That Irresistible Poison is an enemies-to-lovers, male-male romance novel by Alessandra Hazard, published in 2018. This is the second book in the Calluvias Royalty series.
On the planet Calluvia, the inhabitants are telepaths, with different degrees of ability. When they are born, Calluvians are given a special telepathic link, called a mating bond, to bond them with another child who will be their future spouse, in an arranged marriage decided by the children’s parents. When Calluvians reach adulthood and marry their betrothed, their telepathic link grows into a marriage bond, which should ensure happiness and harmony in their relationship.
That Irresistible Poison centers on Ksar, the crown prince of the Second Grand Clan, and Seyn, the younger prince of the Third Grand Clan. Though Seyn and Ksar are betrothed, they hate each other to the core. But somewhere along the way, hatred turns into attraction, and deepens into love.
Tropes present in this book include:
- Altar Diplomacy: Seyn and Ksar will be married for political reasons.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Seyn and Ksar argue and fight constantly, that it takes a while for them to realize that they’re attracted to each other.
- Cannot Spit It Out: It takes a long time before Seyn and Ksar can say “I love you” to one another.
- Cast Full of Pretty Boys: All the guys in the main cast are drop-dead gorgeous.
- Crowd Pleaser: Seyn attends a lot of parties, travels to other planets, and enjoys the praise and attention from his admirers.
- The Cutie: Seyn is adorable, bubbly, optimistic, and very sociable. Ksar seems to be one of the few who don’t find Seyn absolutely cute and charming.
- Everyone Is Bi: Calluvians can be romantically involved with people of any gender.
- First Love: Seyn and Ksar are each other’s first love.
- Homosexual Reproduction: Seyn’s two mothers have biological children related to both of them, thanks to Calluvian technology.
- Hunk: Ksar is tall, strong, and handsome in a masculine way.
- Idealized Sex: Despite their arguments and animosities, Seyn and Ksar always have amazing sex. They soon use telepathy to deepen their encounters, and literally have mind-blowing sex.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Ksar is usually a jerk, but deep down, he cares about those close to him, and tries to do the right thing.
- Marriage Before Romance: Romance is expected to come after marriage, since Calluvians are betrothed from birth.
- Non-Heteronormative Society: Calluvians are accepting of all sexual orientations.
- Perfectly Arranged Marriage: Seyn and Ksar were betrothed to each other for political reasons. But they develop sincere love for one another. So this is an arranged marriage that ends well.
- Planetary Romance: Calluvia is an alien planet that the author describes in detail, especially their technology, such as their transporters, holograms, artificial wombs, and other advanced tech. We learn about the in-depth mechanics of Calluvian telepathy, too.
- Pretty Boy: Seyn is considered a beauty, and he is a prince from the famously gorgeous Third Grand Clan. He also has long silver hair and fine facial features.
- Sex Equals Love: Ksar and Seyn become sexually involved, and later fall in love.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Ksar is classically handsome, tall, with dark hair and silver eyes.
- Telepathy: Calluvians are all telepaths, though they have different levels of telepathic power.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Ksar was a total douchebag to Seyn, belittling and mocking him, and treating him like a child. But Ksar grows to love Seyn and cherish him.
