3.5, rounded up to 4

Arthie Casimir runs the Spindrift, a teahouse by day, and bloodhouse by night, servicing the city of White Roaring's human and vampire population. With her crew, she's powerful and filled with secrets—until she learns that the city's ruler is gunning to shut her operation down. Worse, vampires are going missing. But if Arthie wants to save her home, she's going to need a crew.

There were a lot of things that worked for me, and so many that just didn't land. And I couldn't quite put my finger on why they didn't land.

The world-building is fascinating. Vampires and humans and a city that is the capital of an empire, with heavy analogies to England and its empire and the East India Company. The teas created are described so beautifully, and when the book began I was certain that this was going to be a five-star read because of how beautiful the prose was and how invested I was.

Except my fascination bled out somewhere around the 50% mark, as the plotline devolved and I realized that the relationships, while chock-filled with backstories, just weren't hitting. The relationships felt forced (especially that love triangle), and the machinations were...I dunno. Also, there were a few plotlines that didn't really jive together—the Calibore subplot, for example. And as for the vampires, I wanted MORE.

I think this is another book that should have been aged up to adult instead of YA.

But also, rounding up to four stars because it was a quick and fun and had so much potential.

A Tempest of Tea, by Hafsah Faizal, is the first installment in the author's Blood and Tea duology. If you liked the thrill ride of Six of Crows, you will want to read this book. On the streets of White Roaring, Arthie Casimir is a criminal mastermind and collector of secrets. She runs Spindrift, a tea room that doubles as a bloodhouse for vampires with her adopted brother Jin, who like Arthie, is an orphan. It's not exactly legal, but Arthie holds enough of people's secrets that the authorities haven't been able to get to her yet.

Even when Spindrift, (once a museum known as the Curio boasting artifacts stolen from the colonies), is raided by the Horned Guard, they are always just a minute or two late from catching Arthie breaking the law. But when her establishment is threatened by the monarch called Ram, Arthie is forced to strike an unlikely deal with an alluring adversary to save it—and she can’t do the job alone. Arthie, who is Ceylani, watched her people as they were slaughtered by Ettenia colonists. She was the only survivor. Arthie likes to stir up chaos to get her revenge on the people who wronged her.

Before she ran Spindrift, she was an orphan on the streets picking the pockets of those who could afford it. It is there that she discovered Jin after his home was burned to the ground leaving them both as orphans. She is also the girl who planned a brilliant scheme where she pulled a pistol called Calibore from the stone. Calibore is no ordinary gun. The gun can change into any weapon of her choosing and can kill anything—even a vampire. Arthie's mission is to infiltrate the vampire underground compound called Athereum, run by Penn Arundel, steal the ledger, and guarantee that Spindrift doesn't face any more threats.

Arthie's crew includes Jin, Arthie's most trusted partner in crime, Matteo Andoni, a vampire and shameless flirt who has a delightfully obvious crush on Arthie, Felicity "Flick" Linden, the adoptive child of a female government official who only cares about her public image and very talented at forgery, which she has put to use numerous times. Then there is Laith. Laith is a high guard captain, the complete opposite of Arthie's profession, and the unlikeliest member of their group. He is also mysterious which makes Arthie uneasy as much as it attracts her.

What becomes clear during the heist, is that not everyone is on her side. As the heist progresses, Arthie finds herself amid a conspiracy that will threaten the world as she knows it. Not only will Arthie find out about trusting people, but her own secret will be revealed, and the consequences will linger until the finale is released. It is especially dangerous that vampires have been taken and disappeared. There are so many threads that you have to weave and yet are left with a stunning cliffhanger ending.

*Thoughts* Even though there are clear similarities between Arthie, Kez Bekker (Six of Crows) and Severin (The Gilded Wolves), she's intelligent and sneaky, but also loyal and fiercely protective. I did not read the author's two previous novels, but I understand that if you pay attention to who Laith is and where he allegedly comes from (Arawiya) you might find a connection. Arawiya is a country that is said to have been under a curse until recently. A country that has not fallen to the colonists of Ettenia. One could compare Ettenia to the United Kingdom and The East India Company in this book called East Jeevant Company.

"No," he whispered back. "Destroy me."

I am absolutely living for this quote, fam.

I had so much fun with this book! Sure, it's very YA, the FMC has purple--excuse me, mauve--hair (lmfao), every major reveal was pretty obvious, and the schoolkid crushes were ingratiating to the point where my retinas would've detached if I rolled my eyes for the umpteenth time.

