The Poisoner

By I.V. Ophelia

Book Overview

***SPECIAL LIMITED EDITION with custom SPRAYED and DESIGNED edges, available only in the first printing ***

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The Lost Apothecary meets Gothikana in a Victorian era gothic romance about a botanist who likes to poison unsavory men, but when her next target visits her apothecary, they discover their dark bond runs deeper than they imagined.

"Have you ever wondered how long it would take for a lethal dose of arsenic to kill you?
Thirty-five hours, twenty-nine minutes, and fifteen seconds.
I should know. I counted myself."

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?

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• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1668228203
• ISBN13: 9781668228203
• Release Date: January 2026
• Publisher: Simon Maverick
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Some books you read… and some books tempt you into ruin.

The Poisoner was never meant to be safe—and honestly? I didn’t want it to be. There’s something exquisitely dangerous about The Poisoner—the way it slips beneath your skin like a whispered secret you were never meant to hear. I. V. Ophelia doesn’t just tell a story… she seduces you into it. Every page feels steeped in shadow and velvet, laced with a slow, intoxicating tension that coils tighter the deeper you fall. This isn’t just dark—it’s decadent. A vintage kind of wicked. The kind that lingers on gloved fingertips and knowing glances. There’s a quiet cruelty woven through the prose, but it’s paired with something far more dangerous: allure. The characters don’t beg for your attention—they command it. And before you realize it, you’re complicit. You’re enchanted. You’re willingly drinking from the very cup you should fear. It’s playful in the most sinister way—like a smirk in candlelight, like a secret shared too closely. And the spice? It simmers. Never rushed, always deliberate, leaving you breathless in anticipation rather than overwhelmed. Reading this felt like dancing with something forbidden… and not wanting the music to stop. Dark. Lush. Seductive. And utterly unforgettable.