Zhang Ning comes from a line of shennong-tu, people who can do magic through tea. She blames herself for serving the poison tea that kills her mother and makes her sister gravelly ill. There's only one way to fix it--to enter the palace competition for a new shennong-tu and win a favor from the royal princess. Ning isn't prepared for the world of palace intrigue, but she finds a way to fight through all the challenges. 

I enjoyed Ning and her friends, and I liked the idea of tea being magical. It's a fun fantasy, with an added bonus of book 2 being available the same year!