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euphemiajo's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Abandonment
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, and Classism
nytephoenyx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
That said, the emotions were flat in this book. I’m not sure if it was intentional. The world was interesting enough to bring me in every time I read it, but the characters weren’t so compelling that I felt invested, excited, or disappointed. They simply… were. For that, this gets 3.5 stars instead of 4. The book was interesting and I’m curious to see where it’s going, but I’m not compelled to reread it or own it.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Torture, Medical content, Grief, and War
The characters in this book and their culture is Asian-coded, albeit it is a fantasy story. The author is Taiwanese and currently lives in Canada.ruthhelizabeth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Torture
k_aro's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
This is not to say by any means that this was a bad book, but I think I've grown out of this genre more generally (what genre? Good question. My mind always calls it YA Fic, but then that's a massive genre - so, just think something between Hunger Games, Six of Crows, and Marie Lu's whole oeuvre. I think you get an idea). On the other hand, I also enjoy that there's more Chinese representation in fields I didn't see myself represented in, though on the third, mutant hand, my brain treacherously (and cynically) wonders whether this is just regurgitation of tokenization etc etc. Not to belabor the point.
I enjoyed the way that Lin really does infuse a lot of Chinese culture (but again, third mutant hand, etc etc. I had similar problems with Six Crimson Cranes, which I didn't mention because, like, it's a kid's book lol who cares). I love seeing familiar foods being represented, even without having them named - whoever mentioned that this book has lush food descriptions was totally right. I love the concept of tea as a magic, even if it didn't really turn out the way I entirely expected?
As for my misgivings... well, the culture thing has been mentioned. But I am also kind of ambiguous on how Chinese medicine/tea is being framed as magical, which is obviously the central conceit but does also reflect modern attitudes on Chinese medicine. I mean I don't think it'll heal a broken leg or anything, but it has legitimately helped where "Western" has failed.
I'm also not entirely sure I like the characters. I appreciate that Ning is so headstrong, but, I don't know, I think she exhibits a lot of problems I have with YA Fic headstrong female characters. Something like she's an archetype? It's just, I don't know, been done before. I honestly prefer Lian, even though I don't necessarily agree with some of Lian's actions and words - she just felt more, unconstrained by conventions of characters in YA Fic.
I also don't know about where the book lands on the monarchy/emperorship (what is the correct term???). I think it's kind of hard about this genre of Chinese drama where, like, on the one hand the monarchy is OBVIOUSLY corrupt to a certain degree because that's how trying to tame an ever-swelling bureaucracy is like. But then like, it's okay? I don't know, I guess I just don't love monarchy generally. I guess the empress is only 19 though. It's difficult.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
snowwhitehatesapples's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Filled with beautiful imagery and rich depictions of Chinese culture, A Magic Steeped in Poison is the first book in a duology featuring a girl named Ning who can perform magical feats using tea, desperately trying to save her dying sister whom she accidentally poisoned along with their mother. In an attempt to achieve this goal, Ning heads over to the imperial palace to compete in a competition where the winner is allowed one favour from the princess. However, things don’t go smoothly for her because of saboteurs and issues brought forth by her lack of awareness, knowledge and social status.
Despite all the aforementioned problems normally being what I enjoy reading about, I found myself feeling very lukewarm toward the book. Although reading A Magic Steeped in Poison was a practice in holding back my hunger and refraining from being tempted by the many delicious descriptions of tea and food, it also was boring because it took a long time for the interesting and crucial parts to develop. The pacing was really off because on one hand, we have a dying sister but then on the other, there’s this competition that’s taking weeks to progress and a lot of other events taking the tension and anxiety away from that sister’s impending death. Honestly, it felt like the story kicked off at the first page but only truly continued in the last few chapters. Everything else in between had filler vibes.
The romance also felt out of place as I thought it was too much for Ning to fall in insta-love with a stranger (attributing their strong attraction to the powers of the magical tea they drank together is questionable too) while her sister is dying. Like, girl, did you not run away from home just so you can try your best to win a favour from a princess to save your sister who’s on her deathbed and only able to hang on because of the experimental antidotes she ingests? FOCUS, please!
Other than that, I’m disappointed by the flat characters. There’s been a lot of care placed on the tea, the food and the culture but not enough of the same care was given to developing the characters into more complex ones. Sure, there were some internal struggles Ning had but they were too little and came too late. Nevertheless, I’m optimistic that it’ll get better in the sequel as there won’t be a competition limiting anything.
All in all, A Magic Steeped in Poison wasn’t a bad read, but it wasn’t entirely good either. I look forward to how everything develops further in the second book, though I’m not going to have high hopes—just in case.
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Bullying, Death, Death of parent, and Classism
beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, and Murder
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: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Blood, Medical trauma, and War
indeedithappens's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Torture, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and War
yourfavebookhoarder's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty
Moderate: Death and Grief
Minor: Abandonment
cattheteawitchfairy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I really enjoyed this text but I would have liked to see some of the other characters a little more fleshed out i.e. The Princess etc.
The cliffhanger ending was infuriating but it just means I need to read the next book!
Would recommend, especially if you like tea!
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Terminal illness, Vomit, Death of parent, and Classism