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.

I have never experienced found poetry before except as a writing exercise. Without reading anything prior to beginning Necessary Poisons, I assumed the poems were plucked from the mind of Blythe without the methodology detailed in the end of the book. It made me rethink poetry and the way we go into it. I think the poems themselves are indicative of the gothic drudgery of living. It feels a bit southern gothic with more emotion thrown in. The way the speaker of many of the poems relays their personality is the way many of us would probably regale our own lore over a drink with a friend. Highly recommend and enjoyed this book.

I requested this arc as it seemed to promise poetry with a dark mood. I like horror and sinister themes, but this book just hasn't interested me at all. It appears to be found poetry, which I have enjoyed from time to time. But in my opinion, the poetry text is only one half of an art form, I just got nothing but a jumble of words on a sterile blank page, sorry.

** Thank you to the publisher who provided me with an E-ARC in return for my honest review.**

3.5 stars
Loved the vibe and the concept. Some of the poems were great. But most of the time they didn't exactly make sense and quite a few phrases sounded disjointed. A lot of it didn't really flow.

I have mixed feelings about this one.
Starting off with what I liked - the illustrations were amazing. The cover was spooky (in a good way). My favorite poems were - A Little Background Information, A Matter of Transition and Of the Earth.
The things I did not like - I couldn't connect well with the poems. I was disheartened to know that the poetry was just random, and the lines were extracted from other writings.
I don't think I'll be able to recommend this one.

I wish there was the authors note at the start about it found poetry because I have never encountered this before and wondered why the poems didn’t flow. It’s hard to review on this basis because I didn’t enjoy it. But I do wonder if I’d have viewed it differently if I’d known. My favourite poem was “of the earth”

Thank you netgalley for this collection of poems one of my favorite things about poetry is the author can do so much with creator certain concepts and stories in poems and thats what i liked about this collection which had alot of floral elements to it the cover really caught my eye i will say some of them confused me a bit but thats the thing with poetry some of the poems you will get and some you wont but each poetry novel has a poem for someone. Overall quick read and i enjoyed the story element in the poems and the details and writing.

In Necessary Poisons, Andrea Blythe creates a cycle of found poems, all sourced and pieced together from a single longer text. The result is an atmospheric greenhouse of poems where dark thoughts bloom. It would be a fun read for anyone who enjoys the eerie intersection of horror and poetry, as well as writers or other creators who like a compelling creative project built around strict limitations that paradoxically end up leading to greater and wholly unexpected possibilities.

On my initial read through the collection, I did find it challenging to orient myself within the poems. It wasn’t entirely clear who was speaking, or what the underlying narrative was, or if there even was one. But after reading the author’s note and gaining a better understanding of the method and limitations of the project, I took another pass through the book and found myself better able to just go with the oozy, toxic flow. My favorites were the more botanical, imagery-driven poems later in the book. I especially liked the menace in “Of the Earth,” which threatens, “…I am/any deadly thing—nightshade,/belladonna, or adder toadstool.” Love those Macbeth/Weird Sisters vibes.

My thanks to NetGalley and Interstellar Flight Press for providing me a copy of Necessary Poisons in exchange for my review.

This is collection of ‘found poems’ which means the words used originated in another text. This collection of found poetry plays on the macabre and is haunting but beautiful. I don’t normally read poetry but this was a great foray into the genre for me because of the horror themes.
Thank you to NetGalley, Interstellar Flight Press and the author for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A beautifully haunting collection of erasure poems about writing, creation, and love. I would have preferred to read the author's note before reading the poems because I like to know that I am reading erasure poetry; it helps me appreciate the author's efforts more. It also explained the seemingly random choice of some of the words, like the recurring image/character of the jackal. I would like to go back and reread some of the poems now that I know how they were created. Blythe managed to make such alluring yet unnerving poems from an unfinished epistolary novel by Stephen King, and I am truly impressed.

Thank you to Interstellar Flight Press for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I liked the book and the concept was really amazing but it just didn't hit for me!
4.5 stars
the main character was really likeable

I get why others didn't like this, but I greatly enjoyed it.

Let me explain.

This is a book of found poetry, which I didn't learn until the end. It might have been better to have that information up front. Found poetry isn't for everyone. It tends to be more disjointed by the nature of what it is, and the flow is not always smooth. That is, to me, part of it's appeal.

It isn't pretty. It isn't sweet. It isn't gentle.

It's raw. It's awkward. It's made of the carcasses of other works.

That's a particularly fitting way to describe this book. The poems were macabre, dark, and fixated on death. They were also beautiful. There were multiple lines I liked so much I googled them to find what they were from only to discover they were Frankenstein-ed together by Blythe, so that something wholly new and beautiful was created. "We will all be leaving without prior notice" is simply a gorgeous line, and one of many. "Morning, Wrapped in Maple and Pine" was probably my favorite poem in the collection.

I loved the witchy vibes, loved the twisted phrases describing twisted thoughts, and overall really enjoyed it. It's a quick read and one you won't regret.

Enjoyed these poems by Andrea Blythe. First time reading "found poetry", and definitely found it an interesting way. All the poems definitely worked. Will definitely read more from Andrea Blythe. #NecessaryPoisons #NetGalley

This was my first reading of found poetry and while I found it confusing, I really liked the imagery and some lines were quite brilliant.

The drawings are gorgeous and the whole tone of this short collection is exquisitely creepy.

I would definitely recommend it for AHS fans.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC

i really enjoyed the poems about deadly herbs & witchery but a lot of them really lost me & didn’t flow as well! i saw the vision but the execution wasn’t quite there for me with some of them!