This might be the most beautiful cover I have ever seen.

A Magic Stepped in Poison tells the story of backstabbing competitors, bloody court politics, and a mysterious boy with a shocking secret.

I loved the magic system and the setting of the story. This is perfect for anyone who loves a good YA fantasy.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC for review.

I picked this up because the second in the duology is coming out next month. The cover is what drew me to this book initially, but I was intrigued by the idea of tea magic.

After Ning's mother dies, and her sister is dying from a poisoned tea, Ning plans to enter into a tea competition that allows the winner to ask for a favor. She's hoping to save her sister's life with a magical stone she heard the princess has.

There is a trial (one of my favorite fantasy tropes), tea magic, friendship, a little romance, and politics. I can't wait to read book two! I think you don't have to be a YA reader to love and enjoy this book.

Judy Lin is A MASTER in world-building. Her characters are poignant and her ability to wear words into a lush visual backdrop that sets the stage for her unique plot is unmatched. Beautiful. Stunning. I will read anything she writes. AMAZING.

The magic system is stunning. Reading tea leaves is a beautiful art and being able to read that in a fantasy was a lovely change from magic systems I’m used to. The cover and title caught my attention when I first saw the book in my feed. Great read for anyone into Chinese mythology.

This was a really fun and quick read. I really loved the magic system with the tea, and I enjoyed the palace politics. The romance was a little lacking for me and very instalove but has some potential.

I need the sequel to this book immediately! I loved the premise, and that it was a competition for tea-makers. Being an avid-tea drinker, I loved the connection between magic, tea, and herbology.

A Magic Steeped in Poison was a fantastically wonderful book! The only thing that is stopping me from giving it a solid 5 star was the pacing of it. It was so fast in the beginning and then it slowed down then it picked back up, I just couldn't get a feel for it while reading the book.

That being said, the representation of this book was fantastic! I enjoyed reading the combination of the different asian mythology. I loved the plot and the story behind it. While this one did take a little longer for me to read, I enjoyed it immensely and can't wait to read the next book!.

Thank you to the publisher, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group/Feiwel & Friends and to NetGalley for the eARC for review! All thoughts are my own.

This book was exactly what I hoped it would be, and more: a beautiful, vivid, wild ride from start to finish, with so many wicked twists and turns! I got so attached to every character, even the small side characters that made small appearances.

The way that Ning's journey progressed, from its tragic and heartbreaking beginning (unknowingly poisoning her own mother and sister, her mother perishing), taking her sister's place in the competition solely to find the cure for her, to thriving and *almost* winning the competition, kept me on the edge of my seat in itself. But having the court officials, competitors, and even palace service staff participating in the backstabbing and MULTIPLE attempted murders was WILD. I loved the blend of Chinese mythology, fantasy, romance, and the old magical folklore feel to the story. I could picture everything SO vividly, and felt like I was experiencing the MC's difficulties alongside her. The magic system being based around brewing tea and the tea ingredients properties was SO refreshing, yet tangible to understand at the same time. As many other reviewers have stated both here and on GR, Lin has an absolute gift of writing such intense scenes while also achieving a certain softness/soothing sensation to her writing. I'm lucky enough to also have an eARC of A Venom Dark and Sweet, so I can't wait to jump right in to get some answers to that insane cliffhanger!

This debut novel is full of magic, culture, adventure, and intrigue. Perfect for fans of Chinese fantasy and historical dramas. The plot is solid, and even though the pacing was a little slow in the middle, the ending delivered. Great read.

A Magic Steeped in Poison plays on the complexity of tea leaves and the flavors it invokes. Through this story, tea is central and the author uses it to the benefit of the plot and characters. Tea has been poisoned and is claiming lives, even Ning's mother and will now take her sisters life if she doest find a cure. When a competition is announced to find the next greatest shennong-shi—masters of the ancient and magical art of tea-making, she jumps at the chance. Each competition is complex and pushes the characters to develop in ways that push at the extremes. By allowing the different sides of the tea tradition shine, the culture and care of tea is shown with delicate and multifaceted senses.

Absolutely lovely!!
Chinese mythology and magic based on different kinds of tea?! Sign me right up!
Can't wait for the sequel!

I had such high expectations for this one, and it let me down. I wish the world building, magic system, and romance were more developed. I enjoyed the betrayal scenes, but I felt like the resolutions were rushed, and everything was a little too convenient for the main character. Overall a good concept, but the execution was not my cup of...tea.

