Review – An Affair of Poisons by Addie Thorley (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 400 pages
Publisher: Page Street Kids
Release Date: February 26, 2019
ISBN-13: 978-1624147135
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Amazon Vine
Rating: 4/5 stars
“After unwittingly helping her mother poison King Louis XIV, seventeen-year-old alchemist Mirabelle Monvoisin is forced to see her mother’s Shadow Society in a horrifying new light: they’re not heroes of the people, as they’ve always claimed to be, but murderers. Herself included. Mira tries to ease her guilt by brewing helpful curatives, but her hunger tonics and headache remedies cannot right past wrongs or save the dissenters her mother vows to purge.
Royal bastard Josse de Bourbon is more kitchen boy than fils de France. But when the Shadow Society assassinates the Sun King and half of the royal court, he must become the prince he was never meant to be in order to save his injured sisters and the petulant dauphin. Forced to hide in the sewers beneath the city, Josse’s hope of reclaiming Paris seems impossible―until his path collides with Mirabelle’s.
She’s a deadly poisoner. He’s a bastard prince. They are sworn enemies, yet they form a tenuous pact to unite the commoners and former nobility against the Shadow Society. But can a rebellion built on mistrust ever hope to succeed?”
I got a copy of this book to review through the Amazon Vine program. I really enjoyed this lush historical fantasy set in a reimagined Paris. The writing was beautifully done and the story was engaging and easy to read.
The story alternates between Mirabelle’s POV (she is an alchemist) and Josse’s POV (he is a bastard of the king). The majority of the story takes place after the Sun King is assassinated and Paris is in an upheaval.
There is quite a bit of action, some wonderful alchemy, politics, and a sweet romance. I was completely sucked into the story and struggled to put it down.
My only small complaint is that a portion about 3/4’s of the way in is a bit slow. Both Mirabelle and Josse spend way too much time thinking in their own minds about how miserable they are in this section. If some of this had been skipped this would have been a better paced story.
Overall this is a beautiful and atmospheric historical fantasy that I really enjoyed. Pacing is a bit slow at points but the beautifully descriptive writing more than makes up for that. I would recommend to those who enjoy lush historical fantasies with a lot of politics, some action, and some romance.
