A Venom Dark and Sweet by Judy I. Lin ARC Review!

 

Title: A Venom Dark and Sweet (The Book of Tea #2)
Author: Judy I. Lin
Publish Date: August 23rd, 2022
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Source: Huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy!

A great evil has come to the kingdom of Dàxi. The Banished Prince has returned to seize power, his rise to the dragon throne aided by the mass poisonings that have kept the people bound in fear and distrust.

Ning, a young but powerful shénnóng-shi—a wielder of magic using the ancient and delicate art of tea-making—has escorted Princess Zhen into exile. Joining them is the princess' loyal bodyguard, Ruyi, and Ning's newly healed sister, Shu. Together the four young women travel throughout the kingdom in search of allies to help oust the invaders and take back Zhen's rightful throne.

But the golden serpent still haunts Ning's nightmares with visions of war and bloodshed. An evil far more ancient than the petty conflicts of men has awoken, and all the magic in the land may not be enough to stop it from consuming the world...

Penelope's Review

This is the exciting conclusion to the Book of Tea duology by Judy Lin - what beautiful covers am I right? The last book left off with Ning, Ruyi, and Princess Zhen on the run, along with Ning's sister Shu. This book is a little different in that we get two POV's - Ning and Kang! As with the first book, we get a beautiful mixture of Chinese mythology with amazing world-building and solid character development.

Ning is yet again a fierce, kick-ass female lead. She will stop at nothing to ensure her sister's safety as well as the safety of her newfound friends. Her compassion, loyalty, and strength really shine through in this book. It was also such a treat to get Kang's side of the story in such detail this time around. We finally get to delve deep into his mind, and see his motivations and whether or not he is deserving of redemption. 

The writing style here is yet again brilliant! I love this author's ability to weave such an intricate story into the pages. The end was good, but could have perhaps been just a tad longer. Not to say it didn't end well, just a bit quick is all! Regardless, I look forward to seeing what else Judy Lin comes out with!

Rating: 4/5 Devils!