I struggle to give this a rating. While I found the story generally enjoyable, there were times I just didn't want to read it. I'm sitting between a 3 and a 3.5.

They story wasn't bad, it was well written, however I felt it focused so much on Tillie's drug addiction that it took away from other areas of the book that could have been more detailed or fleshed out. I honestly got really tired of hearing about all these drugs she kept getting addicted to.

I know the book is called Opium and Absinthe, but come on... 

The characters were ok, besides being annoyed by Tillie's addiction most of the time. She did have her good points, she was strong and determined, she cared very much about finding her sisters killer and she loved learning things a woman of that time had no business knowing. 

Tom was perhaps one of my favorites, the way he cared for the children, Tillie and his interest in always helping Tillie. I wanted a bit more from some of the other characters, though I suppose it fit together well with the storyline.

The world building wasn't too bad either. It set the mood for that time period and how certain things would have been taboo or what was expected of certain characters. 

Fort the most part, I did like the ending, once things started to unreavel. It was interesting to hear the killers motive and technique. I'd be interested to see what comes next from this author.

I found this novel to be meticulously researched in terms of the surroundings, but unfortunately I didn't find the main characters’ actions to be that realistic given their status in society. The story was reasonably well developed (although I found there were a few too many hints of who the killer was too early on).

Great characters, great story and fun plot. Good historical fiction. Hard to put down and found myself reading this late into the night.  I found the writing really beautiful and interesting and with drug use and murder this really does pull you in and makes you want more - Read it if you just want something different that is really well written!

As much as I really wanted to, I didn't love this book.  I love the time period, had no problem with the writing style but I found the main character very hard to like.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Lydia Kang uses her knowledge from being an internal medicine physician to bring us a beautifully constructed story of murder, investigation and life in New York City in 1899. 
After a riding accident, Tillie Pembroke is introduced to laudanum by her doctor to help manage her pain. But little did she know this would only be the begining of her problems and she had a different kind of pain yet to come.
When she wakes, she discovers that her sister has gone missing... not only that, but she later discovers that she has, in fact, been murdered. 
Together with her "newsie" friend, Ian - and armed with her inquisitive mind and a copy of Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' - Tillie enters the world of investigative journalism in an attempt to shed light on her sister's murder. In doing so, she discovers a link to other suspicious deaths... 
All the while, Tillie's opiate addiction only grows - enabled by her doctor and those who seek to gain something from her. When it lands her in a troublesome situation with the doctor's son, her family decide to place her in a boardinghouse for women to help her break free of the addiction. This doesn't entirely go to plan though as when her "suitor" comes to call, he ends up giving her heroin tablets. 
However, despite her addiction, Tillie and Ian do manage to find the person responsible - getting themselves into a spot of trouble in doing so.

This book is brilliantly written with realistically flawed and honest characters. I also love that Kang doesn't over-sell the setting (there's not an incessant stream of detail being constantly flung at you) and only . The balance is perfect and only really uses descriptions of things that Tillie would realistically notice/feel the need to describe - this makes it so much more natural and submersive. 

Trigger Warnings: does include drugs and addiction, also includes sex references and an attempted rape. Also includes kidnapping, violence and murder.

I seem to be at a difference of opinion from most the reviews, but I really wasn’t keen on this, I found it quite dull and uninteresting on the whole. I didn’t like atillie or find her appealing generally as a MC. Just not for me I feel as others seem to love it

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Opium and absinthe is a book I read in one siting because I could not wait to know everything despite me being proven right for most of it which took away some of the fun. Despite it being a little too slow in the beginning which almost made me not wanting to continue, it picks up after 80 pages or so and then the flow gets better and the writing also gets smoother and thus easier and faster to read. Love the idea behind it as I have never read anything like it so far.

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for the free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Picture this...

Its 1899  in New York City, and  a young woman lies dead, her body drained of its blood AND she has two puncture wounds on her neck. There is a new book that was just released, its called Dracula. Surely the murderer couldnt be a vampire..could he? 

Opium and Absinthe follows Tillie Pembroke’s on her quest to solve her sisters murder and it is one HELL of aquest. Tillie plays amuteur slueth with the help of a newsie named Ian. Not only is she pushing towards justice for her sister she is also battling a horrid Opioid addiction, which only adds fuel to the flames. But unlike Ian not all the characters have Tillies best interest at heart and their questionable agendas are steadily made clear and result in a satisfying conclusion. 

Overall  I loved this Murder Mystery, it had a nice splash of romance and paranormal that kept thing interesting and added depth to the story. 

I recieved a digital copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A big thank you to  NetGalley, the publisher, and author for providing me with copy of this novel at no cost. I have recently fallen in love with gothic lit so this book came to me at the perfect time. I loved the medical aspect to the book. it made the world feel real. The writing was also beautiful and poetic. I enjoyed the blend of mystery, history, romance and paranormal. The book was a bit slow in the beginning but picked up for me after the first third. Overall I am glad I stuck with it. All in all it was a nice light read and while it wasn't the best i've read in the genre it provided me with some good escapism..

