I don’t think this capitalized well on the momentum of the first book. Splitting POVs is always a risk, I wish we only had one!

Thank you Netgalley for the e-ARC of this title. I enjoyed reading this title. Would recommend for my library.

Wowowowow! This sequel was a good one! I loved diving back into Dàxi and seeing what all the characters were up to. I love Ning, and seeing her grow even more during this book was fantastic.

I was unable to provide review due to time constraints of me starting college. I look forward however to reading this book in the future simply as a fan, not a reviewer.

Just like the first book in the duology, I found myself fascinated by the writing style which created one of the most immersive atmospheres I have ever found in a book. The overall arc of the book made complete sense but something about the overall pacing felt not quite right which the short denouement highlighted and kept this book from being a five star. I still thoroughly enjoyed this story.

This was a great follow up to the first book! I really liked how imaginative the world was. And gosh that cover is just so gorgeous. Such a cool magic system.

the first one was better again... but i'm still in awe with the magic system.

- thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC.

This was a great conclusion to the duology and I really enjoyed the magic in this world. This one was very action packed and had a more in depth explanation of how the magic works with the ingredients in the teas was really interesting. The plot was very fast paced and it was a fast read.

Thanks to Feiwel & Friends and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book in e-book form. All opinions in this review are my own.

This book was a good conclusion to the duology. However, I did prefer the first book. This one was a bit underwhelming compared to the first one. Something I really enjoyed about this sequel was that there was more development into the magical properties in tea. I did have a hard time getting into this one. Overall I would still recommend those who read and enjoyed book 1 to read this book.
*thank you to netgalley for an arc.

A great ending to the duology - it was great to see the sister dynamics at play and as ever the tea magic system was so clever. Looking forward to what Judy I. Lin writes next!

🌟3.5

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to review this book.

I am loving reading more types of fantasy books, and when I picked up the first book of the Book of Tea duology, I was excited to read the second. If you are looking for a fast paced Asian fantasy that you can read in a few sittings, this is a great duology to consider. The sequel follows two POVs, Kang and Ning, both of whom you meet in book one.

Where book one is a trial based fantasy (one of my favorite tropes), this book follows the rise of the Banished Prince, the exile of the princess, and a serpent who haunts Ning's dreams. This book is fast paced, and enjoyable, though I felt like the ending felt a little rushed. However, it was still a stratifying conclusion. The book also includes a pronunciation guide of names and descriptions of some of the words in the back.

Side note, can we please take a moment for the beautiful artwork?

I gave this a one out of five stars. I ended up dnfing this, it just couldn’t keep my interest. It wasn’t very memorable either..

Book: A Venom Dark and Sweet.

I thought this was an okay book. It had a nice pace but for me fell a little flat.

I had a very hard time with this story. It was confusing and lacked a cohesion with the first one. I felt like the story was drawn out and just didn’t really stick with me

The addition of the second perspective added an interesting element to this sequel. The magic in this duology is one of the most interesting that I've come across, and it was one of the highlights of the book. I still enjoyed book one more, but will happily recommend this story, and I look forward to what the author writes next.

The Book of Tea duology is one of the most original and well-written fantasies I’ve had the pleasure of reading. And after the conclusion of the first novel, A Magic Steeped In Poison, I know readers are desperate to find out what happens next. Magical, sweet, and with writing that will make you crave a cup of tea, this is not a series to miss.

This was such an exciting and action-packed conclusion to the duology. I'll definitely be recommending this to my teen readers at my library.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What an epic ending to a a beautifully magical duology!

The gang narrowly escaped at the end of book 1 when the King is killed and much of the population is poisoned, including Ning’s sister. So Princess Zhen, Ruyi, and Ning go in search of a cure to save the people, enlisting the help of Gods.

Judy I Lin does a masterful job once again weaving Chinese & Taiwanese Mythology & Folklore into her second book. Ning has kept her powers secret from everyone, only letting bits out throughout the competition to help her get by. But now she has to survive and make sure her sister lives. Calling on the Gods for guidance, she has to bring the dead back from the brink.

We also get Zang’s POV in this book, which was really needed. He may have only been the love interest to Ning in book 1, but now he’s the Prince. His father, the warlord, is running the show and with his point of view, we get to have our eye on a lot more of the action.

I love these books! A Venom Dark & Sweet brought a ton more magic and a lot more action. I can’t wait to see what more Judy I Lin has in store for us in the future.

After really enjoying A Magic Steeped in Poison I was incredibly excited to pick up A Venom Dark and Sweet. Unfortunately, it felt very lackluster compared to book one.

The ending of book one was tense and exciting with the coup and betrayal. I was excited to see the conflict expand to an empire-wide scale and to learn more about the princess and her bodyguard. And yet, none of that happened in book two. Despite the high stakes, the book started very slowly. The first 70% of the book felt like set up for the finale. Instead of a rebellion with scheming and court intrigue, we get a very random and generic quest to find some mysterious object. The grand finale wasn't even satisfying. It was rushed and campy. The first book touches on unrest and inequality in the kingdom and yet none of that is addressed in the sequel. The story is way too focused on the magical side of the world. The tea based magic is one of the most unique magic systems I have ever read about I understand why Lin chose to expand the magic beyond the tea system as there are many more gods in this world. However, by expanding the magic system it became much more generic and poorly explained. As Ning spends most of the book on the road she cannot use the tea magic and the other types of magic aren't that interesting.

I have mixed feelings about the addition of Kang's POV. Though I thought he was an interesting character, his perspective added very little to the story. It was nice to know what was happening at the palace while everyone else was away, however, the need for these chapters just highlights how dull Ning's chapters were. Kang didn't even really need a "redemption arc" because it was clear in the first book that he was actually a good person.

A Venom Dark and Sweet was a very fast and easy read. The writing was still very strong though at times a bit over the top. Unfortunately, it lacked many of the elements that made the first book interesting and felt very generic in comparison.

I actually ended up loving this book more than the first, which I had given a 3.5. The issues I had with the first was that it felt a little slow at times, but this one definitely amped up the plot and storytelling much more. There was less focus on the tea and more on magic which was alright to me because we got so much of the opposite in the first book. I loved getting more of the characters in this and seeing more of them in different situations. The romances were sweet and it was nice to have them develop even more. I especially liked that we got a new POV in this book because I think that added to the other all picture of things. I think overall, this isn't my favorite series of all time, but it's definitely enjoyable and I do plan on buying both books and having them in my library, as the stories are gorgeous and the prose is so beautifully written. Really liked this conclusion to the series and I'm excited to read more from this author!