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1.72k reviews by:
purplepenning
Graphic: Vomit
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia
Moderate: Biphobia, Bullying, Cursing, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol
Minor: Child abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Cursing, Infidelity, Blood, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Alcohol, Classism
Moderate: Biphobia, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Outing, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Racism, War
Bitter Medicine is an intriguing blend of xianxia (Chinese immortals) fantasy adventure, Western spy thriller, and contemporary romance. Elle is a powerful semi-immortal descendent of the Chinese god of medicine, hiding as a mediocre magical calligrapher to protect her brother(s) lives. Luc is a lonely, tormented, half-elven French fixer who is compelled by Oberon, the head of the agency, to perform against his own conscience. Their paths cross in Elle's glyph shop, where client and artist each see that there's more to the other than meets the eye. When their lives start to tangle outside the workshop, things heat up. And we're not just talking about Elle's pyrokinetics or the masterfully steamy shower scene — we're talking past traumas and family and career priorities coming to an explosive head.
Although a bit of a slow starter, once it gets going the story moves along at a brisk pace with more than competent, sometimes elegant, writing. Where the writing doesn't quite translate for me is the dialogue. The banter is there but the humor is a little less sharp than I'm use to. In some cases it's so subtle I had to read it again to understand the implications; in others, it's stated so simply and obviously that I had to read it again to see if I was missing something. I'm fully prepared to chalk this up to a cultural unfamiliarity on my end, though. Just like the bits of French, Chinese, and Latin that I couldn't understand without the help of Google translate, there are family dynamics and other characterizations and plot points that I stumbled on a bit. It was still thoroughly enjoyable and the characters still shine through, making it a compelling (I read it in one day!) and satisfying (get that HEA!) read on many levels.
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Abandonment
Minor: Child abuse, Death of parent
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Minor: Body shaming, Death of parent
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Alcohol
Minor: Animal cruelty, Drug use, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Death of parent
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexism, Terminal illness, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Violence, Blood