⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A Steeping of Blood by Hafsah Faisal I was super excited for this following Book 1, and it sure packed a punch. This book jumps right back into the story, and keeps you engaged.
I truly loved the character development
Overall this was a great ending to the duology!

What an ending to a great duology. The stakes were high and so was the cost. I’m delighted and devastated.

I have been impatiently waiting for A Steeping of Blood for what feels like forever!

We jump right back into the aftermath from A Tempest of Tea.

Arthie has been betrayed, Jin has been shot, and Flick just discovered the people in her life are not who she thought they were.

The crew has some internal betrayals to overcome as well as continue to work together to take down the Ram.

The character development in this story was truly amazing, especially with Arthie.

I am taking away one star because I personally wish things ended a certain way. That being said, I was impressed with this story and still enjoyed every moment!

A STEEPING OF BLOOD picks up in the aftermath of the explosive ending of A TEMPEST OF TEA following Arthie, Jin, and Flick as they set out on a path of revenge to take down the masked monarch known as the Ram.

I reread A TEMPEST OF TEA before diving into an advanced copy of A STEEPING OF BLOOD. The first book in the duology utterly consumed me, and I was pulled along by the thrill of the heist, the sharp turns, the twists, the stakes.

But diving immediately into A STEEPING OF BLOOD felt like a bucket of ice water dumped over my head. The character continuity was jarring. Jin transformed from a happy go lucky mischief maker into a man who tortures another without much reflection. Arthie transformed from a scheming leader into a lovesick girl. These drastic shifts felt so out of step with their previous character arcs that I struggled to buy into the story.

The pacing was off too… what was a propulsive read in Book 1 turned into a slog in Book 2. The middle of the book dragged and lost my attention. Then the ending, while completely unexpected and gut wrenching, wrapped up too quickly and I was left wanting more answers.

All in all, I recommend A STEEPING OF BLOOD to fans of Book 1 to complete the duology, although I suggest lowering your expectations.

Thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and Macmillan Children’s Publishing group for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This book is the perfect ending to a new favorite YA Fantasy duology! I love this story so much! The social commentary, the action, and the heists all held my attention from the very first page and made this book addictive. But the characters were what made this duology, and this book in particular, really shine! I loved each and every character and was heartbroken for each of them throughout the story! Each learned, and grew, and went through their own heartbreaks and successes! I am obsessed with Arthie and Jin in particular. Their sibling energy was unmatched and I loved seeing them work together (and sass each other's relationships). I am sad that this is the last book in this series but I can't wait to read whatever Hafsah Faizal writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I devoured it in just a few days as it was an enjoyable but heart wrenching conclusion to the duology!

I did feel like some of the events happening were a bit predictable. But I appreciated all the extra time we got to spend with each character to really see how their actions and choices began to shape who they are.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Sit down. Deep breath. Because I am not okay.
I had the absolute honor of receiving an ARC of A Steeping of Blood by Hafsah Faizal from @netgalley and I don’t even know how to begin processing what I just read. This sequel to A Tempest of Tea releases September 23, 2025—and it picks up immediately after the first. No recap, no filler, just vibes and violence.

This book doesn’t build to a climax—it is the climax. It’s relentless. It’s fast-paced. And it obliterated my soul.
No one warned me how bad the emotional damage would be. I have no one to scream to except my wife who hasn't read it, so here I am, screaming into the void (aka Instagram).

Hafsah Faizal didn’t just break my heart. She shattered it, stomped on it, and then tried to hand it back using Elmer’s glue and a knowing smile. I’ll be writing another review post-release because right now I’m carrying the weight of this knowledge like it’s my full-time job.

Rating: a heartbroken, how-dare-you 5/5.
To the author: you know what you did.

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley for generously giving me my first ARC to read- I'm extremely grateful.
This book was a whirlwind of a story, and I don't think the ending will be leaving me anytime soon.
I was, again, very happy with the absence of swearing and inappropriate scenes. Of course, there were a few slightly intense kisses and looks, but nothing I would warn others not to read this book because of.
To be honest, I'm not very happy that my favorite love interest for Arthie didn't make it out of the book "alive," but the epilogue gave me hope that Arthie would be alright.
Needless to say, I'm very excited to pick up Hafsah Faizal's debut duology to read very soon!

(thank you again to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book early in exchange for my honest review)

Faizal comes right out of the gates on the attack in this sequel, with the dedication, “To colonialism: you suck”. And, oh boy, does she go hard with the messaging around this throughout the book, which I appreciated more than anything else. We see how colonialism is used to benefit the “haves”, especially in lines like, “To her, the EJC was entirely evil, from its meddling in the affairs of vampires to its theft of resources across the colonies. To others, the EJC wasn’t so bad. It was working for Ettenian society, bringing them the wonders of the world beyond its shores.“ Meanwhile, the “have-nots” (most often those whose lands have been colonized), are left to suffer their losses with little to no concern given, which is exemplified with the difficulties that Arthie experiences in this book. “She had spent the last ten years in White Roaring ever aware of how she stood out and couldn’t fit in, but not once had she considered that every day she spent assimilating into Ettenia was a day she spent whittling away at the ties that tethered her to Ceylan.“ Really this book is just one big commentary on the problems with colonialism, and Faizal does a fantastic job at clearly demonstrating this.

