I purchased an e-copy of The Poisoner, by I.V. Ophelia.
Amidst the gaslit alleys and cobblestone streets of Victorian London, two killers find themselves entangled in a waltz they cannot escape.
Alina Lis, a botanist and hobbyist poisoner, has a pastime of killing unsavory men in her twisted sense of poetic justice. When she targets the conceited playboy, Silas Forbes, only to find him in her apothecary the following week, she discovers human men are the least of her problems.
The pair’s unlikely association sparks gossip among affluent society. As their mysterious bond deepens, a chilling truth emerges—concealed identities, lurking foes, and questions as plentiful as the hydra’s head brew within this haunting Gothic tale of violent passion.
Will Silas and Alina find themselves in each other’s arms, or will the shadows of their past keep them apart?
I really enjoyed the sheer chaos of the first 2/3 of this. I liked the characters and the world. Plus, the writing was easily readable. But I feel like the plot diverted too far in the last third. Plus, I feel like Silas’ character lost a lot of his previously established strength. He just felt useless in the face of the challenges at the end. I realize the situation was part of that, but those are 
circumstances the author chose, and she undermined him as a character, IMO. (There better be significant groveling in book 2!)
I still liked the book. It’s like the author read The Lost Apothecary and then said, “Now add vampires.” If the second were out, I would have jumped right in. (Though I was disappointed by the cliffhanger, since I didn’t know it was part of an unfinished series.) But I didn’t love it as much as I could have (and expected to).
Other Reviews:
Books, Burgers, and Backpacks: The Poisoner
Somebody to Open: The Poisoner
