Book: The Poisoner by I.V. Ophelia
Reviewed by Lindsay A
Rating: 5/5
This book still has me absolutely rattled - so much so, that I’ve been unsure if I loved it or hated it. This is a dark gothic Victorian era romance and the vibe is perfection, it’s been living in my head rent free for days so I’ve settled on I loved it, but the last 1/4 still has me shaking my head in disbelief every time I think about it because wtaf was that 🫠
I love a good vampire romance, and Silas has topped this list of the best vampire I think I’ve read. He is morally black, and the perfect blend of inhuman, predatory creature wearing the disguise of a distinguished high society gentleman. Alina is a separate creature in her own right - a well educated, scientifically minded unaliver with a talent for poisons, specifically where they are used to unalive bad men.
Their game of cat and mouse is tension filled and lethal, with both of them almost unaliving the other multiple times. Their banter and chemistry is swoon worthy, and I really enjoyed watching them slowly open up to the other and both gain a bit of humanity in the process. AND THEN. The last 1/4. Which I’m still confused and angry about, which I guess is all part of it because this book ultimately had me feeling all the emotions. I almost don’t want to read book 2 just because of how I feel about the end, but I also need to know what happens and WHY things happened the way they did.
I read this via audio and the narrators did an amazing job. The first time I heard his hunting clicks, all my heebies were jeebied 😂 Silas hit me as a dead ringer for Astarion in BG3 and I will never be able to picture him as anything else, so if you’re a player you’ve been warned.
This is a dark romance, with themes of non con and BDSM. I absolutely recommend reading the trigger warnings before reading this book, especially if you are sensitive to topics/descriptions of SA. This is a book I don’t think a reader should go into blind as the last 1/4 of the book will not be for everyone.