Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

A Venom Dark and Sweet by Judy I. Lin

34 reviews

hello_lovely13's review against another edition

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Minor: Torture and Grief

madamenovelist's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcohol

serendipity421's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Alcohol

kaneebli's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Death of parent

Moderate: Body horror and Gore

kirstenf's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Violence, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Grief, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

claudiashelf's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

3.75

❝... The world began with a dream. Our lives are the same. Keep dreaming, my daughters. The world is greater than you know. ❞

Upon reading the two books in the series, I must admit that I enjoyed the first book more than the second. The stunning cover art initially drew me in, and I was intrigued by the plot and characters from the get-go. 

However, as I delved into the sequel, I found myself disappointed. Although it had the potential to be just as captivating as its predecessor, it seemed rushed and lacked the depth that made me fall in love with the first book. 

The character development in the second book was somewhat lacklustre - I found Ning's behaviour to be inconsistent at times. Further, I was disappointed in Kang's chapters, as they didn't seem to sum up much of into story. 

As for the romance, I wasn't particularly fond of the instant love that was present in both books. It just didn't resonate with me and left me feeling unsatisfied. Overall, I'd say that the series was decent, but the first book was definitely the highlight for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Death of parent

amschelly153's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Really lovely and beautiful series. A fun YA read!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gore, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

oakairi's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Blood, Murder, and War

Minor: Torture and Alcohol

vixenreader's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

The last third of the book saved it from transforming into another typical YA troupe, especially with its use of folklore. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Genocide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Classism

Minor: Cursing

Be aware that there are graphic moments of possession, trading human lives for power, chronic pain, broken limbs, and parasites being removed from body parts.

ms_sarah621's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

3.5 - I’m really having trouble rating this one. This seems to be a pretty great conclusion to the duology. The series as a whole doesn’t focus on the tea magic how I thought it would. I feel that I learned more in this book, but this magic could have become so intricate at times. Anyways, I did not expect the horror and unsettling imagery in this book. The Shift, the Shadow Realm, and the reality were all horrifying at times. Please don’t talk to me about the fish with human teeth… I found this imagery exciting to read and horrifying for what was happening to these characters. It really intrigued me as I was reading. The ending felt a little rushed. I kept looking down at the page numbers wondering when they were going to do something before the end, and it came very quick. It could have been some action packed, well described chapters that leaned into that horror element. However, it wrapped up fairly quick. Overall, I think this series is worth checking out. I really enjoyed the writing and the imagery, which kept me wanting to know what would happen. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury