nxpe's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This book was not at all what I was expecting. I went into this thinking it would be a relatively simple fantasy about tea magic, but it ended up being hella political. And that doesn't make it bad, but it's not by any means, I just wasn't expecting it.
I enjoyed the tea magic a lot more that I thought I would, and it was described in a very lovely way. Definitely craved tea more than I have in a hot minute.
This was also my first Asian-inspired fantasy, which was pretty interesting! I was nervous about it going into it, but I was really fun! Definitely will be picking up the sequel.
I enjoyed the tea magic a lot more that I thought I would, and it was described in a very lovely way. Definitely craved tea more than I have in a hot minute.
This was also my first Asian-inspired fantasy, which was pretty interesting! I was nervous about it going into it, but I was really fun! Definitely will be picking up the sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Torture, Animal cruelty, and Vomit
danajoy's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Blood
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Death
trips's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This book had great ideas and the markings of an author who certainly knows how to tell a great story. I love the magic system and reading about the world itself was awesome.
However, there were unfortunately a lot of points I really think needed more time steeping before the book got publish.
-Some pretty big chunks of this book that didn't really serve much purpose in worldbuilding/character building/plot progression, they were just...there.
-the above point made it was hard to get a true gauge on the characters, they got a little muddled together.
-Many points in the book didn't make much sense?
-The instalove was boring. I can accept instalove in YA but make it fun!! It was just sad to me :(
I will read this authors next series however, because the author genuinely has decent worldbuilding and magic systems, and they will definitely grow as an author!!
However, there were unfortunately a lot of points I really think needed more time steeping before the book got publish.
-Some pretty big chunks of this book that didn't really serve much purpose in worldbuilding/character building/plot progression, they were just...there.
-the above point made it was hard to get a true gauge on the characters, they got a little muddled together.
-Many points in the book didn't make much sense?
-The instalove was boring. I can accept instalove in YA but make it fun!! It was just sad to me :(
I will read this authors next series however, because the author genuinely has decent worldbuilding and magic systems, and they will definitely grow as an author!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness and Death of parent
Moderate: Classism and Animal cruelty
Minor: Toxic relationship
corin_134340's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Animal cruelty, and Violence
ra22ouille's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- 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
This was an enjoyable and breezy read. The world and magic was super interesting and definitely the main attraction of the book. I'm a big fan of fantasy politics and while I appreciated the political intrigue I also felt that Ning was at times written to be smarter or duller in regards to the politics in order to further the plot. I did really like her character though, she has a really solid motivation and sense of self that is very sympathetic and admirable. The theme of relationships and connection is present throughout everything in the story, is very strong and well presented.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Blood, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
cowboynixan's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
If I had to reccomend a book to get someone out of a reading slump, this would be it. I'm usually a casual reader, finishing a book after a month or two, but i couldn't put this down and finished in 3 days. Beautiful and easy to learn magic systems and world building, tense plotlines, and a sense that you know the characters personally. Extremely excited to read book 2 next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Medical content
Minor: Vomit, Animal cruelty, and Incest
kingphrog's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Death of parent
Moderate: Grief, Murder, Violence, Animal cruelty, and Blood
Minor: Vomit
sinceraly's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Man, this book. I haven't been this torn on a book in a while, though I land mostly positive.
Before I start on the things I didn't like about it, here are the things I did:
the world building. I am mostly distantly familiar with Asian (or Chinese, if we're being specific) tea ceremonies, or the way ancient Chinese society was built. The world building in this book is quite easy to get into, as someone without much experience, maybe due to the fact that it's more of a fantasy-China setting rather than a real Chinese setting. Allows the reader to go in semi-blind and learn as we go on so long as we pay attention, which I enjoy.
The magic system. Really, this is what brought my attention to the book in the first place. I had never thought of tea as a conductor for magic, and I really appreciate it - especially how the book considers it a partnered magic, with, yes, the tea, it's vessels, and it's accompaniments being important to the end effect, but the brewer's skill, knowledge, and conscious ability to connect with the drinker being just as important, or more so. This book approaches the art of Shénnóng-shī as an intimate experience between the brewer, their tea, and the drinker, and I loved the descriptions of the magic at work.
The supporting characters. Though some weren't in the book for as long, or as often as I'd hoped, I did find myself genuinely enjoying a lot of the side characters and the way the contributed to the plot. The staff in the kitchens in particularly really stuck out to me, as I felt the familial warmth and the solidarity they radiated every time they were in the picture. I also enjoyed some of the Shénnóng-tú in the competition, like Lian, who becomes a very important source of rationality and consciousness in the book, even though she mostly helps Ning beat understand imperial life and politics. There's also another character who grew on me very fast through some very bold actions of his towards the later part of the book, but I won't say who for fear of spoilers.
The political intrigue and mystery. This was an aspect of the book I didn't expect to love as much as I did. I adore political intrigue, but I'll be honest - I tend to have a hard time finding YA novels that do it well or to my tastes. This book, I think, did a very good job of pulling the wool over my eyes several times in what I assumed or how I assumed things would go down. Things made sense as I thought about it, and I never read something and thought well, that's just dumb. I am legitimately very excited to see where this plot goes, more than anything else that could be offered by the second book in the series.
Some of the main characters. In particular, the royal characters. No names, no names.
The ending. Of course, no spoilers, but when I got to the last 25% of the book I legitimately could not put it down. Things layered beautifully, and every action cascaded onto itself in this tense, chaotic, and attention-grabbing final act of the book. It suddenly shook itself of any inconsistent writing and became a real gem. The political intrigue hit a head and really set the scene for the next book and the threats Ning will have no choice but to deal with, and I, for one, am so excited to see what that means.
But now, the things I didn't like about the book at all:
The romance. I knew going into this book that it contained a romance, and I didn't feel upset when it came up, but it was just badly done and shallow. The characters fell for each other in their first interaction, essentially, and though they did have a few times to chat and learn about each other, they kissed before their fifth interaction. There was something there, and if the romance had been nurtured, rather than thrown in at a shallow depth, I think it would have been something legitimately good. But as it stands, there is little to it and it made the little tug it got from my heart towards the end disappointing. If it had been done well, it really would have left an emotional impact. However, I am also someone who tends to be very picky about romances, so take that as you will.
The main character. Ning herself is so inconsistently written that it really makes it hard to understand how she reacts to the things going on around her. She claims that she's an outsider, that no one in her village likes her because she speaks her mind and is a troublemaker, yet she's more often than not demure. I wish so badly that the book was more consistent on her being a proponent of truth and honesty, because she really shines in the last quarter of the book, but struggles to be interesting for the majority of it. She loves her family, she wishes she could be like her mother, and she doesn't like imperial life. That's what I could gather from her. I want to know about her opinions, how what she's gone through has shaped her. She mentions from time to time the way that greedy imperial rules and their upholders have worsened the quality of life around her, even quotes revolutionaries, but none of that does anything to actually spur her into action. It falls flat because they come from the mind of a character that's purposely kept flat until the last quarter of the book to keep up with a competition plot that, honestly, falls apart halfway through the book and feels inconsequential.
Anime Jesus Syndrome. I can't think of a better way to describe this than this stupid joke. In isekai anime, the main character is often this unbeatable, all-knowing character who wins all the games and gets all the attention just because they conveniently have all of the experience with it. Ning has that too. The book states multiple times that she isn't an explicitly trained Shénnóng-tú - her mother had been training her sister to take up the mantle. Instead, Ning was learning to be a physician like her father, and had only sat in on her mother performing the magic or teaching lessons a few times, and yet you'd never think so with how Ning always knows the answer. All we can really tell is that she's not the most graceful when brewing the tea, but she knows every leaf, every material, every effect, every counter, despite not having professionally studied the art. It's a bit hard to believe. I wanted to feel like she grew during the competition, but it feels more like she started off at god-tier because the plot demanded it. I wish more focus had been put on her having to adapt through the competition, maybe use rural remedies and tricks against the more performative and pretty ones of the city-dwelling competitors.
Overall, this book's biggest flaws stem from what I think were common stumbles in a debut novel, and though it's certainly far from a perfect read, I think so long as the author is confident in how she approaches the world from her character's eyes, the next book will be something wonderful. I'm excited to see what happens next!
Before I start on the things I didn't like about it, here are the things I did:
the world building. I am mostly distantly familiar with Asian (or Chinese, if we're being specific) tea ceremonies, or the way ancient Chinese society was built. The world building in this book is quite easy to get into, as someone without much experience, maybe due to the fact that it's more of a fantasy-China setting rather than a real Chinese setting. Allows the reader to go in semi-blind and learn as we go on so long as we pay attention, which I enjoy.
The magic system. Really, this is what brought my attention to the book in the first place. I had never thought of tea as a conductor for magic, and I really appreciate it - especially how the book considers it a partnered magic, with, yes, the tea, it's vessels, and it's accompaniments being important to the end effect, but the brewer's skill, knowledge, and conscious ability to connect with the drinker being just as important, or more so. This book approaches the art of Shénnóng-shī as an intimate experience between the brewer, their tea, and the drinker, and I loved the descriptions of the magic at work.
