A review by lixard
A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin

lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

I think this is a great first step for a debut novel that is trying to introduce a more unfamiliar culture to a young audience while also creating an interesting magic system. It was a lot to balance and Lin struggled in maintaining the original shennongshi  competition plot with the political turmoil setting. It seemed like she didn't know which one she was more interested in exploring and as a result, both were left unsatisfying to me. 
The romance was also a bit generic, with some magical reason that in theory supports the insta-love but is kinda flimsy reasoning. But I'm usually not a fan of that anyways, so. What I would've loved to see more of is
the princess and the bodyguard storyline 😍 was literally thinking about how it could be gay and it was how fantastic.
It seems like this universe just has gay characters out and about which is great but I would love a further exploration into queerness, gender, and class in this world, because, idk commentary about the impact of an ancient China shaped like this vs. What we have is interesting to me. Like how can there be less homophobia (apparently) while the mc is very observant of class differences and how being a girl puts her at a disadvantage in their society and the competition? Interesting. 
I'm definitely going to read the sequel to see how it ends and hoping that Lin will address some of the lingering questions. Especially how the tea magic will contribute to the political plotline.
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