#judy i lin

[drowninginabactatank]

My Barnes and Noble exclusive edition The Book of Tea boxed set arrived and I can't wait to read them! 🍵✨️

A Magic Steeped in Poison & A Venom Dark and Sweet by Judy I. Lin.

This limited edition boxed set contains the B&N exclusive edition of A Magic Steeped in Poison and a new exclusive edition of Venom Dark and Sweet. Each book includes foil type on the jacket, a unique case stamp, and character art endpapers.

#the book of tea #a magic steeped in poison #a venom dark and sweet #Judy I. Lin #Judy I Lin #bookblr #bookworm #reading #barnes and noble #bookish 📚 #mine #duology

[cassberrie]

Hello hello, hope everyone has been well! I’ve been on hiatus for the last few months, to recover from Shadow and Bone season 2 (iykyk).

The big break has been great for me, giving me time to focus on myself and on some really cool projects! I just got the incredible news that the Barnes and Noble exclusive covers for the paperback editions of Judy I. Lin’s The Book of Tea duology have been revealed, and…

That’s right, it’s my artwork that Judy’s husband commissioned last year, now gracing the covers of these exclusive paperback editions! I’m honestly so stoked and I can’t wait for these to hit shelves ❤️

If any of you are interested, you can find these editions at the following links, where the books are set to be published on April 9, 2024:

A Magic Steeped in Poison here

A Venom Dark and Sweet here

Thank you again to Judy and the amazing team at Macmillan for making the thing happen!

#digital art #ya fantasy #judy i lin #a magic steeped in poison #a venom dark and sweet #book art

[happylilpumpken]

I would also like to say HOW SEXY ARE THE COVERS THOUGH!? THE COVERS ARE JUST PERFECTION. SIJA HONG YOU MASTERMIND

Absolutely served.

#sija hong #cover art #book #a magic steeped in poison #judy i lin #absolutely stunning

[booktineus]

One of the prettiest books I’ve added to my TBR recently 😍

#a magic steeped in poison #I forget the duology name oops #Judy I Lin #new books #paperback #booklr #book mail #book blogger #bookish #bibliophile #pretty books #ya fantasy

[godzilla-reads]

—A Venom Dark and Sweet- endpapers- by Judy I. Lin

#godzilla reads #a venom dark and sweet #judy i lin #decorated endpapers #endpapers #reading #bookworm #bookish #book blog #booklover #bibliophile

[books-to-add-to-your-tbr]

Title: The Book of Tea

Author: Judy I. Lin

Series or standalone: series

Publication year: 2022

Genres: fiction, fantasy, mythology, historical fiction, romance

Blurb: For Ning, the only thing worse than losing her mother is knowing that it’s her own fault. She was the one who unknowingly brewed the poison tea that killed her...the poison tea that now threatens to also take her sister, Shu. When Ning hears of a competition to find the kingdom’s greatest shennong-shi - masters of the ancient and magical art of tea-making - she travels to the imperial city to compete. The winner will receive a favour from the princess, which may be Ning’s only chance to save her sister’s life...but between the backstabbing competitors, bloody court politics, and a mysterious (and handsome) boy with a shocking secret, Ning might actually be the one in more danger.

#the book of tea #a magic steeped in poison #a venom dark and sweet #judy i lin #series #2022 #fiction #fantasy #mythology #historical fiction #romance

[checkoutmybookshelf]

The pacing and deliberateness and images in this passage are objectively some of my favorite from this entire book. Tea is a ceremony for a reason, and it encompasses an entire world of emotions and memories. Stunning writing.

#judy i lin #a magic steeped in poison #book quotations #book quotes #ya fantasy #books and reading #books & libraries #books and novels #books

[erineisenhour]

“Grief has a taste, bitter and lingering, but so soft it sometimes disguises itself as sweetness.”

–Judy I. Lin, A Magic Steeped in Tea

#there’s magic! #tea magic!! #if you want a low stress fantasy read that feels like a hot cup of tea…this is your book #a magic steeped in poison #the book of tea #judy i lin #book photography #booklr #ya fantasy #ya books #book aesthetic #asian inspired #book quotes #my post #book covers

[thetypedwriter]

A Magic Steeped In Poison Book Review

A Magic Steeped in Poison Book Review by Judy I. Lin

I’ll start by saying that this book cover is gorgeous. The colors, symbols, and how they all intertwine is incredibly well done and enticing to the eye. It was one of the main things that drew me to this novel.

 Then I read the synopsis and learned this was a Frozen-esque sister tale of love and adventure involving the intricate process of tea-making. I was sold. 

As a self-proclaimed boba connoisseur, luring me in with tea was an easy thing to do. 

Unfortunately, it went downhill from there. 

A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin is a story about a girl named Ning who wants to save her sister after she’s been poisoned. Several other people from different communities in the kingdom have also been poisoned from an anonymous criminal using tea bricks. 

