The Poisoner

I will freely admit that the marketing campaign for THE POISONER by I. V. Opelia got me. The summary, the cover - it all appealed to my inner Goth spirit. And that opening line? Killer!

Sadly, THE POISONER failed to live up to my expectations. At first, the tension between Alina and Silas was everything I wanted it to be: depraved, sensual, emotional, and very creative. However, their back-and-forth relationship became repetitive, as neither made any attempt to learn more about the other on an intimate level. By that, I don't mean sex. I mean that neither took the time to learn about the other as a person. Their relationship remained on a very superficial level, which I guess fits with the obsessive nature of it. Still, it did nothing show more to develop the characters beyond their desires. There was nothing romantic or titillating about them as a couple.

Combine that with a story that is not just repetitive but also very predictable. There is SO MUCH chasing with no real satisfactory conclusion to their chases. In addition, the identity of the true enemy was so obvious as to be almost unbelievable. For someone who prided herself on being so intelligent and observant, Alina proves herself to be utterly clueless in picking up on body language from everyone other than Silas.

THE POISONER suffers from a lot of things, the least of which is too many characters with huge egos and a total lack of empathy. I normally love despicable characters, but to have all of the characters fall into that category is a bit much even for me. That, the repetitiveness of the plot, a lack of character development, no surprises, and an ending that leaves way too many questions with unsatisfactory answers to the few Ms. Ophelia does answer made me glad to finish the novel. This is one series I will not be finishing and won't lose sleep over doing just that. show less

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | The Poisoner by I.V. Ophelia
Seductive. Haunting. Unforgettable.

The Poisoner is everything I want in a gothic romantasy: lyrical prose, a morally gray cast, and a love story that tastes like smoke and blood. I.V. Ophelia weaves a story that is emotionally rich and ruthlessly sharp, drenched in danger and courtly deception.

The tension between the heroine and her unlikely mentor-turned-enemy-turned-lover simmers from the very first chapter. The romantic arc is deliciously slow-burn, with a brutal edge and just enough tenderness to wreck you when it lands.

Yes, it’s beautifully written—but it’s also dark. Ophelia doesn't shy away from difficult subject matter, and readers should check content warnings show more before diving in. It is an uncomfortable read at times.

Content Warnings:
⚠️ Torture, emotional manipulation, blood magic, sexual violence, trauma flashbacks, toxic romance themes.

Perfect for fans of:
☠️ morally gray men who see everything
💔 angsty forbidden slow-burns
👑 poison-laced palace intrigue
🔥 steamy tension that walks a dangerous line

This book lingers long after you close it. show less

I was looking forward to reading this Gothic, Victorian "vampire" romance based on some reviews I saw online.
I typically don't mind spicy books, or even some kinky smut. Which this book definitely has. Check trigger warnings. What I do mind is setting up a character romance, a enemies-to-lovers, fated-mates type romance where the MMC is supposed to burn the world for her but instead he just sits idly by. It really pissed me off, honestly. Why put her through all that and then throw it away?? Just didn't make sense to me.
If you're looking for a HEA with your kinky vampire romance, this isn't it. He's also NOT a vampire. Do there's that as well.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon-Maverick Books for the eARC of I.V. Ophelia's, "The Poisoner," show more which is available 13 January 2026! show less

Now that I've finished it, I'm kind of struggling with my feelings for this book. On one hand, I ate it up faster than I have anything in a while and even purchased a physical copy (for the gorgeous cover with Alina and Silas, mainly); on the other, I do have some small gripes about the plot. If I had to give it 1-10 stars instead of just 5, I would give it an 8.5. I did really love it and I could see myself reading it again in the future, when the details have become foggy...

I have spoilers at the end, but they're hidden.

I added this to my "vampire" shelf because it was close enough, but the things in this book are actually called Vipera and are more like snakes. I thought the twists on it were fun and different, but it's possible show more it's been done before and I just haven't read it, so take that as you will. As with a lot of vampire stories there's gore and some blood play, some other kinky shit related specifically to the Vipera thing, plus dubious consent (toward the end), so keep that in mind if you're squeamish.

Alina, our main girl, is someone I can relate to pretty well. I'm similar in personality and don't often enjoy socializing or being around a lot of people. I thought her man-hating commentary was annoying, so that made it a bit hard to slog through in the beginning, but I'm glad I pressed on. I wouldn't say she necessarily does a lot of growing, but I did grow to like her a little more as the book progressed. I also liked that poison was her weapon of choice and that she was intelligent and cunning.

However, the main reason I stuck around was for Silas, and for the two of them together.

You could never convince me that enemies-to-lovers is not the best kind of romance. The banter, the fighting, the sparks, the reluctant feelings, the angst, the slow burn... This book took what I loved about the trope and cranked it up a few notches.

Alina and Silas are combustable, fighting tooth and nail with each other before eventually, reluctantly, realizing they feel more. The smutty scenes between them are just *chef's kiss*. If you aren't into some weird stuff, you may not go for it it, but I did. Silas is a pain in the ass and I love him so much for it, even if he does some shit that really ticks me off. The way he kind of understands her darker side made them feel so perfectly fit for each other. Alina makes him work for most everything and it's so much fun to read, even if things turned sour in the end.

As for the actual plot, I honestly can't really say much happens. The plot is basically Alina secretly poisoning bad men and unknowingly being hunted by the Vipera for it, playing violent cat and mouse with Silas, going to parties with Phoebe, experimenting with Vipera venom and blood, occasionally running her shop, slowly falling for Silas, then eventually getting captured, finding out that no one is who she thinks they are and getting completely screwed (literally) in the end by everyone she trusts. She already didn't have the highest opinion of men and it only gets dashed further by the time we finish, which really sucked; I'm anticipating more annoying man-hating commentary in the second book, but I guess I can't blame her. I have a really hard time reading romance where the two in love have a huge trust breaking moment and say horrible shit to each other, especially when it seemingly leads to hate between them (the way she described Silas looking at her made my heart hurt, and I can't belieeeeeeve she willingly used Victor to make him jealous after what he did to her), so the way this ended was hard for me to stomach. I'm hoping Silas manages to fix things in the next book, but I was extremely disappointed in his choices. I absolutely hate it when any sort of physical stuff happens between either of the LI's with someone else, and obviously this was not consensual and with someone she thought she could trust, so it was even worse... The fact that Silas could not stop it and then even joined in with the drinking of her blood, I guess because he figured it was better to be involved to kinda keep Victor in check than let him do whatever he wanted alone... It felt gross. I can do that sort of scene on its own, but having the LI be involved was painful. I just wish that entire portion had gone so much differently, that Silas had busted in before Victor could actually do anything so it could have been avoided altogether. It kind of made him look like a coward, the way he just went along with it, even though he was obviously extremely upset. If he'd just told Alina who the hell Victor was when he realized, this potentially could have been avoided.

Anyway, I did really enjoy this book and would recommend it to anyone that likes dark fantasy romance, as long as they aren't too squeamish. I'm looking forward to the second book and am really hoping it doesn't take too long. show less