I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect going into this one, but what I got after the vibe of the cover was not at all what I thought it would be.

In saying this, I really enjoyed the idea behind the plot, it was very unique and like nothing at all like I’d read before. There were a few times where I found myself questioning a lot of things, what was going on and why on earth all these things were happening.

I didn’t really enjoy the romance. I honestly feel as though it’s undercooked and it has no buildup to justify the feelings between the two parties. I think if it had been left out altogether, it would have made more sense that it was just a mutually beneficial friendship and still achieved the same thing.

Not a bad read, but I think romantasy probably isn’t the correct way to describe this book since it’s not the main focus. I would describe this more as a gothic fantasy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the early copy of this book.

⭑⭑¾ — poisoner's revenge has my absolute favorite trope of all time: demon/incorporeal nightmare creature camps in the protagonist's mind, provides scathing commentary on all her thoughts, and causes general havoc. think one dark window or jujutsu kaisen i guess. unfortunately, this is the first time i've ever not liked a book with this trope.

sometimes, a book is just a victim of overmarketing. this was honestly pretty average as far as romantasies go, but if you say "adult romantic fantasy novel with a slow burn enemies to lovers romance perfect for fans of ava reid" and then not deliver any of that, it automatically becomes awful, regardless of the quality of the content itself.

first of all, this is not "adult" in any definition of the word. if adult exclusively refers to the exactly one sex scene, then sure, but if you consider the complexity of the narrative or maturity of the characters, then absolutely not. one thing i really liked about this book is that the plot moves forward through annette's active choices. this might be a basic thing, but recently, i've been reading a lot of books where random things happen to the characters rather than characters actively navigating their lives, and annette was very refreshing to me for that reason. unfortunately, almost every decision she made had the innate stupidity of the first person to die in a slasher film. somehow, it worked out for her, but i can't suspend disbelief that much. for example, her trust in the relic? she just asked it "are you holy" and it said "yeah sort of" and that's all the vetting that occurred before she gave him her body to possess. alright. and this was not a one-off thing, either. she basically did the same thing with the demon, except she hated him for slightly longer.

not only is this not adult, it's also not romantasy either. i'm being absolutely serious. that is not the genre. this is fantasy with a mystery subplot, and somehow, the two mcs end up together, but no romantic development takes place within the novel. it's slow burn in the sense that it takes until the halfway point for her to think that he's cute, and then suddenly she loves him near the end, but no explanation of how we get from point a to point b. i understand how two people in their situation can fall in love (both isolated for years before finding a friend in each other) but i want to know why annette and rigo, specifically, care for each other, and there's barely anything there. this is the first romantasy book where the romance was sidelined in favor of other storylines and it actually detracts from the experience. and then it's not enemies to lovers either. truly, the marketing for this book is atrocious. not everything has to be enemies to lovers, i promise. she dislikes him in the beginning, and he's indifferent, but that's not enemies, that's the relationship you have with your annoying neighbor. just say forbidden romance or something!! and this is very, very nitpicky of me, but i absolutely hate the whole "i shouldn't have wanted him. he was a demon, the very type of monster i'd been taught to fear" thing almost every romance fantasy has written verbatim these days. like you do. so now what? stand on it? it's so whiny and insufferable.

and finally, the writing was just underwhelming, lacking in gravitas and complexity. there are many instances of annette having an emotionally torturous experience, but you can't feel any of it because the writing is too simplistic. regrettable because annette is entirely motivated by emotion, and i wasn't able to relate to her on that level.

Sadly I wasn’t ever able to really get into this book. I never really got attached to the fmc and the writing style just wasn’t for me. I don’t want to drag any ratings down so I won’t be leaving reviews on any other platform. Thank you for the arc though!

I really enjoyed this story, although I did feel that some parts could have been a bit more developed. However, as an introduction to a new world, it does a good job of explaining the lore quite well and I really enjoyed the characters. They felt real! As such thus is a 4 star read for me and, I'm hoping that there will be more books on the future because it was such an atmospheric and fun read! The lore was really interesting and I liked how it was delivered through snippets of old books and journal entries.
Annette is a nun with a talent for plants and poisons, which she is counting on for advancing her path. However, when things dont go to plan and she feels betrayed by those she trusts, she cooks up a plan for revenge. This is where she meets the demon, Rigo. He, too, has been betrayed and framed for a crime he did not commit. As they work together to right their own wrongs, they forge a connection that should not be but can't be denied. Annette also realises that possibly not all of the Order's teachings have been correct.
This is a read for those that enjoy slow burn romance, world building, and forbidden romance/enemies to lovers. I really enjoyed taking this journey with Annette, and was definitely left wanting more!

This was a very easy read. The storyline was one I had never read before. The MC of the book starts off feeling very slighted and her need for revenge. As time goes on and the more she finds out the less she feels the need for revenge but to protect everything and everyone she knows. Beautifully written! Would recommend if you need an easy read, minimal spice, but love a good twisty path to the end.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. (via Netgalley)

A bit of a slow start but once things started moving the pacing really picked up. I liked the gothic abbey vibes. It felt more like reluctant allies than enemies to lovers to me but I liked seeing Annette and Rigon grow as characters as things are revealed to them. I also enjoyed their slow burn. I would have liked to see more from the poison master side of things but overall I enjoyed this.

𝕀 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕𝕟’𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕙𝕚𝕞. ℍ𝕖 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕒 𝕕𝕖𝕞𝕠𝕟, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕥𝕪𝕡𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕀’𝕕 𝕓𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕥𝕒𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕗𝕖𝕒𝕣. 𝔹𝕦𝕥 𝕙𝕖’𝕕 𝕓𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕞𝕖, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕀 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕤𝕝𝕠𝕨𝕝𝕪 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕀’𝕕 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕒𝕓𝕓𝕖𝕪 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕥𝕣𝕦𝕖. 🥀

Where do I even begin with this book? While the beginning was a little slow to start, everything picked up pretty quickly around 25-30% in and I was hooked The world building was done so beautifully & I really appreciate the author’s attention to detail! It painted a wonderful picture of the gothic abbey and the world they live in!

Annette, while she was unlike by so many individuals in her abbey, was loved by me. How her inner thoughts and dialogue were written was something I relate to wholeheartedly as a neurodivergent individual. You can really tell she struggles with black/white thinking, especially at the beginning of the book. All she wanted was for her rights to be wronged, to get what was rightfully hers! She couldn’t understand why no one helped her because things were unfair! And so, the idea of revenge pops into her mind and I, for one, loved this for her!

Insert a relic that she finds in the archives that promised to help her get that award back and a mysterious, beautiful demon that she finds locked in a cell, and we got a whole gang to help Annette reach her goals! Or so we thought…

With twists at every turn and the tension building, this was a book I could NOT put down! I was drawn into the world and those in the abbey, drawn to Annette and then, drawn into the immersive plot. Not to mention that slow burn? I LOVE ME A SLOW BURN! Seriously though, this book was so deliciously good & I can’t wait to see what the author has in store for this world!


Tropes:
🥀 Romantasy 🥀
🥀 Gothic/Dark Academia 🥀
🥀 Forbidden romance 🥀
🥀 Slow Burn 🥀
🥀 Enemies to Lovers 🥀
🥀 Forced proximity 🥀
🥀 Demon bargain 🥀
🥀 Religious themes 🥀
🥀 Neurospicy mfc 🥀

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC! It was truly a wild ride! 🥀🖤

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
🌶️

Firstly thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
Secondly, while I was looking forward to reading this, I’m sad to say I had to DNF this book. The writing was amazing don’t get me wrong however the FMC wasn’t it for me. She made it soooo hard for me to continue with the book because of her actions and internal dialogues. Mainly the fact that she gains such big and intense hatred for the other girl just from one encounter. Her proceeding to hurt that girl both physically and verbally didn’t sit right with me as well. Overall I just didn’t like the fact that her hatred for this girl she just met once is the driving force behind the plot, it doesn’t feel a strong enough of a motive to go out of her way and make a deal with a demon. Now I know that the FMC is written as an autistic rep and I do understand that there is soooo many different types of autism when it comes to the spectrum but I just couldn’t keep going when it was used as an excuse for the main character just to be pure mean and evil and petty, just wanting to hurt other people for the sake of jealousy and pettiness. Like I mentioned the writing is good and I wouldn’t mind reading more of the author’s work in the future and I know a lot of people will like this but unfortunately this book wasn’t for me at all.

