Welcome to Litsy!

Such a unique magical system, I love it!
Ning can use tea to make magic. She travels to the capitol for the competition to become the emperor‘s newest shennong-shi but she has a ulterior motive: she wants the mythical cure-all she believes will bring her sister back from the bring of death. A death caused by a mysterious poison that has been winding through the countryside.
Finished 7/15/2022

“If you can feel someone else‘s suffering, how can you look away?”

With her sister dying from the same poison that killed their mother, Ning participates in a contest to find the kingdom‘s greatest master of tea-making which will grant the winner a favor from the princess. Ning plans to ask for help from the imperial physicians if she wins but her path to victory won‘t be easy. Palace intrigue, secrets, friendship & a mysterious stranger who may be more than he appears to be made this story an entertaining read.

Starting this one today. Love, love, love the cover.

This is one of my favorite YAs of 2022. Tons of action, but none of it rushed. Quiet, beautiful descriptions. Multiple complicated character relationships, & to a lesser extent court intrigue. Also, I learned some about Chinese tea ceremonies. Plus, the author sent our teen group these postcards & stickers.

A story where the magic is based on teas, yes please! I enjoyed this story and excited to see what else will happen for Ninq in the next book.

#ScarathlonDailyPrompts Oct 17 #Poison

This was a solid YA fantasy with one of the prettiest covers ever.

#Scarathlon2022 #TeamMonsterMash

Thank you for the tag @KateReadsYA

1.) Tagged
2.) House of Earth and Blood Cresent City 1
3.) Jamaica, Disney's Private Island Castaway Cay, and Virginia Beach,VA

#WondrousWednesday @Eggs

I tagged @sprainedbrain @christyreads @FallenSpring

"There is a difference between living the suffering and reading about it."

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

“If you were told at birth that the world is supposed to bow down to you, you would think it natural that you are destined to climb.”
#quotes 🤔

Four #septemberrso2022 books. Life has been busy. End of school, now holiday with family. Always time to read tho.

So early on I was borderline going to dnf this one, because it is VERY YA at times. However, the magic system is really interesting, revolving around tea brewing. Also the last third was very exciting, though this ended on a minor cliff hanger, and I haven‘t completely decided if I will continue. May see how reviews go for book 2. Also prettiest cover of the year. 3.5⭐️

Thank you so much @Meshell1313 I love my #sliceofsummerswap Excited about the book . I have wanted to read it for while now! The candle smells so good!! Bringing the towels on my vacation that we are leaving for today! Everything is perfect!

@Catsandbooks

I love the cover it's so pretty. It's so sad the main characters sister is dying and if she wins the contest saving her sister would be a good prize like she wants. The fact she accidentally poisoned her and her mom must be hard to live with.

Meh. Another book with an interesting premise — magical tea, competition, murder — but poor execution — too many characters, not enough development. Did the lead care about her dying sister, her family‘s reputation, her community, the competition, the princess‘ safety, her love interest, or kingdom politics? Depends on the chapter! It was all over the place, and it REALLY needed a map. The cover is beautiful though. #ya #bookclub #teachersoflitsy

This book had more layers than I was expecting. I was expecting tea magic and a competition. I wasn't expecting all the complexities of the magic system and political intrigue. It kept me guessing about what would come next and wanting to keep turning the next page. I'm glad the sequel comes out soon, because it ends on a cliffhanger.

There were cupcakes at the library today, so not only did I get to have a sweet treat for breakfast, but it totally matched my book as well! 🥰🧁 #librarylove #librariansoflitsy

The fourth book I'm reading for the Asian Readathon is a fantasy book with tea magic. Tea. Magic. I am so excited to read this book! The prompt for this book is read a book by an Asian author that has a cover worthy of googly eyes. 👀 The country represented is Taiwan. #asianreadathon2022

Is it the worlds most photogenic book? 🤔 I mean, it‘s definitely a contender!

Thanks for sending it to me @KristiAhlers - I wasn‘t expecting to find anything other than political pamphlets in my letterbox today so this was a huge upgrade!

A beautifully written fantasy based in Chinese mythology! The tea based magic system was not only unique but very fascinating! While the pace of the story could be a little wonky, I was still gripped and the cliffhanger at the end has me looking forward to the sequel! This book has competition, politics, betrayal and posion!

💖 𝕊𝕆 ℙℝ𝔼-𝕋𝔼𝔸 🍵

It's finally here!
BookDepo actually cancelled my pre-order, said they're unable to fulfil it (2 weeks after publication!). So I ordered from Amazon, which is more expensive because of shipping (I'm in the PH—and, unfortunately, this isn't available at the local bookstores yet).
Good thing I can use my credit card reward points on Amazon, this was practically free.

I can't believe it snowed today! 😂🤣☝️

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?

I also went to Barnes & Noble and splurged a little bit. I went there for A Magic Steeped in Poison but it was buy one, get one 50% off, so I picked up The Siren of Sussex. I somehow hadn't bought the new Veronica Speedwell book yet, so I bought it as well. I don't know which book I'm more excited for. I need to finish a couple of library books first though.

#ThingsInCommon holding a hot drink
@Clwojick

Yesterday's #libraryhaul
Look at these pretty covers 😍

WHOA Good thing I made it to the pre-order stage(? Idk lol). That's a huge jump from $17 to $37!

I keep seeing/ reading good things about this + look at that cover!
Might still be a while, though, 'til I get my hands on it.

Wow! Not only is this a book that‘s all written, has an amazing set of characters, and the world building was so creative, it was also an emotional read, and has left me with a book hangover! Highly recommend this book! #readingchallenge2022

This was definitely a cover buy, even though the story also sounds really interesting! It may be one of my favorite covers this year!

Do my eyes deceive me, sweet book depository?!

Mutters angrily about cost of living increases and Scott Morrison.

A magic system based around tea…

This book was extremely entertaining and emotional. You're brought right into the action with little backstory, and the story is complex but woven with mastery. The writing style was phenomenal. The character development, pace and world building were spot-on.
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Thank you to Bookish First for offering this book in their raffle!
Please use my Bookish First referral code: c2c277e5792a7a0ab

You‘ll want to drink in every detail of this tea-centered, magic-infused young adult debut, in which tea masters called shennong-shi wield magic with every brew. When the princess announces a competition for the empire‘s next shennong-shi, Ning, desperate to help a dying sister, grasps at the chance to win any request from the princess. What she finds is enchantment and danger, romance and court politics, friendship and treachery in equal measure.