A Magic Steeped in Poison is the first book in a new duology. The main character is Ning. We find out very early in the story that Ning blames herself for the death of her mother and her sister's terrible illness because she prepared the the poisonous tea. She travels to the imperial city to compete in contest to find the greatest tea master in the kingdom, and win a favor from the princess. A favor she hopes to use to heal her sister.
A very interesting premise, but it didn't hook me at all. I would read a few pages, put the book down, and then feel no reason to pick it back up again. It doesn't help that the plot feels very predictable- the chosen one trope, a hidden prince, all those YA tropes that make people dismissive of the genre. It felt like The Hunger Games with a couple of tweaks, but nothing really new to say. I'd recommend this book to newer YA readers, since older readers may find it to be too familiar to be enjoyable.
A very interesting premise, but it didn't hook me at all. I would read a few pages, put the book down, and then feel no reason to pick it back up again. It doesn't help that the plot feels very predictable- the chosen one trope, a hidden prince, all those YA tropes that make people dismissive of the genre. It felt like The Hunger Games with a couple of tweaks, but nothing really new to say. I'd recommend this book to newer YA readers, since older readers may find it to be too familiar to be enjoyable.