Bitter Medicine
Mia Tsai
Tachyon Publications
2023
Ms. Hen decided to read this novel because she heard it mentioned on the best of list of last year on a podcast called SFF Yeah!, which is a sci-fi fantasy book review podcast. She had never read a romantasy novel before, and she had no idea what it would be like. Ms. Hen is a fan of fantasy, but not romance (at all!) so she was in for a big surprise.
Romantasy is a new genre of fiction which combines romance and fantasy. It's a romance novel, but possibly with fantastical elements to it.
This novel is about Elle, a descendent of Chinese medicine gods, who works in a shop that sells magic glyphs and spells. At the beginning of the novel, she has a crush on her customer, Luc, who is a half-elf, who she does not know is a spy. They flirt with each other, and fall in love.
He is sent on a mission to capture a man, Tony, who he does not know is Elle's brother that she is protecting. Elle and Luc spend time together, and get to know each other. Chaos ensues when Luc finds out Elle and Tony are brother and sister. The drama escalates into a life-or-death situation.
Ms. Hen does not read romance novels, and she found the romantic scenes extra graphic! She was blushing under her feathers when she read about Elle and Luc's romance. Ms. Hen is not a hen to become embarrassed about something she reads, but these scenes were so explicit she couldn't help it.
The intimate scenes were mixed with magic, so Ms. Hen could tolerate them better. It's better for Ms. Hen to think that these characters could never exist in real life, because they are magical creatures.
The person on the podcast described these characters as "cinnamon rolls," and Ms. Hen thinks that is a wonderful way to describe them. She has never heard that term in relation to characters in a novel, but she thinks they are: they are so sweet and good, that Ms. Hen knew there wouldn't be a tragic ending, and everything would work out in the end.
Ms. Hen thinks this is a wonderful novel, and she's happy she decided to delve into the world of romantasy. She thinks this genre isn't for everyone, and she might not read books like this all the time, but once in a while it can be adventurous to try something different.
