1.5 stars rounded up*

Personally, this collection of poetry just was not for me. I found it to be very unorganised and lacking structure or meaning to the overall flow of the collection. The author did state at the end of the book that all the poems were actually comprised of random phrases from other pieces of work. That was an entirely new concept to me. I don't believe this approach worked well for this specific collection. I didn't understand a lot of the poems and the messages they were trying to convey. After reading the author's note, it becomes quite apparent that the author pieced sentences from other's work together.

Poetry can be a very personal piece of writing as well as extremely ambiguous, so maybe these just weren't to my taste. However, I did not enjoy this work as much as I had hoped to due to the lack of structure and the chaos evident throughout the pages.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ⓑⓞⓞⓚ Ⓡⓔⓥⓘⓔⓦ

"𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒂 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍, 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒖𝒔"

This is a short collection of 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘺 that delves into the darker side to human existence.

With themes of identity, the supernatural, death and the existential, Andrea Blythe presents readers with an interesting perspective on the world around us, our insignificance in it and the mullings of someone who observes and feels things on a deeper level.

Considering the restrictions surrounding this style of writing, Blythe has managed to construct poems with significant messages and unique qualities. I can sometimes struggle to connect with freeform styles of poetry, so I was a little dubious going in, but I found a lot of what was written resonated with me quite easily.

Some of my favourite poems are 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘈 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘺 and 𝘖𝘧 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 and there is a lot of stunning natural imagery featured throughout.

When you take into account the limitations of creating poems using other pieces of text, I feel that this highlights Blythe’s talent immensely and it really adds to the reading experience.

This is a beautiful collection of macabre poems and, although it is a quick read, it is definitely a book worth exploring.

Release date: 7th October 2024

Necessary Poisons by Andrea Blythe is an intriguing collection that delves into the darker aspects of womanhood, power, and myth. While the concept is compelling, and Blythe’s reimagining of folklore and archetypal female figures is noteworthy, the execution doesn't quite live up to its potential.

The poems explore themes of beauty, danger, and transformation, offering a fresh perspective on figures like witches and sirens. However, while some poems stand out with sharp, evocative language, others feel less impactful, making the collection uneven. The repetition of certain motifs and themes can lead to a sense of predictability, and the emotional depth doesn’t always hit as hard as one might hope.

Blythe’s strength lies in her ability to craft a strong atmosphere, but at times, the poems feel more focused on the aesthetic than on delivering a resonant message. The collection is accessible and easy to read, but it may leave some readers wanting more in terms of substance and variety.

Overall, Necessary Poisons is a decent read with moments of brilliance, but it doesn’t quite reach the heights it seems capable of. For those who enjoy poetry that touches on folklore and feminist themes, it’s worth a look, but it might not leave a lasting impression. It’s a collection that feels more like a stepping stone in Blythe’s poetic journey rather than a definitive statement.

🦇Summary

A collection of horror poems centered on poison, plants, bloodshed, and the supernatural.

📚Themes & Topics: Poetry, Writing, Death, Gardens

⭐Rating: 🩸🩸

🧠 My thoughts

It's been ages since I've read any poetry. When I saw this collection, I was immediately intrigued and interested - why not step out of my comfort zone and explore some poetry? Especially poetry themed around horror.

It didn't all land for me, but there were some I really enjoyed. I loved the images scattered between the poems - odd eyes peering through flowers, beautiful and creepy. The poems themselves were simply fine. I didn't really get a lot of them nor what the connection was. I kind of got a sense of a progressing story, but wasn't really sure what the thread was that carried it through, or the perspective we were seeing it from.

Favorites Poems include A Little Background Information, The Book, All But Forgotten, Sudden Botany

When I got to the author's note at the end, I immediately wished it was at the beginning of the collect. It would have put so much more into context and framed everything much better than just blindly experiencing it. The concept is so cool, it would have benefitted from this being at the front and not the end of the collection. Overall, 2 stars from me as I only found a few poems that resonated and was generally confused with the collection.

Thank you very much to Netgalley for an ARC of this collection in exchange for my honest review!

👻Read this if you like:

Botanical Poems

Want to experience something different

👿Skip this if:

You want a coherent collection

You aren't interested in odd poetry

What I enjoyed about this was the innovative presentation of the poems. It really added to the dark and macabre theme and was refreshing to see this type of change from your typical book of poems. The imagery was great and helped me as the reader to visualize this metaphorical greenhouse. What I like about poetry is the ability of the writer to transform simple words and phrases and paint a picture that holds a much deeper meaning. I think this would be an incredibly enjoyable read for anyone who enjoys the more dark side of poetry. The botanical element was a nice twist and really created some fun imagery to enjoy.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!

I’ve never actually read poetry revolving around horror before, so this was unique! I loved how at the end Blythe wrote this by taking snips of Stephen King’s writing! I’ve never heard of that before! This was very dark and moody. 3 ⭐️

This is a low rating one for me. I love dark poems but this felt very confusing to read. Nothing seemed to flow or make sense. Some poems did but most did not. It felt so random... very erratic thoughts. I was left feeling discombobulated.

