A Magic Steeped in Poison is the first in a Chinese-inspired fantasy duology. The main selling point of this book is a magic system almost entirely based on tea, which I found intriguing. Talented individuals who prepare tea can access the drinkers’ memories, cause the drinker to experience unusual strength and endurance, and perform other feats depending on the ingredients used and the brewer’s talents. Much of the plot revolved around the magic system, allowing us to explore several facets of the magic. The main character’s engaging voice, combined with a few plot twists, kept the story moving quickly.

Unfortunately, the characters didn’t hold up to my expectations. I never felt connected to any of the characters and didn’t care much about what happened to them. While the main character did develop meaningful relationships with several minor characters, some of the more important relationships felt awkward and underdeveloped, which contributed to my apathy. The world-building was also poorly fleshed out; it’s somewhat based on ancient China, but the little we saw of the world was rather generic. I had high hopes for this book, but it ended up falling somewhat flat for me, largely because I prefer character-driven stories. However, the magic system is truly distinctive, so if you have a soft spot for Asian-inspired YA fantasy this may be a good choice for you.

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language: None

Violence/Gore: Characters briefly fight hand to hand; report of a character deliberately poisoning stores of tea, resulting in deaths; report of a character beating a dog to death; assassination attempt resulting in no serious injuries; report of characters injuring themselves so they don’t have to give up information; drunk man grabs a girl’s arm; threat to hurt a character’s loved ones; characters find a corpse; characters deliberately poison birds and then cure them as part of a contest; a character receives a minor injury in a sparring match; a character is arrested and tied up; report of multiple deaths by poison; a character is sentenced to death; a character is seen severely injured after being beaten; a character dies, little detail; a character sees a few corpses, no detail; report of a horse dying; a character threatens to kill another; two instances where characters kill.

Sex/Nudity: Mention of a character getting pregnant out of wedlock and suffering social consequences; characters flirt a few times; a character touches another’s face; mention of prostitutes; characters hold hands; two minor female characters are in a clandestine relationship, mostly implied.

Mature Subject Matter:

Death of a parent; terminal illness of a family member; social inequality; societal norms; political unrest; animal cruelty.

Alcohol/Drug Use:

Characters occasionally drink alcohol, sometimes to excess; some characters get drunk.