Faizal also makes clear commentary on power in this book. We get lines like, “Fear was a weapon the powerful wielded time and time again with excellent results,” as well as, “Flick wanted to tell those people her mother didn’t care that they were hurting and mourning. She didn’t care for their safety any more than they thought the vampires were out to attack them.” Faizal truly shows an understanding of how power is used and manipulated by those who have it, and what was happening in this book felt scarily relevant to what we are seeing today in society.

Aside from the powerful messaging found within this book, I loved the characters and their continued arcs here. I especially appreciated Flick’s growth in this one, as I hadn’t quite warmed up to her in the first book fully. It is here that we see her fully embrace her place in the crew and find herself.

I will say, this would have been a 5 star read, but I felt like the heists themselves in this book needed a bit more development. I understand that Arthie, Jin and Matteo are working a bit blind in their mission, but a lot of their successes seem predicated on the stupidity and ineptitude of their foes, rather than the skill of their own crew and planning. I think it mostly suffered because it felt rushed, which makes me think that this might have been better as a trilogy. As much as I appreciate an author trying to be concise and not trying to milk extra money from readers, I think in this case some extra time and development of these plots would have been better.

That being said, I still appreciate that Faizal always keeps me guessing, and makes things very unpredictable. No spoilers, but, dang, that was another surprise ending. On the one hand, it bums me out, but on the other, I can see why it ends up this way.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

(Rounded up) 3.5⭐️ I feel really torn about this duology overall. I’m completely in love with the characters—truly, they’re incredibly well written and developed—and I always appreciate when a story doesn’t default to a traditional happily-ever-after.

That said, I think the plot and world-building didn’t quite work for me. The pacing felt slow at times, and I just didn’t connect with the story itself. It’s frustrating, because the characters are so strong that I almost wish they were placed in a completely different narrative. (Someone please write the fanfic.)

Honestly, I think this author has the potential to write a phenomenal contemporary romance. Her ability to craft emotional, layered love stories is clear.

Unfortunately, this duology ended up feeling pretty mid for me. Still, I’ll be keeping an eye out if she ever ventures into a new genre—I’d pick that up in a heartbeat.

I loved the first book and liked the second book. These are still great characters involved in taking down a tyrannical maniac while also falling in love and trading quips. It was harder to get into and then tied up very quickly. I’m glad the cat was still around. Lots of complicated architectural plans, drugs for the vampires that I never could keep straight and a lot of fighting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan children’s Publishing Group for this DRC.
#ASteepingofBlood #NetGalley

୨⎯ 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒔 ⎯୧
rating: 2.5
plot: 2
characters: 2.5
writing: 2
romance: 2.75
spice: 0

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

°•*⁀➷ what to expect
vampires
heist
found family
friends to lovers

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

°•*⁀➷ my thoughts
i had hopes for the sequel but was unfortunately let down. the only thing i was invested in was the relationship between Matteo and Arthie… and even that ended up flopping.

The story was all over the place. We’re only
told POVs through Arthie, Jin, and Flick, but i feel like there’s wasn’t a need with the way it’s written. Why did we get inside Arthies head in Jin’s POV? maybe it was a slip up in editing but i noticed it and couldn’t shake it.

The story itself was interesting, it had a lot of shocking twists and turns and kept me interested enough to finish the story but it took me a month to read it, I was invested enough. Even one of the characters death didn’t really make me feel anything, I was shocked but that’s it.

Arthur had a lot of growth in this book, as did Flick and a little bit from Jin, but I liked seeing them overcome a lot.

This had so much potential for being a great duology but just didn’t live up to it.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

ᝰ.ᐟ thank you netgalley and macmillan children's publishing group for the arc!

DNFing at around 45% for now. I have loved Hafsah Faizal’s other work, but this one is moving too slowly for me and I am not finding myself very engaged. Normally when this happens (and it’s an author I really like), I switch to audio, but since I only have the eARC of this one I can’t do that. So, I’m going to DNF/pause for now, and get the audiobook when it comes out ❤️

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan!

I liked this less than the first one. The writing felt even more tell than show and there were so many repetitive moments and phrases, even from different POVs which was overkill ex “I’m arthie and I’m thinking this” next chapter “I’m Jin and I think arthie is thinking this” and we heard arthie say Matteo made her feel like fire ten million times.

