I heard about this book when I was doing my research on 2023 releases, I saw it was about an immortal woman who is a descendent of a Chinese goddess and a French half-elf spy and I was already hooked.

It did not let me down! It was such a fun read with focus on romance and with a great backdrop of a well-fleshed out fantastical paranormal world.

👍
🌍 The world building… it is done so well. I loved the magic system, the history, the company, the characters’ histories and everything else about it. There are also many cool mythological creatures: selkies, sphinxes, harpies, elves and more! It felt like a fully realized world. I could totally imagine many other books stemming from the same setting.
🧝‍♂️ The love interest, Luc... ladies, gays and theys, we all deserve a man who would put someone on a hit list for being racist, then cook delicious food for us. Don't settle for less.
💖 The romance... What a beautiful, delicate and mostly angst-less romance that was. Plus all the various ways they cover consent in the book is superb, not just for physical boundaries but emotional ones as well.
💬 I also loved all the languages and cultures in the book. Especially when it talks about how more eastern cultures are sometimes ignored. There's also a great note from the author about the languages, don’t miss it.
👯 There were some fantastic side characters too, I’d love more books with perspectives by them. The brother, the friend, even the crew… I wanna know their back stories, and see them with a happy ending.
🏳️‍🌈 The representation was fantastic. Beyond the Chinese culture, the French food and American capitalism, there are also many queer characters in the book (maybe almost all?), both the MCs are bi, all of it is very casually mentioned, not a big part of the plot.
😨 I was on the edge of my seat for a good chunk of the book. The stakes were high and I was very invested. I especially loved a fight scene that happened about halfway through, it was so imaginative.

👎
- The middle of the book does kind of feel like the end, and for a little bit after the MC gets kind of insufferable. But as the author herself has mentioned, this is a book in two acts.
- I would have liked to see Elle’s magic even more. I was so intrigued by her abilities, it would have been nice to see her fully unleash for longer.
- The romance does kind of go from 0 to 100 quite quickly but I thought it made sense with what was happening with Elle at the time.

Thank you to Tachyon Publications and NetGalley for the eARC!

What an enchanting read from start to finish. There are so many layers to dissect here — I think one of the most defining factors about "Bitter Medicine" is that as much as it is about romance, it's very much so also about family, what it means to be obligated to family, duty, boundary setting, and self case. It was a blast learning more about Chinese culture and medicine/healing/wellness practices. The characters in this book were so well written and fleshed out that I could have sworn I was reading the dialogue of real people speaking.

The world that Mia Tsai has built is rooted in customs and traditions that lend themselves to the real world; it's very obvious that Tsai has done a great deal of planning and research to bring the magic of "Bitter Medicine" onto the page. The dialogue was fresh, witty, and dynamic. The writing itself is also beautifully written and well crafted, which well suits the beauty of this story.

Elle and Luc's romance is not a fast whirlwind romance. Instead, it's carefully crafted over a series of chapters. As readers, we get to learn more about who these characters are as individuals, which makes for a very satisfying read as their romance blossoms. Their relationship has weight and gravity that goes beyond anything superficial.

While the main climax of the book did feel a bit rushed/incomplete, the final chapters and conclusion felt whole, and the ending was very fitting for this novel. Extremely well done!

An Urban Fantasy Dreamscape, blending beautifully, xianxia elements with that of fae lore and other world myths. A romance debut with protagonists that you’ll ache to see attached and a cast of characters that add a lovely lightness to this story that doesn’t shrink away from deeper themes of belonging, abuse and the expectations of family. Tsai is an author to watch!

Romantasy girlies will eat this up!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review .

Bitter Medicine is the story of Elle, a temp doing calligraphy at a fairy agency, and Luc, a half-elf sworn to free two children from a curse he put on them. Unfortunately, Luc's boss is the literal worst, rarely allowing Luc any time off to do anything. When Elle and Luc end up working together, they soon find out they want to do more than work.