But!

Despite all of that, I still loved the characters and the setting! Also, y'all, I love vampires so I'm biased to all hell.

Arthie, Jin, Laith, and Flick each had their own unique personalities and I'd love to be friends with the gang. For a YA novel, everyone actually reads age-appropriate, which, oddly, isn't usually something you find often. (Teens usually read way too young in the YA fantasies I've been reading lately).

I loved how this is unapologetically BIPOC, with a lead FMC from a colonized nation, Ceylan, living in the colonizer's land, Ettenia, and finding success on her own terms by creating and running a teahouse/bloodhouse. I would absolutely love to read a prequel about Arthie's past. I want her as my ride or die, no lie.

I loved the setting! While I would've loved for a unique world that didn't have to rely on terms in our own world (sari, qipao, etc.), it's totally fine. This isn't high or epic fantasy.

I know this book is only about Ettenia, but the inclusion of Arawiya (which is from the author's other series, which I DNF), and learning about Arthie's childhood in Ceylan, makes me wish for more geopolitics on a grander scale.

But despite that, White Roaring reads like a fantasy Victorian London. So, it feels very familiar despite being set in a fantasy world. I'm also a huge fan of fantasy Victorian England settings, so I might be a little biased here.

Actually, this entire world is a thinly veiled colonial era England, complete with its very own British East India Company. So, if you know your world history, it's very easy to draw comparisons.

There are a couple of quotes/excerpts that I really liked that touched on colonialism:

"She'd [Arthie] spun a business out of tea leaves because the Ettenians had found her tiny island of Ceylan and cultivated it to their liking. What lives the Ettenian soldiers in red uniforms hadn't stolen were claimed either by disease or deforestation that spawned landslides and floods in a country unprepared for such wrath, simply because they wanted to make room for crops like rubber and tea."

"They collected trophies for civilizing countries that had never asked for a redefinition of the word."

Anyway, I'm so glad I snagged a signed Waterstones SE before they sold out!

I'm excited to read the next installment!

Thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) and NetGalley for this arc.

The story just does not pick up. There's an interesting cast of characters, but so much internal dialogue. Normally this is fine but the characters' voices are not distinct and the chapters all blur together. Also, their internal voices do not match their actions or personalities, and I was confused by the almost instant attraction the couples feel for each other.

Really wanted to love this one but I have no idea where the story is going.

I’m not always impressed by stories with vampires, but the vampire lore in A Tempest of Tea proved thought-out and integrated into the rest of the world. Seeing as the world also includes criticisms of colonization, betrayal, found family, Arthurian legend, and more, weaving the supernatural and the historical together is no small feat.

The characters fascinated me the most. Arthie Casimir is the clever, loyal, intensely intimidating protagonist I’ve been missing since Six of Crows. Like Kaz Brekker, she assembles a ragtag crew of characters from all walks of life—and from often competing loyalties. I admired the banter between her and her brother-in-crime Jin Casimir, whose charisma nicely complements her abrasiveness. His developing romantic relationship with Felicity “Flick,” a highborn young woman who talentedly dabbles in forgery, was also wholesome, and I looked forward to their flirtatious interactions. I didn’t expect to be as invested as I was in Arthie’s love triangle with Laith, a high guard and Arthie’s opposite, and Matteo, an artsy, even pretentious vampire. They both teased out new sides of Arthie’s personality, and I liked that it’s still unclear which of them will end up together.

To accommodate this unique worldbuilding and wide cast of characters, the plot occasionally slowed. The writing dwelled on the gang discussing and planning for the heist more than them implementing it, so by the time it happened, I felt a bit disinterested. The aftermath, though, threw me for one satisfying loop after another. I enjoyed the characters’ snark and the Victorian-meets-vampires atmosphere, but the ending is what’s driving my anticipation for the sequel.

I have been waiting to read this book since it was announced in 2021 and it truly does not disappoint. I loved Arthie and her crew, especially Jin, and the way vampires were included in this world was so fresh and unique. This was everything I wanted it to be and more, the reveals at the end completely shocked me, even if I had a little inkling of what was going to happen I was never able to guess the full scope of the events. One of the best heist books I have ever read!

How refreshing to be so absolutely entranced by a setting and pulled back into a world of vampires and tea. What a combination topped off with the legendary Arthie as a main character. Tearoom and spilling the tea. Heist-like activities. Plots and counterplots. Fighting back, taking charge. As I'm a season into Peaky Blinders, I can see the connections but I also love the old-world feel while bringing modern flairs too.

