The Poison Daughter book cover by Sheila Masterson

The Poison Daughter

Adult • General Interest
Harlow has lethal kiss powers Vigilante for abused women Betrothed to her next victim Family pressures shape her actions A mark survives for the first time

To err is human. To avenge is Divine.

Every person Harlow Carrenwell kisses dies immediately, and that's the way she likes it. The poison-lipped youngest daughter of Lunameade's magical founding family has used her power to annihilate their opposition.

Her first husband is in the ground. Her new betrothed is next.

But the merry widow has a secret. When she's not acting as an assassin at her parents' whims, she moonlights as a vigilante for abused women in their walled-off city.

Meet a man. Lure him in. Kill him with a kiss. Until one night Harlow kisses a mark and he doesn't die.

Published in 2025.
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Edition information

Book details

Publisher
‎ Sheila Masterson
Publication date
2025
Print length
668 pages
Language
English
ISBN
978-1960416179

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Reader guide

What to Know Before Reading The Poison Daughter

The Poison Daughter is a standalone dark fantasy romance that combines the vigilante justice for abusive men of Promising Young Woman with a romantasy arranged marriage and a dash of vampires.

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G-NRIS™ story intelligence

Why readers connect with The Poison Daughter

A concise view of the book’s strongest literary signals and the reading interests shared by people connected to it on bks.social.

Story profile

G-NRIS™ identifies The Poison Daughter primarily as dark fantasy and romance. Its strongest themes include toxic family dynamics, secrets, and revenge. Prominent narrative patterns include enemies to lovers, betrothal / arranged marriage, plot twists, and vigilante FMC with lots of feminine rage.

Reader connection

Readers connected to this book most often reflect Psychological Moral Explorer and Historical Literary Reader reader archetypes. Their strongest shared genre interests include Literary Fiction, Science Fiction, Historical Fiction, and Crime. They are commonly drawn to themes such as Understanding Human Nature, Seeking Dark Psychological Tension, Exploring The Fractured Self, and Rebellion Against Authority.

About the author

Sheila Masterson

Sheila Masterson

Sheila Masterson is the #1 New York Times Bestselling author of The Poison Daughter, a dark enemies to lovers romantasy standalone about a vigilante who uses her poison kiss to take revenge on abusive men in her community, until she's unwittingly thrust into an arranged marriage with the only man immune to her magic. Her other works include the gothic fairy tale fantasy romance, Song of the Dark Wood, the angsty epic romantasy quartet, The Lost God Series, as well as its next-generation standalone spinoff, A Legacy of Stars. When Sheila's not busy stabbing beloved side characters and dreaming up new ways to make her readers cry, you can find her browsing the shelves at local indie bookstores, drinking fancy cocktails with friends, or curled up reading books and tarot. She lives outside Philadelphia with a small army of underwatered houseplants that survive out of spite.
A favorite quote

“Sometimes the greatest poison is the one we carry within us.”

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