This series is well written, enthralling and just plain beautiful. I haven't read a book series with a similar world or magic system and it's originality had me in the high heavens. I was living for the dual POV in this installment and thought rounded things out nicely. It was so special to get an advanced review copy of this series and I am so thankful to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to leave my honest review.

A Venom Dark and Sweet picks up where A Magic steeped in Poison left us. Ning, her sister Shu, Princess Zhen, and the princess’ bodyguard Ruyi are traveling thorough the kingdom searching for help to take back the throne from The Banished Prince.

I enjoyed the book alternating between Ning and Kang’s point of views. I felt very invest in the relationships in the book more so that the first book. There was still plenty of tea and food references to make it unique. I was pleased with how this book wrapped up the conflict, but I wouldn’t have minded it being a little longer or just an epilogue to see Ning and Kang together and/or other relationships in the rebuilding.

Thank you to NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends publishing for my copy in exchange for my honest review.

Ahhh 💕 Still so much attention to detail and with alternating chapters on Kang and Ning it paints a more complete picture of remnants of the story that were left out in the first book.

I’m sure if it was ever suggested that this book series were to be made into a movie none of the nuances and little details that are included in the writing would ever make it into the final production of a movie. As of course we all know — the book was better. The beauty of this book is in the attention to both the inner and outer world of the characters. And what a world it is, I am so happy I got a chance to read both books.

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for the advanced copies of this series in exchange for my honest opinion.

I am going to be honest, I was sneaky holding out hope this was going to be a trilogy. Unfortunately, I was wrong and some pieces felt rushed towards the end as a result. That being said, it is a solid duology with a lot of excellent elements going for it.

I am going to be honest, I was sneaky holding out hope this was going to be a trilogy. Unfortunately, I was wrong and some pieces felt rushed towards the end as a result. That being said, it is a solid duology with a lot of excellent elements going for it.

Thank you Feiwel & Friends for gifting me an eARC of the book. My opinions are my own.

Stories within stories. Dreams within dreams. This is wonderfully crafted with such detail in villages, food and culture. Each village and region differing, but also share common history, kindness and hospitality. I love the world building and the characters. They are flawed and relatable.

Ning has escaped the palace along with Zhen and Ruyi, looking for a safe place to regroup and formate a plan on how to reclaim the palace. Her sister Shu with fierce determination tags along despite Ning's objections as they journey to complete her tasks.

The general is now emperor-regent and Kang only wants to make his father proud. But he's also conflicted with the harsh treatment of the people. He's torn between loyalty to his father and doing what's right for the people. But as he does more investigating, there seems to be a more nefarious forces at play.

"She is the only thing that shines in this dark place, surrounded by decay and ruin."

⭐⭐💫

Thank you to Feiwel and Friends and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

content warnings: parental death, violence, blood, imprisonment

A Magic Steeped in Poison was one of the best books I've read all year, and upon realizing there was a book 2 that releases the same year, I put in a request immediately! I even managed to fit reading this before the release date despite my 30 ARC backlog.

Unfortunately, this book did not live up to the first half of the duology in the slightest.

My favorite characters in book 1 were sent away or not included for the majority of the story, and book 2 mostly focused on Ning and her journeys with her younger sister Shu and a rotating cast of a few other minor characters at any given time, with semi-regular POVs from Kang. While I did enjoy the Kang chapters and the glimpses into the palace much more than the main storyline, the switch between first-person POV and third-person POV was a bit jarring.

What I struggled with most was the lack of intrigue. Unless I care about the relationship dynamic of the characters traveling, I generally don't care for long journeys, which was the majority of this book. For some reason, I just didn't care much about Shu, so that didn't help either. I was also a bit lost with the logic. We never (at least in my memory) learn about the limitations of the magic system either, so it felt as though there was little suspense in dangerous scenes as magic or intervention of the gods could always conveniently save them in some new way. I think this should have been a DNF, as it took me two months to finish it, but I kept holding out hope that I would change my mind by the end because of book 1.

Judy I. Lin has a wonderful way of writing atmosphere and I enjoy her writing style in general! I would not hesitate to pick up a standalone or new series in the future.

I would still highly recommend at least reading the first book in this duology, and A Magic Steeped in Poison is still tied for #3 in my favorite books of 2022 as of August.

