Reviews tagging 'Death'

A Venom Dark and Sweet by Judy I. Lin

51 reviews

xvicesx's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective tense 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? Yes

3.0

It was okay. Ultimately, I suppose this is a decent book, but it's a very different book than the first one in the duology and, in my opinion, a much weaker book. 

Ning and Kang ended up being the main voices of this installment, but where we hadn't heard Kang before, it felt stilted to have the moments of action interrupted by ultimately forgettable moments in the palace. Ning herself was far more passive and less creative in this installment, compared to her ingenuity for the trials of the palace before. I can't help feeling that the first book should just have been a standalone and left at that. 

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claudiashelf's review against another edition

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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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amschelly153's review against another edition

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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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oakairi's review against another edition

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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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vixenreader's review against another edition

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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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ms_sarah621's review against another edition

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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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kaylynnlock's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious 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? Yes

4.0


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nillech's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated

2.25

Sluggish. An underwhelming conclusion to what should have been a fascinating experience.

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rhogosch's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Der gelungene Abschluss der Tee-Magie Dilogie.

Bei diesem Satz könnte ich es eigentlich belassen, aber…
Alle Handlungsstränge die im ersten Teil aufgeworfen wurden werden nun zu einem durchdachten Ende gebracht. Und es gilt auch weiterhin was ich bereits beim ersten Teil gelobt habe. Die Welt ist wunderschön und ich habe es sehr genossen nun andere Winkel von Daxi zu erkunden. Auch war es ein weiteres Mal sehr erfrischend, dass dieses Buch ohne große Kämpfe auskommt und wenn dann diese nur eine Nebensächlichkeit sind. 

Aber im Laufe der Geschichte hatte ich mehr und mehr das Gefühl, dass die einzelnen Plotpoints nur noch abgearbeitet wurden. Stand im ersten Band noch die sich ständig wechselnden Beziehungen der Charaktere im Vordergrund habe ich kaum noch was von dieser Magie gespürt. Siehe ggf. Spoiler.

An zu vielen Stellen hatte ich einfach das Gefühl hier wird auf Zwang was fürs große Finale vorbereitet. War das Magiesystem im ersten Teil noch faszinierend und hatte immer einen mystischen Aspekt war es jetzt allenfalls noch pragmatisch.

Ich will dieses Buch mit diesem Rant auch absolut nicht schlecht reden, es ist und bleibt trotzdem eine super Geschichte, aber es ärgert mich da ich nach dem ersten Teil noch so unfassbar viel Potenzial gesehen habe. Vielleicht hätte ein dritter Teil der Serie gut getan. Um einfach gewissen Handlungen mehr Raum zu geben. Ich hätte auch gerne mehr von Shu gesehen, hätte gerne die Beziehung von Zhen und Ruyi erforscht und eine echte Charakterentwicklung bei Kang gesehen.

das Misstrauen was immer noch zwischen Zhen und Ning herrschte wurde nie bewältigt, sondern in einem Satz am Ende weggewischt. Das Ning ihre Magie jetzt auch mit Essen wirken kann war einmal kurz praktisch und wurde dann nie wieder aufgegriffen. Was ist mit Shu und ihr Wunsch wieder Magie zu wirken, auf einmal hat sie ne magische Feder aus dem Nichts und das war’s. Das ganze Buch arbeitet literally auf den Besuchs Nings bei der Eremitin hin und dann wird auch das in einem Kapitel abgearbeitet. Kang macht so gut wie gar keine Charakterentwicklung mehr durch und seine Kapitel sind völlig überflüssig. Der Leser ahnt doch bereits das der Kanzler die Schlange ist und muss nicht das halbe Buch lang mitverfolgen wie Kang in Selbstmitleid badet um dann mehr zufällig als erarbeitet den „großen Plottwist“ mit dem Kanzler zu erleben. Auch der Konflikt zwischen seiner Liebe zu Ning und der Treue zu seinem Vater wird nie zu Ende gespielt sondern einfach durch den fast beiläufigen Tod des Vaters unnötig gemacht. Ganze Charaktere wie Lian, Nings Vater oder der Sternendeuter werden zum Schluss nicht mal mehr erwähnt< /spoiler> 


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duarshe's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

3.5

Sinceramente, esta segunda parte decae con respecto a la primera. La primera mitad del libro se me hizo eterna y un poco aburrida, no fue hasta que Ning y Kang se reencontraron que me volví a enganchar a la trama (alrededor de la página 200).
Pero... NI UN MÍSERO BESO. YO, ASÍ, NO PUEDO.

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