4.5 stars

First off, did you see that cover? I’m sorry, I love the way both this cover and the sequel/conclusion’s cover look, especially side by side. Cover designers do such incredible work, and even if the title or the author name doesn’t grab your attention, this cover should at least get you to pick the book up.

Then there’s the synopsis. I do enjoy magical competition stories, and a good court politics/political intrigue story is typically something I like to read as well, so this story definitely intrigued me. I’m also currently playing an herbalist/apothecary/healer type character in Dungeons & Dragons, so the tea making aspect of this story absolutely appealed to me.

And with all the anticipation and expectation I felt before picking this book up, I can say that it did deliver a satisfying story, which is great. I finished this in just a couple sittings, as part of my long Memorial Day weekend reading relaxation event this year….I read like 5 books in 4 days, which felt pretty damn great, and honestly they were all pretty solid reads.

The worldbuilding and lore and magical setup were interesting, and I definitely found myself compelled to keep reading, which is usually a good sign, but felt especially good after how slumpy I had been these past months. So honestly if you’re looking for an absorbingly quick read that will keep you turning pages, perhaps this is one you should look into.

The characters were interesting, and with the political intrigue elements, it made me question every character I met, wondering what ulterior motives they had, if any, and trying to figure out where everyone’s loyalties aligned. And with how all the characters ended up and how the plots wove together by the end, I do believe that I’ll be trying to pick up the sequel pretty soon. It would be nice to get the review up before release day near the end of August.

I am very into the sections with the competition, tea magic, bonding with the enemy, but less into the boring political side of it. Just, give me Project Teaway!

This was a gorgeous first novel in a duology that combines tea magic and a destabilizing government. With a similar vibe to the The Blood of Stars duology, this book was a quick read with a setting that drew me in and characters that kept me there. There is just the right amount of a love story while keeping the focus on the mystery and trial. If you enjoyed The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea and The Blood of Stars duology, give this book a try!

(I was given an arc of this book through Netgalley in return for an honest review).
Overall Rating:
-Characters: 4/5
-Plot:5/5
-Setting: 5/5
-Romance: 4/5
-Description:5/5
-Enjoyment: 4/5

A Magic Steeped in Poison is a story about a girl named Ning who enters a competition to become the emperor's shennong-shi (a master of the magical art of tea-making) in hopes to find a cure for a poison that killed her mother and is now threatening her sister. However, the competition is not the only thing Ning will have to deal with once she reaches the palace.
The plot of this story was very intriguing and kept me hooked, however some of the characters seemed very one-sided. The setting of the novel contributed greatly to the plot and I found that the author used it to her advantage to add intrigue and complexity. The politics and relationships were well written and added more depth to the story.

A Magic Steeped in Poison is the story of Ning, a teen from a small village whose father is a doctor and mother a shennong-shi, that is, she did channeled magic through the making of tea. Her mother however, is now dead, killed by an undetectable poison someone has been putting into the tea leaves. Ning, who is not her mother's apprentice but her fathers, brewed the tea which killed her mother, and which nearly killed her sister. Now she must journey to the capital to compete in a competition being held to choose the next royal shennong-shi, and hopefully gain access to a cure for her sister. Much tea making and intrigue awaits.

I really liked this book. Ning is a great character, I was rooting for her from the beginning. She is in a difficult position, not having actually been an apprentice to her mother, but being desperate to help her sister, and the choices she make reflect this. I loved the descriptions of the tea making, both regular and magical. I definitely recommend having a cup ready to drink while you read! It was a fascinating magic system that I am eager to learn even more about in the second book. I also really enjoyed a lot of the side characters. Even the ones with small parts felt like real people. I highly recommend this book and I can't wait for the sequel!

This book is just stunning and I don't just mean the cover (but honestly I would buy it based on that alone). Luckily the words inside are just as lovely as the outside images. This story is unique and just gorgeous! It is fresh and takes the reader on a ride. A must have for YA collections!

i’m starting the sequel as soon as i finish this review because WHAT WAS THAT CLIFFHANGER?!

a magic steeped in poison is a chinese-inspired fantasy centered around a magical tea-brewing competition. ning enters under false pretenses to win a cure for her sister, who is slowly dying from the same poison that killed their mother, and finds herself caught up in court politics, secret plots, and a shattered royal family.

i loved the tea-based magic system. it was original and clever and really set the book apart. ning was an enjoyable main character and i thought the romance and main friendship were cute, but i wish the side characters had been developed more; because i didn’t know them well, those relationships sometimes felt shallow. the court politics and palace setting were otherwise delightful, so i just wanted to know more about certain characters who appeared frequently.

this was a strong start to a duology. ning had my attention from the first chapter—the first line, really—and i’m excited to see how everything wraps in a venom dark and sweet.