So my bad for thinking this is a YA book. I mean the cover makes it look YA and the blurb kind of lends itself to older YA. I will say here and now that this is definitely not YA. That's not a bad thing as I read all kinds of books. I was just really surprised when it got super spicy. Aside from that, this was a decent book. I didn't love it nor did I hate it. For me I felt a bit of a distance to the characters, more like I was watching their story from the sidelines rather than completely immersed in it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

When reading fantasy I look for two things specifically; a) that the plot is character driven, because I like to understand their motivations, their goals and their personalities, and b) the world building. This aspect of the plot doesn’t have to be detailed to the last speck of dust, but there has to be some degree of it. While “Bitter Medicine” excels on the characterization of the heroine and the hero, there is almost no world building, no setting… so I was kind of lost for most of the book. I understood that there were several species of rational beings and that some had magic. I understood that Elle was some sort of witch with powers that could help people and that this magic worked by painting glyphs or runes, I understood that Luc was half elf half human, that he passes for a human being and that he needs his other half to be secret. But I felt like I was introduced to this world without anything to hold on to, like playing a role play videogame without being given the rules or how it works and why.

It seems that it is a mixture between the real world and fantasy, for some locations have their mirrors in real life; New York, France, China, Vietnam (Elle is Chinese). Other than that, there was nothing recognizable. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t find anything enjoyable in the plot. While the fantasy side of it doesn’t work for me, the love story is very good, so good that I could isolate everything else and just enjoy the (love) ride. I believe that Luc and Elle had fallen in love before the book even starts so we don’t know if it’s love at first sight, but none of them knows about the other’s feelings and now that they need to be together and that they know each other’s most dangerous secrets, the forced proximity and the friendship between them leads to so much more. And they are both so silly in a good way, although the book is written in the third person, we get to see both their perspectives, and it’s so funny that they can’t identify the signs on each other.

Elle’s magic system is very well crafted, it is quite complex and powerful, so powerful that she can be smelt by other creatures. My hypothesis is that Mia Tsai thought the magic system first and then she created Elle and Luc and everything around them from there. She explains how it works and the impact and side effects it has on Elle when she’s writing her glyphs and spells. This is yet another feature that I loved from this book, but it isn’t enough to make up for the chaotic setting, and by setting I mean everything save for Luc, Elle, the love story, and the magic.

There’s a spy story subplot and a spirit looking for Elle subplot as well. There’s tele transportation, which comes in handy when they are in danger, there’s racism (and speciesism?), there’s inclusivity but also denial of inclusion, no clear agenda whatsoever, both issues seem to be thrown into the story casually.

Elle is a descendant of the Chinese god of medicine, underemployed as a mediocre magical calligrapher at the fairy temp agency. She challenges herself by covertly outfitting half-elf Luc with high-powered glyphs. Luc is the agency's top security expert but had been responsible for a curse laid. He must perform all duties perfectly to earn time off, so the two begin a dangerous collaboration. Elle is loyal to her family, and Luc is bound by his true name. To be free and find happiness, they'll have to take dangerous chances.

Inspired by xianxia, Chinese mythology, and Western lore, this novel involves a lot of inventive magic. It's also a supernatural friends-to-lovers story, with both Elle and Luc harboring crushes on each other that they don't really act on until halfway through the book. Each carries secrets regarding their past: Elle holds back on her magic to stay off the radar and remain in hiding, and Luc is relentless at his job because he essentially has a geas laid on him. The scenes involving his job are wonderfully written, and I hope we get a screen adaptation so I can see them! There are mythical creatures from many different traditions, which I also really enjoyed seeing.

Bitter Medicine is a standalone story that merges Xianxia-inspired Chinese magic systems and mythology with European-inspired mythology. There is a nice author’s note that goes into some background for the story and helps the reader understand her reasoning for certain elements. Elle is a descendant of the Chinese god of medicine and is on alert along with her older brother as her murderous younger brother is on the loose. Luc is a French half-elf who is a security agent and frequents Elle’s work. Their two journeys come together through the Agency the two characters work for, at different levels, and events involving Elle’s brother.

As Elle and Luc know each other before the story begins, the reader plays “catch up” with their relationship in a way. As the two spend time together, there is a lot of back and forth with their connection. One moment they are more familiar and the next they are more awkward. I think a little additional foundation for their dynamic in the beginning of the novel would have helped this element. The romance that develops between Luc and Elle was believable and I enjoyed their chemistry. It does develop quickly, so I do wish there were some transitional moments added to the story. I feel this would have helped readers, me included, connect to the developing romance more.

The pacing is not even throughout the novel or a standard progression to a climax and instead has fast and slow moments throughout. There is a lot of detail in the world and magic systems, yet I wish there was a little more for the characters. Their motivations are clear, and the goal of the novel is apparent, but I feel there are not enough details listed for the characters themselves, such as their backgrounds and general traits. As-is some pieces of the story feels underdeveloped, but I think the general foundation is there. Overall, this was an engaging novel with a lot of potential.

