A Magic Steeped In Poison (The book of tea, 1)

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I just wish the pacing of this book wasn't this much of a mess. Sure, the writing flows so smoothly that I almost felt as if I'd been swept away by a stream, but it was as though I was simply carried from plot point to plot point, never once immersed. It was hard to follow the story for this reason, and even harder to keep myself from losing interest. A Magic Steeped in Poison follows our mc Ning, who is suffering from the grief and guilt from losing her mother after she unknowingly brewed a batch of poison tea- the tea that is now killing her sister, Shu, too. Then Ning hears of a competition to find the kingdom's best shennong-shi (masters of the ancient, magical art of tea-making), where the winner will receive a favor, she travels to the palace to compete, desperate to save Shu. But Ning is soon caught up within the bloody court politics and with a handsome boy with a terrible secret distracting her, her life may actually be the one in danger... Judy I. Lin's sweeping debut A Magic Steeped in Poison, first in a duology, is sure to enchant fans of Adrienne Young and Leigh Bardugo.

Ning comes across as such a vibrant, strong, yet relatable character. How did she come to life and why was she the perfect lead for this story? I believe in you,” she says, echoing last night’s ferocity, when she told me I had to go to the capital and leave her behind. “I’ll tell Father in the morning you are visiting our aunt. That will give you some time before he notices you are gone.” Also, kang's pov chapters?? Literally so bland. I was so excited when I saw this was dual pov so that was a big bummer... 🙈🙈But the story is good, even if I didn't feel the sense of urgency, and I enjoyed the characters and their growth. The world-building was really good too, I loved how unique and well done it was. Overall, a solid ending that certainly tied the story together. Never forget, she told us. The world began with a dream. Our lives are the same. Keep dreaming, my daughters. The world is greater than you know.” Non è una situazione che mi è ha infastidita, ma solo perché QUI ha senso: Ning non è la protagonista, almeno non della guerra. Lei è un personaggio secondario nelle vicende del regno, in questioni politiche e magiche che sono più grandi di lei. Non ci avviciniamo quasi per niente agli assetti politici del Generale o della Principessa, sappiamo i loro piani ma non davvero come li metteranno in atto e, soprattutto, non lo vediamo, perché i nostri occhi in questa storia appartengono a una ragazza che prepara il tè e che viene da uno dei luoghi più poveri del regno e da un ragazzo che dovrebbe diventare il nuovo principe ma che viene tenuto quasi sempre all'oscuro di tutto quello che accade attorno a lui (tra l'altro la scelta del doppio pov per questo libro è stata molto apprezzata, ed è stato bello entrare nella testa di Kang per un po')

Soon there will no longer be an empire to rule, and we'll all reside in the serpent's realm of nightmares. For me the romance started out well in this series- in #1, it was super cute and I felt the chemistry, so I was excited to see more of Ning and Kang in this book. But... it just fell so flat 🥲🥲☹️☹️ I really didn't feel a whole ton of chemistry or tension between them, which was SO disappointing 😭😭 The romance was also nonexistent for the first half and by the time we saw more of them in the second half i was just so uninvested in their relationship 🫤 Overall, while this sequel didn't live up to my hopes as much as the first one did, there's no doubt that Judy I. Lin is an author to look out for. Her ability to create a really unique magic system with Chinese mythology is amazing and wonderful, even if some of the writing style doesn't always bring out everything in the story it could. The cover of this book is so stunning and I cannot wait to see what sort of books she writes next. Beautifully written, from the setting to the magic system, A Magic Steeped in Poison is sure to enchant both fantasy lovers and cdrama aficionados. I’ll be inhaling whatever Judy I. Lin brews up next." —Joan He, New York Times-bestselling author of The Ones We're Meant to FindFor Ning, the only thing worse than losing her mother is knowing that it's her own fault. She was the one who unknowingly brewed the poison tea that killed her—the poison tea that now threatens to also take her sister, Shu. The journey itself was enjoyable, but I found the pace to be too slow. Even in the first half of the book, the plot's intentions were hazy. The major characters' thoughts would take up one minute while there was a ton of action and magical events taking place in the next minute. The grievances were consistently the same, even going so far as to reiterate the overarching goal from the first book. This book was so good! This was an enchanting and stunning fantasy full of Chinese mythology, magic, and political intrigue. Ning is a shénnóng-shi, a master of the art of tea-making. Her mother was her mentor and she recently died from a poisoned tea that Ning brewed. Ning enters a competition to decide who is the best shénnóng-shi in the kingdom and if she wins she will be able to save her sister who has also been poisoned. Eventually, Ning discovers that she may be in more danger than her sister because of competitors who try to harm her and soon she becomes tangled in deadly game of political intrigue. All in all, I cannot recommend this duology enough! Also Princess Zhen is my fave along with her bodyguard.