୨⎯ 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒔 ⎯୧
rating: 2.5
narration: 4
plot: 3
characters: 2
writing: 2.5
romance: 1
spice: 0

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°•*⁀➷ what to expect
“found family”
enemies to lovers ❤️‍🔥
vampires 🧛🏻‍♀️
sindrift “tea” house 🫖🩸
5 characters
3 POVs
coconuts 🥥
a heist
“”betrayal””??

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this was advertised as being similar to Six of Crows, one of my favorite fantasy and found family reads, to say i’m disappointed is an understatement. i was so excited for this and had high expectations going in but the main quality i had interest in was barely even shown and the characters were so bland and barely explored. don’t even get me started on the romance, or lack of, despite the advertisement of forbidden love and betrayal etc etc.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

°•*⁀➷ the plot
it was confusing. there was this big heist (like in six of crows except this one lasted for a single chapter and they had an in so there wasn’t any danger …

the coconuts. i’m still confused on the significance and i even reread their brief explanation a few times and i don’t understand how???

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

°•*⁀➷ the characters
they lacked personality and connection.

𝜗𝜚 arthie: is the it girl who’s so special and young and unique and has pink hair and is so tiny but fierce and terrifying and has so many secrets. she’s supposed to be the kaz brekker, key word is “supposed” because she’s none of them. her face is always straight and annoyed or emotionless and always planning ahead and who to throw under the bus. i was so excited for her character, the potential she had to be a little menacing heroine and it just didn’t.

𝜗𝜚 jin: i’m seeing everyone gosh about him and he fits my usual fictional boyfriend type but i found him to be a bore, too! he is entirely normal and his story is that his parents were taken or killed, it’s unclear, but he still has trauma from that and that’s what guides him to do what he does. he also has a thing for flick so he follows her like a lost puppy basically.

𝜗𝜚 flick: she wasn’t terrible actually but i don’t have much to say about her. i’m not sure why she had her own POV chapters when laith and matteo didn’t, she wasn’t that interesting.

𝜗𝜚 laith: and his kitten. another character that had so much potential but was written sloppily and poorly. he was supposed to be full of anger and revenge and apparently was attracted to arthie the moment he met her, and is her enemy but working with her and it’s entirely confusing and didn’t have the effect the author was wanting. laith could’ve been such a great character if he was given more personality aside from having a damn cat sidekick and liking arthie.

𝜗𝜚 matteo: i think i liked him the most?? he’s the vampire of the group and it’s appalling he didn’t get his own POV chapters because he seemed interesting and actually had personality to me. he has a thing for arthie which i was excited for in the beginning but arthie didn’t care.

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°•*⁀➷ the writing
bad. i’m sorry, but the more i think on it the more i realize that this is written like a rough draft of the book because it feels incomplete and lacking so much depth. there was a lot of saying and not doing, instead of saying they did this and that, i want to see it play out. arthie and flick barely interacted together on page but it was said that they apparently had a good long chat or heart to heart about her mother but it was briefly mentioned that they did. same with everything else. arthie mentioned that she would think of laith often but it was mentioned while she was talking to him, not during any other time.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

°•*⁀➷ the romance
nonexistent. i thought this was going to have forbidden love and be swoony like kaz and inej in Six Of Crows but it was incredibly forced with no buildup except for Jin and Flick having some slight flirtations but that is it. Arthie and her two love interests happened so suddenly that i had whiplash from the shock that after meeting each other they were suddenly breathless with their affection and so confused because they were supposed to be enemies???? it was written so poorly. there was no chemistry between Arthie and either of her love interests.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

°•*⁀➷ in conclusion,
i’m disappointed and sad because i got the fairyloot edition and it’s so stunning. k was so looking forward to a 🩸tea house for vampires and found family with a bunch of misfit characters but was let down.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

ᯓ ᡣ𐭩 do i recommend? — ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 nope.