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Tachyon Publications, for the opportunity to read this entertaining novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

Bitter Medicine - Release Day Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
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"Who are you when you aren't with me?"
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QUICK LOOK: Urban Fantasy, Chinese Mythology & Medicine, Elves, Intelligence Agency, Playful Banter, Unique Magic System, Portal Jumping, Romance
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SYNOPSIS: Elle and Luc both work for the same intelligence agency in different departments. Elle often makes special spells of protection or ability spells for Luc to use on his missions in the field. But, as these agents begin to get to know each other, they begin to discover neither are simply who they first seemed to be.
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WHAT I LIKED:
-Well-built Urban Fantasy World
-Intelligence Agency Aspect was really unique
-Gorgeous Character Growth for both leads
-So Playful. Great banter. Lots of humor.
-Luc calling Elle "my heart"
-The author's note about why she used multiple languages in the book was fascinating
-Taiwanese-American Author
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WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
-Some transitions to new scenes or settings felt a bit unclear
-Some of "how" the magic worked felt a bit unclear
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Thank you @netgalley for my eARC copy. I was given this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I loved all the yearning in this book! Mia really did a great job with the world and characters. And wow that cover is gorgeous!

This was a truly charming debut. Modern and yet magical world with a lovely amount of world-building. There were compelling characters, fun dynamics, and I found myself laughing along the way!

Oh how I adore this book!!!

The world, the magic system, the diversity, the romance 🥰😍, the family aspect and the characters in this book, phenomenal 🙌🏻

This story follows Elle who is the middle child of the family and works at a temp agency as a magical calligrapher writing glyphs for agents. Luc, a French half-elf, is a regular and asks her for a very specific commission for a job he has to do. She accepts and as they work together, their chemistry is clearly undeniable, and yet, Elle has a big secret that involves protecting her brothers whom she loves dearly, and Luc has a secret that he literally cannot even voice and they wonder whether they could ever truly be together.

My favorite things about this book were the romance and the family aspect.

I love me a good slow burn that frustrates me and this one covered that well 😂 It’s also a romance that one would dream about having. It’s beautiful, heartbreaking, and just so tender and sweet. The way Luc and Elle always make sure the other is okay before doing anything or touching the other, how careful Luc is around her, compared to how he is at work known as the Killer. My heart just melted and melted and melted as I read their love story! The best thing is the communication between the two of them. Okay, yah, they have their secrets, but what I loved is how Elle listened in a particular moment in this book and I loved her so so much during that scene and I wanted to hug her and Luc so much! But they got each other, they knew each other so well that they could tell there was something more going on, but respected each other’s privacy and were willing to wait for the other to tell them. They are just perfect 👌🏻

I also love how much Elle loves her family and I loved her interactions with her brother Tony. It just made me warm and fuzzy and made think of my family and siblings 🥰 Now, when I say family, I mean her brothers. And her brother Tony loves her so much too and the way they watch out for each other and take care of each other in this book was beautiful to read, especially during some of Elle’s darker moments.

Elle and Luc were very similar and their situations were different, but they each seemed to not think they worth anything, and it was heartbreaking to read that and how they felt about themselves, but lovely to see them grow and learn that they are worth it and are worth something and that people love them for who they are as a person, not what they can do.

This is truly an amazing book! Such a unique concept and the writing is beautiful and witty and I just loved it okay?! So you should go get it and read, it’s worth it I promise 😉

I received a free digital copy to read. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

this book is incredible. it's so rich in everything and the author's note about not providing translations for the different languages used in this book is IMMENSELY respectable and regardless of the reason why, i love putting in effort, however little it may be, to read different languages in novels so <3 it was the first book i've flown through in a month or two and i appreciated that immensely.

getting into the actual plot it's about elle, (who, despite being the middle daughter, has all the symptoms of eldest daughter in an asian household syndrome and whom i couldn't help but love. she is fiercely protective and underestimates herself to a fault and i love her so much) and luc, (a half-elf who hates the work he does but can't help it for reasons i will not say and is just so much more than the stoic mask he puts on) and secrets that unravel between them and that connect them in multiple ways.

this contemporary fantasy was just so good for me and i loved every minute of it. i loved how the focus was on both their characters and how their romance was simply a part of it and truly this was just beautiful. full of family and mistakes and longing and magic and the mundane, bitter medicine was anything but bitter and i couldnt be more glad! the writing is a little plain in the beginning but it's clear that it had to be done that way because describing appearances gets very complicated very fast and there's only truly ONE moment i could tell, because other than that the writing is not full of metaphors and flowery words but instead does exactly what it's meant to do, which is make me feel and it fits the story so well so im not upset!!

overall, this book was incredible and im seated for anything else mia tsai wants to write!!!

ty to tachyon publications and netgalley for the arc!

