There’s something deeply satisfying about watching a woman build a life without the men who complicated her old one. It’s deeply inconvenient when those men decide they’re not finished with her. The Arachnid is book 2 in the Poisoner series and I am absolutely obsessed with the name game I. V. Ophelia has picked for this series. It’s perfection
Disclaimer: This is a review of an advance copy (ARC) received from NetGalley!
Book 1: The Poisoner
Blurb
The hauntingly beautiful second book in the gothic romance Poisoner series, where Alina Lis finds herself the prey of her vampiric ex-lover, Silas. They’re a couple deadly as sin, and as intoxicating as a sip of poison . . .
Return to the world of The Poisoner…
In the shadows of 1890s Buffalo, a poisoner’s bite leaves more than just scars—even for the undead.
Two years after fleeing London, Alina Lis has built something she never thought possible: a home. Leading a commune of women like herself, she’s found a new, greater purpose; experimenting on the Vipera. But peace, she learns, is as fragile as a spider’s web in winter.
Silas Forbes, the Vipera she escaped, hasn’t forgotten. But his thirst for Alina threatens everything he’s created in her absence. And he’s brought another along for the hunt: Luka Novikov, the man who once betrayed her, now bound to them both by wounds that won’t heal and debts that can’t be paid.
As human and Vipera worlds violently collide, old poisons surface and new alliances form. In a society where survival means choosing sides, Alina must protect the family she’s built, Silas must decide what price he’ll pay for his obsession, and Luka—marked forever by the poisoner’s kiss—must survive the clash of an immortal’s longing and a woman’s fury.
Some venoms have no antidote. Some hungers can never be satisfied.
The Arachnid is the second installment of the darkly seductive Poisoner series, where humans and Vipera twist together like lovers in the dark.
Genre
Dark Romance |Fantasy
Tropes
- Gothic setting
- Groveling by Silas and Luka
- She moved on
- Dark Themes
- Some kind of Politics at play
- There is danger from feral vampires now.
My Review
In The Arachnid, the second installment of I. V. Ophelia’s The Poisoner series, Alina has survived the horrors of the nest and now she has traded her old life for something far more interesting: her own little nest, a purpose, and a rather formidable little community of her own. There’s something immensely satisfying about watching her carve out a place where she calls the shots. Even the people closest to her seem to know better than to test her patience.
Meanwhile, Silas has apparently decided that crossing an ocean is a perfectly reasonable response to being left behind. His persistence is equal parts infuriating and strangely admirable. And Luka? Watching him attempt to make amends was music to my readerly ears. And I so much admire Alina for bieng as ruthless and unforgiving as he deserves.
But beyond these complicated relationships, something far more monstrous is beginning to surface. And that’s where this sequel gets particularly interesting. We have a case of sinister experimentation on live sickly humans which results in some Resident evil kind of horrible situation and I am all there for it. I can’t wait to see how this story will continue. The next up in the series is The Cannibal.
What I find most compelling about The Arachnid isn’t simply that Silas refuses to let Alina go. It’s that Alina has built something worth protecting, and the story no longer revolves entirely around who gets to claim her heart. Between Silas’s relentless persistence, Luka’s attempts to make amends, and the increasingly monstrous world unfolding around them, the stakes feel much bigger.
And personally? I’m soo rooting for Alina’s little kingdom of terrifying women. Also it is worth mentioning here; I like how beautifully Alina was compared to the spider in the book
Does Luka’s willingness to make amends make him more sympathetic, or does what he did before still outweigh his efforts?
My Rating
- Overall: ★★★★ | 4 Stars
- Plot: ★★★★| 4 Stars
- Romance: ★★★★| 4 Stars ( No Romance happening but I love Silas’s efforts)
- Characters: ★★★★ | 4 Stars
- Pacing: ★★★★| 4 Stars
- Ending: ★★★★| 4 Stars
- Spice Level: I don’t recall any spice…lol
- Book Cover:★★★★★| 5 Stars ( Perfection)
The Best Part
- The GROVELLING…in the capital by both Silas and Luka
- Alina’s little nest
- All of Alina’s hobbies…lol….she is terrifying in this book
The Worst Part
- After reading the Arachnid, it felt like something was missing. I kinda wished there was more intensity in whatever is happening between Silas and Alina. Book 1 had more intensity this one feels lacking in that aspect but I totally understand the themes this sequel revolves around isnt a good place for having romantic tension and intensity.