The supporting characters. Though some weren't in the book for as long, or as often as I'd hoped, I did find myself genuinely enjoying a lot of the side characters and the way the contributed to the plot. The staff in the kitchens in particularly really stuck out to me, as I felt the familial warmth and the solidarity they radiated every time they were in the picture. I also enjoyed some of the Shénnóng-tú in the competition, like Lian, who becomes a very important source of rationality and consciousness in the book, even though she mostly helps Ning beat understand imperial life and politics. There's also another character who grew on me very fast through some very bold actions of his towards the later part of the book, but I won't say who for fear of spoilers.
The political intrigue and mystery. This was an aspect of the book I didn't expect to love as much as I did. I adore political intrigue, but I'll be honest - I tend to have a hard time finding YA novels that do it well or to my tastes. This book, I think, did a very good job of pulling the wool over my eyes several times in what I assumed or how I assumed things would go down. Things made sense as I thought about it, and I never read something and thought well, that's just dumb. I am legitimately very excited to see where this plot goes, more than anything else that could be offered by the second book in the series.
Some of the main characters. In particular, the royal characters. No names, no names.
The ending. Of course, no spoilers, but when I got to the last 25% of the book I legitimately could not put it down. Things layered beautifully, and every action cascaded onto itself in this tense, chaotic, and attention-grabbing final act of the book. It suddenly shook itself of any inconsistent writing and became a real gem. The political intrigue hit a head and really set the scene for the next book and the threats Ning will have no choice but to deal with, and I, for one, am so excited to see what that means.
But now, the things I didn't like about the book at all:
The romance. I knew going into this book that it contained a romance, and I didn't feel upset when it came up, but it was just badly done and shallow. The characters fell for each other in their first interaction, essentially, and though they did have a few times to chat and learn about each other, they kissed before their fifth interaction. There was something there, and if the romance had been nurtured, rather than thrown in at a shallow depth, I think it would have been something legitimately good. But as it stands, there is little to it and it made the little tug it got from my heart towards the end disappointing. If it had been done well, it really would have left an emotional impact. However, I am also someone who tends to be very picky about romances, so take that as you will.
The main character. Ning herself is so inconsistently written that it really makes it hard to understand how she reacts to the things going on around her. She claims that she's an outsider, that no one in her village likes her because she speaks her mind and is a troublemaker, yet she's more often than not demure. I wish so badly that the book was more consistent on her being a proponent of truth and honesty, because she really shines in the last quarter of the book, but struggles to be interesting for the majority of it. She loves her family, she wishes she could be like her mother, and she doesn't like imperial life. That's what I could gather from her. I want to know about her opinions, how what she's gone through has shaped her. She mentions from time to time the way that greedy imperial rules and their upholders have worsened the quality of life around her, even quotes revolutionaries, but none of that does anything to actually spur her into action. It falls flat because they come from the mind of a character that's purposely kept flat until the last quarter of the book to keep up with a competition plot that, honestly, falls apart halfway through the book and feels inconsequential.
Anime Jesus Syndrome. I can't think of a better way to describe this than this stupid joke. In isekai anime, the main character is often this unbeatable, all-knowing character who wins all the games and gets all the attention just because they conveniently have all of the experience with it. Ning has that too. The book states multiple times that she isn't an explicitly trained Shénnóng-tú - her mother had been training her sister to take up the mantle. Instead, Ning was learning to be a physician like her father, and had only sat in on her mother performing the magic or teaching lessons a few times, and yet you'd never think so with how Ning always knows the answer. All we can really tell is that she's not the most graceful when brewing the tea, but she knows every leaf, every material, every effect, every counter, despite not having professionally studied the art. It's a bit hard to believe. I wanted to feel like she grew during the competition, but it feels more like she started off at god-tier because the plot demanded it. I wish more focus had been put on her having to adapt through the competition, maybe use rural remedies and tricks against the more performative and pretty ones of the city-dwelling competitors.
Overall, this book's biggest flaws stem from what I think were common stumbles in a debut novel, and though it's certainly far from a perfect read, I think so long as the author is confident in how she approaches the world from her character's eyes, the next book will be something wonderful. I'm excited to see what happens next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Medical content, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent, War, Grief, and Murder
crows_in_a_trenchcoat's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Death
Minor: Sexism, Animal cruelty, and Torture
euphemiajo's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Minor: Grief, Death, War, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Classism, Death of parent, and Pregnancy