I picked up Bitter Medicine thinking it was UF with romance in it, but it was romantic fiction with UF elements. It was also a somewhat odd book, consisting of two uneven parts. First storyline came to a point at around 60% mark. It was ok, even if the romance was very slow-burn with rather odd intimate scenes. If the book had ended there, I might have given it a better rating. Unfortunately, it continued.

The latter part was a meandering mess that didn’t need to be that long; a couple of chapters would’ve sufficed. The conclusion was very unsatisfying. It’s a happily ever after, but at a cost that went against the tropes of fantasy genre, and not in a good way. Kudos for originality, but … no.

Fantasy elements were a mishmash of everything, but mostly western. The description promised xianxia inspired fantasy, but it was inspiration in name only. The main character, Elle, was Chinese, but nothing in her behaviour made me believe it. She was very American in her thoughts and deeds, though incredibly stupid for some reason (she could use a computer but not a smartphone?). For his part, Luc didn’t feel very French, and the Catholic elements seemed really odd.

I was especially disappointed with Elle’s family relations. As a western reader, one thing that makes Asian fiction feel authentic to me, is the idea of duty to one’s family and elders that is very alien to western society. Some lip-service was paid to it here, but in actual dealings with each other, the characters were wholly western. Even the premise was about Elle taking away her brother’s immortality—without his consent, I might add—so that he could escape doing his duty to his family.

Maybe modern Chinese are more western in this respect, but these characters were over a century old and from the heartland of China. If the characters hadn’t been Chinese, the premise would’ve worked. Now it only irked me. As a whole, the book left me unsatisfied both as a romance and as a fantasy.

Luc and Elle – terrible prospects –

These two long-lived magical beings must come to terms with their pasts to have the chance of a future together. With the help of a few trusted friends they will overcome all the obstacles that are keeping them apart.

If you are looking for a low angst romance with a unique twist, look no further. Travel the world with Luc and Elle in this happy for now fantasy romance. The open ending makes me hopeful for another story set in this world.

Recommended for: romance readers; fantasy readers

I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Elle is a Chinese immortal disguised as just another glyph maker while Luc is an elf with secrets of his own. After one of Elle's glyphs saves him, Luc commissions another from her. As their feelings for each other turn them into more than friends, family loyalty and workplace demands threaten their growing relationship.

What is bitter medicine but something that is tough to swallow? In much the same way, this is how I felt about the book.

I was expecting a contempory fantasy and looked forward to the conflict that would arise with Luc's next job being apprehending Elle's brother. Unfortunately, the quick resolution did not equate to the build up it received, and I was left disappointed.

Contributing to my disappointment was that the writing lacked a sense of place. I could not fully immerse myself in the world because I was unsure of what I was supposed to “see.”

Although there were none of the sweeping descriptions I usually enjoy, the overall story (once I could get past my disappointment) and the world were both compelling. The gods and myths of different cultures coexisted within the same world. I thought this was particularly cleverand what I liked best about the novel.

There are nuances to the dialogue that Tsai explains in her Afterword that made me appreciate the writing more. The thoughtfulness about code switching and having it be reflected was one I appreciated.

Despite being disappointed, this is a book I liked enough that I will likely give it another reading. With a different set of expectations--concentrating more on Luc and Elle's relationship and loyalties rather than what I hoped would be the major plotline--I am hopeful that I will discover different things I missed, things that might make me appreciate the book more. I certainly think about it enough to at least give it a second chance. (3.5 stars rounded to 4 stars)

Bitter Medicine by Mia Tsai is a swoony debut with something for every type of fantasy romance reader. Noble elves, mysterious agencies, a slow-burn romance with plenty of mutual pining, and whimsical details that balance nicely with the action.

Elle stays under the radar, working on commissions for a secret agency. Her powerful glyphs (writing-based magic system, my beloved!) hint at murky personal history, but she's determined to grit her teeth and keep her head down. She has a family to protect and people to hide from. She should avoid Luc, the handsome colleague, who finds any excuse to stop by her work. But family loyalty can only go so far when Elle's work catches up with her, putting her in Luc's crosshairs.

