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!

For a young adult audience this book has a lot of adult content. I would not recommend this to any teenager to read. And it would be a decent book for somebody in their 20s or older. I just don’t agree with the marketing to the age range. That said, I thought that the plot line was choppy and could have used another edit. I think the book was longer than it needed to be but overall I was glad I read it.

Firstly let me just say that the narrator, Lynnette R. Freeman did an amazing job. She brought the book and it characters to life! She's a joy to listen to. No about the story itself. I did really enjoy it. It's a YA urban fantasy where magic users are being discriminated/tyrannized by humans through implanting laws to slowly gain more and more control over them. The worldbuilding and magic system was really unique and well thought out. The ending was full of surprises with it's twist and turns. However this story just couldn't grab my full attention. I think this is mainly because the genre isn't really my thing. So it's more of a me problem.
Overall a very good YA debut book that contains some weighty themes, definitely check out the content warnings.

Narrated by Lynette R Freeman

Story itself was a bit bland but the narration was A++ *chef's kiss*

I'd love to give a decent breakdown of the plot, but it confused me a lot so all I can tell you is that our main protagonist, Venus, makes love potions and eventually lands in hot water that she has to find a way out of. She is in some kind of debilitating pain for most of the story (for various reasons) and her family is generally a hot mess.

There are all kinds of twists and turns, and because I wasn't paying attention the whole time (the political intrigue was BORING) it was very hard to work out whose side people were actually on. It seemed like there was a lot of switching.

So very twisty, and if you're paying closer attention than me you'll likely catch a few enjoyable surprises.

I wasn't sold on the parent-hating this book seemed to favour. We're definitely seeing a teenage point of view here, with parents seeming to be the root cause of everything that goes wrong in this book. I wasn't real keen on it, and it was another thing that set my mind wandering, because I didn't really want to hear it.

That's the interesting thing about audio - if the opinions of the book aren't really shared then it's easy to tune out. I found a lot of the smaller moments really entertaining but missed the depth in a few of the bigger themes because they were wrapped up in packaging that didn't agree with me.

And there are a LOT of big themes here. There's a looooong list of trigger warnings at the start, so expect some heaviness going into this.

The lighter moments are really what kept me listening. There are some really fun scenes and interactions between characters sprinkled in amongst all the heaviness, and it was extra delightful listening to these because the narration was so fantastic.

And here we come to my absolute favourite part - the narration. Freeman did such an incredible job bringing these characters alive. Jay actually annoyed me SO MUCH but at the same time I adored that characterisation. This one gets an extra star from me just purely based on how much the narration added to the story. It was easy to differentiate between characters, and there was so much personality conveyed. Would happily listen to any audiobook from this narrator.

So while I don't think the story will entertain everyone, I would recommend this book purely on the strength of the narration. It was such a fun listen, even though the second half of the actual story dragged. Just those voices were enough to keep me going.

With thanks to Netgalley for an audio ARC

I really wanted to love this but in the end, I lost interest.

This was LONGGGG and to be honest, I could barely tell you what happened as it failed to keep my interest. I definitely missed out on any excitement of reveals as I'd not kept up with who was who and it just wasn't for me.

Thank you RB Media, NetGalley, Bethany Baptiste, and narrator Lynette Freeman for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook. The world is filled with magic in the hands of witchers and certain people have the ability to make special spells that can make life better or worse. Venus is one of those that can make love potions that either make things go very right or go very bad. But when her mother is killed she has to make a terrible choice, does she fight for the good and a peaceful future or does she take revenge on those people that are against the witchers? It’s very well written and kept me guessing until the end. This was a fun read and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Twist and turns galore. This book at me on the edge of my seat because I never could predict what was gonna come up next. It did get a little bit confusing every once in a while, trying to keep up with all the Witcher and such but overall I would give this book 4 out of 5. The narrators voice did match what I think the characters would sound like however, some of them were just a bit squeaky for my taste, but I definitely am going to read the physical copy when it comes out so I can make better connections

"I made the Poisons We Drink with two cups of Practical Magic, a gallon of Black girls, a sprinkle of bad witches, and a pinch of unbreakable bonds. But when everything's all boiled down, this story is my heart."


Bethany Baptiste, renowned author, breaks down the novel in such a tantalizing way I couldn't wait to dive into the dark fantasy ARC.