The conclusion to the Book of Tea duology, A Venom Dark and Sweet returns us to Ning and her journey to save the people of her empire from an ancient, evil god.

There were several elements of this sequel that felt familiar from the first book - the interesting magic based on types of tea, the absolutely delicious descriptions of food. Unfortunately I did not like this book as much as I did the first one. The motivations for the plot in the first half of the novel were vague, and the ending was quite rushed with everything that needed to happen to wrap up the story. I did like that we got an additional point of view this time - seeing the story through Kang's eyes was great (even though his POV was written in third person, while Ning's is in first person?). I think there was a lot of potential here, it just didn't land for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
A Venom Dark and Sweet comes not long after its predecessor, which is basically unheard of for debut authors in publishing. However this came about, the strategy worked out well personally for me, as I really enjoyed book one and am pleased to see book two continues and concludes the story in the same vein. I love the continued exploration of the medicinal uses of tea, and how the mythos of the world is further expanded on.
While the first book mainly focused on Ning as the sole protagonist, with a supporting role for Kang, Kang now shares the spotlight, and it’s a welcome addition as there’s added stakes for both of them, as Ning is on the run with her sister and the princess’s bodyguard to gather allies, and Kang is being prepared to be the kingdom’s new leader. I have mixed feelings about his POV being in third person, while hers is in first, but that stylistic choice has always confused me.
However, minor personal mechanics issues aside, I did like how the two of them navigated their relationship, even while being seemingly in opposition to each other.
The book is pretty well-paced as well. It does take a little bit to get back into the groove of things, but it picks up again about 20-30% in, and is pretty much compelling throughout.
I really enjoyed this debut duology and am eager to see what Judy I. Lin writes next. If you’re a fan of YA fantasy with unique world building and magic, I recommend picking this duology up.

I really enjoyed this duology by Lin. I read the first book in one sitting, and I did exactly the same for A Venom Dark and Sweet. I will say that I don't think that the sequel is quite as compelling as A Magic Steeped in Poison, possibly because I didn't feel that the stakes were as high, but I remain very impressed with the quality of the world building. I can't wait for my students to read this one so that we can discuss it.

Thank you to Feiwel & Friends and NetGalley for the advanced electronic review copy of this amazing book! I really enjoyed the conclusion of The Book of Tea duology. Loved the world that the author created, really loved the emphasis on the medicinal side of tea, still amazing character development, and the spellbinding writing. Can’t wait to share this beauty with my YA students!

I quite liked the first book in this series, and was pretty excited to dive into this sequel/finale! I must admit, I struggled a bit to recall what exactly had gone down in the first book, so it did take me a minute to get back into the world. But it ended up being a pretty solid, if a bit safe, sequel.

First, we are given points of view from both Ning and Kang- one from first person, one from third, which is a trend I am seeing a lot of lately, and plan to write a post about sooner than later. Anyway, because they are split up, this makes sense. Ning is on the run, because of some political shenanigans from the last book which I won't get into, and Kang is being groomed as the next leader of the kingdom. Not the rightful leader, mind, but the leader nonetheless.

So it's pretty exiting, in that everyone is basically afraid for their lives and trying to both survive, but make sure that their respective sides end up on the throne. Here's the thing: While I absolutely appreciated this, I didn't feel a sense of actual danger? Like sure, I knew that cognitively the characters were technically in danger, running for their lives and from their foes, but... I just didn't actually feel it?

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.

Bottom Line: A solid, albeit safe-feeling conclusion that left me satisfied.

Part of why I love the A Magic Steeped in Poison duology so much is Lin's talent for world. Immediately after beginning, I sunk back into the atmosphere of Lin's magical setting. While the action is A Venom Dark and Sweet is fabulous - talk about some serious consequences and adventure - what I loved most were the themes. It's easy to get caught in the story, evil possibilities of magic, and the characters. But from the beginning, Lin examines the idea of necessary costs.

A dazzling and bittersweet end to the Book of Tea duology.

Once again, Judy I. Lin has drawn us into the world of magic and tea with her beautiful, eloquent storytelling. This book picks up right after <i>A Magic Steeped in Poison</i>. Ning, along with Ruyi, Zhen, and Shu traverse Daxi to find refuge and plot a way to retaliate against the general, Kang's father. Along the way, they learn more about the stories of ancient gods and legends, helping them understand the origins of the poison and leading them to the enemy.

