Unfortunately, a DNF at 55%. I'm very disappointed to have done so, but I reached my limit.

The pros: There are so many pros, it's what really kills me that I won't be finishing. The prose is overall very good - at times it gets a little clunky, but usually it's very vivid and detailed without being overbearing. The worldbuilding is fascinating from what I saw of it, with Fíronbec and Særenfell's differing cultures, the Split, all of it. The characters are interesting and fun to read, I really liked Æri and the Narkrye, and I loved Brynja. I loved the Blodlyst. It was my absolute favorite part of the book, and it was the one thing that made me think maybe I'd push forward anyway, though (obviously) I ultimately decided not to.

The cons: I will admit, part of this is on me. I somehow missed (or maybe forgot) the enemies-to-lovers hinted at in the summary. I am usually not a fan of enemies-to-lovers, though sometimes it wins me over. From what I saw of the budding relationship between Æri and Rione, this did not look like it was shaping out to be one such case. The rest of my issues, I think, are more warranted. The first one was the fatphobia. There's a character - a one-off character, as far as I could tell - literally named Lord Porcius who is so fat that he can balance a plate on his stomach, and said plate is piled so high that the characters comment that he may go throw up later from gorging himself. Not much later there is a second character who is less egregious, but the narration repeatedly describes his stomach as jiggling around while he walks and so on. For a book that has a lot of (as far as I can tell) pretty good disability representation, as well as queer representation, it felt incredibly jarring and incredibly mean to apparently have the line be fat people. It's 2025, are we really still doing this? That all brought me to the edge, but I held on - again, I really, REALLY loved the Blodlyst!!! But, yeah, what finally kicked me over the edge was the master/slave dynamic, which was not hinted at in the summary, and I really think it should've been. Even if it isn't being used for overtly sexual purposes, I really think that's the kind of thing that needs to be indicated. Combining that with the enemies-to-lovers dynamic just really ruined everything for me, which was a major disappointment, because I was really enjoying it! I was having a good time! Unfortunately, that just crossed the line for me. If it had been indicated sooner, I wouldn't have picked it up in the first place.

Also, for my final point, I've discovered that the author 1. rated her own book (five stars, of course), 2. has liked positive reviews, and 3. responded to at least one negative review, which also puts a bad taste in my mouth because authors should not be looking at reviews of their own books, and certainly not interacting with them.

So, yeah. I hate to DNF an ARC because that feels kind of against the point, but I couldn't force myself to continue when I had a feeling this would just devolve further. If you are not bothered by the cons I listed, then I really would recommend taking a look, because I do think it is well-written and interesting aside from those points.

I liked the two love interests and will probably read the next book if there is another one. However the plot itself was a bit confusing. I would have also liked more romance.

Poisoned Pawn exceeded all my expectations.

The Steampunk inspired world is incredibly interesting. The world is inhabitated by different creatures - fae, giants, even vampire like creatures. The blend of fantasy and technology is really fun.

The protagonist, Æri, is queer and disabled. While she isn't given a specific label, she is attracted to both men and women. She is also an amputee, and the depiction of that really stood out to me positively.

This book also gives us a true enemies-to-lovers storyline! As well as an actual Slow Burn, which is just fantastic. Rione and Æri have some real chemistry, and I loved the progress of their relationship.

I have to say that the beginning is a little slow, but once it picked up I devoured it. So if you are looking for a Steampunk story that is inclusive, with incredible worldbuilding and great characters, definitely consider picking this up.

Meanwhile I will be waiting impatiently for book 2.

Poisoned Pawn had complex world building which I enjoyed. I didn't find there was a lot of lore dumping and that things were revealed at a nice pace. The plot was interesting, but I found that I was at 50% through the book and I had no attachment to any of the main characters, which made the book drag out for me. There was hardly any full character descriptions which made it hard to visualize what characters looked like.

Thanks to NetGalley and The BlueStocking Trio for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In the world of Poisoned Pawn the world went through a devastating event called The Split which lead to the land being torn apart. Now the different nations are separated from each other with not much contact. Another consequence of this event is that people stopped aging physically which is why Æri and the other characters are around a thousand years old. Unfortunately for Æri, The Split led to her lands being plagued by Blodlyst, a vampiric disease. Her sister, the queen are among those affected and has tasked Æri with finding a cure, but with not much success.

In order to sate her sister's need for blood, Æri has to set out to hunt down men from Fironbec, a nearby nation. During one of these missions, she instead ends up being captured and taken by her prey. In Fironbec she and other slaves have to go through a set of trials to prove their worth to potential buyers. If she can win this she will be able to compete in the Games as a sort of gladiator to eventually earn her freedom. However, being in Fironbec is not all bad as it presents an opportunity to see what her enemy knows about the Blodlyst and the Split.

