East Asian-inspired YA

filled star filled star filled star filled star star unfilled
bunnyboy86 Avatar

By

A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin is an East Asian-inspired YA that will appeal to fans of Six Crimson Cranes or Jade Fire Gold. The story revolves around Ning, who has magical tea-brewing powers. When her sister grows sick, she enters a shennong-shi or tea-making competition in the imperial city in order to win a favor from the princess. Will she be able to win the competition? Or will other things distract her from her goal?

Here is a magical excerpt from Chapter 1:

"Our house is dim and quiet as I move through the rooms like a thief. Rifling through boxes and drawers, fumbling with things my father kept hidden, so as not to be reminded of his grief. I weave between chairs and baskets, drying racks and jars, my footsteps careful. I can hear Shu coughing softly through the walls, tossing in her bed. She has gotten worse in these past few days.
Soon the poison will take her, as it did our mother.
Which is why I must leave tonight, before my father tries to stop me and I’m bound here by guilt and fear until it is too late. I touch the scroll hidden in the folds of my tunic, to reassure myself it is still there."

Overall, A Magic Steeped in Poison is a lovely YA fantasy with an original premise: a tea-making competition. Unfortunately, I found the rest of the story to be cookie-cutter predictable. I had predicted the reveal about a certain character, because I had seen it done in many other YA fantasy books before. I do give the author props though for a nice action scene at the halfway mark. I also enjoyed how the author gave us a jaw-dropping cliffhanger. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of YA fantasy books in general, I recommend that you check out this book, which is available now!