I really enjoyed reading about Ning's development. She learns to trust people and to carry a burden, choosing to protect the people of Daxi. The POV of the story is also really interesting. We get to view Kang's side of the story with third person narration, along with Ning's first person account of her struggles in this battle with the enemy. The plot was unraveled so well, with small twists that settled perfectly in the world that Lin created. What I loved the most was the vivid details that made me feel like I was surrounded by the beauty, the ruin, and the heartache of this world.

<i>A Venom Dark and Sweet</i> is a perfect continuation of <i>A Magic Steeped in Poison</i>, etching silhouettes of the characters onto the heart of readers even after the epilogue ends. It is perfect for any reader who loves magic, tea, and gorgeous storytelling!

Thank you Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!💖

I loved this so much! It was a great read, written beautifully without being dull or dry. The characters we’re my favorite and had so much depth. Really wonderful storytelling!

The sequel to Magic Steeped in Poison is more action-packed and thrilling compare to the first.
Starting off where the ending of book one faded, Ning is on a quest to figure out how to stop the evil that would ruin her world.

Magical, spell-bounding, and satisfying. The Book of Tea Duology is one heck of a tale.

Magic
Family
Gods
Trust
Love

I will definitely purchase a copy when it comes out!

Lin returns to this world of tea magic in a world inspired by the Song dynasty era of Chinese history and what a delight it is. Lin’s lush descriptions of settings, food (omg the food), architecture, and more return just as strongly.

In book two, Princess Zhen is on the run from the usurper Banished Prince, and Ning must find a way to help restore her to the throne. Meanwhile, Kang finds himself in conflict between the Ning he met during the shengnong-shi competition and the one on the run from the state, as the Banished Prince, and his dad, has declared her a practitioner of more evil magics. All the while, older magics yet have begun to stir, with Ning repeatedly dreaming of the serpent she glimpsed at the end of book one.

I was initially pulled towards this series because of the tea magic, and I love that in book, two, Lin directs the focus towards medicinal teas. Traditional herbal Chinese medicine still plays such a big role in Chinese culture today and I loved how Lin highlighted so many different herbs and their different uses. Also Ning making full use of the tea alignment chart cracked me up.

My favorite part of this book is the inclusion of Kang’s POV. Kang was such an interesting character in book one, the mysterious prince who went into exile with his father, only to return with suspicious motivations. I loved his arc of conflict between loyalty to the father than he loves and the growing suspicious he has with his father’s new government and the people supposedly serving him.

My biggest issue with this book is the pacing. Frankly, book two could have easily been split into two books for a full trilogy. While book one is nicely contained to the tea competition and Princess Zhen on the run at the very end, book has to cram Kang’s father taking over, Ning’s attempts to unlock the secrets behind the poisoned tea bricks from book one, and the growing influence of older mythological beings. There’s so much going on that I wish we were able to spend more time with each individual element without being rushed to the next.

Overall, I rate this book a 4./5. I loved the emphasis on medicinal teas and Kang’s conflicted POV, but I think this series could have benefited from being a trilogy instead of a duology.

I really enjoyed this book. I think it was a lot more exciting than the first one and a great finish to the duology. I like the direction they took with the main villain. I thought it was very creative and there were parts of the end that actually brought quite a lot of emotion. I also really liked that the magic was also more prevalent. The main complaint I had about the first book was that the magic felt too quick and unimportant when compared to the politics and other stuff going on. In this book we get a lot more use of magic and the magic is also more important. I was very happy with this installment.

Lin's prose is a joy to read. It's beautifully written throughout the book. A Venom Dark and Sweet is a fantastic conclusion to the duology, with a fun magic system and a story that wraps up well. This is one that I believe both teenagers and adults will enjoy and I'll be recommending it to students and friends looking for a unique fantasy story.

A VENOM DARK AND SWEET is an absolute heartaching delight. Lin's prose is rich and full, making the world feel as real as can be. The dark, twisty story leads perfectly from the first book into this one. Every character feels real, fleshed out, their hearts all worn on their sleeves. Which, as a reader with trust issues, suits me so well. I really can't say enough good things about The Book of Tea Duology, I love both books so much.