#tempest of tea

[the-nada-thing]

Arthie smiled. “Mr. Brekker, I believe this is the start of a wonderful friendship.”

“Oh, it's better than that, Casimir,” Kaz said, “It’s a business transaction.”

“Indeed.”

(then they drink tea while Jesper introduces Jin to Wylan)

[keptalivebymagic]

I'm reading Tempest of Tea and uh, wow. It's all just so... Contrived. I'm halfway through and I'm definitely hate-reading at this point.

[elliepassmore]

Tempest of Tea review

4/5 stars Recommended if you like: historical fantasy, vampires, heists, revenge plots

I definitely wanted to enjoy this book more than I did and I'm struggling with the rating. There's vampires and a heist, how much better could it get? But when I see 'heist' I'm hoping for something like Six of Crows and this is definitely not at that level. Likewise, while I've never seen Peaky Blinders, I know the premise, and this doesn't really touch that either. I think with those two comps, this book needed to have a much more complex heist, which takes up most of the story, and to have a darker tone to it. It feels kind of like an instance where characters say they're morally gray but don't actually do anything to show it.

That being said, I did actually enjoy the heist and I think if it hadn't come with the SoC comp it would've been more enjoyable. It's not a complex heist by any stretch of the imagination, though it easily could've been with a little more tweaking. Everything just gets pulled off a little too easily. But I did like the disguises and I thought it was interesting how the crew worked around the security measures. Arthie's trick at the end was particularly well thought out and I greatly enjoyed that.

The vampire aspect was interesting. What made it even more interesting is that vampires are a relatively new phenomenon in this world and so not a lot is known about them and blood houses, like the one Arthie runs, are still kind of taboo. For being relatively new to the world though, they sure have managed to set themselves up nicely with their own little society and hierarchy. The well-known glitz and glam of vampire society is there, it's just a little more hidden than usual.

Arthie is a criminal, and not just because she runs an illegal bloodhouse disguised as a tearoom. She bribes, blackmails, and steals, and doesn't particularly feel sorry about it. I do wish, however, that we could see more of this since it's mostly told to us. She's supposed to have a revenge plot, which is there, but I wanted to feel her burning anger more than I did. With Kaz his anger was palpable but with Arthie it's just kind of meh. I wanted to like Arthie more since she's the main character and has a really interesting premise.

Jin was a pretty good character and I think he had a lot going on in this story. He may not be the mastermind of the heist, but he knows how to plan one and get the ball rolling. Plus, he's Arthie's main confidante, so we get to see a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff from him while also getting to be surprised. I definitely feel like Jin had more emotions behind him than Arthie did, which might be why I liked him more.

Flick is the last POV character and like Arthie she had so much potential. She's a society lady who's been arrested for forgery (whoops) and gets added to the heist so she can fake IDs for the crew to get into places. There's tension between her and her mother, who's very into polite society and is massively disappointed in Flick's behavior, that I think makes for a really interesting story. Flick is torn between wanting to help her friends and wanting to please her mother by betraying them and getting the 'big catch.' Unfortunately, I didn't really like Flick and found her to be relatively passive. If she'd had more agency to her I think I would've liked her character more since, again, she has such an interesting premise.

All in all I think this book is an interesting and fun read but that it could've been so much more. 2 of the 3 POV characters fell flat for me despite the fact that they sounded interesting on the surface. More emotion behind the characters would've helped bolster the story, I think. Also, I don't think the SoC and Peaky Blinders comp helped this book at all; it needed to be way more ruthless for that to work.

[honeycombarchives]

Book Review: A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal (Spoiler Free)

Recommended? YES

Enjoyment: 9.5/10

Keeping my Attention: 8.5/10

Comments: Something I felt drawn to and kept my attention. Hafsah Faizal is quickly becoming one of my favourite writers.  

So. Let me drop the tea on this little marvel. 

First- a little run down- a synopsis if you will. A Tempest of Tea (by Hafsah Faizal- who btw is really cool and has an adorable marriage) is the first book of a duology about one Arthie Casimir; founder of a teahouse by day, vampire blood den hostess by night. The story follows Arthie trying to save her teahouse by taking on high vampire society in a heist of a lifetime. Her and her ragtag crew, brought together by various happenstance will need to work together to achieve their individual means- but what happens when those means don’t align? 

Let’s start with the writing itself. Sometimes it’s okay to take a step back and admire a writer’s crafting of words and by golly does this book have you hanging on each word and (ironically) thirsting for more. I found myself immersed into this world from the first sentence. The drag keeping me from ever wanting to surface from outside the mysticism and intrigue the author builds so successfully. You want something calm and smooth? This is not it. From the very first page, your jaw will hit the floor as you’re hit with adrenaline and hit again in awe of what transpires. I’m still not sure my jaw ever came back up.

Now let’s take a bite out of the plot. Pacing is gorgeous. It slows when it need to and rushes with your heart rate when you get to the climax. Think irresistible character development entwining with a heist with a splash of tea and vampires. The book oozes in a main plot at its foundation that entwines so well with all the characters and their subplots. Honestly, I can’t think of a single character that was wasted. Each of them had a storyline that I was satisfied with more or less. I hate endings, especially if I enjoy something so ending this was a frustrating experience for sure. They have a cat too so I don’t know what else I can ask for. 

The characters I could go on and on about and never stop so I’ll keep myself accountable and not run my mouth too much and spoil the fun. Arthie however. I adore Arthie. She’s your stereotypical badass protagonist for sure. But she’s so much more than that. She’s an icon in the way she accepts herself, her past and the fact that she’s the way she is. Equal parts powerful and vulnerable I wish I could just sit down and interview her about the way she sees the world. Not only that, the author is poignant with the way Arthie expresses her past. Something a person who is BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of colour) well especially sympathise with. When I revisit this book- because oh boy I will- I may just write about Arthie (hopefully by then you’ll have read the book so you can swoon with me about her).

What can I say? Hafsah Faizal is an artist and I am infatuated by every word she has put in this book. It’s the first book of hers that I’ve read and I feel as though it’s almost incumbent on me to go back and hunt for the books she’s already graced us with. 

[marsneedstherapy]

I cannot keep getting obsessed with books with literally no fandom/a completely dead fandom

[the-book-ferret]

“It's tea time, Scoundrels!” ― Hafsah Faizal, A Tempest of Tea

[circuslollipop]

so i read a tempest of tea by @hafsahfaizal recently and just KNEW i had to make fanart for it, so here's something inspired by the illustration on the inside of the owlcrate edition dust jacket--matteo showing the group the plans he'd drawn up!

[wardensantoineandevka]

between Saskia, Imogen, and Hieronymous, it is SO tidily and completely laid out how the Vault bombing is gonna work—a map drawn out by Phineas, explosives provided by Ledge, a bank holiday invented by Imogen, a small and efficient area to target as suggested by Hieronymous, more than enough people to get everything in and out swiftly and surreptitiously. it all seems so straightforward, so simple to execute! the steps are all laid out!

it's gonna go to absolute fucking shit, isn't it. never have faith in a plan with steps spelled out on screen.

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

A Tempest of Tea

first in a YA fantasy duology

follows a young immigrant woman in a fantasy Victorian city who runs a tearoom that doubles as an illegal bloodhouse for vampires at night

when their business is threatened, she gets a chance to save it by teaming up with her best friend, a rich girl with a talent for forgery, a vampire artist, and a mysterious city guard to do a heist to infiltrate high society and collect a logbook that may reveal the extent of the corruption in the city

fantasy city with a masked ruler, arthurian elements, themes of colonialism

[the-nada-thing]

this is a hafsah faizel appreciation post because her books contain elements of popular fantasy such as hunger games and lord of the rings and you can clearly discern this in her writing but not in a copy-cat way where she's trying to be the hunger games and/or lord of the rings but in a way she clearly read and loved those books and that naturally bleeds into her writing and it is such a joy to read like she is a fangirl! she's as obsessive as I am! love her so much and if you like fantasy and haven't read her books you are in for a treat

[a-ramblinrose]

💖💙💜Barnes & Noble Book Haul!!!💜💙💖

[pippairl]

matteo andoni looks like the forbidden love child between olrox and alucard

(art by rosiethorns88 on insta!!)

[svtshuastruck]

so i just finished a tempest of tea (still recovering from that ending, thank you for asking) and all i could think of is that one tumblr post that was screenshotted and posted to pinterest about vegan vampires. i went on a hunt and low and behold i found the post !

[dinoari]

sooo who is going to make fanart of a tempest of tea

[reinekes-fox]

I will be receiving an English version of A tempest of Tea, including some bonus content (not the bonus epilogue though, but I got my hands on it)

Anyone interested in me posting snippets of the writing and losing my mind?

[shxpeshifterr]