A review by aftbooks
A Venom Dark and Sweet by Judy I. Lin

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.