I really enjoyed this book and am looking for the sequel. The main character was a bit flat, though I enjoyed her drive to protect her sister. The romance was pretty adorable. I also liked a lot of the side characters especially the princess. The magic system was unique and interesting.

Thank you SO much publisher for taking on this amazing author and this book. Look at this cover - doesn’t it remind anyone of the artist James Jean?!! The book summary got me hooked. I preordered it within a day. Even though I got an e copy to read, I had to get a hardback copy too. It’s so rare to read about tea pouring as tradition or as an art form. This book has political palace suspense, budding friendship/romance story and a secret. Highly recommend this book to all readers of YA mystery fans. Definitely support Asian authors!

I have been waiting to read this book for a long time. For one, even though this is part of a duology (I hate cliffhangers, by the way), the sequel is only months away from being released. And it is all about the art of tea making and the magic brewed with it. That is something I cannot say no to. Glad to say that the story doesn't disappoint.
Ning is on a mission to save her sister from the brink of death. Her mother has already succumbed to the poison found in the tea leaves provided by the imperial coffers. Her only chance lies in winning the competition organised by the princess. Am I the only one here getting the 'Hunger Games' and 'Goblet of Fire' vibes? Well, don't expect something that nerve-racking; except for the last part, the story follows an even pace as soothing as the morning tea.
That brings us to the most interesting part: the magic of the shennong-shi, masters adept in the art of tea-making. In a palace riddled with mysteries where every step could lead to danger, the competition adds another layer to the political intrigue. Not everything or everyone is what they seem. As Ning progresses through each round we are introduced bit by bit to the beauty of this art and when the shennong-tu's hands wield the tea, all the chaos seems to recede.
The story explores the power of female relationships and thus all the major characters are women, except for Kang - the adopted son of the banished prince. His background is still shrouded in mystery, that is something to wait for in the sequel. Their sudden progress from friends to lovers might have taken me by surprise, still, I am rooting for this duo.
A beautiful story that will ensnare you from the very beginning. Drinking tea will never be the same anymore.

Favourite quotes:

"Grief has a taste, bitter and lingering, but so soft it sometimes disguises itself as sweetness"

"The nice thing about getting old is you realize everything circles back on itself"

"Human hands make mistakes, Ning, but they are the hands the gods gave us. We use them to make amends, to do good things"

"We all have people we care about, those we would give our lives for. It puts us in danger, or makes us dangerous"

"There is a difference between living the suffering and reading about it"

This is a fabulous new series. Immediately engaging, and I cannot wait to read the next book coming in the series! A definite addition to personal collections and libraries!

4.5 stars

This was an incredible YA fantasy read. The magic system was unique and elegant and I found myself wanting to discover the possibilities along with Ning. I appreciated the balance between having a character that is both incredibly talented and still a student. The competition was an excellent way for the reader to learn about the magic system. The challenges were unique and interesting and often wove in elements of the political turmoil. The unrest is a shadow looming over the story that slowly becomes more and more apparent culminating in a tense final scene that left me on the edge of my seat. I am incredibly excited to see how the magic and the turmoil expand in the next book.

The characters were also incredible. Ning was determined and strong. Kang was charming and shrouded in mystery. The princess and her bodyguard were particularly interesting characters to piece together.

As much as I loved the book I can't quite give it five stars. This book has quite a slow build-up with a lot of moments of waiting or contemplation for Ning. The second half really escalated the stakes of the story but we spent almost too much time in the build-up. I also wish we had gotten more distinct characters among the competitors. There was only the friendly one, the enemy, and the enemy's sidekick. There were hints of additional character development with one of the competitors at the end. But I would have liked to see Ning interact with her peers a bit more. As exciting as secret rendevous are I wanted more character interactions related to the competition. Now that the story has really taken off I am confident I will love the sequel.

Individual destinies are too entwined with one another. A combination of hundreds, thousands of choices." #AMagicSteepedInPoison #JudyILin #macmillan

📚: 1 / 2

✨Genre: #YA #Fantasy #AAPI #ChineseMythology

✨You will find in this book:

🌱Magic / Tea making / Love-hate relationships/ Friendship 🌱

Ning has lost her mother and a lot of people are dying from the poisonings.