<i>"We all have people we care about, those we would give our lives for. It puts us in danger, or makes us dangerous. In a way, I resent the village I come from. I resent the ties that bind me there, because the people there remember my mother returning to the village, unwed and pregnant. They know my awkward ways, my ineptitude for social niceties, my many mistakes. But they are also a part of me. The dirt under my nails, the blood in my veins. I belong with those tea trees, the rice fields, the clay of the riverbanks, the fire in the kilns.
I am selfish, and I know now that I will no longer apologize for it. Let the world burn, if Shu can live."</i>

TL;DR: A gorgeous, lush, immersive fantasy-folk-tale with a truly unique magic system and empowered female heroines.
<b><i>I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.</b></i>

Vibes: Disney's Mulan + dashes of Aladdin & Cinderella + glossed over with some of more PG-13 elements of Squid Game

Genre: NA / YA Fantasy-Folktale-Mythology
[or maybe magical realism...there are more magical elements to this story than the power of the gods, as in mythology, and the magic is never really explained: it just exists within the world, and there are definitely elements of political critique.]
Also would appeal to New Adults. IDK exactly how old Ning is supposed to be, but her exact age doesn't matter -- just that she is younger than most of the males around her.

Romance Meter: 🖤 🖤 ♡ ♡ ♡
*There is a romantic subplot (rather inevitable these days), and it doesn't involve a (serious) love triangle. I did find the romance bits distracting though, and felt they pulled focus away from the more engaging aspects of the story.
I've also seen "insta-love" floating around some other reviews...but I didn't really see that here. "Insta-Connection," yes. But Ning doesn't pine or swoon over "Bo" as much as some other heroines in Insta-Love stories do. She is curious about him, feels a (magical) connection with him, and is attracted to him, but I wouldn't call that Insta-Love.

Character MVP: Lian, Ning's (first?) friend and roommate. She was kind and spunky and smart -- all the things I love in a side-character.

Verdict: 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 because I couldn't put this book down and genuinely loved the story.

I did think the world-building / magic system was a little abrupt -- especially at the beginning, and even at the end, I felt thrown into it very abruptly.

Don't get me wrong, I 100% loved the idea that "Magic = Brewing Tea," kinda like potion making but not as witchy.

But there were only a few passages that really seemed to get at the "logic," of it, for lack of a better word -- how the magic worked and what it was capable of.

I get that some of that may have been because Ning herself didn't really know; she had only demonstrated an affinity for the magic before being apprenticed to her more scientific, physician father, so she was kinda learning as she went. But as someone who loves world-building in a fantasy, I wanted more. (Which may be why I'm more inclined to think of it as magical realism, since the magic there isn't usually explained; it just "is.")

Other things that worked for me:

✔️ -- I thought it was really well plotted, with little details from the beginning coming back in the end (something I'm realizing I appreciate more, the more I read).

✔️ -- I also really loved the subtle/casual questioning of "the norm." Soldiers were both male *and* female (instead of being all male), as were servants. There were also casual references to same-sex couples, as if this alternate society wasn't particularly bothered by them. IDK if that applies to *all* the characters, but I appreciate the attempt to normalize queer relationships.

✔️ -- I also loved that this book is about female empowerment -- and set against a backdrop of what we typically think of a very sexist culture. <i>Mulan</i> is one of the worst offenders (of Disney films) because of the heavy emphasis on patriarchal values (perhaps a bit too overboard), and I definitely got some Mulan vibes with this story: Lin's story starts (a bit too) abruptly, with Ning stealing away in the middle of the night, with a scroll intended for one of her parents, to enter a world for which she is woefully under-trained and under-prepared. (And where she's attracted to a man who is "above her station.")
And, like <i>Mulan</i>, many of the male characters in this story are the cause of the drama and conflict, while the women shake their heads, knowing they could do it better. Which I always appreciate.

I also very much appreciate that, while this is a duology, both books will be released within a calendar year. No 2-year-wait inbetween books so that you forget what happens--although I need the sequel NOW, and not in 2 months.