Review: The Deepest Poison - Beth Cato

Octavia Leander, a young healer with incredible powers, has found her place among Miss Percival's medicians-in-training. Called to the frontlines of a never-ending war between Caskentia and the immoral Wasters, the two women must uncover the source of a devastating illness that is killing thousands of soldiers. But when Octavia's natural talents far outshine her teacher's, jealousy threatens to destroy their relationship—as time runs out to save the encampment.

Fans of Beth Cato's debut, The Clockwork Dagger, will love this journey into Octavia's past—as well as an exclusive excerpt from the sequel, The Clockwork Crown!

Clockwork Dagger Duology:
The Deepest Poison (Short Story)
The Clockwork Dagger
The Clockwork Crown

Visit Beth Cato's website for more information

Review:
The Deepest Poison is a short story set before beginning of The Clockwork Dagger. Technically it's a prequel so it can be read before either of the full length novels (which is what I did) but I do think you'll probably enjoy it more if you read it after the first book. The story is very short, less than 50 pages, and for me I didn't feel the author had enough time to introduce a whole new world and new characters in a way that made me feel invested in them.

There isn't really too much I can say about The Deepest Poison because not a great deal happens and I didn't really understand where it fits into the series as a whole. The story is set in an army camp and a mysterious illness is killing thousands of soldiers. Two healers, Octavia and Miss Percival, are trying to uncover what is causing the sickness and searching for a cure but there seems to be a rift forming between them as the younger woman's healing abilities start to far outreach those of her mentor. I believe that Octavia is the main character in the next two books and I'll be interested to see things from her point of view rather than Miss Percival's.

Although I found myself a bit lost when reading The Deepest Poison it was definitely enough to intrigue me and make me want to read The Clockwork Dagger though so it's achieved it's goal there and I may even come back and reread this after I've read the next book to see if it makes more sense to me. Personally, although this is technically a prequel, I wouldn't recommend starting the series here but I'll come back and update this review if my opinion changes after reading the next story.

Source: Received from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Kindle: