I don’t know what happened to undo the charm from book one. But the pacing dragged here, the character interactions felt sterile, and there was little action until the final act.

Ning hasn't grown on me. She’s a little repressed, but her outbursts of anger or anxiety weren't noteworthy. She and Kang were also kept apart too long for me. Things got considerably better once they met again, but my goodwill was burnt out by then.

The magic system involving tea is still fun and goes full throttle into the mystical. Political intrigue replaces the academy tournament of last time. But the characters' new journey to find magic relics felt long and tedious.

If you enjoyed the first book and like plot-driven stories, this will be great for those readers. But I would have dropped this around the 100-page mark if I didn't like completion so much.