So this time we follow healer Naomi and her journey.
I found the writing, plot, and imaginative world building to be on point as it was in book one.
The things I didn’t love was that the pacing at times was drawn out, and the love story seemed a bit innocent and cliche.
The writing style for this entire series was very poetic, and writing stories within the story to tie the story together is honestly brilliantly done and so different. If you go into this hoping for your everyday fantasy romance tropes then you won’t enjoy it. If you want something a bit more complex and refreshing that focuses less on the spice then I think you will.

I enjoyed it!
Definitely my least favorite out of the four books but it was still a good read
Some parts I felt lagged on a little bit
She’s VERY wordy
Usually I enjoy that, but when there’s not much going on in the plot besides preparing for the climax, it bores me and I skim a little bit
But then it started to pick up and I really enjoyed the pacing and the twists and turns
The villain made me laugh
Like I commented on one scene “stop being so funny DAGONIT IM SUPPOSED TO HATE YOU NOT FIND YOU FUNNY”
No but I do hate the villain though….like genuinely

The MMC is morally grey and I written SO WELL
so realistic
I love Naomi but I think he wish the award for my favorite character
Because I’m able to truly empathize with him
I understand his actions and his mission
I want him to accomplish what he’s setting out to do
You don’t realize just how strong he is yall….
Ugh love him fr

Some scenes were intense like i literally had to stop reading and breathe because I was so NERVOUS to continue
Renee is a WONDERFUL author and I think you’ll enjoy being in the Well Spoken World again!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!! All opinions are unbiased and my own.

This was a great ending to a wonderful trilogy. I have enjoyed the characters all the way through. The world was creative and unique.

⭐️ 3.5/5

🌶️ 0/5

I struggled to fully immerse myself in the world building for some reason. I know this is a standalone but also part of a series so I do wonder if it would have helped to have read the others first. The author writes so beautifully, but I sometimes found the lush, descriptive language too distracting when I was trying to wrap my head around such an expansive and intricate world.

The characters were great. I loved Naomi and felt she was perfectly morally grey herself. The romance was a lovely build up, maybe a touch predictable but still satisfying. Some brilliant side characters too, I really enjoyed Caspian!

Overall Thoughts: I felt the poisoner assassin idea was really unique and interesting and it created space for an equally unique plot. I would definitely recommend this book to readers who love intricate, lush world-building and a good mystery to be solved. I really think we need more of these murder-mystery vibes in the fantasy/romantasy genre!

Thankyou to NetGalley for the eARC

Final Verdict: Three Stars (★★★☆☆)
While A Poem Penned in Poison delivers compelling fantasy romance, lush world-building, and a FMC grappling with both magical and emotional trials, its pacing seems a little uneven and the familiar enemies-to-lovers arc reads very predictable. Overall, it’s an engaging and atmospheric read—especially enjoyable for those who love Romantasy—but it stops short of being truly captivating.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this Advanced Copy!

Naomi Weathers is a high-ranking healer in the county of Mithra-sha, and part of the inner circle of advisors to the current ruler. When a dark secret from Naomi’s past is used against her, she finds herself traveling to Hadrass-drui, blackmailed into using her knowledge of poisons to stop an assassin killing members of the elite. But in a country where no one is who they seem, Naomi may have been safer staying home and letting her secret come to light.

A Poem Penned in Poison is the third book in the series, and while each book in the series follows a new narrator, the book does reference events from previous books that would be considered major spoilers for their storylines.

The first few chapters are written in a way that assumes the reader has familiarity with Mithra-sha, which made it hard for me to feel immersed in Naomi’s story without the context from the other books. However, once Naomi began her travels to Hadrass-drui, I was hooked: the world is vibrant, the characters have depth, the romance burns slow, and the story is captivating. I was emotionally engrossed as Naomi worked to unravel the methods and identity of the Poet Poisoner…and decide who is truly the villain in a world full of assassins.

Recommended for readers who enjoy: fantasy worlds, morally grey MMCs, slow burn romances, political intrigue, assassins, and a little dash of poison.

I did not read the previous books in the series before starting A Poem Penned in Poison. I now plan to go back and read the previous two books in this series, and I'm looking forward to reading any future books in this series.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Naomi is an overall well-thought and enjoyable MC. Her motivations and decisions made a lot of sense and were really aligned with her past experiences. I wouldn't say she is a "sunshine" character, but she is definitely funny, quirky and lively in her own way. It went really well with the book, as most of the story is told from her POV. Also, I reaaaally loved this dichotomy of her being an outstanding healer but having all this deep knowledge in poisons. It made her really interesting.

