This was a fantastic read! I've always been a fan of the gothic genre, and vampire novels in particular, which made this an enticing read from beginning to end. Gripping and exciting from start to finish, I found myself eagerly turning the pages and devoured the entire book in less than two days. I can't wait to see what else this author comes up with in the future.

I was very pleasantly surprised by Lydia Kang’s new novel. Everything about it was fresh. Tillie Penbroke is the average awkward younger sister of a beautiful paragon of NY society, but Tillie loves her and is loved by her. They don’t have contempt, but they do have secrets. The real story begins when Lily is found bruised, drugged, and exsanguinated after being missing for three days. Two of which, Tillie is in a state of laudanum induced unconsciousness. 

Paranoia, misinformation, pseudoscience, addiction and plain-old feminine doubt propel the young lady into an ill-advised investigation into the murder of her sister and those who died under similar conditions and were left with similar vampire-like wounds. Tillie uses everyone and anyone as a source of information. She pays some, threatens others and even steals a bit. She is desperate from the moment she wakes to find her sister missing and travels under some degree of fog throughout. 

What I enjoy most is how the atmosphere or local color of NY is amplified by Tillie’s drug use. So, I read her in two landscapes. Similarly, she is presented to us as a scientific mind, a woman of letters, an etymology nerd. And yet, she uses specious information from novels, quack doctors, hearsay, and the like. She jumps to conclusions based on no amount of logic. Worst of all, she lies. She lies to herself, friends, doctors, anyone. She is clearly unreliable as a narrator because she under the influence, but she’s so pathological she convinces herself of untruths. 

It is the slippery slope on which Tillie rides that makes the true intent intractable. The novel is psychological. It’s suspenseful. It requires contemplation and demands irreverence. 

There’s a moment where Tillie is upset by the waspish way her family is responding to grief. Her grandmother tells her that “no woman lives a life unscathed. We are broken and mended. Remade every time. We must. Or it destroys us.” While true and commendable, the assertion is as cold as Lily’s body. Tillie notes all of theses sensations around her not dispassionately before she realizes she hasn’t cried either. It’s bizarre. It’s also compelling. My overall enjoyment was not in the mystery or some great reveal. I enjoyed the precarious  position of the truth-seeking, modernist individual who blazes her own path with the tension, chaos and desolation of the postmodern. It was like Prufrock smoked-out with Ginsberg while he wrote Howl before taking a cab to West Egg for a weekend with Jay Gatsby or maybe singing Puff the Magic Dragon in the choir at church on Easter Sunday. It’s all sacred and profane, innocent and vulgar, a veritable smorgasbord of oxymoronic imagery that I happened to find delicious.

This was beautifully written. It is a loose retelling/comparison of "Dracula." I found the pace to very simpler to the classic. I do think you can read this without reading "Dracula" yet part of the fun of this book is all the clues that refer to it. Lydia Kang did a lot of research about the time period, (1899) and how things were developing, such as medicine and the work forces. This was a consuming mystery and concern building for the characters as the story continues. It slowly grows on you and for me this will be memorable just like the classic.

Tillie Pembroke’s sister lies dead, her body drained of blood and with two puncture wounds on her neck. Bram Stoker’s new novel, "Dracula", has just been published, and Tillie’s imagination leaps to the impossible: the murderer is a vampire. But it can’t be—can it?

I think if I was in the right mood I would give this a higher star. I do plan to re-read this in the future. I am thinking of doing a combine re-reading of "Dracula" and a few other novels. Reading "Opium and Absinthe" with the classic would be a very interesting experience.

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨Opium and Absinthe is utterly evocative. It only takes a few paragraphs of Lydia Kang's lush prose (and spot-on diction; anachronisms, whomst?) before you find yourself immersed in a city that is a character in its own right—

New York City, 1899: It's the turn of the century! High society is booming, even as the immigrants and working class struggle. Paperboys hawk wares, Italian men bang pianos on street corners. Horse-drawn carriages fill streets that've just begun to glow with electricity. Speakeasies and saloons belch opium smoke. Meanwhile, the moneyed elite luxuriate in Fifth Avenue mansions, tended to by French servants.

◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️

Tillie's meek and clumsy, nothing like her beautiful and charming sister, Lucy. But when Lucy is murdered and all clues point to a vampire killer, Tillie's life shifts irrevocably. She throws herself into breaking free of her stifling birthright as a New York heiress. She chases leads and becomes an investigative journalist, addicted to knowing and learning everything about the world around her.

All the while, she discovers the only thing that dulls her pain, awkwardness, and grief is opium. And as she hunts her sister's killer, Tillie is consumed by an equally insatiable addiction—to morphine.

◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️

My biggest issue with this book was that I couldn't connect with the characters. I didn't find any of them particularly likeable, which is fine, but the grievous sin was that I didn't find them compelling, either.

Tillie was spoiled and selfish and acted like SUCH a brat sometimes that I wanted to throttle her. The love interest was nice but kinda forgettable imo. Tillie's mom is a wet rag. Her grandmama piqued my interest (the old lady's a VIPER) but her backstory is never examined.

I also struggled to engage with the mystery—the hunch I had by page 20 was pretty much proven correct by the end, while the bulk of the story just felt like a series of red herrings that came outta left field and felt totally unnecessary and unconvincing? When we finally received explanations for why xyz occurred, it was PALTRY.

◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️

CONCLUSION: Opium and Absinthe's mystery and characters weren't altogether convincing for me—but it IS redeemed by its beautifully vivid depictions of New York City's Gilded Age.

A killer is on the loose in the late 1800's, and it looks like victims are bled and have puncture wounds in their necks. Could it be the work of a vampire, a creature described in the newly published book "Dracula"?

As a Dracula fan, and general vampire lover, this premise really snagged me.  Unfortunately, it was not so much a paranormal mystery as it was a drawn out description of a young lady's struggle with opioid addiction.

The MC Tillie is supposed to be an intelligent headstrong and independent young lady, very much outside of the social norms of the day. She wants to investigate the deaths, while at the same time battling a drug addiction. However, she just ends up just making illogical decisions which place her in danger all the time, which was very frustrating for me.

The other characters seemed to be very one-dimensional/stereotypical of the times and societal norms and were not engaging or interesting.

For me, the majority of the book dwelled on Tillie's opioid use and not on the murder mystery. Although this type of addiction was a common occurance during this time period, I feel that too much time was spent describing this, and it slowed the story way down so it was difficult for me to stay engaged.

A fun historical medical murder mystery that was enjoyable despite not being what I thought it would be. With depictions of addiction alongside the difficulties of a woman who desperately wants to solve her sister's murder against her families wishes, it was a fascinating story.

Tillie is an upper-class woman who recently had a riding accident that broke her collarbone. She was given opium as a way to keep her relaxed as the bones healed. Waking up after the incident, she learns from a newspaper that her sister, Lucy, has been murdered by what appears to be a vampire. Her family don't seem to care, placing harsher restrictions on what Tillie can do. Tillie is desperate to solve her sister's murder as further victims lead to suspicions surrounding a serial killer. Unfortunately, she finds herself moving from opium, to morphine, to heroin in a desperate fight to keep her painful grief balanced with the need to investigate.

The major issue I had with the book was Tillie and how young her voice seemed. I was expecting a slightly more adult feel to it. Don't get me wrong, it does address serious content matter, but the naivety and childishness in how Tillie originally came across stumped me. As the novel progressed I did find myself putting this aside and enjoying the story, but it was a hurdle.

Tillie is described as being inquisitive and clever. She's constantly reading, asking questions and generally getting disapproving stares from people who don't think women need an education. She's exactly the character I usually like.

There's a sentence right at the beginning where she's wondering why, when cats have kittens, the milk doesn't just continuously pour out of them. I find it difficult to believe a woman who seems to know a great deal about science hasn't come across the idea of suction.

Other than that her family were insufferable which did add a lot of tension and I appreciated it. I want to understand more about the Grandma and why she was such a horrible character. There are hints to secrets in her past, but they're never fully developed.