Readers will immediately fall in love with Elle and how she has the personality of an ancient grandma in the body of a twenty-something-year-old. Her whole family dynamic is fascinating, almost begging for a short story prequel about her and her brothers. Tsai's strength is also in building her secondary characters like Tony and the Wrecking Clue, who provided plenty of comic relief when the narrative made darker twists and turns. In the end, this is a debut that will appeal to fans of romantic contemporary fantasy and xianxia.

With a debut this fun, I wonder what magic Tsai will create next.

Thanks, Netgalley and Tachyon Publications, for the ARC.

Tsai has created an incredibly detailed world within these pages. It did take some time for me to figure out what was going on - there’s an assumption at the beginning that you know Elle and her back story (so much so that I went back to confirm this wasn’t part of a series) - but, eventually, everything comes together and starts to make sense. I do think we’re lacking information at times which can leave the characters or their situations feeling a little underdeveloped. For the most part, though, I enjoyed this story and these characters.

The fast pace draws you into the narrative but makes the beginning a little choppy and disorganised. It feels like Tsai eventually gets into her groove, and things move more fluidly, but similar to the lack of information, it does take some time.

I appreciated Tsai's decision not to translate certain pieces of dialogue, especially after reading the afterword. It adds more realism and depth to a fantastical narrative. There’s not only a wide range of creatures but a wide range of cultures represented within these pages.

With a few hitches, it can be difficult to become absorbed in Bitter Medicine, but I found it incredibly worth it. I wish it were part of a series, and we were getting more stories from this world, but I enjoyed this read.

In this debut novel, Bitter Medicine by Mia Tsai, I found the story beautiful with a lovely and complex romance. Part of the reasons lie in how well the characters are written. Neither Luc or Elle or without flaws and both have duties that preclude relationships. Yet, the romance is there, the characters are written with intricate layers and the love story is the most logical and compelling romance I’ve yet seen. 

The magic is written astonishingly well, with nuances and unexpected methods. Nothing is neat or tidy but it is compelling how well it is thought out. And the choices that the characters make with their magic is part of what makes the story so intriguing. The ending is how I would have figured out the solution to the problem the pair have but that does not make it stale but rather the perfect resolution for the story, one full of love and joy despite all the sacrifices both characters make in order to have happy lives. 

If you like stories with a happy ending, with love stories and romance, this novel is for you. It is a fascinating story with an intriguing magical system. The story has a lovely and complex romance with characters I frankly like a lot. If they were real people, I’d want to be friends with them. And I adore the ending.

(ARC from NetGalley) OOH a contemporary fantasy without info-dumping? Sign me up. I'm unfamiliar with Chinese mythology, but loved learning bits about it through this. Only thing that was missing for me was that yearning and tension from Luc and Elle.

If you loved Modern Divination or Legends and Lattes, I think you should pick this up!

Bitter Medicine by Mia Tsai follows Ella and Luc where Ella is a descendant of the Chinese God of medicine, an ignored middle child. Luc is half-elf and works for an agency named Roland & Riddle. You can think about the above-mentioned agency, as equivalent to a private organization that works on a contract basis in the real world. This was enough to get me excited about this.

Bitter medicine didn’t disappoint at least not in the first half. I was hooked. The world-building was amazing. The plot build-up was so good. Luc’s current mission was to arrest Elle’s rogue brother and the more time they spent together not knowing how close they were tied up.

With so much happening in the first half, I was expecting some good moments in the second half. However, this book falls a little flat in the second half for the reasons stated below:
 The epic chase around which the plot is supposedly built felt a little rushed up and ends very abruptly.
 Elle and Luc’s past/backstory, I don’t need a lot of background while reading a romance novel, however, I feel fantastic, especially where the characters have lived for centuries and need strong background stories as their past usually shapes their present behaviors. The lack of that was a big drawback for me.
 I loved seeing Luc in action i.e. on the field during missions, sadly we just get one scene. I would have loved more of that part of his life that would have given us a better picture of why he felt the way he did.
 There is also a mention of an ex-boyfriend of Luc’s in the end. His name comes up a few times throughout the story, however, I failed to understand who he was until the end and I would have liked a little more information about Luc's past relationship.
 Luc's sole mission for taking a break from work is to find a cure for the curse fallen on the two children and that sort of fades away in the background in the second half.

Mia Tsai focuses majorly on romance and that at times hinders the characters' personal growth. in the second half, we also get a glimpse of what their domestic life would be and it is adorable. However, with the amazing world-building and a debut work with some amazing characters, I feel like it’s worth giving a shot.