Reviews

A Venom Dark And Sweet by Judy I. Lin

gracerennie's review

adventurous 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? No

3.0

aelis_'s review against another edition

adventurous

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War and Death

itsmeautievee's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I love how easy the books are to read and how well paced the story is. I had to turn my copy back into the library, but I was able to get a hold of the audiobook to finish reading it. I was blown away by the performances of the narrators, really loved that there were two different actors who read the separate POVs. 

As a ace/aro I enjoyed that the l book was centered around the adventure and not the romance. 

rickireadss's review against another edition

4.25

this was a solid sequel and ending to the duology!! the setting completely changed from book one, but i actually liked that aspect. i did feel like the ending was fast paced and quite abrupt, but i still had a good time and would recommend.

representation: Taiwanese MCs

content warnings:

death, violence, death of parent, war, blood, injury/injury detail, torture, grief, confinement, gore, body horror, murder, genocide, animal cruelty, kidnapping

cucombine's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

gmonnie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

3.5

lashette's review against another edition

3.5

Maybe partially because I read this over a year after the first one, but I did not enjoy it as much. The setting is broader, being the whole country now rather than just the palace and capital city. There's a lot of traveling. The magic system also broadens to be less concrete. There's more of a focus on the gods than tea. And whuoe it makes sense, it took some of the shine off for me because I was loving the herbal spiritual aspect. 

Now there are two pots, Ning and Kang, which I appreciate since things are going on in multiple places. Plus we get an idea of where Kang's head is at. The mythology is cool but ultimately felt rushed. As sid the ending. We barely got a grasp of who the big bad is before they were vanquished. And then the ending is a bit open as far as the romance, and Ning's life going forward. I don't feel I got enough closure. Good but not as great as book 1 for me.

lovelife1008's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.0

grandiose_r's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

birdflirt's review

adventurous lighthearted relaxing

4.25