Reviews tagging 'Blood'

A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin

48 reviews

solarel's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

I enjoyed the world, though the first half of it felt very similar to other books I’ve read. 

The ending was a cliffhanger but didn’t manage to give any sense of finishing to the story arc? That’s just my thoughts. 

Overall I think this was pretty middle of the road. It was a fun read, enjoyable and mysterious. But there were parts I found fell short of what they could have been. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Torture, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

daley_mckdonald's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

jes_reads00's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Vomit, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Blood

vixenreader's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad 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

3.75

Despite some plot thread being left unresolved, and some overstuffing, this debut is impressive in its concept, sensitive protagonist, and strong female relationships. The tea has been spilled. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Drug use, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Terminal illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Colonisation

Minor: Cursing, Excrement, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Alcohol

There is a heavy amount of poisoning and a conspiracy theory driving the plot.

nxpe's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

This book was not at all what I was expecting. I went into this thinking it would be a relatively simple fantasy about tea magic, but it ended up being hella political. And that doesn't make it bad, but it's not by any means, I just wasn't expecting it.

I enjoyed the tea magic a lot more that I thought I would, and it was described in a very lovely way. Definitely craved tea more than I have in a hot minute. 

This was also my first Asian-inspired fantasy, which was pretty interesting! I was nervous about it going into it, but I was really fun! Definitely will be picking up the sequel.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Animal cruelty, Torture, and Vomit

danajoy's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Blood

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

emeraldeunoia's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Death of parent

Moderate: Blood and Alcohol

Minor: Torture and War

duarshe's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious sad 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

4.75

This was delightful to read. I found really enjoyable the world, the magic system and the entire book itself. It wasn't slow or boring and every chapter kept me on the edge and waiting for more.

Also, the story really gave me the vibe of Akatsuki no Yona meets The Cruel Prince, but Yona is a side character and Hak is a woman.

The only thing that keeps me from giving this a 5-star rating is that some descriptions were a bit repetitive for my like and I kept skimming over them.

Overall,  4.75⭐

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder

ra22ouille's review against another edition

adventurous emotional fast-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

3.0

This was an enjoyable and breezy read. The world and magic was super interesting and definitely the main attraction of the book. I'm a big fan of fantasy politics and while I appreciated the political intrigue I also felt that Ning was at times written to be smarter or duller in regards to the politics in order to further the plot. I did really like her character though, she has a really solid motivation and sense of self that is very sympathetic and admirable. The theme of relationships and connection is present throughout everything in the story, is very strong and well presented. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, and Blood

melis_salome's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Blood, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Self harm, Torture, Vomit, and War