Review by hello_lovely13 - A Venom Dark and Sweet

hello_lovely13 's review for:

A Venom Dark and Sweet by Judy I. Lin

3.5

adventurous emotional 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: No

I enjoyed this much more than the previous book because I think it utilized the magic system much better. I also liked the shift into dual POVs because it is more interesting reading a story about a war where you get a perspective on both sides (even when both POV eventually want the same thing). Yes, a lot of the beloved characters from the first book

are dead because of the events that ended the previous book

, but I surprisingly didn't mind too much and was more invested in the plot of this one. I don't like that we didn't get to see too much of Ning's sister, since that was her entire motivation of the first book. I liked the romance (I only wish that

the ending wasn't as muddled about how their relationship would work moving forward

). The main antagonist of the book reminded me a lot of the woodcutter from the Celestial Kingdom duology. It is interesting having Ning be the main character of the series because with so much political aspects, and the structure of the character, you would expect Princess Zhen or Ruyi to be the main character, but Ning does a good job nonetheless. I wish that we got more of Ning's friend from the previous book; I missed her. Lady An (the one in the mountains) was super cool. The final battle occurred much later in the book than I was expecting, but it turned out okay, if maybe a bit rushed. I honestly think this book saved the series in terms of rereadability for me. There wasn't necessarily anything groundbreaking, but I had fun and enjoyed myself.

Content Warnings