4.5 stars!!🌟

I loved this so much. The world building was different from what I usually read in fantasy books, but this urban fantasy holds to much complexity and well thought-out ideas that it comes together nicely, creating an interesting story that keeps you captive. The characters—Venus, Janus, Ty, Presley—were great, I loved each of them. I learned however that this arc version isn’t the fully finalised one; that one has more queer characters—ace etc. so I can’t wait to see what the final version of The Poisons We Drink looks like.

I loved it. I wasn’t sure where it was going at times, but I absolutely loved it.

This world that Bethany has started building is so gorgeous and I am gagging to know more. More about the magic system, how it works, it’s just so delightfully fascinating!

Not sure if my favourite character is Patches, but, it is possible. We love a hard working and protective good boy. But then I also just loved the relationship between Venus and Janus and how they communicate at different stages through the book. Being a sister is hard and being the older sister is hard so we see you Venus!

I’ll just be sitting over in the corner hoping there’s a part 2 so we get more Venus and Presley. 😍

4.5/5

‘for what humans lack in magic, they make up for it with something even more dangerous. power.’

this is an urban fantasy ya featuring angry black girl magic. it’s on the upper ya side of the spectrum for me. if na were used in trad pub, imo this is na not ya (which is prob why i enjoyed it).

i liked the world building and how it was informed by the real world - racism and segregation and shitty politicians to name a few elements. i also really liked the portrayal of generation trauma in a way - the failures of adults inherited by their children, the secrets of the people that were supposed to protect the kids, affecting them and becoming the kids’ burdens.

this also features an f/nb b-plot romance! is it a relationship that’s a good idea? not particularly and they both know it. it’s very secondary, tertiary even.

but i did have a few issues in the execution. the pacing was quite choppy and felt like there were too much back and forth with oh we figured it out, oh never mind, here’s the real, real culprit. there were also a few elements that i may have missed but didn’t feel resolved or wrapped up enough for me. especially as this is a standalone. the open-ish ending makes sense for the story there were just a few loose details that felt forgotten with all the different threads that did run through this.

but overall, a really good debut (and a fab cover!!. it’s a rough read at times, it’s dark, it’s very real - magic aside. vaguely reminiscent of the general vibes of HELL FOLLOWED WITH US - angry kids trying to reclaim their lives.

I think that this suffered from reading it at the wrong time for me. I read the majority of this when I was in a bad place mentally, so I wasn't paying enough attention to what I was reading. But from looking at other reviews, I don't think it was all me? This book did feel like it dragged a lot, and I definitely think that this did not need to be 500 pages long. This story also focuses a lot more on the politics of the world than on the magic/potions, which I would've preferred to see more of. It's such a shame because I really wanted to enjoy this, especially given the stunning cover art, and the horrendous publishing journey this author has been through, but it just fell flat for me. I'm giving it 3 stars because I don't feel I can judge entirely fairly based on how all over the place I was while reading it!

I was immediately drawn to this book by its stunning cover and the description of witches and potions sounded intriguing.

This world is one where humans and witches live in a world which is divided. This does start off slow with the world building and the characters. But once things get going I found I couldn’t put the book down!

Venus is a brewer of love potions, which is dangerous and also illegal! She does this for her family. I loved Venus, she was such a great character, she knew what she wanted and she was determined to discover the truth.

There were some great twists I didn’t see coming. I loved all the potion recipes at the end too!

Thank you to the publisher for my copy of the book and to Pride Book Tours for having me on the tour.

Venus brews love potions. Doing it is dangerous and if you're caught you can end up in prison or dead. She also hides a dark, sentient magic. When her mother is killed she must take care of her reckless sister Janus. The Grand Witcher offers her revenge as long as she makes potions to enslave D.C.'s most powerful politicians. Corruption fills her life and she doesn't know who to trust, even herself!

The narrative is engaging and clever like its protagonist. The inviting story just exudes coolness. It is deliciously dark, full of danger and bluntly honest. It is gifted with an interesting magic system & mythology. Emotions are heightened, pain and anger seeping into everything while descriptions are intensely visual. Intrigue, affected by the past, colors this story as does the desire for dominance over others, in so many forms. A manipulations galore. I really liked how the sentient magic in her, It, was portrayed. I also enjoyed the little tidbits at the beginning of chapters from Witcherpedia (how clever), books ads and the whatnot, helping us acclimate to the witcher society.

Venus doesn't think the world is worth saving or at least that's what she says. Despite her not-so-cheery disposition and her bleak outlook on lie you like her, and her witty retorts. Of course you cannot blame her. And you cannot help feeling for her. Rooting for her. The antithesis between cynical 'trying to be calm for everyone's safety' Venus and her 'my emotions are intense' sister Janus serves the book well.

I'm not sure I like this new trend of 2-3 line paragraphs. And this one had one line paragraphs, often and one after the other! And not dialogue! Makes the page look like its full of telegraphs. It is tiring and constantly knocks you out of the story. I did very much like what happens after that 'big save', how everything is wrapped up beautifully. It could end here or there could be a sequel. I have to applaud the glossary and potion recipes at the end.

