I had the pleasure of receiving the arc for the audiobook. I was very excited to read it as it was in my most anticipated reads for the year.

First of all I would like to mention that the audiobook narrator was great and made the reading experience very smooth.

If you read Six of crows and are looking for the same vibe with high stakes, found family and badass underdogs, this is the book for you.

It has the added bonus of vampires and tea which hits all the spots for me. Vampires are making a comeback this year and I love it.

Would recommend picking up this book. I am going to try to get my hands on the Waterstones special edition as it looks amazing 🤩

I picked up A Tempest of Tea on a total whim, basically seeing the beautiful cover and the pre release hype and decided to give the audiobook a try. I was intrigued by the various concepts that are thrown in and work well together, with a world of vampires, a thrilling heist story, along with plenty of twists along the way.

All three POV characters had intriguing motivations. Arthie, the heist leader, was my favorite with all of her bottled up rage and revenge on the colonists that took over her land and ruined her life and not about to lose another home. And she has quite a lot of secrets, especially in the last chapters! Felicity, aka, Flick, joins the heist team and I love her arc in being someone in high society interested in crime, and shakes up the otherwise lower class group. Jin was a great anchor to the group, and is dealing with the government tearing his own family apart. The other two members, Matteo the artsy vampire and Laith the high guard, are there, but I found Matteo a bit interesting, but Laith didn't grab me as much as I wished. I think because they didn't have a POV chapter, these two got lost in the character shuffle for me.

I enjoyed the world with various vampires and "plasma" drinking, as well as the posh tearooms, and it felt lived in honestly. It feels like a fantasy 19th century England with a clear divide between the rich and poor and the rulers being masked people. It's clear there's a bunch already here and more to explore in the second half of the duology! The whole plot about trying to save Spindrift, this tearoom nightclub, was fascinating!

Wasn't too much of a fan of how much time was given to the romance arcs, and cut into the high stakes of what the group was up to. Much of Arthie's arc being focused on romance drama, and were clearly my least favorite parts and I tuned a lot out in these chapters. Part of me wished it wasn't there since I thought she wasn't available for that type of relationship. The other romance was fine.

The heist plot was swift and engaging with some surprises surrounding it. Though the last few chapters and the cliffhanger was super engaging and makes me want to read the next book ASAP! The prose was very lyrical and painted a great picture of the setting, with Maya Saroya narrating it well and with this posh British accent that fit perfectly.

If you like vampires, heists, and plenty of twists, this is for you!

What a ride this book was. I was enticed by the different boxes it checked. I loved the story and the characters. They reminded me a lot of Six of Crows. The MC, Arthie, is scrappy and not someone to be trifled with. I can’t wait to read the next one.

I feel like personally, I would’ve preferred reading the physical copy of this instead of listening to the audiobook. It was fine, but with this kind of book, I want to imagine it myself and the audio put me off of that a tiny bit.

This was one of my most anticipated books and it did not disappoint! Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to enjoy this book in audio form. The narrator is gripping and adds a breath of life into the colorful cast of characters. If you are a fan of fast paced heist stories with dynamic characters, spindrift and the Casimir crew will no doubt enthrall you and leave you wanting more. There are lots of twists and turns that lends itself to a re-read.

A Tempest of Tea is a new fantasy book about a heist with vampires. It's a fun story about a group of criminals put together by Arthie, who runs a teashop called Spindrift that transforms into a bloodhouse for vampires at night. They plan a heist at the Athereum, a society of vampires.
The characters are all very likeable and it's great to see the relationships develop among them. It has a lot of action and twists and turns that were unexpected. Looking forward to seeing the continuation of this story and characters in the second book!
I read this via an audio ARC I received and while I enjoyed it, I would have preferred to read it in print as it was hard to follow for me at times, and I will definitely be rereading the print version.

A Tempest of Tea was an intensely immersive paranormal YA book. I did think that the romance aspect of it felt a little forced but the prose was very lush and the world very interesting. I thought the characters were really well illustrated and I truly can't wait to read more from this author.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Tempest of Tea follows a criminal mastermind who runs a tea house by day, and a bloodhouse by night. With her band of misfits, she carefully plans a heist to protect her establishment but along the way she stumbles upon secret after secret, conspiracy after conspiracy.

It draws inspiration from King Arthur, Peaky Blinders, and Six of Crows so the setting is both fantastical and industrial just with Vampires.

Sadly for me, this book was sooo slow. So slow in fact that I found myself zoning out and needing to relisten to parts to remember what happened. I would say this is a narrator error but I have seen physical book readers say similar. Pacing is just off.

From her tearoom by day / illegal bloodhouse by night, Arthie Casimir deals in tea, blood, and secrets. She and her chosen brother, Jin, care for their own version of a found family from the tearoom, but ever since she pulled the silver pistol from the stone—à la King Arthur and the sword—she, her enterprise, and those she cares about have been on the castle’s radar.

When her home and business are threatened by the masked ruler of the land, Arthie and Jin ban with forger Flick and some other unlikely allies to try to save what is theirs and to uncover some of the dark dealings happening in their city.

I adored this one. Told in three POVs—Arthie’s, Jin’s, and Flick’s, A Tempest for Tea explores a fantasy world based on the British Empire. Arthie is such a strong and dapper female protagonist. I adore how she keeps getting back up and how she protects her own. There are whispers of love stories here, some scheming, a heist, politics, and plenty of vampires. Each player has their own individual motives behind working together, and they are not altogether altruistic.

If you enjoy your YA fantasy with a dose of the morally grey, this one is for you. Be aware that this is the first book of a duology, so expect some things to remain open-ended at the end of this one.

I listened to the audiobook version and adored Maya Saroya’s narration. I enjoyed her accents and vocal choices for each character and could easily keep track of which character was speaking during conversations. I highly recommend sticking around to the end of the audiobook to hear a fun interview between the author and her husband.

I received an advance copy of the audiobook from Macmillan Audio and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

Vampires, a heist, betrayal, political intrigue, found family, magic, and a strong FMC. The premise of this book was everything I want in a fantasy book and the execution did not disappoint.

Arthie Casimir runs Spindrift, tea shoppe by day and illegal blood bloodhouse for vampires by night. Arthie is also a criminal genius who has a knack for collecting secrets people don’t want shared. When she is approached to carry out a heist to save Spindrift it means allying herself with an enemy to steal from an elusive vampire society utilizing a team of outcasts and underdogs.

I love all heist stories, but the layers of duplicity and the intricate way this was put together made this one the best I have ever read. It was so much more than just a heist story and in the end it felt like the heist was just an amazing added bonus to a spectacular fantasy.

Every single character was complex and I was so attached to all of them. This was written from multiple POV’s and it created such a deep connection to all of the characters.

I have never finished a book and wanted to immediately reread it again so quickly. I have already planned a buddy read of this so I can reread it ASAP.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book. I leave this review voluntarily.

I was very excited to get an ARC for the audiobook for A Tempest of Tea. I have not read anything by the author but now I definitely I will. The story is so good; it is going to be one of my top books for the year. Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan audio for an ARC audiobook for A Tempest of Tea.

The narrator Maya Saroya has a mesmerizing voice. There is a lyrical quality to it that you can't help but listen to. She is going to be one I keep an eye out for in other audiobooks.

Arthie is such a well thought out character. She was such delightful character to get to know. She is everything I want in a female protagonist. She is strong and resourceful and can make even grownups uncomfortable regardless that she is small.

There are moments that made me gasp and the others that made me giggle like a schoolgirl. I cannot recommend this book enough. This is a must read for anyone who likes a well thought out fantasy with unforgettable characters. The ending leaves me wanting more. And how dare the author leave it on such a cliffhanger?

In the audiobook we get an interview between the author and her husband. It was nice to be able to hear about how the author feels about the characters and the thought process as she wrote the book. And she also confirms she likes her readers to suffer along with her characters, so cliffhanger.

If you loved heist fantasy novels like Six of Crows, I think you'll love this one.

Arthie is an orphan, an outcast, a collector of secrets and proprietor of a prestigious tea room. When her tea room - and concurrently her home and the family she has created - is threatened, she strikes a deal with an unlikely ally to save it all. Collecting a band of unlikely colleagues, misfits, around her, she embarks on the heist of all heist.

Mysteries abound, secrets are revealed, betrayal is the name of the game and love blooms.

This, like Six of Crows, is incredibly atmospheric. I could feel the gritty streets and hear the bustle of the crowds. I could smell the smoke and almost taste the tea. I LOVE a good heist and this one was crafted well. The band of characters is well balanced and well developed, each one playing their part in the story development to near perfection. Just when I thought I knew where the story was going, there'd be another twist.

I'm definitely looking to the second half of the duology.

I listened to this one and I truly think I would have enjoyed it more had I read a written copy. I can't pinpoint what it was about the audio but I struggled with it and kept having to go back and re-listen to parts of it. I tried different tempos and the car vs my earbuds but it was just a struggle. The narrator does have an accent and I loved that part - It's lovely - so I don't think it was that.

The one neat add on to the audio was an interview with Faizal and her husband. It was incredibly cute and sweet but also worth the listen to get a bit of "inside the mind" as she wrote it.

A gorgeous fun exciting YA novel with legitimately unexpected twists and turns, romance, and friendship. I truly adored this and CANNOT BELEIVE I have to wait for a long time for the next book! Also, this narrator was incredible, capturing the characters and the mood perfectly.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal is about Arthie Casimir, the owner of a beautiful tearoom that servers a different kind of patron at night. When her beloved tearoom is threatened she will stop at nothing to save her home with her band of outcasts at her side.
This book was amazing!!! It gave me six of crows vibes but with tea and vampires which is just amazing. I love a good heist book! The audiobook for this novel just made it even better because you could hear the accents of the different characters which just made it more immersive.
The characters backgrounds and how they all connect to the currant situation was incredible. They all had their reason to fight for what they wanted. The connection between the characters, their growing support and love for each other was beautiful.
I am speechless! This book was all that I hoped it would be and I am so excited for the next one in the series to come out!

I'm sorry. A magical heist, led by a badass heroine of color and her rag tag found family, wrapped up in a family mystery with -amazingly - VAMPIRES thrown in, dripping in atmosphere and wit with an anticolonial kicker?! OH MY GOD YES

A Tempest of Tea was a very anticipated read for me. This book combines criticism of imperialism like Babel by R.F. Kuang, The seedy underbelly of society like Six Of Crows by Leigh Bardugo with the classic fantasy element of vampires. All of these elements are things that I wanted to love but when combined they just did not work for me. I thought there was too much going on but also felt like nothing was happening in the plot. The characters seemed to lean into tropes and this made me feel very unattached to them. I wanted to love this book but it just didn't hook me the way I had hoped. The narrator, while expressive, was difficult to follow through the different POV shifts between characters. This greatly hindered my enjoyment. I think that this book is just not the greatest as far as a book made for the audio format. I will definitely be trying this book in a non-audio format when it releases!

Dear god Hafsah you’ve done it again!!!!! I thought I was obsessed after reading the sands of Arawiya but this just seals the deal

I am IN LOVEEE with laith and Jin 😭😭😭 the tension, the banter, the reluctant trust…it’s all so delicious!!!

I was very excited for this audiobook and grateful for the chance to review it. The premise of this book is great, and the narration is very well done. That being said, this book just didn’t work this reader. I tried really hard to get into the story, but it just did not keep my attention. I couldn’t connect with the characters and the plot just moved
too slow to hold my interest. Thank you for the opportunity to provide feedback on this title!

This book has all of the best vibes!!! It felt like I was walking the streets alongside Arthie the entire time and I absolutely loved it. Anytime I listened to the audiobook I was immediately transported and getting lost in the story. Thank you SO much to MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for an ARC of the audiobook! The narration was fabulous and I can’t wait for book 2!!

I need book 2 in my hands immediately!! Vampires, cinnamon roll heroes, heists, adventure and fantastical world building?? 100% yes!

🧛🏻‍♂️ Vampires
🫖 Tea
🫶 Found Family
🎢 Emotional Rollercoaster
🩸 Bloodhouse
🔐 Secrets
🖤 Romance

This was such a fun read and amazing start to the Blood and Tea duology! I can’t wait to see what Hafsah Faizal will brew up next!

Method Read: 📖 & 🎧

Thank you Farrar, Straus and Giroux and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copies!

Man, I wanted to like this book but I just wasn't interested in it. I just didn't connect with any of the characters so I wasn't invested in the story. I hope others read this and enjoy it more than I did. Also, me and Peaky Blinders season 5 episode 3 staring at the beginning of this book because those scenes seemed very similar.