Apart from this, I did enjoy the story and the setting. The historical atmosphere felt realistic and well done. I especially enjoyed when Tillie visited the working-class areas and interacted with people who weren't so  posh.

The plot could have developed at a faster pace, but I was happy with where it went and the reveal of the murderer. I was on the right track but didn't get the answer completely right, which is always good from a mystery.

I'm glad to see a story that doesn't demonize addicts, and I thought it handled Tillie's use of drugs very well.

The ending also wrapped everything up nicely, especially considering the dark themes within the novel, I'm happy with how the book turned out.

Overall, I struggled to connect with the characters and story at the beginning. However, by the end, the story had managed to capture my attention. I'd recommend this to people who enjoy a good historical mystery.

I'm not super sure what I think about this book. Its meh leaning towards good.

The mystery aspect of the story wasn't anything special, typical misleading subplots but a lot of the resolutions I guessed. 

The most interesting part about this book was the addiction. The main character, Tillie, injures herself in the opening scene of the book and becomes addicted to the opium she was given to mitigate the pain of her broken collar bone and we deal with her struggling with that addiction at a time where doctors didn't really understand addiction.

2.75 STARS (let’s round it up to 3 for Goodreads’ sake): I DNF’ed this one 22% of the way in. I wasn’t relating to the characters at all and didn’t find the mystery compelling. A lot of the characters fit tropes common to YA historical fiction: the bookworm/studious daughter, popular/pretty daughter, misfit love interest, strict maternal figure, etc. Although I was interested in the setting, I have read more interesting books about the Gilded Age. Even though I DNF’ed it, I am hesitant to give it one or two stars because I may have just caught this book at the wrong time. I would be interested in reading it again in case my tastes change.

Opium And Absinthe is a beautifully written. 
A page turner that had me wanting more!
I couldn't wait to start this book when I seen that I was approved for the ARC from NatGalley!
Has some historical fiction crime genre in the mix.

Thank You NetGalley and Publisher

This was a great piece of Victorian fiction with a paranormal twist mixed in.  This book was easy to get lost in for the day.  I definitely recommend this unique and beautifully written story.

After injuring herself in an accident, Tillie Pembroke awakes to find her entire life turned upside down. Her sister, Lucy, has been murdered in what appears to be a vampire attack, and Tillie begins to rely on opiates to relieve her physical and emotional pain. She resolves herself to finding her sister’s killer while battling an opiate addiction and attempting to evade the disapproving watch of her family. 

I have to say, I really enjoyed this book despite not being a huge fan of the gothic genre in general. Usually gothic novels are very stiff in my opinion, and are somewhat challenging to read. Opium and Absinthe however was very fast-paced, enjoyable, and kept me turning pages until the end.

Although I was a fan of it, I feel it may not be for everyone. The murder-mystery aspect of it wasn’t the biggest draw, as I had figured out the “why” and was very close on the “who” at about 60% in. I don’t think that really hindered my enjoyment of the story though, because I was so invested in the journey and the way the novel was narrated. 

I also thought that the characters were not the most lovable; the only one I really liked was Ian, and maybe the newsies, though they were not a large part of the story. Tillie was incredibly naive, almost unbearably so. I understand that as this took place in the 1890s, Tillie leads a very sheltered life as one of the elites, but it still was a bit unbelievable. I was constantly torn between feeling great pity for her because of the way her family treats her, and anger at some of her decisions. Despite that, I did greatly admire her perseverance, and desire to pursue knowledge despite her family’s views on a woman’s place in society.

In the end, I can’t quite put in to words why I enjoyed this as much as I did. Nothing about it stuck out, but the writing/story flowed in a way that was very pleasant to read. For now I am giving this a 3.5/5 rounded to 3/5, but I may round up after thinking on it a little more.

Content warnings: assault, murder, death of a loved one, mentions of rape, drug abuse
Intended audience: Adult

Opium and Absinthe was a great historical fiction crime novel. How could you not want to read it once you have seen that beautiful cover? The author's ability to to describe the setting was fabulous. It did have a slight YA vibe.

