finding out things that affect her life and the lives around her, it was very understandable for her to not be okay.

The characters were pretty compelling but there were a lot of them and at times I had a hard time remembering who was who. I loved the family relationships. I liked how integrated the family was in each others’ lives. Venus and Janus’s relationship was my favorite. They felt realistically like sisters.

I thought the world building in this story was very accessible. The story is told with excerpts of newspaper articles, encyclopedia clips, and media within the world at the start of each chapter, which I think is a fun way to world-build.

The magic in this book was one of the best parts. There were some powers that I hadn’t ever seen before. For example, the main character is a “negative empath”, so she’s able to catch on to all negative emotions around her and even be a magnet for negativity at times. It doesn’t sound like the funnest power to get, especially paired with a shit-stirring demon living inside one’s body but it did add more drama to the story. There was also a woman who tells fortunes and she does so by journaling her premonitions which I thought was a very cool idea but also I was daydreaming about all the stationary I would buy if I was her.

I thought the brewing process was interesting to read about. I loved the description of the ingredients and the significance of each one. Flowers and their meanings were brought up many times throughout the story. I love that kind of thing so I really enjoyed that detail.

I also loved the way familiars are set up within this book. Familiars are magical pets that look out for the families they belong to. They can basically live forever if they aren’t killed and the longer they live, the stronger they become. The Stoneheart family familiar actually played a significant part within the story and was a character in its own right.

What a captivating take on magic in a modern society! Bethany Baptiste explored the darker side of magic and how power can come with a price. Her main character Venus really comes into her own as she uncovers the truth of her world and those around her. I found her written well and very realistic, she made some mistakes in the story but I thought it was a very honest look at what would happen to a person when they start to uncover dark secrets, especially by those you once trusted. I thought her struggle to protect her family and maintain those relationships, while also learning about her own dark ways was very powerful. I found all the twists and turns this book took thrilling and really could not guess what might happen next in the latter half of the book.

This book was quite a journey and explored topics much heavier than I expected. I highly enjoyed listening to this on audiobook as I felt more connected emotionally with the characters and involved in the action. The narrator did an amazing job bringing Bethany Baptiste's story to life. I found each character's voice unique and matched their personality well. However, I would say there was a lot happening in this book that I believe reading the print edition would be easier to follow at times - so would definitely recommend a tandem read between the physical and audio. There was also a lot of exposition before the action picked up the pace of the story that I didn't connect to the story as easily but by the end I was hooked!

Bethany is an exceptional writer . I am in awe of the talent and pure emotion packed into this book . The commentary on systemic oppression , police brutality and growing up in marginalized communities was phenomenally done .
The audiobook was incredible is as well .
Thank you for the arc Netgalley .

3.5 rounded up because the concept is just so good. The idea of love potions for /all/ types of love and objects of love? Incredible. Unfortunately, it drags a lot as the book goes on, with Venus repeating a lot of her disastrous mistakes (the amount of times she jumps to a conclusion, acts on it, it ends in either her or her family in trouble, and then she immediately jumps on another unfounded conclusion...girl) paired with some clunky pacing making for a book I was less and less engrossed in the longer it went. It started off so strong, and I was instantly in for the worldbuilding (though I feel like we could've done with more on the differences in how witchers use their powers and Brewers' pledges and vows and what would lead someone to choose to be a brewer despite all of the backlash), but again, the longer it went on, the more questions I had and the more things seemed to fall apart (how did witchers stay under the radar for so long, what is up with deviations, with such a high degree of recoil, how did Elder Glen make so many trinary note potions for Venus - for that matter, the recoil in making a healing potion to be used to get over recoil....). In that way, it really shows its hand as a debut novel - the more it tries to do, the more it kind of stumbles around what it wants to do.

As an audiobook, Freeman does an excellent job voicing all of the characters and giving life to every one with distinct intonations (though the amount of times people scream in the book meant a lot of jerking back, especially when it's Janus), and meant that a lot of the shorter, choppier sentences got a much nicer sort of flow that I really enjoyed.

But, at the end of it all, while the execution leaves a lot to be desired, the plot and concept is so fresh and great that I did find myself really engrossed at points

First off, I want to thank the publisher & NetGalley for the audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review!


NON-SPOILERY NOTES I TOOK WHILE READING:
- I thought the prologue was well done. Definitely a strong and intriguing start!
- I wish there wasn’t so much info dumping with how the magic works in the opening chapters. Like, we were told what each character’s magic is—I wish we were shown it as the story went on.
- I like the overall writing style.
- The monstrous “It” inside of Venus was an interesting character.
- I love the diversity in this book.
- The different familial relationships—sisters, cousins, parent-child—have also been fun to read about, as they have many layers to them.
- I like the way magical racism was used to portray when racism looks like in the real world. It felt accurate to me.
- I’ll be honest that while I was listening to the story, it was interesting enough. But whenever I put the book down, I didn’t feel a pull to pick it back up.
- It feels like the actual plot didn’t start until nearly 40% into the book. So much of what came before that felt mostly like world building, and day-in-the-life scenes. Granted, there were interesting bits there; I just wish the main plot had started sooner.
- While the last third of the book had a lot going on (in a good way), it didn’t really excite me and hold my attention like I thought it would.
- At first I liked the magic system; but with the witchipedia excerpts and such, it started to feel a bit convoluted for me personally.
- I’ll be honest that I was surprised at who the main antagonist was. I guess because I went into this book expecting the overall message to be something else. Having said that, the main antagonist was fleshed out, so I appreciated that aspect.
- I appreciated all the different (romantic and not) relationships that were explored in this book.
- Some of the dialogue actually made me laugh out loud!