The alternating POVs of Arthie and Jin worked but I adored Arthie enough it could have been her full-time and I wouldn't have been mad. What creativity and genius with an underbelly world that also reminds me a bit of [book:These Violent Delights|50892212].

I will definitely read the second!

A full review has been posted on Eulalie Magazine.

3.5 stars
The world is the highlight of the novel. It's such a rich world, and I wanted to spend even more time in it and learn more about it. The romance/love triangle did not work for me, and I'm not sure it needed to be a multiple-POV novel, but, overall, I enjoyed A Tempest of Tea.

4 -⭐⭐⭐⭐

"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."

A Tempest of Tea is the first novel in the YA Historical Fantasy series, Blood and Tea. The premise follows Arthie, a criminal mastermind who runs a tea shop by day and a blood den at night. As one who deals in secrets she surrounds herself with a group an eclectic people help conduct a heist that will save her establishment. Yet as she further navigates the vampiric society to prepare she is confronted with conspiracies and revelations that will force her either accept the change in the world she knows or succumb to the imperial presence that seeks to destroy her.

This is an incredibly fun and easy book to dive into! It has a Six of Crows vibe alongside Peaky Blinders and I felt both comparisons are given justice here.

Arthie is a woman determined to protect the only home she knows but she is also a dealer of secrets. I found her story evolving truly grabbed my attention and the secrets she keeps are tantalizing. She is fierce and a power in her own right...but she's still learning.

Jin is Arthie's adopted brother, a boy she saved when a fire destroyed his life. He is a charmer but steadfast and loyal. He is a tinker of mechanics and watching his romance bloom with Flick was adorable.

Flick is the disgraced daughter of a noble...and also happens to be an excellent forger. She is brought in to help with the heist with a hope she can uncover something to bring her back into the good graces of her family. I found her innocence of the underbelly to be quite sweet despite her rather illustrious career. Also...her and Jin are the sweetest of slow burns.

Matteo is a vampire who connections. Not fully a friend of Arthie...so she blackmails him. In a world where vampires are feared, Matteo is reluctant to reveal himself but he sarcasm and banter made him a fun addition to the bunch.

Last, but not least, is Laith is a royal guard with a vendetta and is willing to help Arthie with her problem...if she steals something from his superiors for him. He also has an adorable cat companion that stole the show. I found the layers of Laith matched Arthie in many ways so their antagonistic romance worked so well and I have hopes for the future.

This book is young adult so do not expect spice. There is kissing. The book follows three POVS and there are two romances but there are side plots. I found Flick and Jin's to be the sweetness to the spice of Laith and Arthie's.

"I loathed you...I hated you for the span of a heartache before I realized how much I craved you. And I know you yearn for me the same."

In terms of story and world, I found the story fascinating and draws you in. The lore around vampires and imperials powers also piqued my interest in many ways. There is still so much to unravel as we navigated this gritty world of the industrial age. I enjoyed the banter and interactions of all the characters. I will say this book is a slow pace...so the heist takes a while to even happen and not must feels like its happened...then you get hit with LOTS of twists and turns. It has me incredibly excited for book two.

Overall, if you want a heists, a light romance, and vampire society in a fantasy world, and grit, this story will be your cup of tea!

Thank you Farrar, Straus, and Giroux for this ARC!

It's always the hardest for me to write reviews for books that I found to be just alright. This is the sort of book where it was a good time while I read it, but ultimately not going to be a tale that I find very memorable after a little time has passed.

Conceptually, A Tempest of Tea sounds really fun. There's a place that's a tearoom by day, bloodhouse by night that's run by a crew of orphans, who find themselves involved in a heist in order to save the place they call home. And there's certainly fun to be had when it comes to the witty remarks exchanged, the logistics of the heist (and its preparations) and the moments of revelation (especially in the latter portion of the book).

Unfortunately, it's in the execution where this one fell a little flat. The plot orchestration was perfectly adequate, if also convenient and haphazard at turns. The characters were certainly portrayed to be unique with their different physical attributes and backgrounds, but I didn't feel like they really popped off the page or like I had any personal investment in any of them (and subsequently, that meant my interest in the relationships was very light at best).

Honestly, this book is fine, and though it did fall short of my expectations, I may eventually give the second book a shot just to see how things continue from where it end.