The premise of this book sparked my interest when I saw it in the line-up of Amazon First Reads. I was happy to see it pop up on Netgalley as well. Many thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy!

This book is about Tillie Pembroke whose sister is found dead with two puncture wounds in her neck. The book takes place in 1899, around the time Dracula by Bram Stoker is published. Needless to say, Tillie who is interested in science and research jumps on the challenge to search for her sister's murderer. She comes across mysterious figures and she has a hard time trying to figure out what's real and what is not. 

I leave the fact that Tillie is addicted to opiates out of this premise, because it's something that would have stopped me from reading it. Protagonists who are addicted to any kind of drug while researching a crime is one of my major tropes. I try not to touch books that use this concept, because I think a mystery should be a strong mystery without the need for the main hero to be confused by her own thoughts. 

That having been said Lydia Kang executes this concept perfectly. Tillie starts using opium to ease her pain after an incident. This is how the addiction starts, which was something that happened often back in the 19th century. Sure, she didn't always remember what happened the day before; however, we did which I think was a strong way to eliminate my trope from the plot. 

This novel has strong and well-developed characters and relationships. I can identify with Tillie to a certain extent, because I loved horror stories when I was younger so my real world also started to get muddled with the fictional world. I like the way she approaches the mystery and how she tackles her research. The way this novel is built up, you get to know the side characters really well, including what motivates them which adds to the mystery. 

The writing is a bit of a mix between YA and Adult. I guess it's something you should be open to if you choose to read it. 

Other than that, I enjoyed this Sherlock Holmesian novel a lot. I'm eager to read more of Lydia Kang's books now as they seem to be right up my alley.

"From the bestselling author of A Beautiful Poison comes another spellbinding historical novel full of intrigue, occult mystery, and unexpected twists.

New York City, 1899. Tillie Pembroke's sister lies dead, her body drained of blood and with two puncture wounds on her neck. Bram Stoker's new novel, Dracula, has just been published, and Tillie's imagination leaps to the impossible: the murderer is a vampire. But it can't be - can it?

A ravenous reader and researcher, Tillie has something of an addiction to truth, and she won't rest until she unravels the mystery of her sister's death. Unfortunately, Tillie's addicted to more than just truth; to ease the pain from a recent injury, she's taking more and more laudanum...and some in her immediate circle are happy to keep her well supplied.

Tillie can't bring herself to believe vampires exist. But with the hysteria surrounding her sister's death, the continued vampiric slayings, and the opium swirling through her body, it's becoming increasingly difficult for a girl who relies on facts and figures to know what's real - or whether she can trust those closest to her."

Vampire mania and opium addiction? I'm in!

Lucy is the perfect daughter. Lucy is the oldest child. Lucy is dead.

Tillie, the younger sister, already feeling less than, finds it coincidental that her sister's death seems straight out of a newly released novel, "Dracula".

Rather than staying cooped up in a world of wealth and privilage, Tillie sets off to solve her sister's murder and find out what really happened. In the process, she discovers a whole world waiting for her, but one that's not always what she dreamed it might be.

As a nurse, I enjoyed reading about the old school treatments for common ailments and the way of life lived in this time period. I enjoyed the adventure from cover to cover! Tillie was a truly remarkable character.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this and give my honest opinion.

Opium and Absinthe is a delightful piece of historical fiction with an intriguing protagonist named Tillie, who feels like a bird trapped in a gilded cage on Millionaire's Row.  Set in 1899, Tillie is the second born daughter of the illustrious Pembroke family and thus often overlooked in favor of perfect elder daughter Lucy.  But when Lucy turns up dead with marks on her neck that seem disturbingly similar to those described in the just-released (but already notorious) 'Dracula' by Bram Stoker  (which the author weaves snippets of throughout) that's when Tillie's adventures truly begin.

As Tillie begins to investigate her sister's murder she discovers how big the world truly is outside her gilded cage, but as she spirals into addiction and begins to make choices that put her life at risk she must decide if the answers she seeks are worth it and if it's "better to be a coward than a corpse."

