Magic Steeped in Poison
By Judy I. Lin
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
This book was extremely entertaining and emotional. You're brought right into the action with little backstory, and the story is complex but woven with mastery. The writing style was phenomenal. The character development, pace and world building were spot-on. I usually gripe about writing being too descriptive, or feeling that fluff was added to increase page count, but I did not find that here. At times it was hard to keep up with some of the names of the characters. I loved the protagonist/heroine; she was strong, consistent, selfless, ambitious, and honest, and was able to remain true to herself during her battles of loyalty and conscience. And that cover?? *Swoon* I have a major case of cover love! I was teetering between 4 and 5 stars for most of the book but the ending solidified 4 stars for me. The story abruptly stops, I can't even consider it a cliffhanger; maybe it could have been with another chapter or 2, but this was the book's only major downfall. I'm excited to read the next book. It's hard to believe this is Lin's first book, she's definitely set a high bar for herself.
Thank you to Bookish First for offering this book in their raffle!
By Judy I. Lin
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
This book was extremely entertaining and emotional. You're brought right into the action with little backstory, and the story is complex but woven with mastery. The writing style was phenomenal. The character development, pace and world building were spot-on. I usually gripe about writing being too descriptive, or feeling that fluff was added to increase page count, but I did not find that here. At times it was hard to keep up with some of the names of the characters. I loved the protagonist/heroine; she was strong, consistent, selfless, ambitious, and honest, and was able to remain true to herself during her battles of loyalty and conscience. And that cover?? *Swoon* I have a major case of cover love! I was teetering between 4 and 5 stars for most of the book but the ending solidified 4 stars for me. The story abruptly stops, I can't even consider it a cliffhanger; maybe it could have been with another chapter or 2, but this was the book's only major downfall. I'm excited to read the next book. It's hard to believe this is Lin's first book, she's definitely set a high bar for herself.
Thank you to Bookish First for offering this book in their raffle!