So I have to be completely honest I didn’t really enjoy this book. I couldn’t connect with the characters at all I found them quite unlikeable. I did like the idea of the main character being a nun as I hadn’t read a fantasy book involving a nun before however I just could not get into this book. I found the romance side slight dull as well, this just wasn’t my cup of tea.

I enjoyed reading this story as considering myself a social outcast at times as well.
I did enjoy the plot, romance, and character growth/development, but I was only disappointed to find the excerpts included at the beginning of each chapter gave the lot line and ending away. For example: I knew the ring and bracelets were relics and demonic as soon as they were introduced because the journal experts hinted at it too hard. And you knew she would be physically harmed in that chapter and that no one would likely do anything because it had been mentioned in the excerpt at the beginning of that chapter. I feel as if it would have been better to place each of those excerpts maybe a chapter or two later than how they were presented to follow up on what the reader had just read. And to maybe take out those mentioning demonic relics at all.

Rating-
4/5 stars

Genre-
Romantasy

Age Rating For It-
16 or 17+ because there is some violence and the fmc gets hurt and punished because of some of the things she does, and it is a tad bit dark and gothic too. There is also an opened door scene near the end of the book that is explicit and some kissing and stuff as well.

Tropes-
Slow burn
Enemies to lovers
Slow burn
Revenge

Quotes-

“I’ve been trying to show you how I feel all this time. You’ve captivated me, Annette. Every time I think I know you, you surprise me again.”

“When his hand slipped into my own a moment later, I did not pull away.”

Thoughts/Would I Recommend This?-
I really enjoyed this book a lot! I loved the dark gothic kind of vibe I got from it and the whole revenge plot and everything. I do wish it had dived more into the whole poison master aspect of this book and I wish that there had been some more depth to the revenge plot like the instant hatred I kind of get because I do know in some cases you can just instantly dislike/hate someone, but I wish there was more depth to that instant hatred like if they had more things that Narissa did to make her dislike her or stuff. All in all, though, I really enjoyed this book and would totally recommend people read it!

Nuns and demons? Sign me UP.

I loved the relationship between Annette and Rig and the plot/story was unique and lived up to the hype!

I found the concept of this book rather fascinating, a nun with a taste for revenge named Annette and a scheming demon named Rigo are thrust upon each other when Annette stumbles upon a forgotten relic.

Overall, I liked the writing of the story. I like the attraction between Annette and Rigo and there kind interactions at first. I like that Rigo genuinely listens to her and makes her feel seen, especially when she’s been shunned by so many. They were a cute pairing.

One thing that I didn’t like was Annette’s instant hate of Narissa. It seemed startling at first and strange. I felt Annette was weirdly vindictive for no reason. I would’ve preferred if they had been life long rivals and then she had been replaced perhaps. It would’ve been more believable.

Overall, this book was fun to read and a solid dark romance read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Talia Greer for the opportunity to read this e-archive in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 ⭐️
I can not stress enough how I LOVED Annette and Rig
Not just them I loved the storyline itself. I’ve never read any book that took place is such world. The mix between real world and fantasy here I loved it.
What I loved most was the anguished story line of Annette, and all the built up emotions that drove her into revenge and how slowly she was getting back on her feet again.
The only bad thing about this was how little time I got to see Rig and Annette together. I wanted to see more of their romance and work. I also wanted to see more of rig’s personality and backstory
Alas, the book ended before I got to know more about this world but it was fine. I had so much fun and I enjoyed every second of it ❤️

Thank you @netgalley and Talia for giving me an early copy of such beautiful book

