Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin

6 reviews

fscherlie's review

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mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5


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vixenreader's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • 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

Despite some plot thread being left unresolved, and some overstuffing, this debut is impressive in its concept, sensitive protagonist, and strong female relationships. The tea has been spilled. 

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lilly_reads98's review

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challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I enjoy some parts of this like when it’s descriptive of the setting and focusing on the love interest, but I don’t like everyone being so mean to our main character. I like the main characters interactions with Kang, and her roommate but everyone else is so mean to her. And it doesn’t focus much on the love interest because their interactions are short and they really only interact a handful of times in the entire book. I like the setting of the palace: “a rock garden, a glimmering koi pond, flickers of orange, white, and gold beneath the rippling surface. Dainty, dark-branched cherry trees covered in shimmering pink and white flowers. The heady scents of blossoms and incense swirl through the air.” (P 28) In the beginning I thought I would like this but I didn’t really have any positives besides the pretty descriptions and meeting Kang was nice. I was thinking about halfway through that I was enjoying it more and that it had potential to get better but it did not get better. The attacks on the palace are just so repetitive and the constant mentioning of poison and the main character never trusting anyone got so annoying. I just don’t understand what this book is supposed to be besides a tea competition and the political intrigue. The pacing is just constantly changing between being fast paced because something dangerous is happening and then to just a slow conversation. I was constantly wondering where the story is supposed to go. I don’t like books where the main character is constantly being abused by people, like it makes it hard for me to enjoy the book or give it a high rating; I like books that are enjoyable to read. I just would’ve enjoyed it more if it were a more lighthearted read. Also, I really like tea but I don’t think magic tea is like extremely interesting? Like the concept of magic tea is cool but I just wasn’t wowed by the main use of magic being throug tea. I also wish this had focused on the romance more. I like Kang a lot but he’s not in the book a lot. It feels like the main plot is the court politics and if it had more romance to balance it out I would have enjoyed it more. Nearing the end it was so annoying when the main character calls Kang a liar again when he’s obviously not. I was just bored for a lot of the second half but I wanted to know what happens so I finished it. Like there needs to be more time spent between Kang and Ning in order for me to care more. They kiss and she just goes straight back to calling him a liar the next time she sees him? The plot is also too repetitive, someone gets sabotaged or almost killed in every single trial of the competition. It’s nice Zhen is more friendly to Ning at the end and (spoilers ahead) that they leave together, but I just don’t like how dark this gets. I’m interested in seeing what happens in the next book but since I didn’t enjoy this one that much, I don’t think I would enjoy the next one either. Anytime I’ve ever read a sequel to a book I gave 3 stars I don’t really enjoy the second one either. The authors just always throw in these things at the end to make you want to read the next one! I was hoping for the ending to be really good so I could give it a higher rating but it’s just not.. so many things are left unresolved so you’d have to read the next one to get the ending to this one. I do want to know what happens in the next one and it may have potential to be better than this one.

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yaoipaddle's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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? No

4.0

I like this book and I'm glad it's so popular!

I am really excited that more books in Chinese inspired settings, lore, everything are being published and recognized.

The world Lin has built for this book feels like it's a real fully fledged place that exists. Nothing about it is described in an annoying high fantasy info dump. Instead I feel like the world is integrated well with the plot and characters.

I love the cast of characters and their interactions with Ning are some of my favorite parts of the story. Some of it is a little predictable like oh this is the new friend, this is the boy she likes, this is xyz but I still found it fun.

My biggest gripe was that some of the characterization of Ning felt poorly paced. Without spoilers, I think she was very flip-flop and intense about things that came as a surprise to me as a reader. It felt like "Whoa since when did she feel THIS strongly about it and had the balls to say it?" Ning also had a lot of "I'm not like other girls" moments in the first third of the book, but it tapers off as the book continues. Kang also at times felt too overly forgiving and flat as a character.

The magic being in tea would seem kind of strange or lame to some people, but it's very well done. It's interesting and unique and almost feels like mixing potions! I really liked the problem solving Ning demonstrated throughout the book in regards to her tea skills.

Some of the plot details felt predictable and like I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop, but this is YA and maybe for the target age range it's less predictable. I would go into it with an open mind but gosh sometimes Ning is irritating with her flip-flopping.

I recommend the book a lot! I was intrigued, I teared up at moments, and I'm excited for the sequel.

PS in the back of the book there's a glossary with pronunciation, definitions, and the characters for various terms and character names! (I didn't find it until the end... woops)

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mattiedancer's review

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adventurous 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? Yes

4.0

Writing: 4⭐️/5 
The writing is strong throughout the book and yet a few sections throughout the novel really pulled me from the story. When the writing is good, it’s great. When it’s not, I wished an editor had pushed a little harder on the prose because it’s jarring. The weaker sections of writing – mixed with a few grammatical errors that really screwed with my head – really marred the otherwise strong writing in other sections. 

Characters: 4⭐️/5
The characters were lovable and felt mostly rounded. A few side characters relied on us just innately understanding that they were worth knowing, though, which I didn’t love. I wanted a bit more exploration of these characters to understand why they were so worthy of our love and faith. 

Plot: 4.25⭐️/5 
A few moments of “trust me even though I’m your enemy shit talking your friend” aside, I did like the overarching plot. It seems like the second book (which I have yet to read) is going to dive into the main story. This book started to feel like its main job was to set up the next plot, which isn’t a bad thing as it makes me more excited to read the next one. 

Post-Reading Rating:  4.5⭐️/5
Should have bought book two already. 

Who Should Read This? 
  • Fans of YA fantasy
  • Someone looking for a fun and often well-written book, who doesn’t mind a few errors
  • A unique plot mixing magic and nobility

CW: Death, death of a parent, vomiting, animal abuse

Final Rating: 4⭐️/5

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kwkich's review

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

The cover art is absolutely stunning and was the first thing to catch my eye but even better than the beautiful illustration is the world building and characters within!

The magic system and framework for the world is a mesmerizing mix of a Chinese mythology, ancient tea traditions and wuxia and xianxia influences. There’s such a beautiful lyricism to the descriptions and a haunting mystery just waiting under the surface. This is a world that is just bursting with layers upon layers of secrets, devious backstabbing and courtly intrigue. Dreams and schemes living alongside immense greed and growing fear all wrapped up around a magic-infused tea competition. 

But beyond the politics, at its heart, this is a story about how far a young woman would go to protect and save her family. It’s a beautifully woven tale of perseverance and strength and familial devotion. 

Judy I. Lin has crafted an absolutely brilliant debut novel that is sure to thrill and delight. Without a doubt, Lin is a new author to watch for and what I can only expect to be a rising star in the YA fantasy world!

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