Bitter Medicine by Mia Tsai
In this xianxia-inspired contemporary fantasy, a Chinese immortal and a French elf navigate romance, family loyalty, and workplace demands. In her debut novel, Mia Tsai has created a paranormal adventure that is full of humor, passion, and depth.
As a descendant of the Chinese god of medicine, ignored middle child Elle was destined to be a doctor. Instead, she is underemployed as a mediocre magical calligrapher at the fairy temp agency, paranoid that her murderous younger brother will find her and their elder brother.
Using her full abilities will expose Elle’s location. Nevertheless, she challenges herself by covertly outfitting Luc, her client and crush, with high-powered glyphs.
Half-elf Luc, the agency’s top security expert, has his own secret: he’s responsible for a curse laid on two children from an old assignment. To heal them, he’ll need to perform his job duties with unrelenting excellence and earn time off from his tyrannical boss.
When Elle saves Luc’s life on a mission, he brings her a gift and a request for stronger magic to ensure success on the next job—except the next job is hunting down Elle’s younger brother.
As Luc and Elle collaborate, their chemistry blooms. Happiness, for once, is an option for them both. But Elle is loyal to her family, and Luc is bound by his true name. To win freedom from duty, they must make unexpected sacrifices.
The last book that had me
staying up way past my bedtime because I couldn't put it down was
Bitter Medicine by Mia Tsai !❣️✨ I accidentally came across
this one on Goodreads the other day and I immediately picked this one up and
I'm so glad I did! This was such a wonderful and surprising(in more
ways than one!) debut urban fantasy+romance and it's probably one of
my favorite reads from this month!
Not only do we have a unique setting with a mix of Eastern and Western
fantasy(kinda like xianxia meets fae mythology), but also with
characters that shine even in their weakest moments! In Bitter
Medicine, we meet Elle, a talented descendant of the Chinese medicine
god with a gift for creating glyphs(like talismans?) that are
multipurpose and very powerful. But she's been lying low with
basically no social life because of *ahem* family issues - she and her
older brother Tony were almost killed by their younger bro and then
they faked their deaths - but there's more to it than that. A nice
change in her mundane life is when Luc - her half-elf client/crush
who's also the top Fixer at a supernatural agency - shows up at her
shop to buy something. And Luc would say that it's the highlight of
his day too(the mutual pining is too cute y'all☺️)
And when Luc's latest assignment has him hunting down Elle's younger
brother who is searching for her and Tony again, it puts them in each
other's paths directly and has them facing the things that they'd been
avoiding for a while.
As a middle child, Elle has been the peacemaker throughout her life
and though she loves her siblings she's had to make some tough choices
too. I loved the fact that all of the characters were flawed but
strong in their own ways. Tony might have been a bit selfish but it
was hard not to love him - he's so hilarious and sarcastic haha 😂 And
it was hard not to feel sorry for Luc - he's stuck at a soul sucking
job with a horrible boss who's been forcing him to do such terrible
stuff, it was a surprise he hadn't snapped! Elle and Luc have an
awkward but cute start as they dance around each other in that
will-they/wont-they stage, and as they slowly begin to open up and
trust each other, their relationship deepens and it was so lovely!
Also, extra points for no drama or miscommunication. They're very
honest with each other and even when Elle is at her lowest and lashes
out, Luc is so supportive and they work it out quickly. That was so
wholesome! You'll appreciate it if you've read/watched some dogblood
romance stories iykwim 😂😆
The action and plot go hand in hand with the romance - and it was nice
to meet different characters and see what shaped their decisions. I
feel like the part about her younger brother gets sidelined in the
second half as it's left up to her family but honestly that's the best
because I wouldn't want Elle to be put in a position to lose one of
her siblings either. The ending was really satisfying as it's the best
outcome for both Luc and Elle! I'd love it if there was another book
set in this world, so that we could see what happens in the future and
how everything plays out!
But, honestly this was a fantastic debut and a must-read if you're a
fantasy romance or xianxia fan like me!❣️✨
You can also find this review on my bookstagram here
Mia Tsai is a Taiwanese American author of speculative fiction. Her debut novel, a xianxia-inspired contemporary fantasy titled Bitter Medicine, was published by Tachyon Publications on March 14, 2023.
She lives in Atlanta with her family, and, when not writing, is a hype woman for her orchids and devoted cat gopher. Her favorite things include music of all kinds and taking long trips with nothing but the open road and a saucy rhythm section.
She has been quoted in Glamour and Washington Post's The Lily and, in her other lives, is a professional editor, photographer, and musician.
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