DNF at 67%

After 8 days of struggle, I have decided to give up on this book. Whilst the premise sounds amazing, the execution was disappointing.

Firstly, I wasn't a fan of the writing in general. It's very simple, and does work in this type of urban fantasy, but every now and then things like this would pop up:

"She already showed Venus too much tonight, like an influencer without a filter" Really?!

Everything was so incredibly and unnecessarily drawn out, but any action or twists I actually liked were over so quickly. There was one twist at 57% that almost gave me hope, but it wasn't enough to hold my interest for much longer.

The potion brewing was fun and so interesting, and the spells rhymed in a satisfying way.

I also loved the relationship between Venus and Janus, but I couldn't help but giggle every time I read their names, and honestly I got them confused at the beginning anyway. Why give sisters such similar names?

The politics were good, but the book was just a little too heavy on that aspect for me. It was an amazing metaphor for racial prejudice though.

I was confused about the romance. It seems like this is a YA book, and there was one closed door scene (so far, maybe there are more later on). Yet it wasn't even that, because there's a kiss at the end of a chapter, then suddenly I'm reading about disposing of a condom? Excuse me? When did that happen, and why did the author choose to focus on that part specifically? What about some chemistry and tension first, to maybe slightly imply that things are about to get intimate?

Seeing that I still have over 2 hours left fills me with dread, and I simply do not care to find out how this story continues and concludes.

* thank you to the publisher for an ARC of this book via NetGalley *

I really enjoyed this book. Great storyline and characters. Not a taxing read but that’s what I like. I was definitely drawn in.

I absolutely ate this book up. One of the best books I’ve read this year by far. The concept, the writing, character development and wonderful fully fleshed characters breathed life into this story and kept me hooked from the first page.

I’m a sucker for any political leaning fantasy but one which reminded me of The Hate U Give and reflects on many current day events just with a layer of fantasy it’s hard for me not to rate this so highly.

The well thought out world building and lore shone so brightly with the twists and turns of the story. It certainly kept me on my toes!

I can’t wait to read more by Bethany Baptiste… might be a budding insta-buy author for me. I certainly can see myself going back to this book again and again. I highly recommend this one!

✨ Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks UK for the e-ARC ✨

I just really struggled with this book, and could not get into it at all. I never felt like I understood what was going on, or who the characters were, especially at the start. I was just never grounded in the world building, which made it a real slog for me. That said, it had a real atmosphere of Neil Gaiman books like Anansi Boys, and I am certain its audience is out there. It just wasn't for me. I need to be hooked from the start, especially if a book is going to be hard work, and whilst I loved the blurb/premise, the book failed to live up to it for me.

DNF at 60%

The blurb really drew me to this book. It sounding interesting and had a different premise of how magic is done from the other books I have read.

The beginning really drew me in. I wanted to know more about the characters and was excited to see how the story panned out. But as I read on, I found it slow going. The narrative was tripping me up and dragging me along. I just wasn't enjoying the book.

Gutted I DNF'd it as I was looking forward to reading it. Might give it another go in a few months time

This book, it's like super super dark magic. Not your fluffy bunny witches but super dark and I really loved that!!

At the beginning of the book. I was intrigued then I started to get confused. Soon enough, though I was absolutely hooked and horrified. Not sure which one is stronger.

The whole book is dripping with racism but I love that the author highlighted all triggers right at the beginning of the book, so you know what you're getting into. All authors should take note of that. Readers should know what triggers they might encounter.

I could generally see this book as a movie or a TV series. Just think of a very dark Charmed.

Venus is the main character and she is a very different type of main character. I loved how she was written, with so many flaws. Probably more flaws than anything else!! you are not quite sure whether you stand with or against her, but she is very likeable. I did struggle to keep up with all the other characters or to picture them in my head.

The writing was fab, the ending was like OMG and I highly recommend this!

I want to start by saying that if I could give it more than 5⭐️, I would: what a phenomenal read! It’s been a few days and I’m still reeling on this masterpiece of a book, and a debut no less!

There is schemings, politics, betrayals, magic and lots and lots of love potions. This urban world Bethany created inspired by her own grief and rage, later became a beautiful tribute to the black community. We have this segregation of Witchers and Humans, the presence of extreme right wing ideology, this very dangerous bill coming into a vote at the congress, a war of influences and corruption, protests and revolutions… And then we have Vee, a pink haired Witcher that illegally brews Love Potions to provide for her family, that is forced to partake into the schemes of politics and power to protect the ones she loves the most - while she’s trying to navigate and control her own deviation magic.

