A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal Review

Title: A Tempest of Tea

Author: Hafsah Faizal

Genre: YA Fantasy

Publisher: MacMillan

Pages: 352

Release Date: 22 February 2024

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Hello fellow booklovers and welcome to my brand new blog! Today I’m sharing my review for A Tempest of Tea, the new and intoxicatingly addictive YA Fantasy from Hafsah Faizal—bestselling author of We Hunt The Flame and its sequel, We Free The Stars.

Masterfully blending the criminal swagger of Peaky Blinders and whirlwind action of Six of Crows, A Tempest of Tea is an insatiably lush and emotionally depth-filled tale of vampires, found family and vengeance —that heist obsessed fantasy lovers really don’t want miss! 

Synopsis

 Set within the same world as We Hunt The Flame, on the streets of White Roaring, Arthie Casimir is a criminal mastermind and collector of secrets. Her prestigious tearoom transforms into an illegal bloodhouse by dark, catering to the vampires feared by society. But when her establishment is threatened, Arthie is forced to strike an unlikely deal with an alluring adversary to save it-and she can't do the job alone.

Calling on some of the city's most skilled outcasts, Arthie hatches a plan to infiltrate the dark and glittering vampire society known as the Athereum. But not everyone in her ragtag crew is on her side, and as the truth behind the heist unfolds, Arthie finds herself in the midst of a conspiracy that will threaten the world as she knows it.

Review

 I loved every second of this heady and atmospherically compelling tale! The prose was breathtakingly beautiful and the dialogue both witty and thoroughly entertaining. Hafsah Faizal masterfully explores themes of power, corruption, colonialism, class and family with such thought provoking vividness that I did find myself tearing up more than once whilst reading—especially during Jin and Arthie’s backstory reveals.

The complexity and depth of our POV characters (Arthie,Jin & Flick) was phenomenally well done too and the emotional growth we see from all of them was incredible.

Arthie, our mauve-haired Queen of chaos (and keeper of secrets) was definitely my favourite. Her ability to keep her cool, even in the most dire of situations was impressive. But it’s her decade long commitment to avenging her family and homeland (by cleverly sowing chaos in the colonising Ettenia’s upper eschelons—like a gun-toting Robin Hood) that made me love her the most. Her enterprising schemes and skill at extracting secrets (as well as keeping tons of her own) had me on the edge of my seat, eager to see what she’d do next. Though, I do admit Arthie’s charismatic second, Jin (and Laithe’s unnamed feline companion) were also firm faves. 

There is some romance, which I found swoon-worthy in its slow burn intensity (which includes a bit of a love triangle) and the jaw-droppingly suspenseful twists leading up to THAT ending already has me excited to see how things develop in the sequel—which I’m desperate to get my hands on. 

As high octane and pacy as this was, you’ll definitely want to savour every moment, as little there’s quite a few hints/clues that you may miss if you’re not paying close enough attention. 

If you love heists, drama filled historical fantasy or vampires, then you simply must add this to your TBRs—it’s fabulous! Just be sure to check TWs beforehand

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Also, a huge thank you to Macmillan for the proof. 

About The Author 

Hafsah Faizal is the New York Timesbestselling, award-winning author of WE HUNT THE FLAME, WE FREE THE STARS and A TEMPEST OF TEA, and the founder of IceyDesigns, where she creates websites for authors and beauteous goodies for everyone else. A Forbes 30 under 30 honoree, when she’s not writing, she can be found designing, deciding between Assassin’s Creed and Skyrim, or traversing the world. Born in Florida and raised in California, she now resides in Texas with a library of books waiting to be devoured.

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