After her sister is murdered under mysterious circumstances, Tillie Pembroke takes the investigation into her own hands.  However, she become addicted to pain medicine following a riding injury.  Tillie embarks on a journey that has her finding her own voice among friends, family and a drug addiction.  Will she be able to solver her sister’s murder or will her addiction lead her right into the hands of a killer.

Pros: murder mystery, vampire lore (method of murders), feminism

Con: domestic violence

I give this book a solid 3/5.  I found it long winded in some parts, but it did manage to hold my attention.  I also give this book major credit for showcasing the dangers of prescription medication addiction.  While this book is set in the late 1880s, it’s themes are very relevant to today’s culture.


I received a copy of the book from the publisher via the website NetGalley

I had trouble losing myself in this book.  1899 and vampires sounded interesting until I started reading and then it was just boring and read like too subgenres mashed together to sell books.  It wasn't poorly written but it wasn't well written either.

Absolutely loved this! Not usually a fan of historical unless there’s something gothic afoot. Loved the cover and thankfully the insides didn’t disappoint! Not slow either which is good for me. Sometimes historicals drag a bit and feel like something I’m already familiar with. Not this one!

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with a complimentary eARC for review purposes*

Once I got into the book, at about chapter 7, I really enjoyed it. The murder mystery plot really captured my attention and I loved watching Tilly grow into herself. I also really enjoyed the historical setting which isn't something I usually tend towards but it really adds to the plot as leans into the tropes of the era.

I loved this book by Lydia Kang!  The writing style if good and moved at good pace.  The book is full of twists and turns!  The characters were really good and very likeable.  I would definitely recommend!

I received this ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Oh my goodness I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book, so much so that I bought two more from the author’s back catalogue to read on holiday, Heavily based within the myth of Dracula, we follow Mathilde or Tille for short, who is desperate to find out what happened to her murdered sister Lucy. The name immediately pricked my ears up because of Mina Harper’s friend Lucy in the original novel by Bram Stoker. Tille is intelligent and very well read young woman. One day she falls and breaks her collar bone when out horse riding, but something even worse has happened - her sister Lucy has been killed by ‘vampire killers’, who are still on the loose. Armed with her copy of Dracula, a list of suspects and some a journalist friend used to investigating. Surely nothing can stop this resourceful young woman from finding her prey? Her only obstacle is a rising opium addiction, which started with pain relief for her collar bone and is becoming something she depends on. 

I loved the Victorian setting, one of my favourite eras for this type of novel, because it was well researched and felt authentic. I could imagine myself right there in the action. Although I’d worked out the ‘who’ part of the mystery I still enjoyed finding out the why and watching Tille get there, even if her growing addiction and naivety till play into the killer’s hands somewhat, I admired her tenacity, she was determined to get to the bottom of the mystery and to mark her place as a resourceful woman who doesn’t need to be sheltered to the degree her family wanted. The rise of women’s rights, towards the end of the 19th Century is captured in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Mina Harker is the ‘right’ way to be liberated, able to work and carrying her type writer around. However, she is still modest and is engaged to a suitable young man. Lucy on the other hand is depicted as a little bit too open, with three men courting her at once, she could be seen as the wrong way for women to behave and she is severely punished for it. I think there was an awareness in the author, of this battle within society for the womanhood. The older family members wanting Tille to remain traditional, modest and ‘looked after’. Tille wants to look after herself. This is a great read for all lovers of Gothic fiction. Plus it has an absolutely stunning cover that looks gorgeous on the bookshelf,

Mysterious deaths and a detecting duo take center stage in Opium and Absinthe. Kang's novel is a fun re-working of a Gothic and Horror classic that not only builds on themes of the genre, but also incorporates the thoroughly Victorian tropes of hysteria and opium-use. Fans of Gothic and Detective Fiction will love Opium and Absinthe.

Thank you to Netgalley, Lydia Kang & Lake Union Publishing for my arc of Opium & Absinthe in exchange for an honest review. 

Synopsis: Tillie Pembroke's sister lies dead, her body has been drained of blood and there are two puncture wounds on her neck. Bram Stoker's Dracula has just been published and Tillie's mind leaps to the impossible, could her sister's death have been at the hands of a vampire? Tillie is an avid reader and researcher and determined to get to the bottom of it. Assisted by her little helper, the laudanum she was recently given for a broken bone injury which she's becoming more and more reliant on. 

I have mixed feelings about this one, I enjoyed the storyline, historical fiction is always a favourite of mine if done well and I especially enjoyed the interesting snippets of information about medicine and medical conditions as viewed at the end of the 19th century. I thought the story was done well and I didn't guess the twist which is always a big bonus! My only real dislike was of the main character Tillie who was quite annoying in parts and very childish not anything like the age she was supposed to be portraying. Other than that an enjoyable novel!

Love this cover. Entertaining read - an interesting history fiction with fantasy elements. Some of it I did struggle through but I don't think it was the book, I think it was just me. I would check out future Lydia Kang's novels. Thank you to netgalley for providing me with a copy.

I liked this. It was cute. But 2 things.... this is pretty YA in that it might not really appeal to an adult audience. And there is a scene with the grandmother and her parrot that nearly made me stop reading. I get that its a metaphor for what the grandmother would like to do to Tillie, but it seems like there might have been some other way to convey this. I did enjoy all of the drug use. But it seems pretty standard for the time period. I'm not going to ruin that journey for you.

My favorite part is the cover. Isn't it pretty?

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me with an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. 

This is not my usual genre,  however I wanted to take the opportunity to read something from outside my norm. And I am glad I did!! Thank you for  opening up my mind to something totally different. Characters were so well developed that I felt as though I knew them. I love when a book draws you into the story and it feels like you are living it with them.

Opium and Absinthe was a great historical fiction crime novel with a wonderfully twisty and gothic mystery loosely inspired by Bram Stoker’s Dracula. 

I really enjoyed this book and couldn't put it down. I love a boook where you have to keep on reading to find out what is happening or coming next.
I have just purchased this book for my personal library.

Thank you Netgalley, Lake Union Publishing and Lydia Kang for free- e-ARC in return of my honest review. 

#OpiumandAbsinthe #NetGalley

A really entertaining read.Historical fiction at its best.Inlove a book that keeps me reading late into the night& this book did just. that.Looking forward  to more by this author. #netgalley #lakeunion

Thank you Netgalley, Lake Union Publishing and Lydia Kang for free- e-ARC in return of my honest review. 

I was intrigued by Opium and Absinthe synopsis and cover. I love the time frame of late 19th-early 20th century, particularly in America. It was such a rapid growth in many areas of lives, particularly in States, as in New World. 

The reader meets Tillie, a second daughter of an aristocratic family in New York. Her older sister disappeared and later found dead with clean bite marks on her neck. New book Dracula is just hitting the bookshelves of New York stands and bookstores, and the simulates are clearly uncanny. The rumour is the killer is a vampire. Tillie does not trust neither police not her family in finding her sister's killer and she starts her own investigation. 

It was quite entertaining read. Tillie is such a naive but adorable character. Her addiction are troublesome but she is strong willed to overcome obstacles. She is the new woman of new generation. Plot wise is was, some in-discrepancies in killer explanations and too many themes were chosen to work on (murder, addiction, sexual assault, abuse); however, it might be attributed to the complexity of life back then. 

Overall, I enjoyed it.

When her sister, the perfect daughter is murdered, Tillie is shocked, but determined to find out more - that is, as soon as she is feeling better.


This was an interesting story, wrapped in the hysteria of the newly released Dracula. I enjoyed reading through this book! Great for weekend reads or those rainy days where you want to stay on the couch! Perfect for book clubs too!

Opium and Absinthe
By Lydia Kang

Lydia Kang is an exceptional storyteller. A murder mystery involving a vampire, with some opium and heroin in the mix and this made this read superb! This was an amazing story set in 1899 NYC in the midst of a Bram Stoker's Dracula being released and her sister ends up dead with two puncture marks and drained of blood. Tillie Pembroke plays the amateur sleuth trying to solve the mystery behind her sister's death. With the help of Ian, she venture in a quest to the dark side. Masking her pain from her injury and later on from her sister's death, she battles a horrid addiction from opium, heroin and morphine. This was a fascinating read with amazing research on the medical treatments during the Victorian period. The writing was fully immersive with the rich details of this historical fiction thriller. I highly recommend this book!

I must say I absolutely loved this and the only reason it’s not 5 stars is because I found the drug addiction a bit tiresome after a while. I wanted more of the mystery and hints of vampirism. It is a wonderfully twisty and gothic historical mystery loosely inspired by Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It kept me guessing until the end and I never suspected who the killer was!

Tillie’s character is a touch annoying in the beginning but it’s short lived and she becomes someone to inspire and root for. All of the characters are so richly portrayed even the hateful ones. It’s impossible not to find them all engaging and get caught up in their webs.

Beautifully written and utterly unputdownable.

Thank you to Netgalley, Lake Union and Lydia Kang for this e-copy in return for my honest review. Interesting premise and range of characters. My first book by Lydia Kang but definitely not my last. Loved the writing style but I'm tired after spending one too many nights reading great books into the early hours.

I loved this dark mystery book, the twists, the turns, the characters! Everything about this was fantastic. I can't wait to read more by this author!

Lydia Kang’s Opium and Absinthe is a work of historical fiction that gives the reader a look at the mind of a young woman struggling through substance abuse while shining a light on a serial killer. 
Tillie (Mathilda) Pembroke is trying to find herself in the wilds of 1900’s New York City. As she makes her way through the social life of the beautiful and wealthy, she finds that she prefers to spend her time among the books and exhibits of the libraries and the museums. She enjoys letting her mind wander through the curiosities that are in the world around her. She is living her life in the shadow of her beautiful sister Lucy. Tillie seems fine with this arrangement since it allows her the freedom to explore and think through the many meandering questions that fill her mind. Life turns a corner for Tillie and she faces daemons she never thought were real. 
Tillie’s inquisitive mind becomes her treasure and tool as she tries to solve the dark mysteries of the people who surround her. She wonders how much she missed while Lucy was covering for her. Along the way, Tillie blazes a path that not many have traveled before her. She has one role model to follow, at least that’s what she thinks. 
This is a wonderful read. Lydia Kang masterfully wended her way through Tillie Pembroke’s mind as she fights societal norms, family expectations, and substance abuse. We follow her thoughts through her many curiosities including ranges from what  an elephant smells like to how fangs work.