This book just wasn’t my cup of tea… (painfully obvious pun.) The writing was beautiful, but I found the plot boring and the characters flat. I skim read most of the back half because I wanted to be done. ( )

I loved the idea of a competition to be a master of tea making, which would win royal favor. So Ning, who is dealing with the death of her mother, her sister dying, and a grieving father, she must win at all costs. So as she travels to the competition, she realizes she is in much more complicated situation with backstabbing court politics and drama, the burden of her family and of course a handsome and mysterious stranger.

Initially I thought the book started off really well. Ning is grieving her mom, realizing her sister will die too and setting off knowing that her father would never approve of such a venture. And her first arrival to the competition, and realizing she was going to be in for a lot more than she might have bargained for. Plus you have a romantic interest to complicate things, as these stories go.

Like many of the reviews, I have to agree that the story is formulaic. As mentioned, I loved the idea of a magical tea since this was a different magical system than what I have encountered. But the story is very formulaic. Ning's love interest is stereotypically mysterious but yes yes they're connected in some way blah blah.

Ultimately I found this quite dull and not even worth the skim. The story also has issues such as classism, animal harm, bullying, attempted murder, etc. Not a happy book and unfortunately given the story you can't really skip it, either.

I see that the sequel is rated lower than the original (which tells me something really didn't work because usually sequels keep the people who really love the story?). So I'll be skipping the second part of this. Maybe it just wasn't my cup of tea, haha.

Bought as a bargain buy and that was best for me. ( )

Originally posted on Just Geeking by.

Content warnings:
This book contains scenes of violence, blood, assassination attempts, poisoning, war, and deaths (on and off page) including executions. There is a toxic relationship between a parent and child, bordering on emotionally abusive. There is also a scene involving the manipulation of animals and birds using magic during the competition which causes the creatures to suffer. As the setting of this book is historical china and some of the ingredients used for teas are animal parts.

Ning has brewed many teas in her life, learning the art of shénnóng-shī, the ancient and magical art of tea making, from her mother. But when she unwittingly brews a tea tainted with poison it has devastating consequences and her mother loses her life as a result. Poison tea bricks are showing up everywhere, and Ning’s loss is compounded when her sister also falls ill. Desperate not to lose her as well, she makes an impulsive decision to run away from home to take part in a competition to find the kingdom’s greatest shénnóng-shī who will serve at the Imperial court. The winner will is granted a favour from the Empress herself, and Ning is determined to use that to save her sister’s life.

When she reaches the Imperial court she finds that it isn’t going to be as simple as proving that she’s the best. There’s much more happening behind the scenes at the competition with politics and deadly plots, and Ning finds herself embroiled in situations that put her in danger. Her focus becomes surviving the competition, not just winning it.

The idea of magic tea in A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin is what drew me in, and I did not regret this decision for a second. Lin’s world-building is brilliant from start to finish, and coupled with her wonderful characters that defy stereotypes and have strong character development this is a must-read fantasy book. Ning was very easy to like, and I became emotionally engaged easily with her story from the beginning. Likewise, for many of the characters including several minor characters. It is also always great to see a LGBTQIA+ rep and the Book of Tea duology has a beautiful sapphic relationship.

While tea is a huge part of this book, obviously, I should mention as someone who isn’t a massive tear love (yes, not all Brits love tea) that this isn’t a book about people sitting around drinking lots of tea. It’s so much more than that. This is very much a political fantasy with some romance and a lot of court drama and brilliant world-building thrown in. If you love interesting and unique magic systems then this is the one for you.

Lin is a writer that knows how to play with a reader’s emotions and this is one you are definitely going to need tissues handy for. It does end on a huge cliffhanger, so I would suggest having the second book handy if that is not your thing. I did, and I’m not sure if I could have handled waiting to see what happened next!

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This blurb is from an interview with Judy I. Lin that I conducted for the Worlds of Words Center.

Judy I. Lin’s Duology of Tea is steeped in the terrain of the Taiwanese mountains, known for oolong teas. Lin, who was born in Taiwan and now lives in Canada, wanted to explore tea ceremonies around the world for a story brewing in her imagination. In that process, she came right back to the type of tea ceremony that she grew up with. Imagining the tea ceremony has magical properties for the sake of a young adult novel posed challenges.

“It’s not like blasting a fireball from your hands or any type of elemental magic where you can just directly influence the world around you, because it’s a quieter sort of magic. You have to be the one drinking it, or you have to make the other person drink it, or you have to have the ingredients available to you,” says Lin. You also must have all the specialized tools. That thought process inspired the magical competition that brings the protagonist, Ning, to the palace in A Magic Steeped In Poison, book one of the Duology of Tea. The result is an immersive young adult fantasy that transports readers to another time and place and reinforces the importance of relationships and trust in our lives.

Despite the quieter magical elements of tea and luxurious descriptions of palace interiors, the duology is packed with action and court intrigue, influenced by Lin’s love for martial arts movies and Chinese period dramas, which Lin points out can be viewed on streaming platforms. She then blends young adult fantasy elements such as various kinds of betrayal and mysterious strangers. In the second book, A Venom Dark and Sweet, Lin expands the world of Dàxi as Ning and her companions travel through different regions while being chased by harmful forces. Lin says she told the story she wanted to tell in the two books, and Ning’s journey is complete.

For a full interview with Lin detailing more about the writing of this duology, please visit wowlit.org

DNF at 29%

I just don't think this one was for me.