All the characters are phenomenal and you’ll fall in love with every single one of them: they each have their own depth and complexities, making them more relatable, organic and genuine.

This book had me by the hooks the entire time, I was so invested and almost read it in one go! The writing is brutal and fantastic. There is plot twist after plot twist and we find out and figure it out at the same time as Vee does, it was such a journey! Bethany brings us into this familiar world and gives it a twist by weaponising love potions against hate and prejudice, how unbreakable sisterhood can be and how important self-love is.

✨”There are many ways to brew love, and each had the potential to kill you.”

This is by far my favourite trad pub debut this year. Everything is just so good??? If you told me Bethany Baptiste put out 5+ books before this one I'd believe you. I'm obsessed.

From the start it was clear the author put a lot of thought and care into the worldbuilding. I could visualise everything perfectly.

The magic system is well developed, and magic (in this case brewing potions) has a cost. Venus could pretty much die at any second if the potion she brews is strong enough, and if she doesn't, she needs a long time to recover. If you like your magic with consequences this is the read for you!

I really liked how detailed the potions were as well, the different types of love potions and the illustrations and recipes at the back of the book.

The story was very engaging, I found myself unwilling to stop reading, needing to read just a bit more, and a bit more.

Character wise, Venus was of course my fav, but I also loved Patches, Leap, uncle Bram, Janus and Tyrell. I also thought Nisha and Matrika were written well too. Presley is the only one that I didn't really connect to, because we saw so little of them on page.

It was easy to root for Venus and her family, and hate the baddies, except there's so many twists you're not sure who the baddies REALLY are. I can say that I didn't see the final villain coming at all.

The romance was a smaller part of the book, it was more plot focused and I don't mind that. Though if we had more of it, maybe I'd feel like I know Presley better.

As for the rep, I'm really looking forward to seeing the ace one in the final version. I saw the author's review on Goodreads mentioning it, and I'm a bit sad it wasn't in the arcs, but what can you do? Still, we got bi & non binary rep!!

The Poisons We Drink works as a standalone, because just about everything is wrapped up by the end, but I'd still love a sequel.

Read this if you like witches, the revenge trope, political intrigue, interesting storylines and believable characters.

*Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

𝓐𝓬𝓬𝓮𝓹𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝔂𝓸𝓾’𝓻𝓮 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓼𝓪𝓶𝓮 𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓸𝓷 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝔀𝓮𝓻𝓮, 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓭𝓸𝓷’𝓽 𝓹𝓲𝓽𝔂 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓼𝓮𝓵𝓯. 𝓢𝓮𝓵𝓯-𝓹𝓲𝓽𝔂 𝓭𝓸𝓮𝓼𝓷’𝓽 𝓽𝓾𝓻𝓷 𝓫𝓪𝓬𝓴 𝓽𝓲𝓶𝓮.

𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for this e-arc.

This was an incredibly fresh and original urban fantasy, with an amazing main protagonist! So much happened in this book, including a really powerful exploration into grief and familial relationships.

I absolutely loved Venus, and her story arc was very compelling. She had an awful amount of pressure on her shoulders and I really sympathised with the loneliness she felt because of it. I was rooting for her throughout, especially when no one else seemed to be.

As I don’t read a lot of urban fantasy, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. The blend of real world and fantasy was really well done, and they complemented each other brilliantly. The magic system was detailed and very well developed, and I loved how it blended in with the main plot.

The most powerful part of this book was the familial relationships. The intensity and depth of Venus and Janus’s sisterhood was beautiful to read about, and it really resonated with me as an older sister. Together, with their relationship with their mother, I was absolutely emotionally wreaked.

This is a beautiful and formidable book, with a powerful message about sisterhood, corruption and grief. It was incredibly well written and I throughly enjoyed reading it.

I will be utterly honest and say I discovered this book due to the book twitter drama but as soon as I had then read the synopsis I was more than excited about it. I can honestly say that The Poisons We Drink is a debut that will not quickly be forgotten. First I want to acknowledge that I am not a POC but I honestly believe that Baptist as created a speculative urban fantasy that holds up a mirror present day, particularly the United States, and the prejudices and hate POC are facing on the day to the day basis.