This book examines prejudice and discrimination in a powerful way, a way that fans the flames of the desire to fight injustice. The human vs witcher conflict as these themes' allegory presents a clear and meaningful picture.

A modern-day witchy fantasy full of brews, blood oaths, revenge, betrayals and the thirst for power no matter the cost.

I liked this fine but I felt like the pacing was off, it was a bit too long and I wasn't fully invested. I did like the magic system and the main character was really cool. I was taken aback by some of the twists but it became all too much in the end. I feel like it really could have been shorter. I didn't know what to feel about all the relationships and in the end, I was mostly invested in the relationship between the main character and her sister.
Overall, it was still a good debut but I feel like its potential wasn't fully reached.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Do you ever read a book and savour every single page and wish it would never end? Same. The Poisons We Drink gave me that experience and I absolutely just adored it.

Following the secrecy, jeopardy, and illegality of Venus’ work was such an intriguing reading experience. Add in the fact that she was uncovering secrets about her own, and her loved ones’ families, as well as discovering corruption and lies at the heart of the magic society? Incredible.

The queer rep was done wonderfully and didn’t feel like a token effort at all; this is a great example of how queer characters and relationships should and can be portrayed, immersed within a story.

I LOVED the magic system explanations and the more I got to learn about it, the more invested I became in the lives of the characters. Difficult and complex relationships were at the heart of this story too; with displays of familial, social and romantic relationships and the hardships they come with.

All in all, this was an incredible read and has quickly become a contender for my book of 2024. Chunky? Yes. Worth your time? 100%.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the eARC of this book. The main character Venus is a very interesting character, seemingly independent but you quickly find out that her formative years created something she calls It - the fracture in her magic that is taunting, murderous and righteous. The core of this story is trust, trusting in yourself and those around you can be difficult and very often you get burned. In her world magic makes humans distrustful of Witchers and plays for power make pretty much everyone mistrustful and by extension untrustworthy.
The layers and plotlines are hinted at through excerpts of documents and articles at the head of each chapter which I actually really like this device. You follow Venus as you see how each clicks into place. The magic system was also quite interesting because creation is quite literally a painful process and the integration of a familiars role was really novel. That being said I found the last act villian falling a little flat because although it was hinted at, I felt that the emotions were a bit too straightforward and I would've appreciated a messier route where the payoff would have been a bit more Venus having to break through and heal more of herself. I did however like that the ending left more room for exploration of this world and it's characters - I would really love if that was to happen. This book was a really good debut and I look forward to reading more of the author's work.

So the buzzwords that intrigued me for this one were Practical Magic and morally grey characters, and let me tell you, that's exactly what we got.
Although the pacing was a bit off at times, I did still massively enjoy this book. I loved the plot and the characters were *chef's kiss*.
Such a great debut novel and I will 100% be keeping an eye out for more from this author in the future.

This story followed Venus and her life struggles with magic thrown in there too. The author did a great job of show real life issues in a fictional story.
The characters were bad ass and complex. I think Tyrell was a favourite of mine as he provided some comedy and normalcy.
It was a hard hitting book, I preferred the second half of it where it picked up more.
Loved that this was all for the love of her Sister rather than for a partner.
The magic element was different and much more interesting then other magical books I read.
Certainly worth a read.

3.5 stars
This was such an interesting and unique story full of twists and turns that I never saw coming! I loved the premise of this one and the idea of how potions are used in this world. I also really respected the message of this one and felt so bad for the way those with magic are treated. ⁣
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One of the things I enjoyed about this one was the potion making and how dangerous it can actually be. It definitely added more risk to the story and added to Venus' story and journey throughout this one. ⁣
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While at times this book felt slow to me, which might have been down to how long it was, I felt that it really picked up in the second half and I was intrigued to see how it ended. This book had a lot of potential and I think I would have loved it more if it was 100 odd pages shorter. However, this was a great debut novel! Bethany is an amazing writer and I'm interested in reading whatever she writes next! ⁣

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Considering this is Bethany Baptiste's debut, I am SO curious to see what she'll write next. This was such a promising debut!

It's a really dark story with an absolutely brutal magic system, which felt wholly original. There are so many interesting elements to the story that kept me wanting to read more. Sure, this is a very long book and maybe it didn't have to be, but I was engaged throughout. While this was dark and had so many heavy themes, it was also still really fun to read, which I think is a real accomplishment.

I really wanted to like this book. It had a good concept and honestly after the drama it went through pre-publication, it pains me to be rating it so low. But it was just not a book I enjoyed.

I liked the characters, especially the sister, but for a long time at the start I was struggling to figure out who was related to who. I needed a family tree. Especially for the fathers. It was very hard to get into the book while constantly trying to figure out who was who.

I also found some bits very disjointed. It was mostly small things, but something would be mentioned and it would confuse me and then several paragraphs later there would be an explanation. It took me out of the story because I would be stopping to try and figure out what was happening.

I really really wish I could have given this a higher rating. I really do. But I try to be honest on this blog and honestly this book was not for me.

