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bookishmillennial 's review for:
Bitter Medicine
by Mia Tsai
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
First of all, I loved the dedication of this book: "To me, because I could." YESSSSS YOU CAN QUEEN! I love a moment of self-love to set the tone for a new adult paranormal romantasy!
The world building was a bit clunky, which I found disappointing. I am still a bit confused on what this world really looks like, but my best guess was adjacent to Shadowhunters???? Like modern but chaotic and paranormal with a bit of mythology infused into it? It was still a lot of fun, but I just struggled to fully (1) get into / invested in the world (2) understand it because the whimsy of everything was hard to follow.
Some parts of the dialogue were too stretched out and affected the pacing; I was frustrated reading the conversations between Elle and Tony especially, as it felt repetitive and immature for paranormal beings that are supposed to be over 100 years old. I know this seems like a silly piece of criticism but it just makes me feel a little defeated that if humans were given the chance to live longer/immortal lives, that they'd still act so flippant at 100 years old. Their banter felt more like bickering, and while I understand siblings certainly have turbulent relationships, this felt both tame/PG and so petty at the same time?
The best part of this was the romance and I would argue that if we had to pick one genre, this would be a romance. Elle and Luc go from client/business owner to friends to lovers pretty quickly but I didn't mind it. There are a few steamy scenes, which I appreciated because that reminded me this was new adult and not young adult or teen fiction (even though the rest of the book felt like that). Minor complaint: people call Luc multiple names and it confused my dumb brain hahahaha he is referred to as Lukey, Lucien and Luc. I had to remind myself these were the same person. I know, I am ridiculous but when barely anyone else has nicknames, it took me out sometimes.
Anyway, I think this was overall a fun ride despite its flaws and I would continue to read from Mia Tsai in the future!
The world building was a bit clunky, which I found disappointing. I am still a bit confused on what this world really looks like, but my best guess was adjacent to Shadowhunters???? Like modern but chaotic and paranormal with a bit of mythology infused into it? It was still a lot of fun, but I just struggled to fully (1) get into / invested in the world (2) understand it because the whimsy of everything was hard to follow.
Some parts of the dialogue were too stretched out and affected the pacing; I was frustrated reading the conversations between Elle and Tony especially, as it felt repetitive and immature for paranormal beings that are supposed to be over 100 years old. I know this seems like a silly piece of criticism but it just makes me feel a little defeated that if humans were given the chance to live longer/immortal lives, that they'd still act so flippant at 100 years old. Their banter felt more like bickering, and while I understand siblings certainly have turbulent relationships, this felt both tame/PG and so petty at the same time?
The best part of this was the romance and I would argue that if we had to pick one genre, this would be a romance. Elle and Luc go from client/business owner to friends to lovers pretty quickly but I didn't mind it. There are a few steamy scenes, which I appreciated because that reminded me this was new adult and not young adult or teen fiction (even though the rest of the book felt like that). Minor complaint: people call Luc multiple names and it confused my dumb brain hahahaha he is referred to as Lukey, Lucien and Luc. I had to remind myself these were the same person. I know, I am ridiculous but when barely anyone else has nicknames, it took me out sometimes.
Anyway, I think this was overall a fun ride despite its flaws and I would continue to read from Mia Tsai in the future!