I’m actually quite blown away with Faizal’s writing style because it’s been so long since I’ve read “show not tell” in a book. Each character is incredibly well-rounded with clear representations of their intentions and motivations, and I’m kind of obsessed with Arthie’s character?? I didn’t expect her to hold such a resemblance to Kaz Brekkar but with a little immigrant narrative thrown in. I am totally in love with her character!

The anti-colonial presence is very strong within this story and I appreciate how Faizal has created an accurate fictitious representation of the East India Trading Company and the havoc they wreaked on the Global South. I do feel that the presence of the vampires/vampirism in the story is a bit underdeveloped and think we could have used some more lore about the presence of vampires in this world to form a more complete picture. (But to my understanding, this was set in the same world as We Hunt the Flame so I could just be missing some context!) The characters are so well-written that this becomes easy to overlook. The world-building in the industrial revolution setting is done fantastically and I appreciated the amount of detail!

Highly recommend to fans of Six of Crows, folks who are looking for more POC representation in fantasy, and those of us who are healing our inner child with stories that accurately represent our histories. 🫶🏾

🫖 POC Vampires
🫖 Gang rivalries
🫖 Heists
🫖 Found family
🫖 YEARNING

3.5 stars!

There were definitely some strengths to this book, but there were also some things that fell just a bit short. To start, I wanted more of the world. I wanted to know more about what vampires were like and honestly, I wanted more of the tearoom/bloodhouse. Personally, this book was missing some excitement, especially for the heist. There didn't seem to be much at stake and I think that's part of the reason why the middle of the book was almost a little too slow. There also wasn't much struggle so it didn't have me on the edge of my seat or anything. Another thing I struggled with was the character development. I still don't really know the characters all that well and I wish we saw more of the connections/relationships developing. The characters could be more complex and I would have loved to see more of a found family trope. In terms of characters, they can definitely be stronger and unique.

Though the middle of the book wasn't all that exciting to me, the ending of the book was thrilling. I would say the last 10 chapters was when I started to get nervous and I really got into the story. There were some things that were pretty predictable in the book (I knew what direction the author was going with for Arthie right from the start), but the ending did have some interesting twists. As we got to learn about more secrets, I really wish we got more about the characters' backgrounds (Arthie and Jin's connection, for example) because it would have created a more emotional layer and it would have hit harder. The pacing was a bit odd at times too. I do plan on reading the sequel but I'm very much hoping that we get more of the characters (individually and together) and I'm interested to see what happens. Oh and also, I was expecting a lot more with tea! I'm kind of disappointed we don't get much of it.

This was everything I wanted it to be and just as good as I knew it would be! I fell in love with WHTF, and was super stoked to step back into this world! Featuring vampys, a twist on the legend of ming Arthur, a heist, and some pretty fantastic plot twists — that absolutely delivered! Patiently awaiting book #2 (And any and all future books). Thanks to Netgalley for ARC access!

Despite being one of my most anticipated reads and the excitement I had being selected for this ARC, this book ultimately did not measure up. I was hoping for an exciting tale of vampires and a heist and it just fell flat for me. While the story was good, it wasn't great. The beginning of the story felt like traipsing through mud and not getting very far. I felt no connection to the characters and that left me not invested in the story. Once I got to the heist part of the story, it picked up, but I still was not overly compelled to pick up the book. It left me feeling disappointed quite frankly.

The one aspect that Hafsah did well in this story was the commentary on colonialism and its impact. The details of Athie's homeland being colonized and destroyed were heartbreaking. That scene was an incredibly powerful visual of the impacts that colonialism has had and continue to have on those who have been colonized. This commentary was woven through out the story and really felt it to be masterfully done.

However, overall, as this story was good. Not great. I don't know that I would read the next book, because I still do not feel any connection to the characters. That has left me not truly invested in this story.

4.5 stars
A Tempest of Tea is a fantastic start to Hafsah Faizal’s long-awaited sophomore series. It follows a ragtag found-family team of lovable lawbreakers as they engage on a heist to save what they love most—their tea room.
With vampires, real world anti-colonial politics, and Arthurian legend, this book had me hooked from premise alone.
I appreciated execution of the multi-POV. It struck the balance between giving necessary viewpoints, but not over-cluttering with constant POV switches. We read from Arthie, Jin, and Flick’s perspective, but instead of alternating equally (ie, chapter one is Arthie, chapter 2 is Jin, Chapter 3 is Flick, repeat), the POV seems to be solely determined by whose viewpoint is most necessary or impactful for any given scene. This means we get an almost equal amount of chapters from Arthie and Jin’s POV with a lesser smattering of Flick’s. Sometimes we would get three chapter’s from Jin in a row, other times we wouldn’t see his POV for almost 50 pages. It wasn’t equal, but it felt natural and helped the narrative flow smoothly.
The found family aspect of this book was easily my favorite part. I appreciated getting to know Arthie and Jin, and seeing their history and Spindrift’s history woven throughout the story, as well as seeing how Flick began to integrate into their little unit. It was one of the most compelling found family book’s I’ve read in a long time. I enjoyed the heist, though it felt more secondary to the characters. It was engaging and I was interested in watching it come together.
My only complaint, and the only thing keeping this book from reaching its full 5-star potential is the pacing of the reveals. There were plot twists in this book that were tons of fun, but I think they dragged out a little too far. It’s going to be difficult to make this point without spoilers, so bear with me if it’s quite vague and a little confusing.
There are many fun, twisty reveals but there are two major ones that apply to this. They are both revealed in the last 20% of the book, and then there are these things that happen in the climax that get their emotional weight from those reveals. However, since the reveal and then the subsequent culmination happen within 50 pages of each other, we haven’t had enough time to sit with and explore this new information, leaving what had the potential for an intense emotional reaction to instead be much more subdued. I felt as if, if I’d had another 50 pages exploring these reveals and their consequences, I would have been able to connect and engage with them more fully, and thus would have been more intensely impacted. Instead, these climactic events felt a little underwhelming, especially since I could picture the unmet potential.
That said, I am completely in love with these characters and this world, and I am desperately awaiting book 2. A Tempest of Tea has cemented Hafsah Faizal as one of my favorite authors, and I know that book 2 will be phenomenal.

A Tempest of Tea is easily my favorite Faizal offering thus far!!

I am an atmosphere junkie at heart and I found the "teahouse" setting oh so satisfying. It was such a brilliant backdrop for all the shenanigans, found family, and romance offered in this story. The story is riddled with some of the best YA tropes and they are done well enough to remind readers that a troupe can be a good thing! YA readers will feel at home in these pages and be left clamoring for more!!

A Tempest of Tea was advertised as Six of Crows meets Peaky Blinders, which turned out to be too good to be true. I DNF'd this book at 52%.

Arthie Casimir and her brother Jin run a highly respected tearoom that turns sinister at night- it becomes an illegal bloodhouse catering to vampires. Arthie is a criminal mastermind, and her wits and skill become apparent when her tearoom becomes threatened. Along with her brother and their team of underdogs, they plan a heist to take down an elite vampire society.

I really think that this book was trying to do so much that it turned into a muddled mess. This book tried to combine Six of Crows and Peaky Blinders with Arthurian Legend and vampires. The plot was slow, and the characters felt under developed. There are a lot of rave reviews for this book because of the ending so maybe don't listen to me! Unfortunately the book and I didn't get along so well and I couldn't even make it to the end.

Thank you to Macmillan and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book masterfully blends fantasy and heist elements, creating a captivating tale of camaraderie and tension. The plot twists had me on the edge of my seat, and the shocking reveal at the end left me speechless. I can't wait for the next installment after that cliffhanger ending. Jin's complex character stole the show for me, but I enjoyed all the characters especially Opal. Perfect for fans of heist stories in a fantasy world, I thoroughly enjoyed this gripping read.

When I heard the pitch for this book, I was so excited. I love vampires, criminal London-esque locations, and tea. So I thought this would be perfect for me, and it was an enjoyable read that I had a good time with. My one critique is I needed 50+ more pages. I needed to feel more for the characters. There were so many good aspects of this book, but I needed more. The writing was incredible and Hafsah Faizal is an author to look out for, but it just lacked depth. A lot of things seemed surface level.

I would still recommend this book and I am very interested in the sequel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

It's is a combination vampire, heist and so many things that i literally craved for in a book fantasy book. Currently all we read is romantasy or spicy contemporary romance, so this was definitely like a fresh brand new breeze inbetween those.
I haven't read the earlier works of this author and as soon as I heard this is the first installment of a brand new series, I couldn't keep myself from picking up this one.
The writing and world building is definitely good and now I am understanding the hype of this author's last works too. Definitely looking forward to the next upcoming books in this series and also will check out the old works of the author.