Do you love young adult urban fantasies that feature politics, family, and love potions? If so, then look no further than The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste. The country is divided between humans and those with magic. Eighteen-year-old Venus Stoneheart supports her family by making illegal love potions. Magic users are being discriminated against and tyrannized by humans. An impending Registration Act law will result in further restrictions on magic users.
When tragedy strikes their mother, Venus must now keep her younger sister Janus safe. When the head of the magic wielders offers her the chance to get revenge, it comes with a steep price. Magic, power, trust, and corruption mix with magic and power in this compelling story.

Venus wants to live in peace, but an event three years ago caused a deviation in her. It’s dangerous and unpredictable. Who will end up controlling who? Janus is reckless, but fun-loving and powerful. The secondary and tertiary characters are well defined and complex as well, but there are many of them.

The worldbuilding was excellent in this one. However, there were some occasional pacing issues and the book seemed a little too long because of that. There is plenty of action and violence as well as a few surprises along the way. A long list of content warnings is provided at the beginning of the book. There are many kinds of love potions, not just the one that immediately comes to mind. A list is provided at the end of the book along with a glossary of terms.

Overall, this was an entertaining story with compelling characters, excellent world-building, and some unique differences in the magic system. Political intrigue, accepting responsibility, discrimination, family, friendship, love, grief, death, trust, vengeance, power, love, fear, and fractured relationships play various roles in this exciting story. I hope this is the first book in a series featuring Venus and her family and friends.

SOURCEBOOKS Fire and Bethany Baptiste provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley.

The Poisons We Drink is a solid debut by Bethany Baptiste: the world is interesting and well explained overall, characters are likeable and solid - with good depth, flaws and personality, and the stakes feel high and urgent all through the story. The potion making as an important, valuable kind of magic that takes its toll on the caster is something fresh in this kind of urban fantasy, so props for that.

Unfortunately the pacing was not great and I struggled until the last 20% where things picked up. There's an overabundance of plot twists and secrets half revealed chapter after chapter, so much that they end up drained of any shock factor and just fly under the radar. Lastly, the main political struggle reminded me too much of the Mutant Registration Act, so when describing what I was reading to friends I resorted to "X-Men but slower". Would I recommend this? Probably yes - but to a very specific kind of reader.

This was so unique and powerful. I enjoyed the use of magic and how unique it was in this book, the author created a dark and consequential version of magic that was all take and a little give to its user.

I’m not sure I enjoyed the conflict in this book and its fantasy racism element, but I can appreciate the author told the story very well and I was immersed in the story.

The poisons we drink

4 ⭐️

Let's start with my favourite part of the book: the magic system. I haven't seen a magic system this complex in a long time. It took me a while to understand all the nuances of it, but I love the notion of magic having a price for the user. I also liked that the author showed you these consequences rather than telling you.

This book is intense, I highly suggest reading the authors note at the beginning. It gives great insight into the thought process behind the book and into our main character. Venus is a very well developed MC. We get to be in her head as she battles with "it," and I think it allows us to connect to her struggle for control very well.

There are a lot of plot twists, and some were quite unexpected. It kept me thinking and engaged with the plot. Combining this with the emotional impact of certain moments makes the book very compelling.

All in all, I enjoyed the book, and I would definitely recommend it to other readers.
I received an advance review copy of this book, and this review represents my honest opinion. Thank you to netgalley, Bethany Baptiste, and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

My one-sentence review of this book:
Holy f*cking hell, what a wild ride!!

Are you in the mood for an urban fantasy story that grabs you by the balls and doesn’t let go until the very end? How about corrupt politics and witchery and a battle against bigotry? Badass, occasionally morally grey characters, diversity and rep of all flavours, and lots of banter?

Then you want The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste.

I could not put this book down. If I didn’t have to do silly things like work and sleep, I’d have finished it in one sitting.

I loved the way love potions were used as weapons, and the fact that the characters danced along the blurry lines between what is “right” and what is necessary. And f*ck me, the ending had my clutching my pearls over the drama.

You need this book. Go buy it now. You’ll thank me.

"The Poisons We Drink" by Bethany Baptiste is an exciting debut filled with magic, potions, and teenage angst, all against the backdrop of urban fantasy. We follow Venus Stoneheart, a brewer who specialises in love potions, as she tries to support her family, keep her sister safe, and protect the magic community.

What made this book an absolute page-turner for mewas the fact that even as a YA novel, it did not shy away from the grittier elements of life. Venus and her sister Janus have to confront the darker sides of the world, especially when a peaceful protest turns violent. We also witness them dealing with loss and grief, with Venus experiencing an additional layer in the form of her deviation: the bloodthirsty way her magic manifests after trauma.

I also found it really powerful how the social commentary was executed in this book: witches are tracked by the temperature of their blood, they're not allowed to gather in groups larger than twelve, and are persecuted by hateful groups of humans. Baptiste does an amazing job of highlighting issues in our current society through the means of magic and witchcraft, which I found reminscent of “Her Majesty’s Royal Coven” by June Dawson.

The entire cast of characters was amazing, and the book was filled with unexpected twists and turns. I absolutely recommend "The Poisons We Drink" to anyone interested in a YA urban fantasy filled with magic and excitement.