Ning will stop at nothing to save her sister, especially after their mother succumbed to the same fate. Ning holds herself responsible for not noticing or sensing the poison in the cup before handing it to her mother, which led to her demise. 

In a Mulan-like move, Ning steals the scroll destined for her mother and accepts the invitation to the Palace in the capital in order to participate in a competition involving the best of the best shennong-shi, masters of the ancient art of tea-making. 

Now that I’m writing all of this, the novel seemed unique and original to me at first, but other than the tea and the terminology, it’s a very conventional story of a peasant girl going to the capital to compete in a competition (which we’ve all seen a million times before). 

Most recently for me, the same recycled plot was used in Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. 

While competing and living in the capital, Ning meets a variety of people, including Princess Zhen, fellow-competitor Lian, a variety of the servants and kitchen staff, and most importantly, the son of the legendary Banished Prince, Kang. 

As her feelings for Kang grows, Ning also starts to uncover the dark intricacies unraveling in the kingdom, the corruption at court, and new friendships, all the while searching for the antidote to save her sister Shu. 

Now, all of that sounds amazing. Lin has the components of a really great novel, but the execution is poorly done. 

Lin tries to make the setting grand and unique, but it only comes across as confusing. She throws so much terminology at you that it’s impossible to keep track of all the places and landmarks she mentions (and genuinely they’re unimportant anyway). Unless you’re frequently checking the glossary in the back, you will be confused. 

With an unimportant kingdom as the backdrop, most readers will fall back on the premise. Again, it sounds interesting but the execution is once again lacking. 

The most intriguing part is the competition. Unfortunately, we don’t get to see a lot of it. Most of the stages are interrupted from external sources like an attack on the princess or subterfuge. Lin wants us to believe that Ning is this incredible shennong-shi, but really she just seems lucky and sort of unbelievably talented for someone who lacks training and education.

Very quickly, the reader learns that the thick of the plot revolves around kingdom politics and honestly? It was very boring. I didn’t care about the warring parts of the kingdom and the different factions vying for the throne. I didn’t have enough information about either to be invested in what happened or who ruled.

 Lin bit off more than she could chew. She throws so many names and cities at you and wants you to care about them, but as a reader, you don’t have the time or depth to do so. 

The most disappointing part of the novel for me, as always, was the characterization. 

Ning as a character was imbalanced and embodied the terrible writing style of show-not-tell. One moment she would be cowering at the foot of some official and the next she’s making some retort back to the princess without fear. 

One page she’s full of self-loathing about coming from a peasant village and the next she's filled with injustice about how certain communities are treated. 

She was inconsistent and aggravatingly talented without reason. She was also a good person in a very boring way. Towards the end of the book, she learns that someone betrayed her. Instead of being mad once she finds out, she says she doesn’t blame this person since they have a family to look out for. 

Who is that altruistic??? Maybe later most people could come to that conclusion, but most human beings in the moment would feel betrayed and upset and that would be normal and realistic. Ning was too good to be real which worsened the story overall. 

Princess Zhen was your very stereotypical princess who wants the best for her kingdom and Kang is the stereotypical banished prince-sort-of-boy, who also wants the best for his kingdom despite everything they’ve done to him. 

The other characters don’t matter, which is a shame since Lin spends an inordinate amount of time explaining who they are and introducing them. All of them blend together and none of them have enough of their own personalities to make them significant in any kind of way. 

The romance between Kang and Ning is forced and while the burgeoning bud of it had promise, Lin wants you to believe that they have deep feelings for one another and a very strong connection despite meeting…three or four times for a handful of hours? People on the tv show the Bachelor spend more time together than that. 

I didn’t mind the romance, but it lacked depth and evolution. It wasn’t believable in any kind of way that Ning would feel as strongly as she did after the short amount of time they spent together. 

Lastly, the final nail in the coffin was overselling Ning. Lin makes you think that she’s crucial to the story and she’s really, really not. 

The Princess thinks she’s amazing, Kang thinks she’s amazing, the court officials eventually think she’s important enough to keep an eye on, but nothing I saw reflected that. 

It boiled down to Lin saying, hey, this character is super important because. Yeah. That’s why. In the plot itself, however, Ning didn’t matter as much as she was portrayed being. 

Lin’s writing was also…distracting. She started so many sentences with “I” and her syntax read as repetitive and formal. Once I realized this, it was hard not to see it. 

The highlights of this book were the Chinese influences on the setting, characters, and world-building. It’s always amazing when an author can draw on their experiences and Lin certainly did this. I just wish she did it better.

Disappointment was what I was left with after finishing this book. It started off okay and continually became more droll and unconvincing as the pages went on. For a book with such cool aspects and a glorious cover, the contents were a let down. 

Recommendation: Gah. Admire the beautiful cover, go get some boba, and call it a day. If you’re truly obsessed with a lower-class girl traveling to a palace to take part in a competition and you’re also craving the Chinese influences, I’d recommend Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan. 