Venus Stoneheart is an illegal brewer of love potions in a world of witchers and humans. All this sentient magic and danger just to support her family. She could be thrown in prison, or worse, put to death for her practice.


A taunting voice in her head. Her mother, a timekeeper, pierced by an iron-crafted bullet. Little sister Janus becomes her ward, her responsibility.


Ouija boards. Blood oaths. Forced love.


The Grand Witcher offering her everything she wanted - avenge her mother, murder the one who took her parent from the world.


The story quickly is encompassed by politics and a gameboard strategically arranged like that of a chess game. Trust becomes a fragile thing, and the darkness is clawing it's way out from inside her. 🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 Stars!

To start off, this is my personal opinion on this book.

This book was just not for me. I also received the audiobook arc via Net Galley, thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this debut ARC.

In my opinion, this book felt a bit too juvenile. I understand it is YA, however the amount of curse words was a little bothersome. I know I sounds hypocritical as a person who does curse a lot when they speak but it is not my cup of tea to read curses on almost every page. It felt like to me, an urban book with fantasy elements.

I was not a fan of the dialogue nor did I like any of the characters. I pushed through and in the end I just ended up not liking it very much.

It’s not a bad book, I just didn’t like it

This is also not a fake account made by that weirdo author. I’m a real person and a person of color. I am tying my best to right his review in the nicest way possible as to not anger anyone.

I really enjoyed Bethany Baptiste's YA fantasy debut, "The Poisons We Drink," I listened to the audiobook narrated by Lynette R. Freeman.

In "The Poisons we Drink", we follow the journey of Venus Stoneheart, a young Witcher and potions brewer for hire. Baptiste does an excellent job guiding the readers through heavy themes such as racism, classism, and political intrigue. The audiobook narrator, Lynette R. Freeman, gives a remarkable performance adding an extra layer of depth, effectively conveying heavy emotions to the readers. The magical world, well-crafted characters, and the richly immersive environment left me craving more. The book's unique magic system, coupled with unexpected twists towards the end, and Freeman's exceptional narration, make it a must-read for all fantasy readers.

Thank you, NetGalley and RB Media for the advance copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

This was actually really good! I was a little skeptical because it’s a YA book, but I found myself really relating to the characters and the plot was captivating!

I really wanted to like this more than I did. The world building and magic system was really interesting and unique but I was often getting confused by things. The plot was also quite slow and a little disjointed. I think the book could have been cut down quite a bit for better pacing. The characters had promise but I wasn’t really invested in any of them. Overall, a really promising debut and I have high hopes for what the author can do in the future.

What a fantastic story about familial love, political corruption, and magic!

The audiobook narration is absolutely stunning. Freeman brought the characters to life with how they were voiced. The story itself had me thinking about it even when I wasn't listening, wondering how Venus was going to move forward. Grief and strength go hand-in-hand in this book. I loved the sister and the nonbinary representation (side character). The political intrigue interspersed with wanting retribution for a family member's death were really well done.

The author announced there were errors with the book and its publication has been pushed back. I can't imagine how much better the book will be in its final form!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review!

UNPUTDOWNABLE.

This was one of my most anticipated titles of the year and it did not fail me.

Venus is a potion-brewer with a speciality in love potions and a dark, bloodthirsty "it" inside her chomping to get out. Because love potions have consequences - and so does breaking other witcher rules. Two things Venus knows all too well and will learn over and over again throughout the story.

The prose is fantastic. The characters are excellent (particularly loved the complicated family relationships!). And the twists will keep you turning pages. I listened to the whole damn audiobook (like 15 hours?) in like two days. That's how compelling it is.

The audiobook narrator did a great job with narrating this story. This was a highly anticipated urban novel i couldn’t wait to get my hands on. Unfortunately it just didn’t do it for me and i had to DNF at 87%.

There was an uneven pacing that through me off, way too many characters to keep up with, and i felt the author kept telling me the magic system instead of showing me in the book and letting me as the listener understand it in my own. I listen to audiobooks a lot, i felt myself keep getting lost in the storytelling. Idk if this was because the story wasn’t interesting me or it’s just hard to follow. Idk what it is but something is missing.


Now originally when i first started listening everything was great, engaging and funny, but i just felt lost in it and lost interest about 15% in.