I’m obviously the outlier with this one, but this book did not work for me at all. I found the writing to be dull. There’s no rhythm to the prose and the story drags. I found the MC to be annoying, not sympathetic, and simply wanted the novel to be over. The reveal of the killer also made me roll my eyes. I had high hopes for this book, but sadly, for me, the best element is the gorgeous cover.

This book was a good historical mystery book. Although, there were some characters that were just weird and annoying. And Tillie was just too trusting in everyone. The newsies were my favourites, including Ian.

Opium and Absinthe was pitched as a vampire book to me, but it was more about the reality of addiction in the late 1800s. We follow Tillie, a flawed young lady, who is struggling not only with a traumatic injury but the grief of her sister. Throughout the novel we see how society fails Tillie again and again: The medical mishaps, the relationships and class issues, no one listening to her because she’s young and a woman, etc. I loved the backdrop of NYC, seeing it at night when it’s most alive. You can tell how much care and research went into the writing of this book. I think a teen reader who enjoyed the Stalking Jack the Ripper series would love Opium and Absinthe!

I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and author Lydia Kang for providing me with an ARC of this novel.

I really enjoyed this novel! This was the perfect mixture of everything you need to make a good book. I loved the historical fiction aspect of this, as well as the paranormal/Gothic feel. Seeing the various stages of addiction was also incredibly interesting. This was an awesome read and I look forward to reading more of the author’s work.

I was excited to read this story as it was in the realm of books I usually read (Historical Fiction/Mystery) but it intrigued me because I usually don't pick up books with vampire themes.
Overall this book is about Tilly, who breaks her arm, and has to take opioids to help her through her pain. Her sister is mysteriously killed which aides in Tillly needing to continue taking opioids for her emotional pain.

Although this book initially drew me in, for the first 50-60% I started getting annoyed that there wasn't any plot advancements due to Tilly's addiction and as a character she got "annoying" because of her focus only on getting high. Many of the other characters were annoying too as they were not acting as you would think after the death of Tilly's sister.

However, once Tilly got clean towards the end of the book, I really enjoyed it as the plot picked up, and I saw Tilly as a fierce, independent, and strong female character (which I LOVE). Many people said they were able to predict the killer, but I was surprised at the end. .

I gave this 3.5 stars overall. Its definitely worth a read to gather your own opinion of the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an E-Arc!

After Tillie Pembrooke's sister is found murdered in the New York streets in a method oddly reminiscent of vampires straight out of a novel, she must investigate the true cause of her death while struggling with the darker side of her family's affairs. 

I loved Opium and Absinthe so much- it truly had just the right amount of every good thing including a spunky protagonist with no regard for society's expectations of her, a swoon-worthy romantic side-plot, and a thrilling mystery that kept me hooked right up until the last page. Tillie was an amazing protagonist who was extremely easy to relate to, and her character arc was completely satisfying. It was heartbreaking to see her slow descent into substance abuse, but conversely, that made her climb back to sobriety all that more empowering. The mystery driving the book was also well plotted, with plenty of hints sprinkled throughout the book that I unfortunately did not catch until the final reveal.

My one critique of the book is that the plot doesn't really pick up until the last third of the book. The beginning tended to drag a bit and was rather exposition-heavy. 

Overall, a strong book I would love to recommend to friends.

Here we have the tale of Tillie in 1899 New York, who is trying to discover what happened the night her sister died and who was responsible for her murder. Set in the year when Bram Stoker's Dracula is capturing the world's imagination, could her death have been at the hands of a vampire? 🦇

A beautiful balance between Historical Fiction and paranormal myth, this is a delicately woven tale of knowledge and obsession, family and love, adventure and addiction.

I particularly enjoyed the detail around Tillie's relationship with Opium and her various stages of addiction, as well as the nod to the Newsies strike. This tale has some likeable (and not so likeable) characters and is definitely a fun read. Now I'm off to check out Lydia's back catalogue! 📚

4 delightful stars!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exhange for an honest review.
I have heard alot of great things about Lydia Kang and I jumped at the chance to read her latest book, Opium and Absinthe.
I thought this book was a fascinating, unique, highly addictive and very well written Gothic murder mystery.
I highly recommend this book if you like Bram Stoker's Dracula, murder mysteries and/or romance because this book has all of those elements in it.
I would definitely read another book by this author.

The main character of the story made it hard for me to even pursue reading further. I understood she had her quirks and did have times of being a complete airhead, however, she was sincerely hard to even like as a character. It was daunting trying to follow her narrative because of her actions and her way of thinking, her intelligence level reminded me of a five-year-old barely coming to terms that the world is bigger than the house she's been living in. So she decides to jump into everything face first and break all her bones...

Opium and Absinthe was great for the long drive towards our vacation.  It a relatively fast paced period mystery with a little paranormal thrown in.  My only issue - addiction is a big part of the novel (no surprise, considering the title) and my patience with the "heroine", Tillie, got very thin by the end as she made choice after questionable choice as a result of her addiction.

Opium and absinthe is a really well written book. The idea behind it is fascinating for sure and unique.
The writing style is smooth and keeps you hooked, I’ve finished it all in one afternoon because I could not wait to know everything.
Although I guessed the reason behind the murders, the person who did them was unexpected; so that’s a bonus.
The only negative thing is that the beginning was a little slow.

3.4 stars