Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There is a good book in here somewhere. It’s just not the book we were given. Too many ideas, the main plot wraps up around the 60% mark, the most interesting bits aren’t given much time, the main characters are tedious and dull.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
At first this book felt really cozy with some action elements, and I still generally feel that way, but overall the world and characters felt kind of flat... and the plot was holey. And I think this comes down to the fact that Tsai wrote this story for herself (an important detail I would've missed if I hadn't glanced at the "Language" note after the epilogue. I think most of this novel's fault are all due to the fact that this story wasn't intended to be published, and didn't receive the level of rigorous editing that it required to make it fit for the masses. I personally story does not need the level of detail and polish that a published novel does and I find significantly less faults with it when I think of it from that POV.
There was a severe lack of worldbuilding, even for a cozy fantasy, and it made it hard to grasp what seems like an interesting universe. We aren't given much time to really get to know the characters, which makes it hard to form connections with them. I think character building takes another level of finesse in cozy fantasy because it's meant to be so much more casual and light. I don't share people's sentiment for Tony. He truly is selfish without any redeeming qualities, and I take serious issue with the entire premise of the story... so many people, especially Elle, have sacrificed so much for someone who truly does not deserve it. Tsai suggests that Tony cares about his sister, but it's just too hard to believe. Overall, he seems extremely narcissistic and I'm not sure why Elle felt so bound to giving up her entire life (metaphorically and literally). To me, that's just the epitome of Tony's manipulation. Tony being so utterly dislikeable ruined the story for me, since he's the main reason we have a story in the first place. The severity of his flaws just don't vibe with what I think of as cozy fantasy; he's irredeemable and never improves.
The plot also felt all over the place. There were too many layers and none of them were fleshed out. It felt like this book could've been a duology or trilogy, so that way plot points could've been spread out and thought out more.
It's always hard when a book blows up and is highly recommended (this was my local bookstore's book club pick a few months back and I was also seeing it a lot on social media) because it's that much easier to be disappointed when the stakes are high. I think this book should've either faced more rigorous editing or been advertised as something the author wrote for themselves (maybe as an ebook at first).
There was a severe lack of worldbuilding, even for a cozy fantasy, and it made it hard to grasp what seems like an interesting universe. We aren't given much time to really get to know the characters, which makes it hard to form connections with them. I think character building takes another level of finesse in cozy fantasy because it's meant to be so much more casual and light. I don't share people's sentiment for Tony. He truly is selfish without any redeeming qualities, and I take serious issue with the entire premise of the story... so many people, especially Elle, have sacrificed so much for someone who truly does not deserve it. Tsai suggests that Tony cares about his sister, but it's just too hard to believe. Overall, he seems extremely narcissistic and I'm not sure why Elle felt so bound to giving up her entire life (metaphorically and literally). To me, that's just the epitome of Tony's manipulation. Tony being so utterly dislikeable ruined the story for me, since he's the main reason we have a story in the first place. The severity of his flaws just don't vibe with what I think of as cozy fantasy; he's irredeemable and never improves.
The plot also felt all over the place. There were too many layers and none of them were fleshed out. It felt like this book could've been a duology or trilogy, so that way plot points could've been spread out and thought out more.
It's always hard when a book blows up and is highly recommended (this was my local bookstore's book club pick a few months back and I was also seeing it a lot on social media) because it's that much easier to be disappointed when the stakes are high. I think this book should've either faced more rigorous editing or been advertised as something the author wrote for themselves (maybe as an ebook at first).
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Let me just get this out of the way: this book is maybe too long? It's well-paced, but really long chapters and I feel like maybe it could have been shorter. But, I enjoyed this book so much. It's definitely urban fantasy first, romance second, but the romance between Elle and Luc was so precious, I was melting like the entire time. It's very slow burn, but the feelings between the two are obvious from the jump. There is a solid mystery and family conflicts as well as Luc's job causing issues. I was thoroughly entertained and can't wait to read more from Mia Tsai!
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
this review is not spoiler free
I enjoyed Bitter Medicine a lot. It had a very interesting concept, characters and world-building. It broke my heart learning about the pasts of the main characters and seeing what happened to them as the story progressed, and how things spun out of control. I think there was a lull about 2/3 of the way through where the pace slowed right down after the main event of the story had been “resolved”, which was jarring at first, but the last 100 pages were definitely needed and was very important for the character’s developments. There was also a lot of casual rep – including a bi main character, a gay main side character, a nonbinary side character, and a polycule - that was mentioned without making a big deal out of it and I really loved that.
