Early Review – A Magic Steeped in Poison (The Book of Tea, Book 1) by Judy I. Lin (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 352 pages
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: March 29, 2022
ASIN: B08WKZH9SN
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in The Book of Tea series
Source: eGalley from NetGalley
Rating: 4/5 stars
“For Ning, the only thing worse than losing her mother is knowing that it’s her own fault. She was the one who unknowingly brewed the poison tea that killed her—the poison tea that now threatens to also take her sister, Shu.
When Ning hears of a competition to find the kingdom’s greatest shennong-shi—masters of the ancient and magical art of tea-making—she travels to the imperial city to compete. The winner will receive a favor from the princess, which may be Ning’s only chance to save her sister’s life.
But between the backstabbing competitors, bloody court politics, and a mysterious (and handsome) boy with a shocking secret, Ning might actually be the one in more danger.”
Series Info/Source: This is the first book in The Book of Tea series; this is going to be a duology. I got an eGalley of this book through Netgalley to review.
Thoughts: This was a well done historical fantasy. It is about a young woman named Ning who journeys to the capital to compete to be the kingdom’s greatest shennong-shi (magical tea master). She journeys there both to save her sister (who is dying of poison) and to try to solve the mystery of the Shadow who delivered poison tea to her family resulting in her mother’s death and her sister’s sickness. However, Ning ends up accidentally drawn into the politics of the realm.
This is a very well done historical fantasy. I love the lush settings and intriguing tea magic. The characters were decent but the side characters could have had more depth and background. The romance between our Ning and the mysterious guy she meets in town, wasn’t great and felt a bit sudden to me.
This was a five star read for me up until the last part. The final challenge the competitors went through confused me, it seemed to depend way too much on the Prince and what he could do rather than the competitors’ skills. I do understand why it was set up this way but it seemed very contrived and this aspect of the competition had huge consequences which then also felt forced. In short, I wasn’t a fan of how it ended.
The writing flows well enough and the settings are well described. The first part of the plot was well done. This book did take itself a bit too seriously for me, there is no humor at all which makes the characters feel stiff.
My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this but didn’t love it. The world-building is solid and I really enjoyed the tea magic and having a competition that revolved around it. The main characters were okay but side characters lacked depth. The writing flowed well and was easy to read, but events later in the book didn’t make a lot of sense and felt forced. I am unsure right now if I will read the second book in this duology. I would recommend this if you like serious historical fantasies and magical tea sounds good to you.