I didn't quite know what to expect going into this, but what a pleasant and exciting read! Annette was left abandoned at the steps of Moriah Abbey as a child where she was raised for the last 15 years. She never truly fit in with her peers, being ostracized for her off-putting nature and aloofness so she dedicates herself to her studies to achieve the title of Chief Poisoness, where she will be able to leave the abbey and travel abroad. As Annette is prepared to receive her award, she is outraged when it is given to someone else. Bent on revenge, she develops a plan to sabotage the abbey and steal back the award she has worked for her entire life. She encounters a sentient ring, a relic, that helps her in her plan as well as a forgotten demon prisoner in the basement of the abbey. With their help, she discovers there are more secrets and dark history within the abbey involving murder plots, evil demons, and a much bigger world than she ever thought.

I really didn't have any idea of where this book was going to go when I started it, and I couldn't put it down until I finished! I really liked Annette as a character, at first I was surprised at how her morals revolved around her personal goals in an almost villainous sort of way with being raised in an abbey, but she actually is a strict rule follower who does show kindness-unless someone gets in the way of her goals, of course. She is naive and selfish, but also intelligent and cunning. A very interesting combination that was very fun to read.

The pacing of the book was excellent, many times I looked at the percentage I had left and thought how was the author going to unfold and tie all these ends together?! But Talia Greer was able to tell a compelling and full story that was satisfying all the way through, and by the end of the book I felt so sad it ended but like all my questions were answered. The plot was so fun and dark and what an interesting setting that I had never experienced before in a book. Instead of dark academia, it was more dark gothic church. And I was so pleasantly surprised by the romance and spice!!

My only gripe was that I wish we had been able to see more of Annette being a top-of-her-class poisoner, especially because the title and plot revolve so much around that. I feel like the only time we really see her use her talent is in identifying some ingredients in tea, I wish we could have seen her knowledge of poisons been used more. She was also painfully naive at times, like after discovering that basically everything she knew was a lie and SO MANY red flags from those she trusted, and yet it takes her basically until someone else explains what's happening for her to realize what's going on. And only because this conflicts with it being pointed out many times that she is clever and intelligent. However, I don't think this takes away much from the book as a whole.

I do hope I get to see more of Annette and Rigo, but also I feel this book is complete just as a standalone! I had so much fun reading, I recommend this for people who love dark academia, demons, a touch of gothic horror, and a morally grey fmc who isn't afraid to do whatever it takes to get her revenge.

Not your average nun

I really enjoyed Poisoner’s Vengeance! This is so unlike what I typically read, I don’t think I’ve read another series in a religious setting in this genre. I think this book would be a good intro to fantasy romance for readers who are into horror/suspense, because the vibes are spooky from the start.

When I first began reading, I thought we might be getting a morally gray FMC with Annette, but as the story went on, I realized that wasn’t necessarily the case—Annette just doesn’t censor her thoughts and doesn’t shy away from feelings that are self-serving. She’s always honest with herself and I grew to admire that about her. Even with her initial motive in this story being revenge based, she still comes out the heroine.

The nuns in this story are not your typical nuns. They don’t adhere to the same rules as the nuns we’re familiar with, and one of their primary roles in their world is creating poisons and their antidotes. “To heal the sick and sicken the wicked” is the motto they live by.

While there is some spice, this story is very much plot driven. It almost feels like it could be the first book in a series, although I believe it’s a standalone. Overall, I’d definitely recommend!

this was an overall decent read, with an interesting backdrop and a wide cast of characters. however, it didn't really reach its true potential.

to start with, Annette's whole revenge plan and her hatred for Narissa literally came out of nowhere. there was no backstory to warrant such a strong and violent reaction from Annette. honestly, it felt like a weak motivator to somehow get the plot going.

speaking of the plot, there isn't much of one here. I'm a big believer that for a book to work, it needs to have a solid plot, with a strong and believable driving force. there needs to be a story told, a feeling evoked in the readers, a lesson to be learned, something. that wasn't the case here, because so little of the world was actually explored. for example, there's this big emphasis on Annette being an excellent poisoner, and yet we don't see any of that in the book, as well as the fact that there's no clear explanation regarding the rift between demons and nuns (or people in general).

