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.
- Title: A Magic Steeped in Poison
- Author: Judy I. Lin
- Publisher: Judy I. Lin
- Publication Date: March 29 2022
- Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
- Source: Copy provided by Publisher/Author in exchange for an honest review)
- Targeted Age Range: Young Adult
- Content Warnings: Death of a parent
Judy I. Lin’s A Magic Steeped in Poison was one of my most anticipated reads of 2022 — after all, a magical tea competition, Chinese inspired/coded characters, and a gorgeous cover? How could I not want to read it? I’d never heard of anything quite like A Magic Steeped in Poison.
A Magic Steeped in Poison follows Ning, a shennong-shi in training. After accidentally pouring her mother and sister, Shu, a poisoned cup of tea — inadvertently killing her mother, and rendering her sister ill, Ning will do anything to rid her sister of the poison. When she hears of a competition to find the kingdom’s best shennong-shi, Ning sneaks out of her home to compete. Unlike others competing, Ning doesn’t particularly desire the prestige of winning such a competition. Rather, all she wants is a favor from the princess. Rumor has it that the princess has a cure-all stone, which might be Ning’s only chance to save Shu’s life. Once Ning arrives at the capital, however, she realizes that there’s more than just the competition. There’s always more brewing underneath the surface, however, and Ning is quick to realize that. With backstabbing competitors, and intriguing court politics, there’s a lot more at stake than Ning bargained for.
I’m still percolating my thoughts on A Magic Steeped in Poison, so I thought it’d be fun to share five reasons to read A Magic Steeped in Poison today instead of a full review:
- A Magic Steeped in Poison is filled with lyrical prose, and mouthwatering descriptions of food that’s sure to make you hungry! A Magic Steeped in Poison reminded me of the xianxia and wuxia that I used to watch with my mother, and the writing styles of Elizabeth Lim and Sue Lynn Tan.
- Lin’s worldbuilding is easy to follow, and completely immersive. Like I mentioned earlier, I’ve never quite read anything like this before, and the concept of magical tea was so fascinating!
- Ning, our main character, is incredibly easy to root for. I found myself feeling for her almost instantly, and just wanted so desperately for her to succeed. I can’t even imagine how much guilt Ning holds. All her actions are rooted in getting her closer to her goal: rectifying her past and saving her sister.
- I also just loved the side characters, but particularly Lian, Kang and the Princess. I found them fascinating, and would definitely read entire books about them! I loved how we got to learn about each character, and their motivations.
- The court intrigue! I’m a sucker for court politics, having grown up on a lot of Hong Kong dramas, and I just loved that dynamic in A Magic Steeped in Poison.
Links for A Magic Steeped in Poison: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop | IndieBound
Judy I. Lin was born in Taiwan and immigrated to Canada with her family at a young age. She grew up with her nose in a book and loved to escape to imaginary worlds. She now works as an occupational therapist, and still spends her nights dreaming up imaginary worlds of her own. She lives on the Canadian prairies with her husband and daughter. A Magic Steeped in Poison is her debut novel.
Follow Judy: Website | Instagram | Twitter
Photo credit: Aaron Perkins
A Magic Steeped in Poison is a wild ride from start to finish, and I’m so glad that the sequel will be out this summer! Will you be picking this book up? Let me know in the comments below!