I would say Kai is one of the best and realest "morally gray" MMC I have read in a while. I think the way his arc is treated is a good example in how sometimes people are put in situations they definitely not want to be part of, but they need to deal with them anyways, having to decide between whats right and whats needed, something the book tiptoes around I would say in a beautiful and well thought way.

The romance goes slow in this one, but in a nice way, like those warm cups of cocoa Naomi likes to enjoy. You get a taste every page they are together and its delightful, how they keep growing and growing together and you see it and the only thing you can do is smile at the words. And not only as a couple, but as people and how they learn from the other and find a safe place in each other. It's really comforting.
Also, better not speak about the yearning. Ah. Sometimes, less is more and believe me, the tension alone between them is more than enough to make you sigh and swoon like a victorian lady.

Only one big thing I really didn't enjoy and it's one of the twists that felt a bit repetitive and just a plot device to be able to develop the story to a specific point. It's not a big deal though, at least for me.

Writing wise I really like the descriptions of the cities, they felt vibrant and real. Everything sounded really dynamic and, in my humble opinion the writing is really beautiful without being snobbish.

I did not read any of the previous Tales of Wonder and Woe books and I don't feel like I missed anything relevant for this story. The worldbuilding and information provided was enough to be able to understand everything withouth feeling overwhelming.

It is my first book of Renee and I will for sure try a get a hold of the other two in the series.

4 ☆ / 1 🌶 (kisses only) / first person dual pov (most of the chapters are from the FMC's pov)

This was such a good read! A story about a healer who poisons and a poisoner who saved a life, I really enjoyed it. My anxiety was through the roof in the best way with this one.

I adored both the FMC and the MMC and loved their character development. Naomi felt very likeable, it was so nice to see a FMC who didn't make me want to gouge my eyeballs out. She was quick-witted, funny, and made intelligent choices. Plus an adult who acts like an adult? Yes, please.
The romance between her and the Poet Poisoner developed slowly and carefully, it was tender and sweet, full of lots of swoony moments.

My fav character was the villain, though. I just love unhinged, pathetic snaky clown characters like him 🥲

I really liked that the chapters were short. Since I usually read at night, it made things easier for me.

The twists were twisting, and the turns were turning, but a fakeout repetition annoyed me. The first fakeout was mwah, beautiful, it got me. The second one? No, it was just cheap.

Even though it’s the 3rd book in the series, it works perfectly as a standalone. The info provided was enough to understand the world, though those tiny bits about Storytellers were slightly confusing. But they got me really intrigued, so I'll definitely read the other books.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Wave Walker Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very fun read and definitely a page turner! It took me a moment to get invested but once I did, I couldn’t put it down! This story felt unique, and had very interesting magical elements & world building.
I struggled to understand some of Kai’s decisions & reasonings towards the end of the book. His decisions & priorities felt inconsistent, although after reading the resolution I understand . Overall, I am happy with the ending and the choices each character made. I will definitely continue to read other books in this world/series.

Goodness! Poison? Imposing cities? Haunting backstories? Charged showdowns? A Poem Penned in Poison presented me with an intoxicating charcuterie board of tasty ingredients I was all too happy to indulge in.

I wanted to get some of the weak points out of the way in order to open the curtains deservedly on everything I had fun with. I wanted to give it every star, but I think the execution needed a bit more polish. At times, I found some of the dialogue/exposition a touch choppy, found "..." overused in text, and did stumble upon some typos and grammatical errors. Further, I did think some backstory from the other books and worldbuilding was written in a little clumsily and took me out of the immersion of the scenes happening; I wish it was integrated a little smoother, and speaking of smoothness, had every Malakai chapter still labeled with his name to be clear the POV changed!

But for what I had to knock off for the book needing, to me, a little more combing through and streamlining, I found myself filled in that extra space with the absolute joy that was the plot and characters. After a somewhat slow start, I found myself ravenous for clues and action relating to Naomi's hunt for our 'Poet Poisoner.' Having quite literally stepped off the ship to assassins, Naomi, and by extension us, the readers, found ourselves tied up with the threads of dangerous mystery. Naomi felt very raw and likeable in her own, troubled way, and I was glad to be looking over her shoulder for most of the plot. (Though, I wasn't the biggest fan of 'flipping' being in her common vernacular haha). Her journey and the unfolding of the plot was so exciting to me, and I even let out an "OOOOOOH!" at the part when she figured out how the poison was administered. And then we have Malakai! I loved the transformation we got to see with him, and the satisfaction of the devastating slow-burn between our two as they realize there's no easy or good way out of what was transpiring. My morality went out the window far earlier than it ought to have on account of my fondness for him, and he made me recite that maybe sometimes murder was okay.

