As an avid tea drinker, I was immediately drawn into this story with a magic system built entirely around the art of tea making. It was such a refreshing take and I really enjoyed everything about it! Our protagonist was likable with solid motivations and I felt myself rooting for her the whole way through. Even though parts of the story were a little predictable, because of the originality of the concept, I let myself just enjoy the ride and not overthink it.

Excellent worldbuilding and characterizations. An incredibly solid debut by Judy I. Lin.

I really enjoyed this book. One of my most anticipated reads. The magic system was unique and based on teas. I am really enjoying the world building behind this!

Overall, this was an interesting read for me. I really liked the unique tea-based magic system they had going on, but I've read a lot of YA in my time and I'm not sure this book had anything unique to offer other than that. I found it to be quite predictable and I suppose I wasn't really the target audience, but I know plenty of my students would enjoy this book, especially the girls. It was also nice to be immersed in a Chinese setting; I haven't seen that very often in YA.

While it wasn't a thrilling experience for me, I do think younger readers will enjoy it.

An amazing debut book, I will definitely be recommending this book for lovers of fantasy. I can’t wait for the next book in the series!

I really loved this book! I was immediately sucked into the story and finished it in a day. The main characters were very interesting and they really grabbed my attention. I highly recommend this book and will be purchasing it for my library.

First off, can we appreciate that COVER?!?!? Definitely one of my all time favorite book covers. I’m obsessed. I was worried the book wouldn’t live up to the cover, but the book was even better, so that’s just a whole win-win situation.

The skeleton of the plot was intriguing; a peasant girl goes to palace for a big competition, trying to save her family from a mysterious poison spreading through the kingdom. Sounds fun, right? Then you add all of the flesh to the bones and it really took off. The politics, the competition, the poison, the magic, and the tea?! Amazing. The plot was fast paced, well done, and thorough. I wasn’t left looking through plot holes, and the plot twists were slight but still exciting.

My absolute favorite thing about A Magic Steeped in Poison was the worldbuilding. The tea based magic system was incredible, and the world itself was lush and beautiful without being unrealistic. Honestly I’m just losing my mind over a tea based magic system. Tea!

The character development was also incredible. Ning was an incredible heroine, with realistic flaws and a personality far better than the stereotypical YA main character. The supporting characters were super well done. I loved the Princess’s character, she was exactly what I would expect from someone in her position, and I loved how that played out with Ning’s brashness. I also appreciated that the romance was a very slight part of this book. It was there, but just barely, and it wasn’t overdone.

Overall the plot, the characters, and the worldbuilding were all incredible and I can’t wait for book two!

Awesome adventure with a strong female protagonist! Love the magic of tea, the healing power of fresh ingredients, and the strong family ties to her sister who Ning must save. With lilts of Hunger Game type competition, Ning uses her knowledge to try and wield tea as a magical elixir. She must learn what can counteract poison, heal, and hurt; all while trying to solve the mystery of the shadow and the poisoned tea that killed her mother. Strongly recommend, YA (13+)
Thank you to #NetGalley for an eARC. #AMagicSteepedinPoison @JudyILin #Askcurateshare