Reviews with content warning for Violence - A Magic Steeped in Poison

This book was so fun to read and such a fun concept, magic tea and the magic from those who can pour it. I was so upset that I wasn’t able to actually view them pouring or the magic steam and instead just having to try and imagine it in my head. I may have to try and look up some fanart to see it in action.

I also liked Ning and her love for her father and Shu, the reasons she even went to Jia. So much happened, and sometimes when it would I’d say out loud ‘oh of COURSE this would happen/this person would do that’ but even with those moments that just seemed a little too convenient, the story was surprising and I was gripped to it.

“Strangling me with continuous thoughts of my own inferiority and doubt.”

Very happy that I was able to get both books in a thrift store so I can just start the next one now - so wish me luck!

I just always hated when Shao was in a scene because he was like classic rich boy with connections, but I feel like he might have a change in book 2, or pass away

At first I was like ‘Wenyi no I thought you were chill’ when he messed with Kang’s tea and then when we saw him in the dungeon I literally yelled out ‘OH WAIT YOU’RE STILL CHILL’ and got sad that he wasn’t able to be saved

Was Zhen really going to marry her cousin (adopted or not?) or was she like forced to accept the betrothal?

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oakairi'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

5.0

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hello_lovely13's review

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adventurous emotional 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? Yes

3.0

The magic system is the best part of this book. I personally am not too interested in fight scenes, so the fact that this magic system is more psychologically-based makes it much more interesting to me. When Ning goes into the Shift, we are able to experience the emotional connections between the characters as well as the psychological, and that influences the outside world. For those that like fight scenes, there are a good amount present, so there's no need to worry. I am not a big fantasy girlie, so to me this was just middle of the road, but I think if you are super into fantasy, then you'll really like this. The ending of the book really nailed it (though I wasn't expecting how brutal it would get), and the author also did a very good job in making me question who to trust (even now, I'm not entirely sure that Ning has chosen the right people to trust, though it didn't seem that she had much of a choice). I personally thought that, while the set up and commentary on the politics of the kingdom was done well, with regards to the competition aspect of the book, the pacing was a bit too fast. The same goes for Ning's relationship with Kang, though I did like their relationship, at the same time there was nothing particularly special about it. It was entertaining, endearing, and sweet, but not unique.

I do sincerely hope that they reconcile in the next book. I will be quite disappointed if they don't.

I liked the ending, but I'm not sure that I'm totally on board with every detail.

The presence of an ancient being the source of the poison is interesting, but I am not as invested as I would be if it stayed with what had already been established. I am happy that Ning succeeded in healing her sister, thus completing her goal and arc for the first book. With the drink she had from the general, it would make sense that it made her immune to the poison, so hopefully that isn't discarded in the next book for the sake of raising the stakes. Also, since it was established that Shu (her younger sister) was supposed to be the apprentice, then that would mean that Shu is a stronger shennong-shi than Ning, so I wonder how that is going to be played into the next book, or if that will be ignored (maybe explain it away by saying she is still recovering from the poison?) I'm not entirely sure, but I hope that things that are already established will still have weight and won't be conveniently explained way in the the sequel.

Side note, the way that food was described in the book always made me hungry (it happened quite often, so you really work up an appetite!).

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amberinpieces's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

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solarel's review

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adventurous hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I enjoyed the world, though the first half of it felt very similar to other books I’ve read.

The ending was a cliffhanger but didn’t manage to give any sense of finishing to the story arc? That’s just my thoughts.

Overall I think this was pretty middle of the road. It was a fun read, enjoyable and mysterious. But there were parts I found fell short of what they could have been.

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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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honeyoat_nolanexa's review

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adventurous mysterious medium-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? Yes

4.25

Loving the world building in this book and the use of herbalism as magic. The setting of a competition keeps it engaging and the mysteries and mythology that unfolds keeps the reader engaged. The pacing shifts and a lot happens in the last quarter of the book as the events unfolding would happen but after reading the second book I wonder if the author has trouble with pacing

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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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