Nicole's Novel Reads: An Affair of Poisons Blog Tour: Review + Playlist + Favorite Quotes

Thank you to Fantastic Flying Book Club and Page Street Kids for the opportunity to take part of this wonderful blog tour! I absolutely adored An Affair of Poisons by Addie Thorley. I hope readers enjoy my review, favorite quotes and the hand picked songs for the playlist!

Title: An Affair of Poisons
Author: Addie Thorley
Publisher: Page Street Kids
Release Date: February 26th 2019
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Fantasy
Find it: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | Kobo

Rating: ☆☆☆☆1/2

Synopsis (from goodreads.com):

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 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 derelict sewers beneath the city, any hope of reclaiming Paris seems impossible—until Josse’s path collides with Mirabelle’s, and he finds a surprising ally in his sworn enemy.

She's a deadly poisoner. He's a bastard prince. Together, 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?

ABOUT ADDIE THORLEY

Addie Thorley spent her childhood playing soccer, riding horses, and scribbling stories. After graduating from the University of Utah with a degree in journalism, she decided “hard news” didn’t contain enough magic and kissing, so she flung herself into the land of fiction and never looked back.

She now lives in Princeton, New Jersey with her husband, daughter, and wolf dog. When she’s not writing she can be found gallivanting in the woods or galloping around the barn where she works as a horse trainer and exercise rider.

AN AFFAIR OF POISONS is her debut novel.
Website | Goodreads | Twitter

MY REVIEW

An Affair of Poisons is loosely based on the real La Voisin and real affaire des poisons which was a massive murder scandal back in the late 17th century during the reign of King Louis XIV in Paris, France. From the first line, An Affair of Poisons's atmospheric descriptions tantalize all five senses.

Mirabelle is the daughter of one of the most influential Shadow Society members. Her mother is an alchemist who brews poisons during the age of King Louis XIV in France. Mira is her mother's assistant along with Gris, an orphan a couple years older than Mira. Mira is tested in an initiation to the Shadow Society by proving herself with small tasks like poisoning the Duc de Barra, who is a vile man, but her mother and fellow Shadow Society peers fail to tell her that she is actually formulating a poison to kill the Sun King.

Mira is distraught that she has murdered someone she doesn't plan to kill. Her mother has deceived her. Mira finds out that the Shadow Society is plotting to overthrow the aristocrats and to take over the city. Mira's older sister, Marguerite, is always held on a pedestal while Mother treats Mira like a mere laboratory assistant compared to a daughter. Mira misses her father, who died in an explosion when she was younger. Her father loved alchemy. He said, "You will be a great alchemist one day, he used to tell me. Greater than I was." Mother despises Mira for following the footsteps of her father.

Josse is the bastard illegitimate son of the Sun King but a lot of people do not know he is the son of a maid compared to his sisters and brother who are born out of royalty. Josse tries to lead his siblings to safety after his parents are murdered. The unlikely pair of a prince and a poisoner eventually join forces. They are on the opposite tracks. One grew up in luxury and the other one in poverty.

Mira is kept hostage by Josse and his friend Desgrez. They want to use her to barter with the Shadow Society but no avail since Mira's mother doesn't give into the demands. Josse goes against the Dauphin in order for Mira to heal the sisters. Josse and Mira escape in hiding from the Shadow Society. Mira creates tinctures and curatives to help the poor. Readers see how Mira is caught in the middle to do what is right for the people or do obey the wishes of her mother despite the deadly results. Mira has great strength where she finds a way to prevail. She becomes La Vie and brews remedies to the awful poisons La Voisin distributes. Mira becomes the driving hope for the rebellion against the Shadow Society.

The chapters of the novel alternate between Mira's and Josse's point of views. Addie Thorley penned a story with a lot of socio-economic and political issues during 17th century Paris where readers see the differences between the rich and the poor. You feel the struggle of the common people while they fight for their lives. Even Josse has the idea to try to unite the nobility and the common people to overthrow La Voisin and the Shadow Society. With La Vie and Josse at the lead of a rebellion, they win the loyalty of the people.

Gris is definitely an understated character within the novel but without him, Mira would have not succeeded with the rebellion. He is able to play a part on two sides. The most heartbreaking scene in the novel is when Gris makes a sacrifice at the end of the book. I was in awe. Without his detailed planning, the Shadow Society would have won and Mira and Josse would have been heavily punished. Perhaps there is an underlying love and mutual respect between Mira and Gris. I would love to read more about Gris's point of view.

Thorley's research regarding the real events provided her a canvas to tweak history and it allowed her to weave in new personalities within her novel. Many of the characters are based on people that were involved with the murderous events that took place in France. Some names were changed in order the streamline the key characters. Although the real La Voisin only had one daughter who was stuck in the middle between two sides, Thorley decided to include two daughters in her novel. One daughter supports La Voisin and one defies La Voisin to lead a rebellion.

An Affair of Poisons is an intoxicating historical fantasy full of deceit, a test of loyalty and treachery. This book is highly recommended for readers who enjoyed reading Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, Enchantée, Stalking Jack the Ripper and/or Les Misérables.

FAVORITE QUOTES

"You will be a great alchemist one day, he used to tell me. Greater than I was."

"I always imagine Hell would be hot—a lake of fire and brimstone and all that. But Hell, it turns out, is being trapped in these dank, freezing sewer tunnels, helpless to stop the eerie green specks from spreading like ink beneath my sister's skin."

"In a whirl of lace and stain, Francoise and Anne turn. We raise our hands, and I know the instant they spot us. It’s like the moment herbs coalesce inside a cauldron—coming together to form something greater, something stronger, something whole. Their eyes spark with recognition, and their squeals of delight are more healing than any antipoison, more fortifying than any elixir or draught.

PLAYLIST

I put together this playlist as I read An Affair of Poisons. In fact, I had quite a lot of songs for this playlist but I had to make some cuts to hone on the true essence of the book. The selection of songs contain some oldie classics, some contemporary songs, some instrumentals and some eccentricities. I hope you enjoy the playlist!

1. Ashes - Radical Face

2. Belladonna - Siouxsie and the Banshees

3. Killer Queen - Queen

4. Royals - Lorde

5. Under Your Spell - The Birthday Massacre

6. The Healing - Bloc Party

7. Hiding - Florence + The Machine

8. My Enemy - CHVRCHES

9. Hunger - Of Monsters and Men

10. Barricade - Interpol

11. Imperfection - Evanescence

12. Haunted - Poe

13. Head Above Water - Avril Lavigne

14. Alchemy - Johnny Hollow

GIVEAWAY

Check out this awesome giveaway. Giveaway ends on Tuesday, March 19, 2019. Nicole's Novel Reads is not responsible for books lost or damaged in the mail. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TOUR SCHEDULE

Check out the official tour schedule below or at this link.