I binged this book in 24 hours and loved it - a village of misfits and monsters, a rogue prince, a series of bot quests…. A delight

I really enjoyed this! The time jumps between the early scenes at the start were a little jarring but once we come to the present the pacing improves with enough context provided for later flashbacks to not be so disorienting. The characters were lovable and the relationship between the two leads feels like it grows naturally! It had the feel and tone of a cosy fantasy with the promise of a happy ending, but the stakes were high enough to keep me engaged with the plot. The narrator did a great job too! I'm hoping we get more books set in this world! 4 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the audio ARC.

The Poison Paradox is a cozy magical journey that completely swept me away. It’s the perfect blend of whimsy, heart, and character-driven storytelling. At the center is a beautifully developed found family that feels authentic and comforting. The emotional connections between the characters give the story so much warmth, and the way they support one another through magical mishaps and emotional challenges is deeply satisfying.
The romance features a classic grumpy sunshine pairing and the enemies to lovers trope, which are two of my favorites. The chemistry between Eamon and Alaric is electric and evolves naturally, full of witty banter, emotional tension, and ultimately, a tender payoff that feels well earned. Their interactions add layers of depth and charm.
The magical elements are creative and enchanting, enhancing the story without overwhelming it. This is a fantasy world that feels lived in and inviting, with just the right touch of wonder. The authors also did a fantastic job weaving in themes of trust, healing, and acceptance.
An element that truly makes the story shine is the cast of delightful side characters. Each one is memorable in their own way and adds humor, heart, or insight to the journey. They enrich the world and make it feel like a place you’d want to return to again and again. In particular, seeing how the main characters interact with others in their lives, really enhances the way you feel about them both individually and as a couple.
Thomas Busby’s narration is absolutely spot on. He brings nuance and personality to every character, capturing their unique voices and emotional arcs with ease. His performance adds so much charm and depth to the story and makes it a joy to listen to from beginning to end.
The Poison Paradox is a magical, heartwarming listen that’s perfect for fans of cozy fantasy, character-driven plots, and found family dynamics. It left me smiling and already hoping for more stories set in this enchanting world.

The Poison Paradox is a cute and cozy fantasy with queer love. It follows Prince Alaric on his search for the only man able to help him fully revive his brother, the king's former mage Eamon. Once the most powerful mage in the kingdom, Eamon vanished years ago. When Alaric finds Eamon, he's nothing like he expected. Not just because he's an ogre, but he also instantly refuses to help a "spoiled prince".
Driven to desperation, Alaric forces the former mage's hand before he realizes the price of a cure for his brother will come at the expense of his own life. A life that, in Eamon's ramshackle village, he's beginning to enjoy for the first time.

It took me a bit to get used to the voice actor but in the end he was actually my favorite thing about the audiobook. And I absolutely loved the accent and the different voices for the different characters. It was really well done.

The blurb promised cozy and it definitely delivered. Though, I wish there would have been a bit more suspense.
I found the pacing a bit uneven. The romance developed rather slowly and didnt't get as much "screen time" as I would have liked, especially since I really liked their romance in the end and I wish I could have gotten more of it.
In comparison, the ending felt rather rushed and the conflict resolved quite quickly.

With all that being said, I still liked the story and I would recommend the audiobook, especially because of the performance of the voice actor.
If the romance would have happened sooner in the book and the ending would have been a bit more refined, it would have been a 5-star-book for me. This way it's "only" 3.5 stars for me.

I will say my baffled first impression of this book was "is this gay shrek fanfiction?" but I'm very pleased to announce it is not in fact that! Well, there is a surely ogre main character, and a prince who is slowly turning into one himself, but truly other than that this is entirely original.

The main focus of this novel by far is community and building your found family. While the actual plot (trying to find a cure for the prince's currently comatosed brother) is an interesting one, it's almost entirely set dressing for the domestic and sweet scenes between our leads and the strange little village they live in. If you aren't down to listen to several hours of potion making as a cover for the emotional bonding happening than this isn't the book for you.

Technically this book did nothing wrong, but I can never seem to get into cozy fantasy the way I want to. It was in fact very cozy, which I knew upfront, and I genuinely like the Eamon and Alaric, and Eamon's very sweet adopted daughter Lilly. But it just lacked a certain something to make it truly hit for me.

One of my favourite things in a book (there’s probably a trope name for it, but I’m not sure what it is) is when the couple is genuinely kind and thoughtful toward each other. There’s no questionable consent, no toxic narcissism, and no plot gymnastics trying to excuse the love interest for being a “misunderstood” asshole. Prince Alaric and Eamon are simply good to each other, and it’s so enjoyable to read. This was such a cute, cozy fantasy.

