The Poisons We Drink

I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste
Narrator: Lynnette R. Freeman
Published by Recorded Books, Sourcebooks Fire on April 30, 2024
Genres: Young Adult Fiction / Fantasy / Wizards & Witches
Length: 16 hours 5 minutes
Pages: 480
Format: ARC, Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon | Audible | B&N | Kobo | Libro.fm

In a country divided between humans and witchers, Venus Stoneheart hustles as a brewer making illegal love potions to support her family.

Love potions is a dangerous business. Brewing has painful, debilitating side effects, and getting caught means death or a prison sentence. But what Venus is most afraid of is the dark, sentient magic within her.

Then an enemy's iron bullet kills her mother, Venus's life implodes. Keeping her reckless little sister Janus safe is now her responsibility. When the powerful Grand Witcher, the ruthless head of her coven, offers Venus the chance to punish her mother's killer, she has to pay a steep price for revenge. The cost? Brew poisonous potions to enslave D.C.'s most influential politicians.

As Venus crawls deeper into the corrupt underbelly of her city, the line between magic and power blurs, and it's hard to tell who to trust...Herself included.

The Poisons We Drink is a potent YA debut about a world where love potions are weaponized against hate and prejudice, sisterhood is unbreakable, and self-love is life and death.

This was excellent! There was a lot of excitement packed in this novel and I was quickly hooked. The characters were fantastic and I felt like the entire cast had a lot of depth. I wanted to see good things happen for Venus and those she cares about and couldn’t wait to see how things would work out. I am so glad that I decided to give this book a try.

Venus has magic in her. She helps her family out by brewing potions that just happen to be illegal. Her mother trained her and now handles the business side of things. She also has a darker side to her magic that she works hard to keep at bay. When tragedy falls on her family, she does what she can to seek revenge while keeping her sister, Janus, safe. I was never completely sure who Venus should trust but I was happy to see that she had a few people that always seemed to have her back.

I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrator did a fantastic job with this story. I don’t believe that I have listened to Lynnette R. Freeman’s work in the past but I was quickly impressed by her narration of this book. She expertly brought this cast of characters to life and added just the right amount of emotion to her reading. I am certain that her narration added to my overall enjoyment of the story.

I would not hesitate to recommend this book to others. I thought this was an engaging story set in a unique and interesting magical world. The characters were likable and felt authentic. I wanted to see good things happen for them. I was quite impressed by this book and would love to see more of these characters in future novels.

I received a review copy of this book from Sourcebooks Fire and Recorded Books.

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