This review is spoiler-free!
A Venom Dark and Sweet by Judy I. Lin
Series: Book of Tea #2
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Mythology
Release Date: August 23, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 352 pages
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Find it here: Goodreads
You can find my review of book one here!
Don’t you just hate it when you don’t like the second book in a duology as much as the first? The first book, A Magic Steeped in Poison, was so good. I love the characters, I loved the competition, and, most of all, I loved the magic system. I think the fact some of these were lessened and others nonexistent (I mean, you can’t have a competition twice, so that was understandable) was what kept this second book from living up to the first.
Don’t get me wrong, I still really enjoyed it! It just didn’t hit the same. Maybe it was because there were dual POVs and Kang just wasn’t nearly as interesting to me as Ning was. Maybe it was because there was a lot of travel and not much excitement until near the end. Maybe it’s just because I am a thot for competitions and awesome magic, and the second book can’t be the first like that, because it just wouldn’t make sense.
(It’s that one. It’s definitely that one.)
I did really like the mystery, though. You know, the one we’re teased with in the first book? It came to quite a head in this book. I’m glad it was all able to be wrapped up fairly neatly by the end, too, otherwise I probably would have tossed out (read: donated) this second book and just lived happily with the first.
… Okay, I would have kept it for the cover alone. But that’s beside the point.
I want to read more for Lin, and have high expectations for whatever I dive into next!
Thanks for reading!
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