I really enjoyed the audiobook. Narrator Thomas Busby did a fantastic job bringing subtle distinctions to each character, making it easy to follow whose POV each chapter belonged to. The monster village voices were especially unique and fun. They perfectly captured the essence of each side character.

If you enjoy cozy fantasy novels like Legends and Lattes or Spellshop, then this one definitely deserves a spot on your TBR!

This is a cozy yet emotional fantasy. I love the darker themes and aspects and felt they added such a unique twist on "cozy". The mmc's had great banter and yearning. The slow burn between Prince Alaric and Eamon was perfect.

I very much liked this cozy fantasy audiobook!. The narrator was great at voicing the different characters - especially all the different 'monsters' of the village. The story itself is enchanting and I really fell for the MCs. I will highly recommend this audiobook to fantasy readers!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this audio ARC!

I truly enjoyed the idea of this story and the characters were written really well. A really fantastic cosy fantasy with some darkness woven into the tale. I thoroughly enjoyed all the action that was included and the animosity between the monsters and humans added some good dimension and conflict.

Alaric and Eamon had lovely chemistry, they were perfectly matched with their opposing vibes. There was no spice but the innuendo, banter and tension between them was fantastic. I loved the baking competition plot with Lily, she was a really sweet character.

The pacing was inconsistent, the world building wasn’t impactful and the outside characters didn’t offer enough to be memorable.

I listened to the audiobook and I really wished there had been different narrators for the dual POVs. It was confusing to remember whose POV was being expressed when they both had the same voice. I did enjoy the quirky voices used for some of the background monsters though. Reminded me of the voices I do when reading stories to my kids.

Overall, this was a cute cosy fantasy, with good main characters and an intriguing plot.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc audio.

Audiobook Review: The Poison Paradox

Title: The Poison Paradox, A (mostly) cozy fantasy for ogres and sunbeams

Author: Hadley Field & Felix Green

Narrator: Thomas Busby

Rating: 4/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in return for an honest review.

Prince Alaric is on a mission to track down the greatest potions maker in the kingdom to save his brother’s life. Eamon, the aforementioned potions maker, is currently living in a secret village of monsters as an ogre after using dark magic in a potion to bring a young girl back to life, the same potion Alaric requires.

Thomas Busby was fantastic at providing different voices and accents for the many characters during dialogues. Unfortunately, he didn’t differentiate the inner voices of the two main characters' narrations, so it was, at times, difficult to remember whose point of view was being shared.

What I liked: As the title says, this is a mostly cosy fantasy novel, and it really was. The world-building was charming, the characters were well-developed and likeable. The plot was sweet and humorous and worked well. I would happily read more stories set in this world, one I imagined looked much like the movie “Shrek”, for some reason.

What didn’t work for me: There was possibly a bit too much going on with side stories, which lost a bit of the impact of the main plot and distracted me from the bond being built between Alaric and Eamon. Though I still bought into their connection, it could have been better highlighted at times.

Final thoughts: A sweet, grumpy-sunshine romantasy set in a storybook-style world.

Who would enjoy this: Fans of fantasy based romances, found family, and quirky characters.

Unfortunately this book wasn't for me and i was struggling to follow the storyline. I can see why others would enjoy it though

The Poison Paradox is a 'mostly' cozy fantasy with a prince and a ogre and a necromancer and a woodland nymph along with a host of other characters. The main plot idea is solid. Alaric and Eamon are adorable. My biggest issue is you get trickles of information with this story. There's an entire magic system that I'm still not entirely sure I understand how it works. There's a ton of characters And you don't have a good understanding of one before the next one is introduced. The whole story is just very slow moving.

The plot and romance are good. The ending was great and I'm really glad I stuck it out and finished the book. The narration was fantastic. I just wished the book as a whole moved a little faster.

The Poison Paradox by Hadley Field and Felix Green. Narrated by Thomas Busby. Thank you to NetGalley for my audio ARC. This title released end of June.

Eamon used to be a powerful mage but then he dropped out of sight. Now years later Prince Alaric is on a quest to find the mage to help him bring his brother back to life. The mage is the only person who is powerful enough to perform this kind of magic.

There are whispers that Eamon brought a young girl back to life just before he disappeared.

Alaric happens to find Eamon but he is not what he expected, he has turned into a grumpy ogre (well who wouldn’t be grumpy if they turned into a large green ogre) and he refuses to help him.

Eventually Alaric forces the mage to help him by blackmailing him. Only once Eamon starts putting the concoction together does Alaric realise what the consequence will be for him. With all the time they spend together Alaric starts falling for the grumpy ogre. Eamon is the only one who sees through Alaric’s forced happiness – Alaric’s nickname is not Sunbeam for nothing.