Just the first one. You don’t need to read the rest of the trilogy, believe me. Otherwise, a slew of competition-centered books exist that are way, way better. 

Score: 5/10

#a magic steeped in poison #judy i lin #ya fiction #YA Books #YA literature #book blog #book review #favorite books #top books #Chinese American #5/10 #Book Recommendations #book rec #YA Book Review

[publishedtoday]

A Venom Dark and Sweet - Judy I. Lin (The Book of Tea #2)

A great evil has come to the kingdom of Dàxi. The Banished Prince has returned to seize power, his rise to the dragon throne aided by the mass poisonings that have kept the people bound in fear and distrust. Ning, a young but powerful shénnóng-shi—a wielder of magic using the ancient and delicate art of tea-making—has escorted Princess Zhen into exile. Joining them is the princess' loyal bodyguard, Ruyi, and Ning's newly healed sister, Shu. Together the four young women travel throughout the kingdom in search of allies to help oust the invaders and take back Zhen's rightful throne. But the golden serpent still haunts Ning's nightmares with visions of war and bloodshed. An evil far more ancient than the petty conflicts of men has awoken, and all the magic in the land may not be enough to stop it from consuming the world...

#a venom dark and sweet #judy i lin #book of tea duology #feiwel and friends #august 23 2022 #poc #chinese coded

[annelisreadingroom]

My September book from Book and Chocolate box was Magic Steeped in Poison. Have you read this one?

#books #booklr #bookblogger #ya books #book photography #yalit #book photo #book subscription box #september book #magic steeped in poison #judy i lin

[cassberrie]

A really cool commission that I received for Ning, the protagonist of A Magic Steeped in Poison!

Judy’s husband reached out to me to commission these, and I can only say that I’m so honored 💜 Is there a companion piece?? Maybe 😌✨

#fanart #digital art #illustration #ya fantasy #a magic steeped in poison #judy i lin #a venom dark and sweet #young adult

[rustandruin]

A Magic Steeped In Poison

Judy I. Lin

July 4, 2022

A fantastic example of an inventive magic system and a rich fantasy world that features queer people organically. I was swept into this book from the very first word and was not able to put it down since.

The tea-based magic system is wonderful and so cool and has the misfortune of making people (like me) crave copious amounts of tea to sip as I read through. The political/court intrigue is rich and interesting and a good backdrop to the magic competition that is front and centre of the novel.

Thank goodness I already have an arc because the wait for the sequel would have been interminable otherwise. I don’t know how anyone else is coping. I hope Lin keeps writing more novels like this because so far, she’s more than adept at balancing her storytelling.

#rust and ruin reads #a magic steeped in poison #judy i lin #book stuff #books

[liv-fatale]

A Venom Dark and Sweet by Judy I. Lin

A thrilling conclusion to the Book of Tea duology, Ning finds herself on the run with her sister, the princess, and the princess' faithful bodyguard. After being declared a murderer and being struck with the poison of the serpent, she makes a vow to herself that no matter what she must keep her sister safe and that she gets the princess back on the throne. Even if it costs her her life.

Judy I. Lin strikes again with an absolutely beautiful book describing the conclusion of Ning's adventures. I found myself lost many times in her prose, effortlessly setting up scenes that are just utterly gorgeous. It seriously felt as if it were a movie playing in my mind. Everything is so clear, and written in such a beautiful way that you cannot help but to ponder over every word.

The plot of this book was a lot better paced than the first one in my opinion. I didn't feel as if it slowed down at all, and rather kept a smooth momentum throughout. Not to mention that I love how the book is not super heavy on romance but still has the inclusion of some relationships here and there. They are beautiful connections between the characters that do not need to be shoved into your face. You can see the characters love each other through their thoughts.

Of course, the characters are so very dear to me that I really hate to let them go so soon. They are very relatable in their own ways, and yet the fantastical elements that each possesses is unique in their own way and keeps you yearning to hear more about them.

Overall, I loved this book and I loved the duology itself even more. I cannot wait to see more from the author in the future, and I will definitely be buying this book once it comes out on August 23, 2022. I already have the first book sitting on my shelf, waiting for its companion!

Thank you so much to Feiwel and Friends and to NetGalley for allowing me to receive an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

5 stars!

#a venom dark and sweet #judy i lin #a magic steeped in poison #the book of tea #book review #book reviewer #book #books #book reviews #netgalley #netgalley review #review #arc #arc review

[godzilla-reads]

A kingdom falls.

An ancient evil rises.

#godzilla reads #a venom dark and sweet #a magic steeped in poison #the book of tea #book of tea duology #judy i lin #books and tea #booklr #reading #reads #ya fantasy #ya books #bookish #book blog #bookworm #bibliophile

[thegirlwiththelantern]

#Song of the Six Realms #Judy I Lin #excerpt