I think all in all, my biggest issue with this book is that we tackle one “big bad” in the first half of the book, and then tackle a different “big bad” in the second half of the book. But while the plot really began in the second half, I wish we had stuck with the “big bad” from the first half of the book and explored that more, rather than having it kinda fade to the background.

Overall though, I think the author is good at their craft, and I would be open to reading another book of theirs in the future.

Btw, I’m glad most readers seem to love this book! And I think if this story sounds interesting to you, then you should definitely give it a chance!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel to read in exchange for an honest review.

This was a 3.5 star read to me, rounded up to 4 because there are no half stars.

I thought this was a good debut novel with an interesting premise and great world-building. I really appreciated how the author was able to add to the world-building using segments with what was essentially the world's wikipedia. It kept the world-building from feeling too info dump-y because the characters weren't revealing all of the details or magical rules through dialogue.

The reason this isn't technically a 4 star review for me is because the book suffers from some pacing issues. The sort of issues I've encountered in other debut offers and that makes me think that this is something that can be corrected with subsequent novels and more experience. There were times parts of this book dragged, but also times where I was able to rip through large sections in anticipation of what was going to come next.

This is 3.5 instead of 3 stars because I loved how descriptive the book was and I really appreciated Bethany's beautiful writing.

If you like fantasy with interesting magical systems and good world building this book is definitely for you, pacing issues aside.

Thank you Netgalley, Sourcebooks Fire, and Recorded Books for the ALC and ARC!

- The raw emotions in this book add so much to the reading experience. It's intense, and I had to pause a few times to let everything settle.
- This is one of the most impressive narrations I've listened to! The narrator does an incredible job with different character voices, and the range of pitches was something I've never seen in audiobooks before! The way Freeman was able to convey the rage and sadness of the characters was masterful. I will definitely be seeking out more of her narration in the future!
- The pacing was a little slow for me, and I think a lot of that is because of the amount of world-building and characters. Once I finished, I really appreciated all the information we got, but it felt tricky to figure out what to focus on while in the midst of the book. The audiobook helped me not get stuck in the beginning.
- Because of the amount of worldbuilding, I could not figure out how this book was going to end-but I was really impressed by how Baptise wrapped everything up! There were enough hints that, once the end was revealed, I saw how she had been leaving little hints throughout. Doing this without making the end obvious is very impressive, especially in a debut!
- This is how you do morally grey characters!! Venus has to make so many decisions that are impossible, and watching her navigate that was incredible.
- The way this reflected the rage and sadness that I have felt through the last few years of politics and the pandemic was incredibly cathartic.
- This is definitely geared towards the upper range of YA. I was really impressed how Baptise was able to balance including things that older teens (think 17-19) are doing without making it so it's inappropriate for that same age group.

This book drew me in with a beautiful cover and then kept me reading through an interesting story of magic and power set within a fantastical D.C. I’m still a little bit surprised with how quickly I went through this audiobook and with the way that I was able to feel like I understood the story even though I can’t usually read fantasy by audiobook. Bethany Baptiste does a wonderful job of creating a fantasy world based upon our own, and created an interesting world of witchers and humans that I honestly wish that we got more worldbuilding lore about. It’s a book carried by an ever-twisting plotline and characters whose magic almost feels powered by emotion. I definitely think it’s worth the read/listen.

Even though fantasy books are usually hard to follow on audiobook, I think that the narrator did a great job of making both the story even more compelling and the storytelling distinct enough that even if I zoned out for a split second, I was able to understand who was speaking and what was going on. The character voices were distinct, even when I’m not actively listening to them, and the entire book felt more engaging this way.

As far as relationships and characters go, I definitely think that Baptiste has created very interesting characters and dynamics. It’s fairly obvious what characters are more important in the story based upon the amount of information and development we see about them, but all in all it works. The relationships are messy in some ways but a lot of it falls into the more general morally gray than anything. Overall, it’s a solid story and a good audiobook, and if it sounds like your type of thing, I’d recommend it.

"The Poisons We Drink" takes readers into a world divided between humans and witchers, where love potions are brewed illegally with deadly consequences. Venus Stoneheart, a brewer of these potions, is thrust into a dangerous game of revenge after her mother's murder. As she navigates the corrupt underbelly of her city, the lines between magic, power, and trust blur. This potent YA debut explores themes of love, sisterhood, and self-discovery amidst a backdrop of dark magic and political intrigue. While the premise is intriguing and the themes resonate, some readers may find the plot pacing uneven, and the world-building lacking depth. Overall, "The Poisons We Drink" offers an engaging read for fans of fantasy and YA fiction.

