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nixieba25f's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Terminal illness, Confinement, Animal death, Blood, Classism, Bullying, Grief, Body horror, Violence, Death of parent, Alcohol, Murder, Animal cruelty, and War
amberinpieces's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Classism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Grief, Murder, and Sexism
Minor: Alcohol, Violence, Torture, Animal death, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
xvicesx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
They say you can spot a true shennong-shi by their hands - palms colored by the stain of the earth, fingertips scarred from thorns, a permanent crust of soil and blood darkening the crescents of their nails.
I used to look at my hands with pride.
Now, all I can think is, These are the hands that buried my mother.
The pacing was really good throughout, every scene purposeful and leading the reader through the baffling world of court politics and intrigue from the eyes of a girl of simple goals. All Ning wants to do is save her sister.
The romance was cute, although brief, so I'm hoping for a bit more in the follow-up, and the end does come to a bit of a cliffhanger overall but I enjoyed it all enough to not argue too much.
Strongly recommend. A love letter to Chinese myth, food that is a form of art, and most of all, tea.
On a side note, because I've seen this flagged as LGBTQ elsewhere and it's not necessarily clear if it's the main focus of the book or there is representation.
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Bullying, Deportation, Classism, and Chronic illness
Minor: Animal death, Death of parent, Death, War, Animal cruelty, Torture, and Blood
I flag a note on animal cruelty because a snake dies as a vehicle for one of the trials, but all other animals featured in the book do just fine.vixenreader's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Animal death, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, War, Classism, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Medical trauma, Death, and Drug use
Moderate: Gaslighting, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Bullying, Colonisation, Confinement, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, and Abandonment
Minor: Alcohol, Excrement, Cursing, Pregnancy, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
There is a heavy amount of poisoning and a conspiracy theory driving the plot.ra22ouille's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Moderate: Death, Blood, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
euphemiajo's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Abandonment
Minor: Grief, Death, War, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Classism, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
beautifulpaxielreads's review
Graphic: Murder, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Blood
saratonin_stories's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
encompasses the beauty of this book, from the magic of the tea, to the flowery prose, and the magestic
landscapes, Lin builds a world that captivates readers. The magic system was fascinating, and one of a kind; learning about the significance of tea and ceremony around it was wondrous. Definitely don't be fooled because the contrast to all this beauty is the dark rooted political games that lead to tenuous situations that Ning finds herself. Some of the relationship development between Ning and other characters was a bit clunky to me, but it didn't impact the story line significantly and ultimately the character relationships came to fruition.
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Death, Murder, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Minor: Blood, Child abuse, War, and Medical trauma
azrah786's review against another edition
4.25
CW: violence, blood, injury, murder, death, death of parent, animal cruelty, animal death, terminal illness, medical content, grief, bullying, confinement, torture, sexism, misogyny, classicism
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As a massive tea lover the mention of a magic system involving tea had me running to pick up A Magic Steeped in Poison and it did not disappoint!
Wracked with guilt after unknowingly serving her mother and sister poisoned tea, Ning is determined to do anything to save her sister. So when word from the Imperial Palace arrives inviting the apprentices of the Shennong-Shi (masters of the ancient and magical art of tea-making) from across the kingdom to compete to be the court’s tea-maker, Ning is driven to participate by the promise of a favour from the princess for the winner.
However, being double-crossed by fellow opponents soon become the least of Ning’s worries as she unintentionally becomes entangled with the politics and conspiracies around court.
Judy I Lin’s prose is just as dreamy as the books cover and immediately draws you in to a page-turning story and setting imbued with spellbinding magic. Not only will the magical tea charm your senses but the vivid descriptions of places and all the mouth-watering food will undoubtedly immerse you fully into the world.
The pacing really keeps you on your toes in this one because the plot is just constantly rolling with Ning being swept away into the competition almost immediately. Now this tempo keeps up for pretty much the whole book and once you settle into the story it isn’t too much of a problem.
The only real place that I had an issue with it was when it came to the romance.. It definitely came around a little too fast and felt quite insta lovey which isn’t a favourite trope of mine. Though I will say the banter and spark that there was between the MC and LI was great, I just wish more development could have been shown between them on page.
That aside the overall plot was fascinating and though there were some twists that were a little obvious the political tensions of the empire were brilliantly woven around Ning’s personal story. Her love for her family was big driving force over the course of the story which I really loved and it was great to see wholesome female friendships there too!
Really looking forward to picking up the sequel!
Final Rating – 4.25/5 Stars
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Death of parent, Blood, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Classism, Death, Terminal illness, Bullying, Confinement, Torture, Sexism, Grief, and Misogyny
rory1387's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
- literally everything
- CASUAL QUEER REPRESENTATION??!!!! (it's TWO side/peripheral couples)
cons:
- made me crave good tea but I don’t have anywhere to buy it
- made me say "Alexa play folklore by Taylor Swift" 37859437 times, except I don't have an Alexa, so it pissed off my Siri
Graphic: Grief, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Death, Murder, and Terminal illness
Minor: Vomit, War, Animal death, and Torture