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A review by tricia0613
The Poisoner by I.V. Ophelia
2.0
I almost DNFed this book 3 times. But then I reached ~40% and as the plot finally seemed to get a kick-start, I got more invested and kept going. I was even enjoying it (despite the glaring historical inaccuracies and the repeated usage of modern American English when the story is supposed to take place in Victorian London), finally it seemed like there was more depth to the characters beyond the typical fanfiction main character personality typecast. And even with the issues mentioned, I was enjoying the plot development and found certain revelations exciting (like that Phoebe is *spoiler* and not just an NPC character with the personality of a teaspoon, or about all the particularities of the Vipera species that we learn as Alina studies Silas).
But then the author decided to include a rape scene so detailed and explicit that it made me feel physically ill. And everything derailed from then on. There were too many inconsistencies and contradictions.
All in all, the premise was interesting and showed potential but, in my opinion, the author failed at fulfiling it. Maybe if the book gets picked up by a publisher and gets new editing rounds the end product would be something I'd recommend. As it is, I was just left disappointed.
But then the author decided to include a rape scene so detailed and explicit that it made me feel physically ill. And everything derailed from then on. There were too many inconsistencies and contradictions.
All in all, the premise was interesting and showed potential but, in my opinion, the author failed at fulfiling it. Maybe if the book gets picked up by a publisher and gets new editing rounds the end product would be something I'd recommend. As it is, I was just left disappointed.