Ning's sister is sick. And Ning decides to go to the Palace to take part in the shennong-shi competition, for the right to serve the emperor and find the cure for her sisters sickness.

Girl from the village, encounters a lot of palace intrigues, but also meets kind people, with whom her destiny will be entwined.

Beautiful and original story with a lot of tea brewing. I loved it.

I liked that author has not chosen typical "they lived happily ever after" trope. I was completely wrong about Kang and Princess, this makes me really excited for a book two.

Cool tea magic system? The cover? Competition? These were some of the things that intrigued me and I can confirm, A Magic Steeped in Poison is a beautiful debut, full of court intrigue, mysteries and pretty descriptions. It's easy to read and entertaining enough that the pages flow by as we accompany Ning in her determined quest to find a cure for the poison and save her sister.

I really liked Ning's character and how her family always propelled her through the competition and courtly schemes. Her newfound allies that support her as well the interesting side characters added to the enjoyment. Also, the worldbuilding. The best part of the book probably. I loved how it was all put together with excellent descriptions of every food, place, situation or tea; along with the inclusion of Chinese inspiration. Though the plot falls into the typical YA fantasy category plots, it was mainly the writing that kept me going.

What I didn't like mainly was the insta love that felt forced in the plot to keep up the mystery, but Kang as a character is someone I'd like to know more about in the sequel, along with his relationship with Ning. The pacing was off at times too, with a few scenes being dragged on or seemed too convenient.

Overall, a good debut though, as it provides a solid base for the sequel. I'm eager to see the improved characterization and return to the same lush world!

I confess this was a book where the book cover demanded a reading investigation by me. I was not disappointed by what I found within its cover. I really loved the idea of magic within tea steeping, especially since I live in SE Asia where tea culture is an everyday experience. I am curious how this series will continue into the next one.

I loved this book! It was so fun and fast paced. I loved the character relationships, and the beautiful descriptions of the setting. I also greatly enjoyed the magic system, and the discussions of tea! I am very excited for book 2!

I can't even begin to put into words how I much I loved this book. Forget about how gorgeous the cover art is, and it is GORGEOUS! What is inside this book is magical! I really enjoyed the magic system and the world building in this story and I cannot wait to read more from this author!

The book's pace was slow but overall was rich in detail. There was great description of socioeconomic differences which were incorporated into the competition. The tea descriptions were beautiful. Common fantasy tropes appeared throughout but they didn't feel predictable. It's a unique premise that delivers.

I ended up DNFing this book, unfortunately. I couldn’t connect to the characters and found myself not keeping up with the plot. I definitely recommend for most YA fantasy readers, but because I’m a very character driven reader this just didn’t work for me. Thank you for the opportunity to read this title early.

Oh. My. Goodness.

This book was so good!!!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends for allowing me early access to this book as an eARC.

Like it gave Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim vibes but this book literally had me about to cry during the last true interaction between Ning and Kang.

The magic system is so next level!! The whole magic with the tea was so unique and so cool. The amount of thought the author put into it was so cool and just made it so whimsical and beautiful in its magic.

The pacing in the beginning was a tad slow but after we got into the competition everything flew by. There was a bit of everything from romance, to political intrigue, to backstabbing betrayals.

I’m so excited for the sequel!! (And if anyone needs a kidney I’ll trade one of mine for an ARC of A Venom Dark and Sweet 👀)

Clever premise. Got a little lost in the magic but the friendships and relationships were well done. Looking forward to sequel.

Will buy a copy of this book. Didn't have time to read the ARC before the Archive Date as I got a copy a week before release. Have heard amazing things about this book though, so I am excited to read, and then read the sequel in my ARC library.

