Reviews tagging 'Gore'

A Venom Dark and Sweet by Judy I. Lin

13 reviews

robinlovesrain's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A dark story that still manages to be a cozy read! I love the characters and wow the descriptions of the food continue to be mouthwatering. Definitely recommend this series!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Death of parent, and War

Moderate: Body horror, Grief, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Child death, Gore, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Classism

madamenovelist's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcohol

miraileah's review

adventurous hopeful reflective fast-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

4.25

4.25. I liked this more than book 1! Pacing was better, characterization was stronger, and it was obviously satisfying to read the conclusion to Ning’s story. I love a duopoly where book 1 is very structured and book 2 is kind of hog wild and unexpected!!

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore and Violence

Minor: War

kaneebli's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Death of parent

Moderate: Body horror and Gore

amschelly153's review

adventurous hopeful inspiring 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? No

4.25

Really lovely and beautiful series. A fun YA read!

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gore, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

thepastelnerd's review

adventurous dark 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? Complicated

4.25

Finally read the second volume of this amazing duology! I don't know why it took me so dang long to read this one; maybe I was worried it wouldn't live up to its predecessor. But it did for the most part! My only complaint is that this second volume is significantly darker than the first, but that honestly was not surprising considering how A Magic Steeped in Poison ended. 

The quality of writing remained the same, though. Lin's colorful scenes are full of wonderful imagery and captivating detail. I enjoyed the character development too, although I felt it took a backseat a tiny bit to the action scenes. There were enough twists and turns and magical moments to keep me invested in the story, and I felt the conclusion was rather satisfying. I would love to read more books set in this universe if Lin decides to write them, but if not, I look forward to picking up anything else she writes.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, and Blood

Minor: Alcoholism and Alcohol

kemikemi's review

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

the first half of the book was quite slow, but it really picked up in the second half. the mythology of this world was so interesting and the author described the magical elements and events so beautifully and vividly; the plot elements amd resolution were also very clever and well done. it was a little brutal, but it added to the ‘creation of a new myth’ that was happening.

and even though i knew it was going to happen the loss of brother huang still hurt so much

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Physical abuse

Moderate: Gore

Minor: Alcohol

allisonbrooke's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

pikitat's review

adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

3.0

It was alright. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the first book and the conclusion of the story felt a little rushed and anticlimactic to me. It wasn't a very satisfying end to the story. Although,

I thought the part where Lady An pulled the centipede from Ning's arm was an amazing reveal. I enjoyed the Bamboo Forest, too.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gore, Violence, and Grief

heatherjchin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Complicated
• Loveable characters? Complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Gore, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Minor: Blood