Reviews

A Venom Dark and Sweet by Judy I. Lin

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readingtempeh's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

aftbooks's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5 ⭐️. This book took me SIX MONTHS to get through. The way this story was constructed felt disjointed and difficult to attach to. I LOVED book 1 and I realize that any criticism I have for the way the book was laid out actually mimicked the same format as the first book. The first book, however, used the slow weaving of little bits until the point where the story coalesced and completely ensnared the reader by building the magic, the world, the story and the relationships. The second book felt choppy and hard to relate to because while it built to a conclusion, we were missing the same interpersonal dynamics that made the first book such a feat. The magic develops but from a place outside of the character. The enemy is great but easily defeated and the story surrounding it is somewhat confusing. This didn’t completely feel like a conclusion story even though some loose ends were tied together hastily within the last few pages and was a bit unsatisfying.

masumasuda's review

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

mavemarie's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

Despite giving more screentime to what I disliked in the first book, it was done much better in this one. That said, the widening of the scope muddled quite a bit, and I found that I enjoyed the main plot much less. Many of the characters became transient to the narrative, and while I love the overarching plot and themes... I kind of wish the loss of structure happened less harshly. Not saying this should have been a trilogy but..... 🤔

hannahpines's review against another edition

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1.0

you could not pay me money to give a shit about these characters

stormrogue's review

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3.0

Pretty good! While the first book didn't stay in my memory well, enough of it stayed that I could follow along with this book easily enough. A Very interesting Duology, I liked it! Will probably try to find more stories like this in the future.