now for the main characters, they felt pretty bland, because there wasn't enough time spent on them. Annette is vengeful and out to sabotage the abbey, but her motivations weren't good enough and it came off as her being pretty one-dimensional. similarly, Rigo is also quite shallowly portrayed and was only there when it was convenient for the storyline and to act as a guide for Annette. that's it. and because of this, the romance itself made no sense and it could have been removed from the book and not have it change anything.

what I did enjoy a lot was the writing. I liked the way it flowed, the pacing it created and the imagery it painted. that's why I was disappointed in the book, because the skill was there and it could have been a great book. while this one didn't work for me, I look forward to reading other works by the author in the future.

📚 Poisoner’s Vengeance - Talia Greer
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - Exceeded my expectations
🌶️ - .02ish (if that’s a thing 😂)

Alright, buckle the hell up because Poisoner’s Vengeance by Talia Greer is an absolute ride. We’ve got nuns, poisons, demons, and a revenge plot 🫣 (basically everything you need for some grade-A chaos)

So our main girl (a nun) Annette is stuck at the abbey but she’s not spending her days praying and being holy She’s out here mixing poisons like she’s running a medieval meth lab 👩‍🔬 Her whole plan? Be the top of her class so she can actually get the hell out of this place. But, of course, life decides to be a dick, and some new novitiate waltzes 💃🏻 in and steals her top spot. Annette? PISSED YALL 🤬 So instead of, I don’t know, handling this maturely, she goes full “I’m going to ruin this heauxs life” mode. 🫢

Enter Rigo. He is NOT your friendly neighborhood priest but instead a damn demon 😈 who’s been chilling (or more like rotting) in the abbey for 20 years. He wants out, Annette wants revenge, and suddenly they’re making shady-ass deals 🤝 But wait, it gets messier. There’s this ancient relic 💍and somehow it’s bound to Annette, which means she’s probably got bigger problems than just one annoying novitiate. But does she care? Not really 🙅‍♀️ because she’s too busy making poor life choices with a demon.

Speaking of Rigo, let’s be real—this romance is the definition of unhealthy but hot as hell 🔥 Enemies-to-lovers? Check ✔️ That I hate you but also maybe I wanna kiss you against a wall energy? Double check ✔️✔️ Oh, you know it’s coming. And Annette? She’s probably going to swear up and down that she’s not into him while actively making dumbass deals with demons 🥴

And honestly? I really wish this book dove deeper into their relationship. The slow-burn 🔥 tension was great, but I was dying for it to get hotter 🥵 more intense, and way spicier 🌶️ The chemistry between Annette and Rigo had so much potential to go to some really exciting places, but we only get little teases. Seriously, I wanted more of them breaking all the rules and losing control. I just know it would have made the whole thing even more thrilling 😩😩

Anyway, this book 📕 is filled with gothic vibes, betrayal and questionable morals. If you’re into dark, stabby, revenge-fueled ⛽️fantasy with a side of slow-burn torture,then congrats—you just found your next obsession. If not? Well, sucks to suck 🤷‍♀️

rating — 3.75 out of 5 stars.

i honestly didn’t have many expectations going into this, but i ended up pleasantly surprised with how much i enjoyed it! a poison brewing nun teaming up with a demon prisoner to get revenge on the people in her abbey who wronged her is SO delicious, and i really enjoyed the depth of the world building. it’s not easy to create a believable religion/setting/etc., and this one really intrigued me! i feel like there is so much potential in this world and i hope we might get to see more of it one day.

one thing is that i wish we’d seen a little more of the “poisoner” aspect of the title. i understand that the point of it all is that annette didn’t get her oh so deserved chief poisoness award, but i did expect to see some poison action since it’s in the title/description. if this ends up becoming a series i think this would be an excellent aspect to explore!! i also did predict where the plot was going most of the time but didn’t really mind. overall, this was a quick, fun read and i had a good time!