Reviews - Um Veneno Doce e Sombrio

2.51k reviews for:

Um Veneno Doce e Sombrio

Judy I. Lin

3.6 AVERAGE

thaliareads's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

redheadreading's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous slow-paced

Judy I Lin has crafted such a gorgeous world and I love all the little details, pointing out how embroidery style differs between regions, mouthwatering descriptions of food, beautiful details about the scenery and, of course, the fabulous magic system of the shennong shi and their tea brewing powers (although it's much less present in this than the first).
I didn't enjoy this as much as the first book, alas. I missed the court politics and intrigues, whereas this was more of a quest narrative for Ning. I think I've read a few books lately which begin rooted in court politics and end up becoming quite fantastical with demons and questing to find magical items and personally I always find myself missing the original plotline. It was interesting getting Kang's perspective in this, I guess, particularly as it's narrated in a slightly different way to Ning's, but he does spend quite a lot of time in the dark so isn't particularly thrilling! On the whole, I think Judy I Lin has some real strengths in her writing, some gorgeous descriptions and interesting ideas, but I feel quite disappointed overall with how this duopoly has concluded.

elizaabenson's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

thebitsnbooks's review against another edition

4.0

4,5⭐
J'ai enchaîné direct avec le tome 2 qui était un peu lent au début mais une fois que ça a commencé, je n'ai pas pu m'arrêter

loreofmars's review against another edition

4.0

While I enjoy the first book more, I still enjoyed my time with it. I thought Kang’s chapters at first were a bit of a drag; we weren’t getting any new information or the same points were reiterated in Ning’s chapters. However, there is a definitive turning point and by that point I warmed up to the book and the new third person POV. The ending felt a tad rushed but I love that we got to see Ning and Shu interact and learn more about the world. I look forward to the author’s other projects!