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allisonbrooke's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
yaoipaddle's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I did not like this as much as the first book. Sorry! Minor spoilers in review, major ones hidden.
It had a very similar problem to the first book where the beginning and middle drag on and the end is SUPER fast paced and action packed.
For characters, I found Ning to be less likeable than in the first book. Maybe because she feels very repetitive and single minded in everything she does here. She also has a lot of rage that comes quite suddenly and remains for a lot of the book. I just didn't like her as much because of it. The very frequent moments where she was pining after Kang also annoyed me.I also found this concept of her wanting to give in to the serpent's demands for power just shoehorned in for "tension"
What I did like was the magic and the growth of her powers. I think Lin did a wonderful job creating the magic system in the first book and it does not disappoint in the second either. I think the ways in which it was expanded were nice.
Shu was a lot more likeable than I thoughtBut she is basically thrown off and not mentioned in the last parts of the book. Very lame! and Zhen and Ruyi were great too. I wish there was more of them.
I liked the chapters from Kang's point of view especially by the middle. They kept me reading despite the lull in Ning's storyline. The mystery in them was quite interesting even though some of the parts felt like they were forgotten by the end of the story. :/
Overall I felt let down by the book because the pacing was always either too slow or too rushed. It made the story a drag to read through and I forced myself to push through the middle.
It had a very similar problem to the first book where the beginning and middle drag on and the end is SUPER fast paced and action packed.
For characters, I found Ning to be less likeable than in the first book. Maybe because she feels very repetitive and single minded in everything she does here. She also has a lot of rage that comes quite suddenly and remains for a lot of the book. I just didn't like her as much because of it. The very frequent moments where she was pining after Kang also annoyed me.
What I did like was the magic and the growth of her powers. I think Lin did a wonderful job creating the magic system in the first book and it does not disappoint in the second either. I think the ways in which it was expanded were nice.
Shu was a lot more likeable than I thought
I liked the chapters from Kang's point of view especially by the middle. They kept me reading despite the lull in Ning's storyline. The mystery in them was quite interesting even though some of the parts felt like they were forgotten by the end of the story. :/
Overall I felt let down by the book because the pacing was always either too slow or too rushed. It made the story a drag to read through and I forced myself to push through the middle.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
whewtaewoon's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Child death and Death of parent
ampam's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Blood and Fire/Fire injury
rtaire'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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Blood, Murder, and War
Minor: Animal death and Torture
queergoth_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
4.0
I received this eARC from NetGalley but all thoughts are my own.
This picks up straight after the events of A Magic Steeped in Poison. I don't want to spoil that for anyone that hasn't read it so I'll keep it vague. We follow Ning as she journeys across the kingdom, not knowing who to trust or where she belongs, but determined to save it.
The second book had a different feel to the first one for me. It was darker and while it still focuses heavily on magic, it wasn't quite in the same way as the first. I guess the strong focus on Ning developing her magic in the first book was to introduce the magic system but I just the ceremonies and problem solving of the first one. This one focuses more on the threats to the kingdom and the journey taken to save it and I would have liked a blend of the two a little more.
I still really enjoyed this though. The magic and mythology are so wonderfully weaved into this story and the author does an amazing job of making you care about every character, even if they have a relatively small part. And as always, I love a good description of food in books and this book gives me that and more.
This picks up straight after the events of A Magic Steeped in Poison. I don't want to spoil that for anyone that hasn't read it so I'll keep it vague. We follow Ning as she journeys across the kingdom, not knowing who to trust or where she belongs, but determined to save it.
The second book had a different feel to the first one for me. It was darker and while it still focuses heavily on magic, it wasn't quite in the same way as the first. I guess the strong focus on Ning developing her magic in the first book was to introduce the magic system but I just the ceremonies and problem solving of the first one. This one focuses more on the threats to the kingdom and the journey taken to save it and I would have liked a blend of the two a little more.
I still really enjoyed this though. The magic and mythology are so wonderfully weaved into this story and the author does an amazing job of making you care about every character, even if they have a relatively small part. And as always, I love a good description of food in books and this book gives me that and more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcohol
heatherjchin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Gore, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Minor: Blood
risten's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
booksthatburn's review against another edition
This picks up with no overlap from the end of the first book. The shift from a first-person perspective only in the first one to a combination of two narrators (one in first person and one in third person) makes the events at the palace feel disconnected. The first book ended in a cliffhanger where it was uncertain whether Ning would live or die, but then when this book begins she's just fine, with very little fanfare. I also remembered very little of the plot from the first book, partly because only a few important things actually happened. The story so far feels like it has very little to do with A MAGIC STEEPED IN POISON, and it's not one I'm interested in.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Animal death, Mental illness, Self harm, Medical content, Dementia, Death of parent, and Murder
schnaucl's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I thought it was okay. There was less focus on food this time around.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Torture, Violence, and Death of parent