Reviews tagging 'Murder'

A Magic Steeped In Poison by Judy I. Lin

53 reviews

magnan1mouse's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism and Grief

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Bullying, and Medical content

Minor: Torture, Self harm, and War

jazjoyner91's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Vomit, Death, Murder, and Death of parent

ajozna's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture, Death of parent, Vomit, Murder, Grief, Death, Blood, Violence, Alcohol, and Medical content

Minor: War and Injury/Injury detail

mpbookreviews's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Grief, Violence, Torture, Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

bearbookshelf's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

Wow! A fast-paced, intriguing fantasy that I couldn't put down! I really enjoyed the way Lin threw the reader straight into the action and let the world build in harmony with it instead of just parallel to it. What an intricate magic-system, thought out political landscape, and cultural clarity. The characters presented themselves only in as much as the narrator/main character Ning could understand them, and this maintained the tension and suspense across the narrative as Ning's perspective melded with our own and our understanding of the text was guided by Ning's own emotional landscape.
It is infrequent that I find Young Adult Fantasy so spell-binding. I tend to get bored by the break-neck speed of the plot and crave more character insight. Lin, however, struck the perfect balance for a reader like myself. If you like a fantasy read with delicate and detailed magic systems, mystery, political intrigue, emotional depth, and class-based commentary, this is a read for you.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Vomit, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Violence, and Sexual violence

allisonbrooke's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Cursing, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Torture, Violence, Death, and Grief

xiggy's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Murder, Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Death, Death of parent, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

ruthhelizabeth's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

The magic system of this book was sensational. I also loved the world building and the characterisation of the protagonist. However, the story felt like it had been plotted out in scenes, and then each written separately. I didn't feel like they flowed. On top of this, I loved many of the side characters, but they ceased to exist 95% of the time when the main character didn't exist. It wasn't even that the story needed to specifically describe what they were up to, but the fact that a group of powerful people in the world whose ongoing actions should have strongly impacted our main character made them feel hollow and wasted. Nevertheless, the world building, characters and magic system will still make me want to read the next book in the series. I just hope that the story is not so severely focused directly on the actions of the protagonist next time round.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Torture

guessgreenleaf's review against another edition

adventurous emotional slow-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder and Injury/Injury detail

beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

I'm just not invested in either the plot or the characters, so I don't think there's any point in continuing this.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Blood