The is so much offered in The Poisons We Drink, including mystery and politics but beyond the fantastic plot, wonderful world building and general story the characters really shine. Venus was a joy of a protagonist. I loved how she acted, how real she was. She dealt with some issues that are so true to real life and honestly she acted better than I would have expected.


The plot itself is tightly woven and I loved the twists and turns. This is perfect for fans of urban fantasy and speculative fiction. It is also important for mirroring the current political and prejudice that people are facing right now.

I devoured this book when I sat down and started reading! I adored Venus, and found myself rooting hard for her. She’s complicated and my heart hurt for her so much. Baptiste is really good at writing her as the older daughter carrying the weight of the family on her shoulders.

I also need to commend Baptiste’s skill at creating the relationships in this book. Not just the romantic relationship (which was perfect and I enjoyed every scene they shared!) but the familial relationship. Venus, her sister, cousins, aunt, uncle. It felt true and real, and caused me to get emotional on more than one occasion.

I highly recommend this book, and I will also be picking up a copy of this book when it’s published. A five star read from me!

This review is for The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste which releases in the UK on 5th March! Thanks so much to Netgalley and Sourcebooks UK for giving me an eArc copy for this book in exchange for my honest review.

I was so excited when I saw this was available to request as I’d heard so many good things about this book already, and it has lived up to every expectation.

The world building was incredible, and I loved the really unique magic system. I especially liked the ‘recoil’ system when it comes to brewing potions, and that there is always a backlash for the strength of the one you brew. It also features some more traditional aspects of witches, such as familiars but with the authors own little twist on it. The author has crafted such an original and immersive universe, I could not put this book down at all.

I also loved the characters they have created, you get a wide variety of them but the story mostly features our female main character Venus. She’s a ‘Witcher’ who gets shoved into a world she was never expecting and a tragic journey after the death of her mother. You get to see a lot of character development, both from Venus and the other characters featured throughout the story, when they have to face trauma and challenges. They are well crafted, so much so that you feel like they are real people. However, some of the relationships between the characters didn’t feel as built up as they could have for me and fell a little flat.

The ending was the twist that I was not expecting at all, and could not put the book down till I had finished it! Would highly recommend this to any fantasy readers out there, but this is more on the YA side.

I started reading without realising how modern and realistic the setting of this novel is, and it was a positive surprise for me. The world created by the author mirrors our own, with the addition of magic. This also means the involvement of modern politics, prejudice and violence against magic users and a radical movement fighting for witchers’ rights. This novel was a return to urban fantasy for me, and I enjoyed reading this fascinating addition to the genre. The strongest advantage are the characters and the dynamics between them. Venus’s family is close-knit, but some relationships are more complex. Also, most adults have a turbulent past or hide secrets that affect the present. To sum up, the novel is a fresh take on urban fantasy, full of action, plot twists, manipulation and secrets.

An excellent debut with fantastic characters, an interesting world and a fast moving plot. Took me a while to get into the world building but would definitely recommend and read more from the author

For me the book was both gripping and also slightly too slow in places. I liked how the book highlighted the issues between both humans and witchers, as well as how the book progressed throughout with that. However, I just felt the book was a bit too slow through the mid section. I liked the mystery the plot had and the working out the mystery, I just think it was a bit drawn out. The ending also seemed a bit abrupt for me and quick but I did like the twists and how the book ended. I also liked how the issues that the mc went through were brought up and dealt with through the story which made me feel for her.

4 stars

The poisons we drink is an urban fantasy, combined with a mystery and politics set in Washington D.C, where there are witchers who are able to create magic.
Some witchers choose the profession of being a brewer, including the main character Venus, where they are able to create potions but are not able to use magic as they have to conserve their strength to create potions which can be lethal.
The poisons we drink is an amazing debut novel, that I couldn't stop reading and was full of twists that I didn't except.

Thank you net galley for the arc

3.5 stars - a dark witchy political read that deals with race, grief and power.

Venus lives in a state like Washington DC where magic is real and the Witchers, who practice magic, are generally disliked by the non magic humans. After her mom is killed she gets a chance to enact vengeance on her killer by the head Witcher and gets entangled into a further ruse to stop a harmful Witcher bill getting passed into law.

The magic system is quite unique - Venus is a love potion brewer - all types of love - not just the typical love potions but family love, or making people fall in love with an idea someone wants. The brewing repercussions are very dark and dangerous but are well paid. If a Witcher decides to use a different type of magic then that Witcher loses all magic.

I enjoyed the world building of DC and magic system. I loved the witcherpedia excerpts at the beginning of each chapter that explained more about the types of magic and spells. I thought the way they handled the mom’s death and the sisters grief was well done. I loved Patches!

I disliked the heavy political and race themes as they were incorporated more into the story. The characters were very morally grey and I didn’t feel a connection to them. I didn’t understand why Venus’s Mom let her brew potions knowing the repercussions was it just for money - it seemed quite selfish and as a Mom I wouldn't let my child suffer.

After about half way the story picked up pace but at some points I felt confused and didn’t know what was happening so felt as if things could have been explained a little better and more evenly paced.

If you enjoy a more political fantasy then I would recommend reading this one but i would advise checking the trigger warnings as even though it’s YA it has some dark themes.

For Venus, crafting potions is what defines her - at least so it seems to her shrewd mother and the clients she sends her way. After her mother's sudden death however, Venus is drawn into a conspiracy that will affect the world of magic and humans alike.
I received a copy of this ARC for an honest review.
This is Bethany Baptiste's debut novel and I can say that this book alone has made her into an auto-buy author for me going forward. I was drawn in by the gorgeous cover and the fun premise of a young black witch crafting love potions but there is a great amount of depth in this book and an extremely likable cast of characters to boot. Venus herself fulfilled all my gorgeous black girl magick dreams whilst also being a flawed and relatable person - she can be frustrating at times but in the way where you can totally understand where she is coming from as she tries to shoulder all the pain herself to keep her family safe from harm. Community is everything in this novel though and Venus eventually realises that she can't do everything alone and must rely on her loved ones and their varied talents to aid her.
I really enjoyed the mystery elements of this novel and it gave me heist vibes in places as Venus and her family were in pursuit of their various obstacles. The magic building was well developed too and I enjoyed how magic use has very real consequences and the different specialisms that the characters dealt in. The social commentary elements I wasn't expecting from the premise but it helped ground the world and the character's motivations much better and gave some real stakes to what was happening. The LGBT rep in this was well done also, not overtaking the story but just naturally present which I loved to see - the nonbinary and bisexual representation in particular was perfectly embedded in.
I could definitely see the author writing more books in this world though all in all this did feel like a complete story by the end which I also appreciate. There are definitely some things I'd have loved to have seen explored more such as Venus and Presley's history together and more on Venus' 'affliction' and some further resolution regarding this. I admittedly did start to lose track of who the real antagonist was towards the end and that's one of the few flaws of the book for me in that the reveal just didn't really hit as hard a I think it was meant to. Overall I really enjoyed this book and I hope Bethany gets the audience she deserves.

The Poisons we drink
Bethany Baptiste
Release date 5th March 2024
Rating 4.5 (8 on cawpile)
An action-packed YA urban fantasy in a world where there is a divide between humans and those with magic and we follow Venus Stoneheart as she goes on a mission to find out what happened to her mother. I was harrowed reading this book and was on the edge of my seat. I could not put it down the world building was amazing, and I found myself wanting more as I turned the page reading it in one sitting and having an amazing time with it.

This book is such an important book to look upon with the lens of what is going on in the world and it weaved into the story immaculately where the divided feel threatens with more legalisation to supress people and violence. The violence in this book was something that made you remember even in times where the book seemed a little peaceful that the threat was always around the corner.

Thank you for netgalley for allowing me to review this book, this book is a book that will make you think and at times it may make you feel uncomfortable but sometimes we all need books to remind us that life is this for many people day on day and we need to exact a little more kindness in it and tolerance to allow the world to be a better place.

I absolutely loved this story about witchers and humans. Bethany perfectly wove a tale that had me hooked from page one!
The twists and turns had me guessing right until the last few pages, I genuinely didn’t expect a lot of what happened.
I love the diverse characters and I fell in love with the female main character Venus and hers and Presley’s unfolding story.
The people you think you should hate you end up feeling for and vice versa. This book really does have you feeling all the emotions!
You can tell Bethany put a piece of herself in this book and I thoroughly loved every single second of it!
If you love magic, action and plenty of twists and turns you’ll want to read this one ❤️