A MAGIC STEEPED IN POISON was a delectably beautiful book to read. Aesthetically, the book itself is GORGEOUS. The cover? The end pages? The chapter illustrations? All amazingly beautiful. And the story itself is just as gorgeously written. I adored Judy Lin's lyrical prose that brings to life a land filled with inequities, injustice, and tradition. You can't help but love Ning from the outset as she leaves her home to save her sister from a poisoned tea. To do this, she must become the new court shennong-shi, or a magical teamaker, but she must overcome SO many hurdles to not just win the competition, but just to survive. The whole magic system was totally fascinating and wholly unique. Magic based on different types of tea is something I have never seen before. I loved how Lin's writing engages all of your senses, including taste. It really makes reading AMSIP a wonderful experience. I was also totally here for all the doomed romance, political intrigue, and secrets that are revealed throughout the plot, which I thought was paced and developed very well. I was definitely intrigued by this book and all its gorgeousness, and am here for more from this author! I have to see what happens next!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I loved the way the magic is handled through the tea, and how it embraced a culture different than the Western norm. I enjoyed the different characters and how they interacted together. I was rooting for all of them, and the ending was very good.
But, really I feel like the potential with Kang stole the show. I really hope there is more to the character than meets the eye.

After reading an excerpt of A Magic Steeped In Poison, I was hooked. Judy I. Lin brews pure magic in this young adult book. This is a fantastic debut! The amount of research she poured into this Chinese mythology is amazing!

In the steps of her mother, Ning enters a magical competition at the palace in hopes of saving her sister from the same poison that took her mother. I nearly cried for Ning, her family, and her village!

The mystery of who is responsible for the poisonings and who will be the next shénnóng-shi for the next palace held my attention. However, there is a bit of a lull in the middle, but the ending took me by surprise. I gasped!

A Magic Steeped in Poison is part of a duology, and I look forward to reading the second book!

How far would you go to save your family?

Ning illicitly obtains a scroll, poses as a shénnóng-tu, and joins the shénnóng-shi competition to earn a favor from the princess.

Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Feiwel & Friends, Judy I. Lin and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this magical book!

I was so surprised with how much I loved this book! The writing was beautiful and I found myself obsessed with the plot and unable to put it down. This is for fans of Elizabeth Lim’s Spin the Dawn!

"Human hands make mistakes, Ning, but they are the hands the gods gave us. We use them to make amends, to do good things."

Thank you so much to Netgalley for giving me access to this book before publication in exchange for an honest review.
AAAAHHH this book is amazing!! Automatically one of my favorites!! OMG it's so good!!

Idk where to start with my review because I love this book so much lol. The setting is beautiful, inspired by China and portrayed through such beautiful language you feel like you're actually there. The greatest things from mountains to small things like flower petals are described with loving detail, so the whole book is basically a love letter to China and to the Shénnóng art.

The descriptions of magic, especially Ning's shénnóng-tu magic, are breathtaking and they rope you in immediately. I so wish I saw the world through her eyes. I loved every bit of the contrast between the handcrafted and secretive opulence of the court and the simpler but even more exquisite beauty of nature Ning is so familiar with. loved seeing her knowledge and expertise of interpreting tea as well as people grow throughout the novel. The other major female characters were all amazing as well, my favorite besides Ning being the princess. I can't say too much about the princess for fear of spoiling, but I'm eager to see how her character grows in the next novel in particular. I'm not usually one to go for political intrigue plots, but the princess made this one worth it.

Strangely, I didn't love Kang as much as the rest of the main characters. He's not a bad character, I just don't feel there is much to set him and the romance apart from others in the YA genre. In other words, he's well written but a bit stereotypical, so he doesn't shine as much as the other character's more nuanced personalities. The romance feels a bit underdeveloped as a result, but since the romance was overshadowed by the politics, that kind of makes sense. The book is so amazing in other aspects that I don't mind a lack of well developed romance, and I won't actually mind too much if the second novel continues with the romance in a necessary back seat. Readers who like a splash of romance but don't want one that dominates the plot would probably agree.

I really can't say enough about this book to do it justice, so just go read it already!! This is seriously one of the best YA books I'll probably ever read, and I'll pick up the sequel ASAP. And I HAVE to get physical copies of the duology so I can display these absolutely gorgeous covers!