The book is also filled with a cast of wonderful side characters: Lily a tree nymph who loves baking, Alorna a nosy goblin, and a centaur who makes spicy stews. Trolls, sprites, and vampires round out this ragtag village of exiled outcasts.

Read this if you love a found family and grumpy x sunshine trope.

This book was so freaking funny! From the crown prince having terrible handwriting to the grumpy ogre feeding the stray cats, this book is a delight.

Sunshine prince x grumpy mage, Magic, curses, dark magic, spell, potions, QUESTS! and of course... ROMANCE!!

The part that had me dying in laughter:
“I don’t have any coin.” -Alaric
“You have your body.” -Shopkeeper
“I’ve been told not to pay for things that way.” -Alaric
“I meant manual labor.” -Shopkeeper
“Oh…” -Alaric

This is a cute, cozy fantasy with humor and will bring a smile to your face.

The Poison Paradox was a wonderfully crafted low-stakes fantasy. Following characters as they decide how far they’d go for love. When bringing someone back to life could mean exile or turning into a strange creature, what would you choose?

The book premise was good, and the story itself was well written. However, this was NOT meant for an audio with one narrator when we are going back and forth between the two male characters in third person. It was so confusing to keep up with who was talking when there was no difference in the voices and not much to indicate we switched characters. The side characters had almost humorous voices I would have liked to see more for the main characters. While I understand adding another narrator would raise the price of the audio, it would have been worth it in this case. I had to rewind multiple times as I was lost often.

3.5 stars.

You know what, this was cute. I don’t think this is sold as YA, but it’s definitely what it’s giving. I wished the magical systems were a little more complex but overall I really enjoyed it. It felt super cosy and I loved the characters dynamics.

What a fun, cozy listen this turned out to be. Thomas Busby’s narration fit the story perfectly, and I was genuinely entertained by how he brought each character to life.

The story itself felt unique, with warm, comforting vibes that make it perfect if you need a lighter read between heavier books. There are a few darker edges, but it still feels like a comforting escape, like wrapping yourself in a soft blanket.

I really liked both Alaric and Eamon, as well as the side characters who added even more charm to their journey. The fantasy lore was fun and surprisingly thoughtful, and the romance was adorable with a steady, believable progression. It is fade-to-black, and I would have loved a few more sweet, quiet moments between them, but what we got still felt satisfying.

At first, it felt a little odd having just one narrator for both POVs, but the characters were written with such distinct voices that it quickly became easy to follow.

This is a cozy, character-driven queer fantasy with gentle humor, emotional healing, and an unlikely partnership at its heart. Perfect if you want something soft but still meaningful.

Despite poison being is the title this story was a delightful gem! The narrator did a fantastic job bringing the characters to life, and I think his accent fitted the story perfectly. The only outcry I had while listening to it is when they faded to black for the romance scene, otherwise it was perfect!

The Poison Paradox is a great cozy fantasy about a prince and an ogre.

Prince Alaric seeks out his father's former mage Eamon to help him with a much needed potion. At first Eamon, who had been changed into an ogre since leaving the palace, doesn't want to help Alaric. Once he does agree the two adventure to find the needed ingredients.

I haven't read a ton of cozy fantasies, but this was a fun one! I loved both Alaric and Eamon, as well as the additional characters in the story.

The audiobook narrator did have pretty cartoonish over exaggerated voices for the characters. It also was sometimes hard to tell which character POV was happening, since there was only one narrator for a first person dual POV book.

Tropes
* Cozy Fantasy
* Ogre + Human Prince
* Grumpy Sunshine
* Only one bed
* Magic Potion
* Adventure through magical land
* Found Family
* Single Dad

3.5 stars

The Poison Paradox is a cozy fantasy that blends magical intrigue, slow-burn romance, and found family into a charming potion of storytelling. Set in a forest village of magical misfits, the story follows Eamon, a former royal potion master turned ogre, and Prince Alaric, a banished royal desperate to save his brother from a mysterious illness. Their reluctant partnership evolves into something deeper as they navigate curses, forbidden magic, and the slow unraveling of the kingdom’s magical fabric.
Thomas Busby’s performance adds warmth and whimsy, with character voices that evoke a Jim Henson-style fantasy vibe.
Eamon’s brooding reluctance pairs delightfully with Alaric’s cheerful persistence.
From a baking-obsessed woodland nymph to a village of outcasts, the side characters are quirky and lovable.
The story explores what it means to heal others while learning to heal oneself.

Thank you to the author, narrators, publisher and Net Galley for providing an E-audio ALC of this title.

Publication date July 29, 2025