Kang does an excellent job with her world-building, drawing in elements like the notorious Five Pointes Gangs, the newsies strike, and Nellie Bly.  I found myself completely immersed in Tillie's world.  I identified with Tillie in many ways, we are both avid readers, we enjoy learning new things and asking questions and we are quiet - this quietness is often perceived as timidness, or weakness and Tillie shines through and proves that that is not always the case.  I found it fascinating to learn about the medical treatments of that age, like heroin (by Bayer!) for the treatment of a cough, for example.  As Tillie investigated the murders and gleaned new information on blood-drinking animals, medical treatments, and the living conditions of those outside her normal social sphere I was there learning and growing right along with her.  

This was my first experience with Kang's work, and after this, all of her other books have been added to my TBR pile.  If you enjoy historical fiction, amateur sleuths, mysteries in general, this would be an excellent addition to your shelf.  I couldn't put it down and I was sad when it was over.  I would love a sequel so that we can continue Tillie's adventures, she experiences tremendous growth and I would love to see where she goes from here.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for giving me a free ebook of Opium and Absinthe in exchange for a free review.  You can find this review published on Goodreads, Instagram, and most retailers.

Enjoyable plot and while we aren't supposed to judge a book by it's cover, it's a very pretty cover! There were times though that I couldn't tolerate Tillie. Without revealing any spoilers, there are situations where she definitely puts herself in harm's way. I felt that the story dragged a bit in the middle and I would have liked it to be a bit more faster paced.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

We are introduced to the main character, Tillie, in a way that leaves us well and truly under the impression that turn-of-the-century (1899) high society in New York is not quite for her: she is not a particularly skilled horsewoman, and she finds reading and discovery a far more diverting pastime. Tragedy soon strikes, however, as there is a murder which has chilling links to a recent best-seller: Bram Stoker's vampire novel, Dracula.  While trying to solve the mystery of her sister's death, she finds herself facing other battles: opiate addiction, and the pressures of being the sole heiress to a large fortune, not to mention the oppressive weight of her maternal grandmother's disapproval and control.

While Opium and Absinthe might take a little while to get going while it introduces us to Tillie, it soon picks up to become a rather compelling neo-Victorian mystery. Bram Stoker's Dracula is deftly woven in throughout the novel, with Tillie mulling over particular passages as she searches for clues, and with Kang beginning each chapter with a quote from the novel (although I should stress that reading Dracula is not a pre-requisite to enjoying this book). Alongisde Tillie, we have a number of other characters, many of whom may or may not be entirely trustwothy. Kang throws keeps us on our toes with some well-placed red herrings as we seem to get closer to finding out the truth.

My main takeaway was "Thank God we do not live an an era where doctors use dirty needles on their patients!!" I am kidding... kind of. A couple horrifying things happen in this book and medical horrors abound here. It makes for a very interesting read and I learned some history while enjoying a good story.

This book has mystery, murder, opium, villains, humor, Newsies, and a possible vampire. If you think any of these things would make for an interesting story then this one is for you. I had fun diving into this one and was equal parts horrified and fascinated throughout. This book spends a good amount of time exploring addiction that has parallels to current events. We live in a stressful time and this was a distraction that was needed at least for me.

I will say that there are some scenes and allusions to sexual assault that may be a trigger. It caught me by surprise so I wanted to get that out there. 

Aside from a few select scenes, I really enjoyed reading this one. It was unique, fun, and also informative all at the same time!

Set in New York City, 1899, Kang has created a spellbinding story of addiction and intrigue. When Tillie’s sister is found drained of blood, her murder is too close in method to Bram Stoker’s recently published Dracula to be denied. Despite her eagerness to uncover the murderer, Tillie is hampered by a marriage proposal, a proud, overbearing family and an opium addiction. Unfashionably inquisitive yet succumbing to the seductive solution for her pain, Tillie struggles to make sense of the secrets she stumbles upon. The truth could be more sinister than even Stoker’s own story. 

This is a well crafted and compelling story from Kang. The narrative is dark, delicious and infused with sinister undertones thanks to the insertion of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.