A Magic Steeped In Poison (The Book of Tea #1)
Author: Judy I. Lin
Average Rating: 4.38 / 5
Trigger Warnings:
Violence
“I used to look at my hands with pride. Now all I can think is,
‘These are the hands that buried my mother.’”
Tea is more than a beverage in Ning’s world. Her mother, a skilled shénnóng-shi, studied the ancient art of tea-making for years to achieve her level of magical mastery. She tried to pass her knowledge on to her daughters. Now Ning is haunted by the shame and guilt of her failure. She was the one who brewed the pot of poison tea that killed her mother and still threatens to steal her beloved little sister, Shu.
Then a declaration arrives from the imperial city. The royal family is hosting a competition to search for the greatest shénnóng-shi in the land. The winner will receive a place in the court, as well as a favour from the princess. A favour that may be Ning’s only hope of saving Shu’s life
But when Ning arrives at the competition she finds a very different world than the one she’s known. With treacherous competitors, ruthless politics, and a mysterious stranger whose secrets are as shocking as he is captivating, Ning may be the sister whose life is most at risk.
Corinna : 4/5
Here is a take on magic that I had not experienced before! Magic and tea-making is a wonderful combination, and that cover is gorgeous. Whoever said ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ clearly wasn’t a reader and book lover!
I found it a little difficult to get into this book in the beginning and found myself going back and rereading things to make sure I didn’t miss something. I may have enjoyed this book more if I had been able to read it over a day or two, instead of spaced out over almost two weeks. I found myself double checking character names to keep things straight. The last third of the book really picked up and gave a great cliffhanger ending!
Lin gave us some beautiful prose and descriptions, great build up and tension, and an emphasis on female friendships that I found refreshing. Her ability to describe the food, culture, location and competition was so well done. I had no problem seeing the story in my head and was drooling over those food descriptions! One thing I did not like was the constant need for secrecy, it felt overused and too convenient at times. I also thought Kang and Ning’s insta-romance was not enticing, especially since Ning still doubted him after she had put him under a truth spell. There was no way he could have lied and yet Ning still says hurtful things to him expressing her distrust. Some more relationship building would have helped this part of the storyline.
Overall I did enjoy this refreshingly new idea of magic, and I think it is an excellent debut novel. I am looking forward to reading A Venom Dark and Sweet when it is released in August 2022.
Lydia : 4/5
This book was as beautiful as the cover – and that my friends is a pretty rare situation.
I really loved the flow of the storyline in this book. It was smooth and went down like a good cup of tea (haha, see what I did there?). The integration of Chinese mythology and tea-making was just so refreshing to read and well done.
In terms of characters, this book was full of interesting and unique ones – such as Ning. I always appreciate an author that has their main character act like they know what they’re doing from the start. There was very little back and forth with Ning and I simply adore that.
Of course, this book ended with a rude cliffhanger but that just makes me even more excited to read the next one! I should also mention that this book was very quick and easy to read – an added bonus.
The reason this wasn’t a solid 5 for me was because I felt that a lot of the side characters were added in and then their storylines were forgotten about. There might be more information on them in the second book but I really wanted to know more in this one – specifically Lian. I also found the romance between Ning and Kang to be a bit too predictable. I wanted more mystery to it and more of a build up.
Megan : 5/5
You know that feeling of starting to watch a movie right in the middle and you’re trying to piece together what’s brought the character to this point? Well, that’s how I felt when I first picked this one up. As the reader, you were thrown right into the middle of the plot. For me, it took a bit to piece together the past that brought these characters together and what happened to cause the current events. Lin added the history in casual conversations or in Ning’s thoughts and I think that she did a really good job of it. The snippets into the past weren’t sloppy and they added to the overall experience of the book.
When there are characters who constantly doubt themselves or the people around them, I sometimes get annoyed. It can feel like lazy writing in order to extend the book, but not for Ning. Here’s a character who is thrust into a world she has no idea how to navigate, so it’s only natural to doubt the people around her. I appreciated that she never doubted her ability though. While at times she was worried about her lack of knowledge in the ways of the shénnóng-shi, she never let that stop her from trying. The setting and the descriptions of Jia and the palace were wonderful! It was easy to picture where the competition took place or the gardens that Ning loved so much. Food was described quite often, which made my mouth water. I would love to try some of these dishes.
Everytime I had to put the book down, I missed it. I needed to get back to it ASAP to find out what happened next. Despite the rough start, this book deserves a five and I’m eagerly waiting to read book two.
Sharaya : 4.5/5
I hate coffee and love all things tea, so I knew immediately that I had to own this book. I mean, a magical system that is rooted in tea? I am here for that! It took me a chapter or two to feel like I had slipped into the story. I think that was because I haven’t read many books set in Asia, so the culture was unfamiliar. But once I settled in, I couldn’t put it down.
Lin’s magical system is so elegant and nuanced. She never tells, she shows you how things work as the story progresses. I was so impressed with the subtle yet powerful tea-based magic that she has created and I’m very excited to dive even deeper in the next novel. Lin also had a wonderful way of including the senses in her writing. This book is full of sights, smells, and flavours that set your imagination alight. It made me want to sit with an aromatic cup of tea, close my eyes and breathe deeply.
I really liked Ning’s character. Of course she had doubts about herself and the new environment around her, but she never wavered from her connection with tea. I also enjoyed the secondary characters but wished that they had been more developed, as some of them seemed to appear and disappear abruptly. The continual layers of secrecy did wear a little thin and I found it hard to trust anyone. I was intrigued by her relationship with Kang, although her immediate connection and interest in him did seem a little at odds with the questions of who he was and what his intentions were. I felt like this relationship should have been more gradual, but I look forward to seeing where it goes in the next installment.
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