A Magic Steeped in Poison

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Average customer rating 4.5 (4 comments)

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I loved it A lot. This was a distinctive story with genre's full of fantasy, mythology and mystery. The book was written fantasticly. I was easily drawn to the wonderful book because of the cover, that sparked my interest and I stayed for the even more wonderful story that unraveled. We meet our amazing, bright and marvelous Ning. We follow her along her journey. As she joins a competition in the hopes of winning the reward money to heal her sister who was poisoned by tea. The writing style is addictive, quick and easy to follow. It was more like the book was reading me. The book cover easily wins the 2022 most gorgeous eye candy book cover award. The outstanding pinks, the astonishing fish, and the overall great and phenomenal design. Was and is so very pleasing to the eye. Simply said, it's quite wonderful and breathtaking to look at. The cliffhanger had me shook!

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A Magic Steeped in Poison follows, Ning, a teenage girl, as she travels to the Imperial Capitol to enter a competition to become the Princess' Shennong-Shi, a master of the art of tea making, who instills tea with magical powers. She hopes to receive a favor from the Princess so that she can find a cure for her sister, after a poisoned brick of tea she brewed killed her mother and caused her sister to be gravely ill. Ning must face a challenging contest, backstabbing competitors, dangerous politics and the secret that she is impersonating her sister in the contest. She also meets an alluring boy with many secrets. The plot keeps the reader intrigued, reeling and tense. The world building is vivid and creative. The magic system is fascinating, unique and based on Taiwanese tea culture and folklore. Judy Lin's writing is beautiful, immersive and lyrical. I loved Ning's character as she bravely and tenaciously sought help for her sister in an unfamiliar and hostile environment. Ning is also admirable in that she envisions a kind and just world. The story ended on a cliffhanger. Fortunately, the sequel, which I'm anxiously awaiting, is coming out this year.

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This book is a magical love letter to the art of tea-making and food, about a girl who joins a competition to save her beloved sister’s life. It’s also about friendship, and political corruption, and it’s infused with Chinese culture and mythology. There are so many mouth-watering descriptions of food. Meat buns and soups and sticky rice cakes and sweet-and-sour fish and all sorts of desserts—jellies and cookies and pastries filled with red bean paste. I loved this book, for the most part, for its descriptiveness(not just of food, but of scenery and architecture as well), its pacing, its plot. There’s the romance, which was just okay, but I personally don’t like instalove. If you’re a fan of when the main female character and male character meet and it’s very apparent that there’s some attraction between them and that they’ll act on this attraction after only a handful of interactions, you’ll probably also like it in this book. Their relationship does take an interesting turn, though. I also really enjoyed the way things came together in the end... Looking forward to the sequel, especially after that cliffhanger ending.

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I have to admit I never would have imagined a world where what tea and how it is brewed could be magic, but I have to say I enjoyed it. The beginning was a little slower than I would have liked, but overall the story was fun and I am ready for the second book. The characters were a bit predictable but fun and the main character definitely had me rooting for her. Ning may have been talented as a shennong-shi she was needed to learn the art of being a physician to assist her father. Her mother died from a poison that has been hidden into blocks of tea and Ning feels shame since she brewed that tea. Her sister is now dying from the same poison and she feels her only chance to save her sister is to took her sisters invitation to the palace for a contest to become the new royal shennong-shi. She finds more intrigue than she expected, but she also finds friends and allies that will help her because dark times are coming for the kingdom.