I liked the main character, Elle, a lot. She had sacrificed so much to keep her brother safe and she didn’t allow herself to have anything she wanted in fear that it would endanger him. It’s sad that her allowing herself to get close to Luc and confiding in him is exactly what did end up endangering her brother, and it was so sad when they essentially swapped places after she gave up her magic to save Tony and he became an immortal again as she became mortal herself. It was hard to read about her struggling to come to terms with being magicless, pushing people away and wishing that she had just died, but it was nice to see her find her peace again and let people get close.
I don’t think I had a specific favourite character in this book, but I did like the other main character, Luc, also. His past was absolutely heartbreaking and it was awful seeing the difference between him around Elle, where he was allowed to be himself and softer, and him at work, where he had to shut his emotions off to protect himself. It was awful the way that his coworkers treat him based off what they thought they knew about him, but I’m glad that they resolved it in the end, and that they all apologised to him after learning that he was being forced to do things by the boss. I like to believe that they all became close friends in the end, as Luc definitely deserved some friends and some people in his corner. It was also heartbreaking the extreme lengths he had to go to, and the way he had to risk his life, to be able to actually quit his job and his boss no longer have any power over him. I hope him and Elle are living happily as mortals somewhere.
I really liked the majority of the characters and I felt like even the more minor characters still felt well-rounded and weren’t two dimensional. I feel like the antagonist of the story was definitely Luc’s boss, he was cruel and his actions were absolutely despicable, especially the way he would constantly invoke the right if Luc said no and force him to do things he didn’t want to do regardless. It was heartbreaking to think that Luc had been trapped in that situation for 250 years, without a single person in his corner, and only the sphinx knowing the truth of what he’d done for the children and why he was forced to do whatever he was asked. I absolutely despised his boss and, though I don’t remember anything negative happening to him in the story itself, I truly hope that karma fucks him over in the end.
The world-building was so interesting to me. I really liked learning about the way that Elle used her magic and the ink sigils that she created for the agents. It was also interesting to learn about their (I cant remember the specific word used) but life tethers essentially. Especially when not only one, but three characters had been/got severed from theirs.
The plot was very interesting and had me hooked. I liked the gradual trust that developed between Elle and Luc as they both allowed themselves to have something that they wanted. It was nice to see them slowly open up about things and trust the other – even if Luc had a big giant thing stopping him from being able to confide specific truths. I also liked that even when Tony recognised Luc and tried to expose what he thought Luc had done, Elle still trusted him and found out what had truly happened.
Overall, it was an interesting book and I will definitely read something else by this author again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Death, Transphobia, Medical content
Minor: Child death
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
TL;DR: Lacking a real grip on my attention and much more focused on the romance than the central plot. But I did like it!
I may have gone into this with the wrong expectations but this was far more Romance, and Open Door Romance at that, than I thought it was going to be! The focus of Bitter Medicine is around Luc and Elle, who meet at work. Elle is an incredibly talented magic user making low level glyphs and potions for agents while Luc is the right hand of the leader of their company. He uses her glyphs and goods, and she works a shop front. They've developed a friendship that gradually turns into more while the world catches up to them.
From the start the story is intriguing, though I wouldn't label it as gripping. I loved the setting (think a Men in Black style world and organization except it's more Fae creatures and the like than aliens) and I liked Elle and Luc. Elle is burdened with guilt trying to make up for something in her past and hiding in plain sight to do so. Luc is very sweet, and very kind but very much at the mercy of a real piece of work boss.
The struggles they faced never felt too insurmountable and the two always communicated fairly well, especially when I gauge this more on a Romance scale than a Fantasy one (which is where this should lay in my opinion). Unfortunately because of this the story didn't have the staying power or the unputdownable aspect I'd look for. I was 90% into this and almost forgot I was reading it, though I was interested in what happened, I just... forgot?
Overall I did enjoy this! It was just a quiet and unassuming type of story. The use of languages does stand out as something I loved, and the multicultural aspect. I just wish it had gone full cozy or more intense to keep your interest.
3 Flying Glyphs out of 5
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated