Sometimes it takes me a minute to really sink into a fantasy romance, but Bitter Medicine pulled me in pretty quickly. I was immediately invested in Elle, well before I actually understood what was going on. This book is deeply intrenched in Chinese (xianxia?) mythology/folklore, which was really neat and also brand new for me. This is an Urban fantasy setting with magic based in part on embedding magic in calligraphy and it has a suspense plot because Elle's hiding from someone and Luc, her love interest, is a spy type person. Or a fixer. I mean, whatever you want to call him. The world-building unfolds pretty naturally so I don't want to say much more.

This book is an adult fantasy romance, though I'll be honest that I sort of felt like I was reading a YA fantasy that just happened to have explicit sex scenes sometimes. Of course, it reading like a YA fantasy is probably why I enjoyed it as much as I did because I struggle with adult fantasy because my brain is just really not built for that these days. I enjoyed the world Tsai created quite a bit though and would definitely not mind continuing in this world by following different characters in follow up novels. While the world-building was engaging and relatively easy to fall into, what I really appreciated was the character development and the intricacies of how the character development fit in with the overall plot. For example, with Elle's development, there was a lot of exploring her familial dynamic and decision making that maybe deviates from the standard or acceptable. Then with Luc, there was a lot about balancing work and life and... Well, I don't want to say more really because of spoiler possibilities, but just know I really loved how everything came together.

The only thing that keeps me from giving it five stars is that for once, I think this book needed to be a little bit longer. The pacing was so quick, which was great for my attention, but it also meant that there were scenes that felt like we were really just jumping from one thing to another without time to process. I think if you read this book slowly, the pacing might wind up feeling perfect for you, but I binged it and so I really felt the lack of lingering over parts that felt like we should sit in them for a bit. But I'm definitely looking forward to reading more from Tsai in the future!

Bitter Medicine by Mia Tsai is contemporary fantasy romance featuring a Chinese near-immortal, Elle, and a half-fae Frenchman, Luc, who both work for a mysterious and powerful supernatural agency. It’s got many Xianxia (Chinese “immortal heroes” fantasy) vibes. After traumatic events with her family, for which Elle feels responsible, she’s in hiding, which means concealing the true extent of her power as a descendant of a god of medicine. Luc is concealing the reasons he continues to work for the domineering head of their agency as a fixer and sometimes assassin. Of course, Elle and Luc fall in love, but their conflicting responsibilities and the true selves they hide from each other add a lot of excellent tension, resulting in difficult but ultimately satisfying decisions. There’s a lot of fun banter and some side characters I’d love to see again. Warning for some instances of magical coercion.

I really wanted to love this book because I love Asian fantasy. However, I could not get into this story. The story was very drawn out and could have been much shorter. The world-building was also confusing. Overall, it had great potential, but it fell flat. Still, I recommend this for those that love Asian settings.

Bitter Medicine is a debut urban fantasy novel by Mia Tsai involving a descendant of Shennong and a half-French half-elf. Truly a fusion of eastern and western fantasy, I wholeheartedly enjoyed having sphinxes, redcaps and xianxia related elements all mixed together. Both the characters of Elle and Luc were endearing to me as well; they both take their responsibilities extremely seriously, can be rather hard on themselves (to the point of mental self-flagellation) and are trying their utmost to redeem themselves of guilt over past events.

I like having the mix of French, simplified and traditional Chinese as well as the author's thoughtful note on language at the end. The other refreshing aspect to me was the depiction of manipulative parents and Elle's decision to go low contact with them. So many times in other books the parents' behaviour have been excused as parental concern (we only wanted the best for you) or due to their own baggage.

I was quite tickled by the mention of Chinese drama Nirvana in Fire and Mei Changsu. This was a quick read for me over two days and I am satisfied with the ending.

I wish I had written the review when the book was fresh in my mind but five months later, I can still remember the highlights and would definitely be interested in reading more from this author. Thanks to Tachyon Publications and Netgalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Bitter Medicine's publication date is 14 March 2023.

I have some mixed feelings toward this book, because on one hand it was fascinating and I had a really good time with it, but, on the other hand, I wasn't 100% invested in the characters, and this took something out of the pleasure.
But we have an interesting world-building, that mixes a lot of different folklore from around the world. And I love this kind of thing, the more the merrier and it is always good to see diverse creatures in books. The main focus is on characters that are from Chinese folklore, but we have also elves (and one of them is an MC too), Sphinxes, harpies, and others. And I loved this part.
Also, another amazing feature of this book is the fight scenes. They are wonderful, and so badass!
They really are entertaining and almost cinematic. I loved them!

The pace is quite balanced, not fast, but not really slow either, and it is the perfect one for the plot. So we get the time to know our characters, to see some interesting places and some even more amazing magic, and things can happen without feeling rushed. But you would never feel bored!

And, at last, the characters. We have Elle, who is sweet and who is dead set on doing the right thing for her brothers, but she is also powerful and resourceful, and we have Luc, the uber agent of their agency (the one for which both of them work), stoic, with a touch of sad underlining everything he does, and skilled at everything (but especially skilled in assassination and fights). They are quite sweet together, they both have a dry sense of humor, and they have some tragic background.
I think that what went wrong with me was the part about the self-sacrificing act that both have going on. I am not really a fan, and more often than not this is where things go wrong for me. I think that this was the main reason for my lack of complete investment.
But they are interesting characters, and we have some secondary ones that are pretty good. Tony, one of Elle's brothers, for example, is my favorite! He adds some levity to the story and I really enjoyed every of his appearance!

I have mixed feels but I do know that, overall, I did enjoy this story. I think the fact that it was very different than what I'm used to reading played a huge part in that. But I also think the story could have been 'tighten' more.

-Fantasy Romance
-Urban/Contemporary: Raleigh, NYC, Paris, San Fran
-Dual POV (single narrator on audio, but tbh it is very well done)
--Elle
---Chinese descendent of the god of medicine
---Calligraphy/jade magic
---Living a secret life with her brother because of family drama
--Luc
---Half elf, half French/German more specifically he speaks French and Alsatian
---Secret agent (unknowingly) tracking down Elle's brother
---HE COOKS

This is a book about choosing happiness. I loved it so much! The magic was absolutely fascinating and a joy to read about. The world building is lush, the writing is beautiful and descriptive. I really enjoyed the character growth with both Elle and Luc. Luc's journey of dealing with his horrible job/overbearing boss was REAL and I was very emotional over it. Like I will bodily protect Luc til the ends of this earth!

I'm literally not going to shut up about this book til more people read it!

3/5 hot peppers (was not expecting the spice, but it was so good!)

First of all, I loved the dedication of this book: "To me, because I could." YESSSSS YOU CAN QUEEN! I love a moment of self-love to set the tone for a new adult paranormal romantasy!

The world building was a bit clunky, which I found disappointing. I am still a bit confused on what this world really looks like, but my best guess was adjacent to Crescent City???? Like modern but chaotic and paranormal with a bit of mythology infused into it? It was still a lot of fun, but I just struggled to fully (1) get into / invested in the world (2) understand it because the whimsy of everything was hard to follow.

Some parts of the dialogue were too stretched out and affected the pacing; I was frustrated reading the conversations between Elle and Tony especially, as it felt repetitive and immature for paranormal beings that are supposed to be over 100 years old. I know this seems like a silly piece of criticism but it just makes me feel a little defeated that if humans were given the chance to live longer/immortal lives, that they'd still act so flippant at 100 years old. Their banter felt more like bickering, and while I understand siblings certainly have turbulent relationships, this felt both tame/PG and so petty at the same time?

The best part of this was the romance and I would argue that if we had to pick one genre, this would be a romance. Elle and Luc go from client/business owner to friends to lovers pretty quickly but I didn't mind it. There are a few steamy scenes, which I appreciated because that reminded me this was new adult and not young adult or teen fiction (even though the rest of the book felt like that). Minor complaint: people call Luc multiple names and it confused my dumb brain hahahaha he is referred to as Lukey, Lucien and Luc. I had to remind myself these were the same person. I know, I am ridiculous but when barely anyone else has nicknames, it took me out sometimes.

Anyway, I think this was overall a fun ride despite its flaws and I would continue to read from Mia Tsai in the future!

Book Review: Bitter Medicine by Mia Tsai
Stars: ⭐⭐⭐.5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
This review may contain minor spoilers.

Bitter Medicine is an urban fantasy story that follows Elle and Luc. Elle is a descendant of an ancient Chinese god of medicine and Luc is a half elf who works for an elite tier of agency "fixers". The two begin a friendship knowing very little of the other's secrets. Elle saves Luc's life after one of his missions and it catapults their relationship to the next level, opening many doors into each of their futures. This book includes a mixture of cultures, friends to lovers, and found family.

I enjoyed this new modern fantasy that takes place throughout our world. I wish we got a little more background, but understand why some things couldn't be discussed until after a reveal. The villains in the story didn't have a clear driving force and I wanted to know more of their backstories and what led the group to where they are in this book.

The found family aspect of the story opens the world to so many possibilities. This reader wants to know more of how the siblings got into their situation, what happens to Yiwu after, more about the Wrecking Crew, and Lira. So many questions about Lira's life, her future, and her friendship (or more) with Tony.

The language shifts in this story definitely piqued my interest. I know some basic French and was able to read those portions & immediately know what was happening. I do not speak any Chinese, but I am an ever curious reader, so I did many quick translations to better understand the conversations throughout. In the Afterward, Mia describes "code-switching" and how it often happened with different parts of her family. This was so interesting for me to read and I appreciated the insight into why it was brought into this story.

My biggest drawbacks were pacing and chapter length. There were times in the story that I zoomed thru chapters, the story drew me in and I couldn't wait to see what happened next. But there were also times I had to force myself to keep reading thru the "slower" part of the story. Maybe a shorter chapter wouldn't have felt so daunting for the pieces that weren't as captivating.

Overall I enjoyed the story but wish it was broken down into smaller pieces. And I would love to read more about the other characters, maybe some more about the before/after of Bitter Medicine's time frame.

Thanks NetGalley & Tachyon Publications for the eARC!

I wanted to love this book. Really, I did. A xianxia-inspired urban fantasy setting, traditional calligraphy-based magic, and c-drama-style romance are all elements very up my alley. Unfortunately, while the world-building held a lot of promise, the flimsy development, messy pacing, and forgettable characters ultimately made it a struggle to finish this book.

I think the crux of my issue with Bitter Medicine is worldbuilding. Namely, what the hell does the agency Elle and Luc belong to actually do? They vaguely fight off monsters and various magical influences like most secretive supernatural organizations in an urban fantasy novel, but why were they formed? What’s the organization’s actual mission? How are they structured and what kind of reach do they have? None of these questions get answered to any satisfactory detail and as a result, the worldbuilding feels so flimsy that it’s hard to understand anyone’s underlying motivations. This has the unfortunate effect of making the characters themselves feel flimsy too, because their own struggles feel so detached from any grounding consequences because again, what are the influences and values of the world itself??

In addition, the pacing of this story is bizarre. The main, interesting conflict between Elle and various family members is pretty much over and resolved 60% in. Where character motivations and perspectives are in some degree of grey and the conflict feels tangible. The rest of it is dedicated to the most moustache twirly, evil for evil’s sake villain an author could have possibly written. And perhaps with a better constructed world that would not have been the case, but to me something was clearly missing.

Overall, I give this book a 2/5. The concepts of a UF world that spans multiple cultures and actually takes time to explore how those nuances interact, how magic differs and affects different supernatural groups, was really really interesting. However, the rest of the world felt some flimsy that it took the characters and plot down with it.

The publisher’s blurb sounded great and I was looking forward to this book, as something a little different for me. Unfortunately, I decided to quit at about 32%. I actually put this book down and read another book that I enjoyed and then went back to this one to try again, but my feelings hadn’t changed. I don’t often DNF books, but given that I was already 1/3 into the book and I still didn’t fully understand the “world” of this novel, I figured it was time to move on.

Here are some things that contributed to my decision:
- The characters are extremely long-lived (centuries) but they act and talk like teens or people in their early 20s
- The author didn’t provide a clear reason for why Elle isn’t using her magic fully, and why she’s toiling away in a shop that sells “glyphs”(which aren’t really explained either).

I normally love “urban fantasy” or “magical realism” but this one didn’t work for me. “Your mileage may vary.”

Thank you to NetGalley and Tachyon Publications for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

A lovely contemporary fantasy romance. The world-building is fantastic, and the love story at the core is believable and engaging. Perhaps wrapped up a little *too* neatly - but when we're dealing with a romance, that's never really a bad thing, is it? - but very enjoyable. Would love to return to this world.

3.5 stars. I was super excited to read this book because I adore low fantasies, and especially adore immortal characters. However, this book left me disappointed in both areas. The world-building was very confusing, and the characters were so immature at certain points even though they were meant to be hundreds of years old. While I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would, I'd still recommend this book to people who like light-hearted magical stories with a cute romance.

3.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Tachyon Publications for an eARC of this book; all opinions are my own.

Ever since her younger brother attacked her and her older brother, Elle has had one goal: keep her brother safe, and keep her head down. So, instead of exercising her immense healing power, she is underemployed as a calligrapher, creating glyphs and potions for the fairy temp agency. Her plan to stay innocuous fails when one of her potions accidentally saves Luc, a half-elf, and he requests glyphs to aid in his next mission. Little does Elle know, that mission is to hunt down her younger brother.

My feelings are so mixed... The concept of this book is really intriguing: fairies and other mythical creatures exist and have their own bureaucracy and way of life amidst that of humans. However, the execution falls short in many ways. The rules of this world are so confusing and ephemeral that I kept forgetting why certain things were the way they were, and then realized I hadn't forgotten and the book had simply failed to tell me. Certain aspects of the world, such as the laes, were interestingly explained and manipulated through the story, but at other times I was left floundering as characters threw around words that were never defined in the context of this story.

The pacing of this book was equally confusing, with the climax happening around 70% of the way through, and the last 30% being a weird crawl to the end following an entirely different plot. I truly believe the climax that occurred at the beginning of the third act could've been stretched out since the main conflict of the story (that Luc is hunting down Elle's brother) resolves within the span of literally one chapter. I like the resolution of the story but felt that it could've easily been incorporated into the first conflict, instead of an entirely new plot being constructed for the last 30% of the book.

While there were some absolutely heart-wrenching moments (read: just one, but it was *devastating*), the prose in some places was cringey at best. Tell me why Elle's narration went "somewhere in the world a trombone went womp womp. She is supposedly 124 years old; why is she narrating like a teenager. I love when immortal characters have an immature streak, think Magnus Bane from the Shadowhunters series, but I love it even more when that immature streak contrasts with their wisdom and seriousness from living so long. Maybe it's different in the world of Bitter Medicine because there are so many immortals and they live amongst one another, so the grief of outliving your family isn't pressing, but I don't know... I just wish that these characters acted more like the centuries-old beings they are supposed to be, instead of spouting cringe-inducing lines every other page.

The cringe lines also make the R-rated scenes stand out even more. I genuinely didn't know whether this was an adult or YA book because of the narration style until people were losing clothes and we didn't fade to black. The scenes themselves were alright, and really just made the immature prose stand out even more. There's a certain audience for adult books with more casual prose, and I am unfortunately not in that audience :/.

One thing that is indisputably in this book's favor: the representation. Almost every character is some shade of queer, and there was incredible racial diversity as well. The representation is definitely a high point of this book, and I wish more books were as unapologetically diverse as this one. This is the one aspect of the book I can't criticize at all.

I really wanted to love this book, but it is so scattered that I can't help feeling disappointed. I think the characters and story have so much promise; I just wish the execution were tighter.

It's the first book i read by this author and won't surely be the last as it's a delightful and compelling story that made me smile and root for the characters.
Once I started it I had to keep on reading as the characters were calling me. It also caused a bad case of book hangover.
The author did an excellent job in mixing contemporary environment and mythological Chinese elements creating a fascinating world.
Excellent world building, storytelling and character. The romance is sweet and made me smile.
It's an excellent story and I would be happy to read other novels set in this universe.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Mia Tsai has a wonderful love story about fae in our world. Elle is a descendant of the Chinese god of medicine whos younger brother had attempted to murder her and her brother. She hides under an assumed name writing magical glyphs. For Luc the problem is that his boss knows his real name and can use it magically to force him to do things he finds repugnant. Luc and Elle can only deal with the Bitter Medicine (hard from Tachyon Publications) that frustrates their lives by working together. Very intense. It left tears in my eyes.

Petition to make this into a TV show IMMEDIATELY.

This was an extremely fun read. It's kind of a mix between contemporary fantasy and paranormal romance, sort of like Shadowhunters but xianxia-inspired and for adults. It's also sort of reminiscent of the early 2010s paranormal YA, with immortals and interesting magic systems. But it makes so much more sense to me to read about immortals in adult fiction, since you know, if you're over 100 years old, why are you falling in love with a teenager. So this was really refreshing and something I'd very much like to see more of.

The plot of this book was great! I enjoyed the first half of the book but it took a turn about half way through. I understand why the story shifted from one plot point to the next, however, I have a difficult time when plots change from a great story to focusing on the romance and the future of said romance. Elle is a great character! I wish stories written about women and their romances wouldn’t make women “weak” due to the relationship. When plot focus shifts to that I start to lose interest. To have unresolved plot points with no expectation of more books in the future makes my eye twitch. Saying “goodbye” to characters doesn’t resolve that. Overall, it was an okay book! I do love the magic system because it has so much potential.

I must credit this book for being extremely diverse. The people in this magical world are from all over our real world, and it incorporates a lot of mythology from these places. That said, I was not drawn to the actual plot of the story. It was not my cup of tea. I skim read parts of it. The romance was interesting but the backstory was revealed a little too early for me. There is a good amount of action as well, which was done well.
I would still recommend this book to readers of diverse fantasy fiction, this particular flow did not personally appeal to me.

Bitter Medicine, as described by author Mia Tsai, is 50/50 fantasy and romance. The world created exists hidden within our own and is populated by assorted fantastic creatures including fae, gods, ghosts, and a sphinx named Maryam. But the book's focus is solidly placed on the relationship of Elle and Luc.

Elle, a descendent of the Chinese god of medicine, is hiding herself and her full magical ability. She goes back and forth between work and home, refuses social invitations, and has abandoned her artistic talent. Her client Luc is the only bright spot in her life.

Luc is charming, sexy, and clearly attracted to Elle. It’s obvious from the start that embers have been slowly burning between them for quite some time. And when those embers catch fire, the flames are stoked for a full chapter.

The romance is this story’s strength. Tsai avoids the most overused tropes. The conflicts threatening to come between them are external, not manufactured through some personal miscommunication. Their relationship is supportive, loyal, and sweet.

Bonds with the supporting characters are also well developed. I particularly enjoyed the banter between Elle and her vain brother Tony, as well as the nurturing support Luc receives from Maryam.

I did wish some plot points had more resolution. I also wanted a more detailed picture of the mysterious agency that employed both Elle and Luc. But with a satisfying HEA, I can let those remaining questions go.

Thank you to Tachyon and NetGalley for providing this ARC.