Source: library via Libby
Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Narration: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Venom Dark and Sweet by Judy I. Lin is second in a YA romantasy duology based on tea lore and Chinese mythology. Ning can channel magic through her tea and she must figure out how to use her magic and allies to save her country from a dark god.
I loved the characters, who managed to stay true to themselves while navigating the complexities of the court, a coup, and a counter-revolution. Their motivations, actions, and relationships all made sense. The main character, Ning, has so much love and compassion but isn’t a pushover. She has gumption and common sense. It was a pleasure following her on her adventures. The romance really took a back seat, which was fine with me.
I enjoyed the magic system. Whenever the four Chinese gods come up I can’t help thinking of the anime Fushigi Yuugi, which was my introduction to them, and getting a warm feeling of nostalgia. I also love tea, so it was fascinating to see how the power of the gods was combined with traditional Chinese herbal medicine to create magical teas.
I think the narrators were chosen primarily for their ability to speak Chinese because while they did so well, they were a bit monotone. I prefer this solution, however, to the way Chinese pronunciation was addressed in R. F. Kuang’s Babel. In Babel, the Chinese words were dubbed in by a second narrator who didn’t even sound close to the main reader. I much prefer somewhat monotone narrators who can pronounce Chinese properly themselves. Luckily the excellent writing and vibrant characters in A Venom Dark and Sweet are enough to make up for the deficiencies in narration.
I recommend the Book of Tea duology to anyone looking for a Chinese fantasy.
Honeycomb's Hive 