Action? Yes. Longing? Mhmm. Webs of intrigue? Yeah.
I thought the villain got a little too unhinged villain-y at the end, but it made for a really fun and hot showdown, so I can't even say I'm mad.

A poem penned in poison had me intrigued from the title alone, and i agree with some of the other reviews i have read before picking this up, you will be invested in the story from the very first chapter.

This story follows Naomi Weathers, an esteemed healer of her home town Mithra-sha, who's secrets are held against her in order to force her to travel to Hadrass-drui to find the culprit of an attempted assassination of the rulling families grandson. Whilst investigating the murders of the famed poet poisener she happens to fall straight into the path of the assassin himself, and infiltrates his plans by becoming his partner in crime. The curious creature that she is, just can't hand him over before he entrusts her with his truth, the very reason for his list of long standing nobles deaths. But holed up in the poet poisners lair there is more brewing than just the poison he is known for as both of their truthes come to light. Will they let their feelings show? Or will it be the very thing that takes them down?
This book is the 3rd in The tales of wonder and woe series, it can be read as a stand alone but I would say that you may get a better understanding of other characters mentioned if you read them in order. It's recommended for audiences at the age of 16 and above.

I absolutely loved how fast paced this book is, by the 3rd chapter you already have the main character on her way to start her mission, the chapters are all almost bite sized, I didn't come across a single chapter that took more than 15 minutes to read which really kept the story flowing, with absolutely no loss of world building and character personality. If there is one thing I could say as helpful feedback for the author and or publisher, is that while the character and geography glossary was included, I feel that they are better placed at the beginning of the book. I am confident that I am one of many out there that finds it frustrating when you aren't sure if you are pronouncing a name right, to then realise when you finish the book it was right at the end. (As a kindle reader, flicking through a book to look at the end isn't like having a hard copy, I think it would really help)

Loved this and devoured the book by reading it straight through. A lot of great world building rich history and political intrigue. So many twists and turns.

5 Stars

I really enjoyed this book. The twists were engaging and kept me interested throughout the story. The relationship dynamics between Naomi and Malaki felt authentic and complex, which added real depth to the narrative. I also appreciated the well-placed humor, which provided a nice balance to the darker themes.

The emotional journey that Naomi went through both with Kai and her own personal growth and development stayed with me long after finishing, making the ending both satisfying and bittersweet. Overall, this is a beautifully crafted and immersive story that I would highly recommend to readers who enjoy nuanced characters and layered storytelling.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this!

I've enjoyed the previous two books in the Tales of Wonder and Woe series and the fact that each book is a standalone. I was engaged with Naomi and her story in this, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed in the previous books and the genre. I thought the overall feel worked with what I wanted from the suspenseful atmosphere and the use of poison. Renee Dugan was able to weave a strong storyline and was glad I got to read this, I hope there is more in this world and from Renee Dugan.

A Masterpiece That Poisoned My Soul in the Best Way

One of my absolute best reads of 2025.

From the first page, I was pulled into a world so tangible I swear I could smell the herbs on Naomi’s hands. The writing wraps itself around you heavy with secrets, sharp with heartbreak, and impossibly intoxicating.

Naomi, the protagonist, is one of the most compelling characters I’ve read in a long time. With a past cloaked in secrecy and a gift for both healing and poison, she’s blackmailed into tracking down an assassin targeting powerful figures in a neighboring country. That secret has haunted her for years, driving distance between her and everything she once held dear.

Dropped into hostile territory and surrounded by stories more dangerous than daggers, Noami doesn’t just navigate lies, she becomes part of them. And then comes the Poet Poisoner. Their collision shatters everything. From that moment, the narrative spirals into questions of morality, identity, and the blurry line between justice and vengeance.

This book wrecked me. It twisted and twisted until I couldn’t tell whether I was aching from heartbreak, holding my breath in suspense, or desperately hoping love could bloom in the darkest soil. It made me question everything and feel everything. Morality, trauma, survival, love. Found family, lost self, tentative healing.

I didn’t just read this story. I lived and loved it.