# I Support Women’s Rights and Women’s Wrongs: A Review of  I.V. Ophelia’s “The Poisoner”

- Link: https://annagreen.org/2026/08/27/i-support-womens-rights-and-womens-wrongs-a-review-of-i-v-ophelias-the-poisoner/
- Published: 2026-08-27T04:01:11-04:00
- Author: Anna Green

Review 002—

Victorian London. The dim light of day spills over polished cobblestones and between
narrow townhouses lining the street. A lone woman in a dark dress makes her way 
through the fog to deliver a lethal gift: a small glass vial of poison.

Alina Lis is an alchemist and botanist by trade, and a poisoner of men by necessity.
London is plagued by violent cads and unrepentant playboys, and Alina has made it
her mission to take them down one by one. Silas Forbes is certainly a man who belongs
on her list, and when she catches him mid-crime, she knows she has work to do.

I was immediately hooked by the premise. Dark romance, obsessive vampires, and women
avenging women’s wrongs make for a fantastic bouquet of tropes. The author also 
does a wonderful job grounding us in a lush 1890s aesthetic; macabre botanical motifs,
meticulous laboratory alchemy, and visceral descriptions of oppressive luxury make
the physical world feel richly alive.

_The Poisoner_ is full of dark delights. The banter between our alchemist and “The
Creature”—as Silas is first known to her—is both wickedly charming and unhinged.
When his bloodlust clashes with Alina’s clinical detachment and strong sense of 
justice, the tension is sharp and quick. Silas himself can’t quite decide whether
he wants to maim this woman or let her maim him and every glimpse into his perspective
offers a delightful contrast of his conflicting desires.

I did encounter a few painful snags while reading, however— While the pacing never
drags when they clash, the middle section does become circular and repetitive without
the reprieve of broader world-building. The story begins to play out as more of 
a tight, personal drama that seems to forget what time it is inhabiting. Unfortunately,
the most glaring flaw lies in the consistency of the characters’ motivations.

To be clear, I am well-versed in dark romance tropes. From standard _Dead Dove_ 
fare to extreme horror and non-traditional dynamics, I have little issue with themes
of corruption, vampirism, stalking, or dubious consent. What I _can’t_ ignore is
narrative inconsistency. Alina is introduced as a woman driven by a strict, black-
and-white moral code and deep-seated guilt only to abandon her core convictions 
the second Silas offers her intoxicating attention. She acknowledges her surrender
as a weakness, but the narrative quickly excuses it away.

Silas suffers a similar whiplash. Over the course of the novel, he undergoes multiple
jarring transformations: from feral monster, to golden knight, to gormless coward.
Rather than feeling like organic character corruption or tragic decline, it reads
as a forced narrative shift where the characters bend awkwardly to fit the plot 
rather than driving it.

The bones of this novel are undeniably robust. The wit lands, the chemistry crackles,
and the vampire lore is compelling. I wanted to love this book, and for the first
half, I genuinely did.

Ultimately, _The Poisoner_ lands at a **1.5/5** for me. The premise promises a heroine
in absolute command of her own justice; what it delivers is a woman easily talked
out of it.

If you prefer your dark romance with an unyielding dynamic where the heroine keeps
her sharp edges intact, look elsewhere. But if you are drawn to atmospheric, morally
grim vampire melodrama and don’t mind a lead who loses her bite along the way, there
is still dark fun to be had—especially for readers who enjoy the thornier corners
of _A Court of Thorns and Roses_ or the gothic tension of _Serpent & Dove_.

![The Poisoner by I. V. Ophelia](https://i0.wp.com/annagreen.org/wp-content/uploads/
2026/08/poisoner-2.jpg?resize=968%2C1500&ssl=1)

Book Review 002

### _The Poisoner_

I. V. Ophelia

Simon Maverick · 2024

A delightful and violent romp between a spider and a snake – so long as you don’t
mind when two characters have their fangs removed before they can truly sink in.

Dark Romance · Paranormal · Violence · Enemies to Lovers

[Find this and more at Bookshop.org!](https://bookshop.org/a/127496/9781668228203)

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