The world building is quite complex making it a bit hard to summarize the plot but the author weaves it in nicely in the story. This made it very enjoyable watching all the pieces coming together and understanding how this world works. However, there is still a lot of unanswered mysteries that I'm looking forward to see how they unravel. It is mostly a fantasy world with magic and non-human races but there are also elements of sci-fi. Æri's homeland, Særenfell has more access to minerals leading them having more technological advancements such as Æri's flying vehicle (I did have trouble with visualizing this but I think its like a hoverboard or bike ?) and her bionic arm which is connected to her bird Gyr. But its not like a cyberpunk world were technology is abundant, rather it seems to be a limited. However, we do not know what it looks like outside Særenfell and Fironbec.

Most of the story is told from Æri's perspective but we also get POVs from other characters which I liked as it offered us a look into what's going on in Særenfell during the story or what goes through the mind of other characters. I also liked that the romance takes it time so the characters get to understand each other and also lets us grow to care about them. I really enjoyed this story but there was a sequence I had problems with and would like to see it executed differently but it's not a big deal. Overall a solid book and I look forward to the sequel.

I DNFed this book at about 24% of the way through. I requested this book because I often enjoy vampire stories with creative twists.
I will say, there was a couple of battle/fight scenes that I thought were well done.
There seemed to be a lot of inconsistencies and I felt like a lot of lore dumping without full explanations. Some information about characters seemed to be brought up later than necessary but character's appearances were rarely fully described.
That said, I might try to read this again when the finished product is released. I just feel there's more work that needs to be done.

I absolutely loved this book and I truly can't wait for the continuation.

My highlight was the incredibly vile portrayal of King Remus. He has that rancid sweetness that only just so hides his true nature. He's truly a dangerous man, very smart and cunning and seemingly always 2 steps ahead. Probably the best villain I have read in a couple of years.

Of course, I also enjoyed Aeri and Rione, the main characters but still... this villain. Thinking about him makes me shiver and feel unwell.
Aeri's trauma and strength are mixed so well. Often times characters like her are too sassy and overcome their fear a bit too easy. Not Aeri. She is still growing and learning. But again, also not falling into the trap of making a mistake over and over and over again before she learns.
Rione was the hardest for me to get behind. I was afraid he'd be too much of the dark and brooding cliché but somehow... it worked.

I loved the foreshadowing of Remus' blood illness but never would I have expected it to be such a counter to the Bloodlyst. Can't wait to learn more about those two things.
Also, I'm afraid that Remus is probably still alive because evil like him never gets defeated easily, I do hope Signe is still alive as well (ok, actually sure she is, but scared for the other Narkyryes) - I need her to meet Aeri again and I need it to go over well, despite Aeri's marriage to Rione.

Special shout out for great representation of LGBTQ characters by making them appear. No explanation or excuse needed. Same goes for characters that are not described as if they were straight from a Victoria's Secret runway. We have characters that are either average or below average looking without this meaning they are evil or unlikable.

While reading, I have found a few grammar/spelling issues that can be a bit bothersome but nothing that actually pulled me out of the book.

Thanks to the author, the publisher, and Net Galley for this advanced read.
I do hope this one gains recognition because it was such a good, unique, and diverse read.
It was the right kind of emotional and tense - we feel the stakes and the danger, get surprised, but without veering into melodrama and pure shock value.
The characters are amazing and strong without being perfect and their shortcomings make them richer and deeper which is generally a very difficult to achieve. I appreciated the diversity and the disability representation - it felt real and affected them without being defining.
The blend of sci-fi and amazing was pretty well done and worked story wise. Even the fae, of which I am sick and tired of, were made to feel interesting and fresh by the author.
Moreover, the cast of characters was developed really nicely (especially for a debut novel as far as I know) and no one felt like a caricature or a walking trope. I wasn't sure about the other POVs since Aeri was such great main characters but they worked in the end and added much needed context. Of course, I have my favourites, and a few that I still find a little boring, but that's normal and happens even in the best ensemble books.
The FMC and MMC were thankfully also a fresh take of popular types and traits. The only slight remark is I felt the things between them developed a little too unevenly and they should have been wary of each other for a longer time considering their history. Still, fortunately this was an actual slow burn with a lot of potential.
The ending is magnetic without being too cliffhanger-y. I hope the king doesn't become an one-note villain and the conflict between their countries and between him and the queen develops in unexpected and original ways without making him into a misunderstood good guy, I find redemption (and maybe something more, I am a simple girl) much more compelling.
In any case, I am excited about the sequel, would definitely read it first time it is possible, and believe in the author with the additional experience gained, would do amazing things with the story and the characters.
P p. I won't use the book for my curriculum, just because I am a Math teacher, but recommend it to all Literature and English teachers and librarians/bookstore owners.