A Tempest of Tea is a fascinating book in theory, but it fails to deliver on this potential. The tea house for which the book is named is only relevant for a chapter or two. The first half of the book is almost boring. It takes so long for the story to get started with a lot of time spent planning, gathering characters, and flirting. The heist itself happened very quickly with a lot of new characters and information crammed in at the end.

The writing is weighed down by a serious case of "telling" rather than "showing." If the book had spent less time monologuing about what the character's personalities were supposed to be and more time actually showing them in action, maybe I would have cared about at least one of them. World-building infodumps or extensive moral reflections were shoehorned in the middle of random scenes making the story feel clunky and awkward.

Almost from page one, the book is drowning in romance subplots that are underdeveloped and out of character. I love a fantasy book with a romance subplot but these felt forced into the story to grab the reader's interest. It made no sense that Arthie, supposed criminal mastermind, would be so easily distracted by mediocre men.

I am disappointed that I did not enjoy this one because I think it had a lot of potential.

I thought I was past the time of vampires and that ilk, but all of a sudden 2024 is thorwing book after fantastic book at me with them. A creative, and artfully built world, a little bit of romance and found family? I'm in.

This was such a fun read and so different from Hafsah's first duology!

I loved the found family and the way that Arthie took control of her own life. The politics and the way the world was portraied kept me entertained and wanting to learn more. Also I am all about hiests! So the moment the team started planning the hiest I was all in!

The love kinda triangle was very well played and I cannot wait to see how this is going to play out in the next book!

Hafsah is definitely a must by author for me!

Excellent, Hafsah Faizal has done it again! A great adventure with excellent characters, it's fun and emotional and a wild ride. They really have such a talent for creating layered characters and interesting plot lines. I truly think anything more would ruin the delightful surprises. Hafsah Faizal is a must read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

""To be left adrift, a fraction of a whole. To be surrounded by others and no one, at once. We are the same, Arthie. We understand what it's like to grieve with fire and not tears. What it's like to do anything for those we love.""

⭐⭐💫

Thank you Netgalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) for a copy of this book for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Content warnings (from Storygraph): blood/injury, murder/death (including parental), war/violence (including guns and fire), colonisation, racism, grief, classism

I had seen this book compared to Six of Crows meets vampires and was already intrigued. I then saw the gorgeous cover and the involvement with tea brewing and applied for an ARC instantly. Once approved, I started reading this book the moment it fit a readathon prompt! It is mostly a triple POV following Arthie and Jin, orphans and siblings by way of found family, and Flick, the daughter of some sort of important member of society. Arthie is desperate to form a team to heist their way into the Athereum (a vampire haven) in order to steal evidence against their kingdom's current ruler. Flick, a figurative bird in a gilded cage, is willing to break her lawful good ways if it means finding a way to right her family's reputation in the end. Can they, and the other characters they attempt to recruit actually pull off this daring heist?

The first half of this book was a delight. I couldn't put it down, although some of this was out of a nostalgia factor. The majority of the cast feels like exact or almost-exact matches of the Six of Crows cast. In retrospect, that does seem a little odd, but I was having a great time. What we learned of the kingdoms/nations was intriguing, but we didn't learn nearly enough. I felt the same way about the characters. Jin and Flick were my favorites, along with Matteo, even though we barely learned anything about him by the end.

Around the halfway point, once we reach the heist scenes, this book seemed to fall apart before my eyes. The scenes and reasoning for the characters doing or saying were difficult to follow, and it seemed to get worse in every chapter. Some of the romances progressed with so little development it felt like I'd gotten whiplash. I'm still not entirely sure what the over-arcing plot ended up being. The tea aspect of the book was also mostly irrelevant other than a few tea descriptions of the main characters in the beginning.

I felt like the first 50% was 4 stars and the second 50% 2 stars, so this is a sort of compromise rating. I don't think I would continue the series, but I did enjoy three of the characters enough that I might be willing to skim book 2 for them...

If you liked the book Six of Crows I feel like this is a very comparable story. Our quest begins in a tea shop and follows a group of misfits as they work together to bring down a corrupt power. The first half of the book is definitely more of a slow build but the ending was really fast paced and fun and grabbed my interest.

There are vampires, elements from Arthurian lore, British colonialism, and diverse characters looking to reclaim their power.

While this story had many appealing elements, I do think I loved the writing style and overall vibe of the book the most. There were several plot twists that took me by surprise that makes me want to know what will happen going forward in the series.

There is also a light romance element I enjoyed and am curious about for future books.

The narration was really well done. However because this was multi POV, I would have loved more narrators. There were times when the switch over created confusion and I had to make sure I was paying close attention so I didn’t get lost.

If you love morally gray characters, this is your book. Arthie and Jin are best friends and business partners in a tea house by day, blood house by night business. But their kingdom is ruled by a ruthless despot named the Ram and the Ram does not like the vampires living in their city, and really doesn't like Arthie. When their business is threatened, Arthie and Jin need to pull off an almost impossible heist. Fun and adventurous.

This book did take me a bit to get started on it. But once I hit about 30%, I was addicted to it and could hardly put it down.

Arthie runs a tearoom that turns into a bloodhouse as the sun sets, getting in good with the vampires while also dealing in secrets of the upper crust. Her business is threatened and, while she is trying to figure out how to wiggle out of this predicament, a chance to steal some of the biggest secrets of the city comes through her door. She gathers a crew with a vast skill set, but will she be betrayed before they can pull off the heist?

I enjoyed seeing Faizal expand the world that she started with [book:We Hunt the Flame|36492488]. It's not necessary to read that duology before this one, but it was fun knowing the few nods to the characters in this book.

There were a few characters that had more "screentime" with their POV and their insights, which I was fine with because some books really overdo it with a group and putting in everyone's POV. I will definitely pick up the sequel and whatever else Faizal writes because she's really honing her craft with each book that gets published.

I was sold on the description but lost with the execution. I did enjoy a few of the characters (vampires are always a plus) and historical setting, but overall, the book didn't resonate with me. I am sure many YA fans will enjoy it, though.

This book was super cool. It balanced an exciting YA story with a totally unique premise and legitimate and well-thought-out historical and social commentary; not an easy feat. Overall, Faizal proves to be an exciting name in YA fiction right now, and this book only cements a well earned reputation.

This was a great book! We really enjoyed reading it and will be recommending it to our students to read. It was a very unique story and the author's writing style is very enjoyable.

This book is perfect for fans who enjoy historical fiction and heist vibes. The book takes place in a fantasy world that feels like the past - with speakeasies and proper societal rules about wearing dresses and needing chaperones. I couldn’t pinpoint what time period it was, but based on the fashion as well as lack of modern technology it felt more like the past. There was also some magic in this book but not a ton - I would not recommend this to those looking a magic heavy world.

The book follows a colorful cast of characters as they pull off a heist to save this tea house from the masked king. Each character is entertaining to read as they are a bit full of themselves in their own way, has their own motivations for joining the heist and it’s interesting to see how everything comes together. It is perfect for readers who love morally grey characters and villains.

I would say the book is a slow build for the plot and very focused on characters for the majority of the book. However the mysterious plot really grew on me and were great twists and turns that kept me interested.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and it reminded me a lot of Six of Crows in writing style, characters and plot. There are light themes of around colonialism, social inequality, as well as trauma. It was not a page turner for me but I was entertained and would recommend it to people who enjoy arrogant/morally grey characters with dark pasts and found family heist books.

I’d like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an arc of this book, all opinions are my own.

THIS BOOOOOK!! It was slow going but once we got into it (about 50% in) I COULD NOT STOP!! Arthie is so badass and I love that her plans have FLAWS. She isn’t some flawless amazing character but a real young woman pushed into circumstances and forced to adapt. AND JIN AND FLICK!!! Love those two so much. Lastly, let’s take a moment to talk about Arthie’s love story. I understand the criticisms that it feels like the last bit is rushed, but I can also see the other side - she was ALWAYS attracted to him, but never did anything about it. She also still hasn’t done anything. He’s saving her life, and she owes him!

and anyone who’s read this… is THE WOLF MATTEO??? PLEASE SOMEONE??

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I enjoyed A Tempest of Tea. I loved the world building. I felt like I was right there with Arthie and her crew. I loved getting to know all the characters and the found family. This was fast paced and kept me on the edge of my seat. I couldn't wait to see what happened. I love found family, heists, and spunky, resilient characters. I highly recommend this book and will be purchasing it for our high school library.

I was quite looking forward to this book based on the premise but I was disappointed overall. I found the premise intriguing--I enjoy ensemble casts, multiple POVs and the idea of a heist. Add vampires and I am all in. This book had all those elements but it didn't all gel together for me. I liked the varied characters as individuals to an extent, (although I felt they could be more developed) and at the interactions between some of them (Jin and Archie in particular) worked well. I liked the alternating POVs as well. But the other members of the heist team didn't feel as well delineated and their interest and stakes in the plan seemed less clear.

It started slow and picked up momentum but I also found myself being confused during some of the fight scenes and most of the escapes and escapades in the city. I had to reread the passages to make sure I knew who was where and how they were getting out of the building/down the street/climbing down from the rooftops. That proved a distraction from the narrative. It did feel a bit thin plot wise. It would be some character exposition, then intense action, then some more exposition, and some confusing action again.

I felt Jin was the most compelling and strong character. I wanted to like Archie as much as I like Jin but there was a distance to her that kept me from being invested enough in her. Perhaps that is due to the twist that comes near the end and she is keeping herself distant perhaps. I also had a hard time believing a teenage girl was so well known and feared in a city this size.

The world building is intriguing but incomplete. The aspects of colonialism are met head on. The element of found family exists but it didn't feel like it gelled much other than for Jin and Arthie. Some of the descriptions were lovely.

Overall it was an interesting read but not one that necessarily wowed me. Perhaps I'll get more out of the sequel?

I did not find either of the implied love interests that compelling. There did not seem to be chemistry at all. Even for Jin and his situation I would have liked more development of that.

I think it's a good read, not a great one. I"ll be curious to see how book 2 shapes up.

A 3.5 overall.

An exciting new novel from Hafsah Faizal! I love this world she's created (so different from her last series but just as vivid) and I adore these characters. I can't wait for book 2.

Unfortunately this one wasn’t for me. Just couldn’t connect with characters and stopped reading at 53% point. Thank you so much for opportunity to read it!

First I would like to thank Netgalley and Macmillan publishers for approving this arc for me to read, in return for an honest review.

The premise, the characters, and storyline really intrigued me and pulled me to read this book, as well as my familiarity with the author's previous duology. At first the book took a while for me to get heavily into, as much as I loved the idea of the story, it took me awhile to finally start enjoying the story. All the characters, setting, conflict with each character was stellar, it just took awhile for the action in my opinion to start up, and so I often put the book down to read again. I quite enjoyed the story, and I am really glad I finished the book, as enjoyed the rest and overall the whole book.

'A Tempest of Tea' by Hafsah Faizal is a literary masterpiece that takes readers on a breathtaking journey through vibrant worlds filled with intrigue, romance, and the allure of tea.

The characters are exquisitely crafted, each with their own depth and complexity, making them feel like old friends by the end. The intertwining of culture, tradition, and magic is expertly woven into the narrative, adding layers of depth and authenticity. From the first sip to the last, 'A Tempest of Tea' captivates with its spellbinding storytelling and leaves you craving for more. A must-read for any lover of fantasy and adventure!"