Then you get to the end of the book and we are told these are just sentences that were copied and pasted and rearranged to make another story. They are lines from Stephen Kings 'The Plant.' That's a neat concept but it didn't work here. Or maybe it would have if I had known that from the beginning. Then it would make more sense. I get what the author was trying to get at... the poems were trying to read Like a story where they are conntected to make a bigger, different picture than what they were originally intended for but because of so much randomness and the metaphors used it didn't quite grasp.

Necessary Poisons is a collection of macabre found poetry, the source for which is Stephen King's unfinished epistolary novel The Plant. It is a fascinating collection, if a bit flawed. Sometimes self-imposed restrictions, like only using words and phrases from a pres-existing text, can ultimately expand one's creativity. In this collection the restrictions have mixed results.

Some poems, mainly the ones about the jackal, but also a couple of others, are a pleasure to read, with an eery mysticism to them, wrapped up in a rather elegant structure. Even if the meaning wasn't transparent, those poems had a fable-like quality to them that left me with a mixture of tension and wonder. The found poetry format also allows Blythe to uncover unconventional ways of using language that probably wouldn't have occurred to her without this limit.

However, other poems, which sadly make up the majority of the collection seem somewhat unfinished, and some of those are barely comprehensible, with no clear imagery, structure or lyricism to guide the reader through. These poems also don't have a great flow (I tried reading them out loud to test it) and could have used further reworking for that alone. Also, that's a total nitpick, but in the poem "Morning, Wrapped in Maple and Pine" there is a line saying "bellies/ and breasts sewn with belladonna/ and nightshade", when belladonna and nightshade are the same plant. I have no idea if that's something taken from King's text, but it seems like a rather silly mistake for a collection centering deadly plants to have.

I really liked the artwork in the collection - it's comprised of collages that the author did from public domain imagery. It's definite proof that one can add quality artwork to book, without the budget to hire an artist, but without resorting to AI image generation.

Okay it's my own stupid fault but I didn't know those were poems. I'm not really into poems but from what I read the poems are good so that's why i give 4 stars!

Whilst I liked the premise of this collection, I felt it could have been better edited, as well as reviewed. I found the writing to be a little tgoo much in varioujs places throughout and a couple of typos.

I am not sure if this collection was for me or my tastes. Mirroring what someone else has said in a review, it felt a lot like scattered words on paper, which incidentally, is what it is. This collection of found poetry was based off pages from a Stephen King novel as stated in the back of the book, but it does not flow and doesn’t make sense for a majority of the work in my opinion. This may not have been for me, but I do think others may understand and enjoy the beauty in it.

Necessary Poisons
Andrea Blythe


I really enjoyed this collection of dark poetry ...
Very much, in fact ...
But it's too hard for me to really give my thoughts without spoiling ...

So all I'll say is that my personal critique is just that I wish we knew what we find out at the end, at the beginning. Because I knew there was something connecting the poems (that are often beautifully constructed, by the way... a bit disjointed at times... ) but I found myself constantly distracted trying to make the connection. And I personally don't think it'd harm the experience by switching up when the connection is revealed.
But that's obviously not my call, so I'll say nothing else and let you go in blindly, and make up your own mind.

The poems have a disquietingly dark and deep voice of their own, so I'll let them do the talking. 😉

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC ebook in exchange for honest review

I don't pick up poetry often, but the horror angle caught my eye. The concept of this collection is interesting, as well as a nod to another great horror writer. I don't want to give too much away, as reading without the backstory adds to the eeriness of the collection. The author explains their writing process in the acknowledgments section, which clarified so much for me post-read. Not as dark as I imagined it would be after reading the "advanced praise," but still enjoyable.

Firstly, I want to say thank you for allowing me to read and review this collection early as an e-arc.

I'm not sure how to begin this review, so I'm just going to jump in with a...

it's odd.

Not odd in a bad way, just odd in a way. Whatever that way may be. During my time reading the poems, I was wishing I had someone to talk to, someone who understood more about nuance than me, as I was incredibly confused. There was a lot of repetition between poems (manuscript, jackal, black) and it was obvious they were connected, but I couldn't find the thread that connected them.

Until the end. It's found poetry. It was all pulled from a Stephen King book, rearranged, and had new life breathed into it. That explained so much. I do wish this was acknowledged earlier (I reread the beginning in case I missed a mention of this aspect and there was nothing) so I could've kept it in mind and not spent half the collection with my eyebrows pinching my nose going "why" every couple of stanzas.

I want to touch on the repetition real quick: I didn't care for it. The collection seems disjointed and there are two or three poems in a row that mention jackals as an analogy rather than a subject. There were more scattered about, but had some separation between. Somehow, Blythe made up her own cliches. After about halfway through, the themes seemed to play on repeat, and the newfound cliches became obvious. It ruined the fun I found at the start.

But I digress! Outside of my initial confusion, I did enjoy a good number of the poems. Unfortunately, as I now know they're found poems, I'm not sure if the lines I loved were because of King or because of Blythe. The acknowledgments at the end say that words were chosen and then rearranged in their entirety, but I've never read the book these are "found" from, so I'm not sure if Blythe is playing off the concepts King addresses. I suppose that's one unfortunate thing now knowing that it's found poetry: I'm not sure if I can wholeheartedly give Blythe the credit she is due.

So yeah. It was odd. I found it confusing. I wish I had someone to talk to about this to maybe help me understand some of these pieces better. I don't think it's bad, I just don't think it's for me. But if you like darker-toned poetry that isn't horror-based, and/or are in to different styles and methods of writing poetry, I think this could be your thing. It's just not mine.

Thank you to Netgalley and Interstellar Flight Press for this Advanced Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Necessary Poisons is a collection of poems created using lines from Stephen King's "The Plant"--an epistolary novel that King never completed. I believe the source material and the limitations within the 'found poem' archetype created a network of flaws within this collection. For starters, there was an immense discrepancy in quality from one poem to the next. Some of the poems were entirely incomprehensible, which did not sit well with me. The incomprehensibility stemmed from a lack of context. I couldn't orient myself within the poem, couldn't discern the identity of the narrator, and sometimes could not discern the subject of the poem altogether. At worst, some of these poems appeared to be no more than a chaotic hodge-podge of sentences from the source text.

I did, however, count 5 poems that seemed intentional and well-compiled. Those five poems were the only ones that successfully completed the found-poem assignment without sacrificing clarity. Each centered on toxic botany, and each left me feeling like the poison and ooze stuck to my skin. I greatly enjoyed those five, but wished that the rest provided equal depth and interest.

The most enjoyable part of this work, however, was the art, which was sadly pulled from The Public Domain Review. I would have preferred to see art created by independent artists with each poem in mind--this would have added something special that the poems largely failed to provide.

**Necessary Potions** is a captivating and unflinchingly dark collection of poetry that delves into the macabre and the supernatural with a ferocious and haunting elegance. Through a series of visceral and chilling verses, Blythe offers readers a poetic journey into the realms of poison, plants, bloodshed, and the occult, challenging conventions and expectations with every line.

The collection opens with an evocative exploration of the inescapable nature of time, setting the stage for a series of poems that examine the intersection of the living and the dead. Blythe’s use of vivid imagery and stark language creates a palpable sense of dread and unease, inviting readers to confront their own fears and curiosities about the darker aspects of existence.

Each poem in *Necessary Potions* is a potent elixir of emotion and atmosphere. The themes of poison and plants are intricately woven into the fabric of the poems, serving as metaphors for personal and existential turmoil. Blythe’s exploration of these themes is both innovative and unsettling, offering a fresh perspective on the traditional symbols of darkness and decay.

The supernatural elements of the collection are particularly striking. Blythe conjures a world where the boundaries between reality and the supernatural blur, creating a sense of eerie ambiguity that lingers long after the last page. The poems often venture into realms of horror and the unknown, drawing readers into a world that is both familiar and alien, where the rules of the ordinary are upended.

The language in *Necessary Potions* is both lyrical and sharp, with Blythe demonstrating a mastery of poetic form that enhances the impact of the themes explored. The poems are infused with a raw, primal energy that underscores the intensity of the emotions conveyed. This is poetry that does not shy away from confronting the darker sides of the human psyche, making it a challenging yet rewarding read.

Blythe’s ability to weave together the horror of poison and the mystique of the supernatural with the more intimate struggles of personal identity and power results in a collection that is as intellectually stimulating as it is emotionally evocative. *Necessary Potions* is a testament to the power of poetry to explore and illuminate the darkest corners of the human experience.

For readers who appreciate poetry that pushes boundaries and delves into the grotesque and the enigmatic, *Necessary Potions* offers a rich and memorable experience. It is a collection that challenges, haunts, and captivates, leaving a lasting impression with its daring exploration of themes that are both timeless and provocatively modern.

"Necessary Poisons" is a book of found poetry based on Stephen King's "The Plant".
It tells a dark, eerie new story about a woman seeking her identity and ultimately overcoming her struggles - though neither is directly told. The story includes the motifs death, plants, writing as well as supernatural elements.

I didn't know about found poetry and i was surprised by the process behind it as the author explained it at the end. I would have believed those to be her actual own words.
It was an enjoyable quick read, though the story was told so indirectly, i wasn't sure what I was reading about until the end.

I've never read anything like this before and I find the whole found poetry idea fascinating. This poetry collection was so dark and moody and I really liked it, and I was so surprised to find out that the words were fashioned and arranged by the author from other sources.
This could be something fun to try later. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

I do not have much to comment about this book - just because I personally could not relate with many of the poetry in this book, although the poems themselves were well written. I did like and appreciate this collection of poems, but I found that it was not my cup of tea.

A dark, atmospheric poetry collection that I enjoyed throughly. Sometimes the poems felt disjointed although this seemed to be with intentional and didn’t seem wrong. I love horror poetry and would love to see more from this author.