Published by Sourcebooks Fire on April 30, 2024
Genres: YA Fantasy, LGBT, BIPOC
Pages: 480
Format: Hardback
Source: Purchased
Content Warnings: Death, Murder, Blood, Torture, Racism, Coercion, Gun Violence, PTSD
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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 another debut novel that was review-bombed earlier this year, months before the actual release. I don't understand why people feel the need to do this, but needless to say, it sparked my interest! Combine it with witches and you have a book that will certainly end up on my TBR.
The Poisons We Drink follows Venus as she navigates an increasingly unsafe world after her mother's death in an alternate version of the United States. Not only is Venus Black, but she is also a witcher (magical folk), putting her in even more danger as the political climate escalates toward violence. Not only is Venus a witcher, but she is also a brewer of love potions, which is illegal, and for a good reason if you ask me. There are significant parallels between Venus's reality and that of marginalized groups today, especially with the rise of MAGA. There is a hate group akin to the KKK, laws synonymous with Jim Crow, and police brutality disguised as "peacekeeping." Baptiste presents very real social and political issues in a fantastical setting making it hard to ignore. Venus, her sister Janus, cousin Tyrell, and her partner and best friend, Presley stand on business, fighting for a better future for themselves and others like them. It's easy to love these characters, even if they are a little hasty in their decision-making; they are teens after all.
Not only is there excellent political and social commentary, the overall story is engaging with a huge twist at the end. Everything you thought you knew was turned upside down at the last minute, which left me reeling. I am not going to lie, I knew there was a twist and had a gut feeling about what it might be, but I was still surprised when everything finally unfolded. However, the story meanders and the pacing sometimes felt off. One moment things would be happening quickly and the next the story slowed to a snail's pace. I understand life is often like this, but it's not something I enjoy in a book.
The world-building and magical system are excellent, fully immersing the reader in the story. While not entirely unique, the magic system is interesting, with different witchers specializing in different forms of magic. Baptiste spent quite some time fleshing out Venus's potion recipes which as rooted in modern and historical correspondences, particularly Victorian flower language. Furthermore, there are multiple familiars throughout, which are also based on folklore. Baptiste adds a unique aspect to her familiars with loyalty being something that can be consumed by a witcher. Not only are familiars bound to a family, but should the need arise, they can be "killed" and eaten to strengthen a witcher's power. As a witch, I appreciated this attention to detail.
However, my favorite part of the book was Baptiste's representation of mental illness. Venus's PTSD is represented by a literal monster inside her. This is often how it is described by people suffering from PTSD, especially when she lashes out or becomes violent under extreme stress. Venus is given potions (medicine) to help suppress the beast, but even then the beast rears its ugly head anyway. Venus's best friend and love interest, Presley, however, treats their PTSD very differently. Instead of trying to lock it away and suppress it, they address the issue head-on and accept that it's not a part of who they are. I don't feel like Baptiste is attacking medication for mental illness, but instead suggesting it be paired with self-reflection and therapy, which I fully support. Other complex emotions such as grief, desperation, and fear are also addressed, but unfortunately are used to justify and even excuse poor behavior.
Despite loving the political and social commentary, there are some problematic aspects of the book that Baptiste does not fully explore. First, Venus is a brewer of love potions. Love potions take away a person's free will, which is not okay in my opinion, and Venus shows no remorse for doing this. In fact, her poor behavior is often excused by her violent emotions. Potion brewing is also incredibly dangerous, and Venus is injured every time. Why would her mother allow her to do such a thing and watch as if this is completely normal? It borders on abuse in my opinion. Second, strong and difficult emotions are often used to excuse poor and even morally unacceptable behavior. Finally, force and lack of consent are extremely prevalent throughout without being addressed a single time. Individuals are given love potions without their consent or forced into making blood oaths which force them to act against their will. I understand doing what is necessary to fight oppressive systems, but at what point have you gone too far? At what point do you lose your humanity? This is slightly hinted at with Venus's monster but otherwise left largely unexplored. These topics should have been addressed in a more consequential way.
Finally, Baptiste's writing is somewhat clunky, as she chooses repeated short sentences over more complex ones fairly often. This is likely done to evoke emotion, and while it was fine occasionally, I found it bothersome after a while. It felt like reading a high school student's writing, which may work for young adult readers, but not for me. However, I wouldn't let this deter you from picking up the book. If you are a skimmer (which I am not) these short sentences make it easy to skim and read quickly.
Overall, The Poisons We Drink is decent. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't my favorite book either. It's certainly a quick and easy read, but it probably could have been a few chapters shorter.