The ram behaved and spoke like a villain that a teenager makes up. And the plot was both too spelled out and too convoluted at the same time? Also Matteo’s death was super obvious.

Jin and flick and Jin’s parents were the most redeeming things.

Overall this was not my cup of tea and leaned too YA for me even though all of the characters are close to if not over 20 years old.

"I'm here, Arthie," he replied. Eternally."

⋆☕︎ ˖

I actually am not okay after this book. I don't know if I'll ever be okay. You can take with that what you will just be ready when you pick up this book that youmight not be okay.

This book follows the aftermath of A Tempest of Tea and all the same characters that you originally know. With the addition of a few new ones. We've got our hottie Jin, bestie flick, girlboss supreme Arthie, dreamboat matteo, and he-who-shall-be-named laith. Oh wait, just named him. Oops!

The entirety of this book I was on the edge of my seat. I did not know what was going to happen, nor did I expect what actually did happen. And what did happen was not really okay! But that's okay! (It's not.)

Some of it was a little slow (yes I did just say I was on the edge of my seat, I'm indesicive *flips hair*) but all in all, it kept me going. Mainly because Matteo was there, who am I kidding...

I'm just a girl 🤭

The found family in this book (and in A Tempest of Tea) is top tier, top notch, 10/10, and it was still strong in this novel. Truly a plus side on the duology.

Managing without spoilers here. Yay, wow, surprised I kept my mouth shut there. The plot of those book flowed albeit a bit choppy at times, espcially with our villain. I truly just wanted the villain dead. Murder, I dunno, like stab through the heart or something? Just ✨death✨. And it took the entire book--but Jo, isn't that how it works? Yes, leave me alone--for it to happen.

Ignoring how a special type of vampires are called "Super Vampires" 💀

All in all, an epic conclusion to the stunning novel that A Tempest of Tea was. Highly reccomend you pick this book up if you liked AToT.


quotes for those who scrolled

⋆˚࿔ ☕︎"𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭-𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘱 𝘣𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴." ⋆˚࿔

⋆˚࿔ ☕︎ "𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘦, 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨?" ⋆˚࿔

⋆˚࿔ ☕︎ "𝘋𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘺," 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘥. ⋆˚࿔

⋆˚࿔ ☕︎ 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. "𝘐 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢." ⋆˚࿔


🩸huge thanks to the publisher/netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review

Omg !!!!! Screaming what a follow up!!! Wow.
Let’s just said that I love how this book developed so much. The relationship between Arthie and Matheo growing. Perfection. The trials Flick goes thru and Jin 😱. The trama keeps you on the edge all the time. When you think something finally will go right everything goes down hill. Like what a ride . Loved every second of it and wow just wow. Im speechless. Now time to keep ordering every single editions that gets announced 😅🫣.

This was certainly an improvement from book 1 but I still wanted more. And yet, I can’t put my finger on what I wanted more of - so I think it’s everything.

Thank you so much for the arc!

OMG this book!!!! I liked the first book but this book is on another level for me. The character development and the journey they each take (literally and figuratively) were so fun to see. Faizal writes relationships so wonderfully. Platonic and romantic but with this book I’ve gotta say the romance is shining. There’s so much tension and yearning and I couldn’t get enough of it. Flick and Jin are my favorites!

What I love most of all about this book is the big “f u” to colonialism. You can see it in the narrative and no matter what people think, reading is political.

I did see the twists coming but it didn’t take away from my experience. The ending is so brutal though, my heart hurts. How could you, Hafsah 😭 But really something is wrong with me because I cannot wait to read Blade of Honey.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing this ARC!

Now, on to the review.

I've got to say, as a big HF fan, this book really fell short for me. I really enjoyed the first book in this duology and had high hopes for the conclusion, but unfortunately, I was left pretty disappointed. The beginning seemed promising as it began with a POV from Matteo. However, that's the first and last time we got a POV from him. This makes sense given the ending of the book, but it makes the story lack depth. He's basically turned from an interesting and mysterious character to a paper doll in the second book.
This book also relies heavily on the Jin and Flick storyline more than anything else. So, if you go into this one as an Arthie/Matteo shipper, prepare to be dissatisfied/crushed.
The pacing in the second book also feels both slow--From the 0 to 78% marker--And then super rushed after that. The deaths feel skipped over and, in turn, don't hit as hard. There's all this build-up that feels like a weak payoff at the end.

Unfortunately, this one just was not my cup of tea... Pun intended.

Truly an epic conclusion to A Tempest of Tea, one of my favorite reads last year! I was NOT prepared for that ending, just as I thought everyone was safe *heartbreak*. I appreciated how the book explored how colonialism and diaspora shape and irrevocably effect identity, while never slowing down the fast paced plot, making for a read that's both thrilling and devastatingly painful. A beautiful end to an excellent duology.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.