Venus Stoneheart lives in a world of humans and witchers. Witchers like Venus and her family have different magical powers and now aged 18, Venus has been using hers for a while in order to support her family.

Venus is a brewer of potions. She is paid handsomely to brew and deliver potions to make another fall in love - with a unrequited or scorned love, a parent seeking their child's forgiveness, or even fall in love with an idea. This would be straight forward except for the many repercussions of brewing.

One is the physical toll - each brew breaking Venus down into pieces until she takes special potions to rebuild herself. This is painful and takes much from Venus, body and mind.

Another is the fact that brewing is illegal, and the human police force never needs an excuse to beat on witchers, torch their property or arrest them for witchery, or even just a suspicion of it.

Venus is also dealing with a deviant - this 'inner demon' has a life of its own within her, always eager to escape and cause havoc, mayhem and death if she isn't strong enough to reign it in. She calls it, IT, and is constantly willing it to shut up. This deviant came into being through trauma in Venus' life, and she must drink daily serums to keep it in check.

But when her mother is killed, keeping IT is even harder, as she struggles with yet more trauma, and the desperation to protect her younger, fiery, impetuous sister, Janus.

Venus feels all of Janus' emotions, as Venus is also an empath - having to deal with waves of anger, fear, or whatever those around her are feeling at any one time. All of this is a lot to constantly copy with, especially as she is hired to make three powerful love potions - with no right of refusal.

The person hiring her is all powerful in the Witcher World and has a political agenda and a will to protect the future safety of Witchers.

The more Venus learns as she researches and collects what she needs for the potions, the more she learns about her mother's past, and extended family. Will she be able to source all she needs, save Janus from her impulsive actions, and even survive the process?



The world building behind this story is impressive - through the multi-layered plot and the chapter tasters of Witcherpedia postings or snippets of Witcher excerpts from Witcher tomes.

Venus has got a LOT on her plate - more so than any character I've read lately, and accordingly sways through emotions, trying to deal with it all. She is strong, loyal, grieving over a mother that rarely showed love for her daughters, and trying to put things right in her world of feuding humans and witchers.

This is a complicated read and can't be hurried. It's not a fast-paced read but has parts that definitely get the heart pumping in fear, revenge, or rage.

All in all, the world Venus lives in is very believable, as we place it up against our own.

DNF @50%

I really wanted to love this but unfortunately it's just not working for me. While the premise sounded good and the beginning is intriguing, the narrative is dragging and isn't really keeping my interest. I'm also not sure some of the choices of the "Grand Witcher" make sense contextually, (I don't want to spoil things so I'm trying to be cautious) and it doesn't seem like the implications of how brewing and potions work is really being reckoned with. It's physically very harmful and the fact that a young teenager was doing this and overseen by her mom?... Maybe later the book addresses this but that's abuse and neglect and it seems it's being glossed over. I also found Venus to be a pretty bland character with the potential for so much more. And there are other holes in the world-building. Things I might not mind if I was having a good time with the book, but because I wasn't they stood out more. Take my review with a grain of salt though because some readers really seem to be enjoying this. I think it's just not for me. I received an audio review copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and the author for providing a copy of this book for review!

I so badly wanted to love this one, the cover is gorgeous and I’m trying really hard to branch out and read some books by POC authors.

I’m struggling to connect with it if I’m being honest! That’s not to say it’s a bad book, not by any means, and I can see a lot of people loving this one!

There is definitely some funny parts that have had me laughing, and the plot definitely has potential, I just don’t think I can stick around to find out, so I’m putting it down for now.

This was an interesting book. I enjoyed the magic and adventure.
The characters were interesting as well.
I did think the book was about long and it did drag at times for me.

Book Review 🪄🔮💫

The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste
Pub Date: 3/4/24
Eating: 2.5–3 out of 5

Thank you @netgalley & RB media for the ALC.

Y’all this cover and the premise of this book reeled me in immediately! The cover is just beautifullll 😍 & I’m always down to read a book about a girl going out and getting her revenge. Howeverrrr! I’m still new to fantasy so I have to get use to how long some of the books are. I just feel there were some parts that weren’t necessary.

This book also has a TON of characters to keep up with 😅 Because of that I did find myself zoning out and have to rewind to see what I missed. If you’re super into fantasy you just may love it — if you’re just starting out, like me, this may not be IT for you.

The stories were interesting and engaging. I liked that it was like a collection of short stories. Overall, I really enjoyed the book, though it could use slightly better pacing. The narrator did a great job of keeping the listeners intrigued. Overall I'd give it a 4/5

I enjoyed the world building of this story! The author did an amazing job of creating a world we could easily picture through the books descriptions...it was very well written.
I found the magic and potion exploration quite interesting and unique.
I loved that oftentimes the characters were in a situation where no choice was really a good choice and so it was entertaining to see which choice they chose!
This book covers several deep topics, check your spoilers, but if you aren't triggered by one of these it was a different, immersive read!