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A review by lashette
A Venom Dark and Sweet by Judy I. Lin
3.5
Maybe partially because I read this over a year after the first one, but I did not enjoy it as much. The setting is broader, being the whole country now rather than just the palace and capital city. There's a lot of traveling. The magic system also broadens to be less concrete. There's more of a focus on the gods than tea. And whuoe it makes sense, it took some of the shine off for me because I was loving the herbal spiritual aspect.
Now there are two pots, Ning and Kang, which I appreciate since things are going on in multiple places. Plus we get an idea of where Kang's head is at. The mythology is cool but ultimately felt rushed. As sid the ending. We barely got a grasp of who the big bad is before they were vanquished. And then the ending is a bit open as far as the romance, and Ning's life going forward. I don't feel I got enough closure. Good but not as great as book 1 for me.
Now there are two pots, Ning and Kang, which I appreciate since things are going on in multiple places. Plus we get an idea of where Kang's head is at. The mythology is cool but ultimately felt rushed. As sid the ending. We barely got a grasp of who the big bad is before they were vanquished. And then the ending is a bit open as far as the romance, and Ning's life going forward. I don't feel I got enough closure. Good but not as great as book 1 for me.