Book Review :: A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal

A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal
ISBN: 0374389403
Series: Blood and Tea #1
on 20 February 2024
Genres: Fantasy, Vampires
Pages: 338
Goodreads

Why save the world when you can have tea?

On the streets of White Roaring, Arthie Casimir is a criminal mastermind and collector of secrets. Her prestigious tearoom transforms into an illegal bloodhouse by dark, catering to the vampires feared by society. But when her establishment is threatened, Arthie is forced to strike an unlikely deal with an alluring adversary to save it—and she can’t do the job alone.

Calling on some of the city's most skilled outcasts, Arthie hatches a plan to infiltrate the sinister, glittering vampire society known as the Athereum. But not everyone in her ragtag crew is on her side, and as the truth behind the heist unfolds, Arthie finds herself in the midst of a conspiracy that will threaten the world as she knows it.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase with one of these links, I recieve a small commission at no additional cost to you. Read the full Affiliate Policy.

What is A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal about?

A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal is about Arthie Casimir, a genius at running both a fancy tearoom and an underground bloodhouse for vampires. On the streets of White Roaring, she’s the one people turn to for secrets and schemes. But when her business is on the line, Arthie has no choice but to team up with a charming but dangerous rival—and she’s going to need help.

“Family isn’t who we live with but those we would die for.”

She pulls together a crew of the city’s most skilled (and sketchy) misfits to break into the glittering, deadly world of vampire high society, the Athereum. But not everyone on the team is as loyal as they seem, and what starts as a simple heist quickly turns into a tangled mess of betrayal and danger, with way more at stake than Arthie ever expected.

My Thoughts on A Tempest of Tea

I think A Tempest of Tea was a bit different than what I was expecting. Not in a bad way, not in a great way – just different. But I enjoyed it!

I read this via audiobook so I feel like I missed a few things (as can happen when you’re listening and doing other things), but on the whole, it was a great book. I loved the idea of having a tea house in the daytime and a blood house at night. The mix of something so normal and familiar – tea – with vampires? I’m here for it. Obviously. But something that did happen throughout the book was that the tea shop became less and less and while it was still there … we didn’t really get too many scenes in the tea shop.

The characters in A Tempest of Tea were a mixed bag – Arthie and Flick (which, when listening to the audiobook took me a hot minute to realise that Flick was short for Felicity and not an entirely different character – clearly I wasn’t paying enough attention at that point) were okay, but the men-folk in this book were definitely a highlight. They had a lot more going on for them than the girls, and they were just more fun to read. 🤣

This book has been likened to Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, but I think that’s mostly because of the heist element – but there I think the similarities end. I don’t think the heist was as well executed in Tea, though I do always love a good heist scene or two, so I wasn’t too mad about it.

I actually think I’d like to read this again, but with my eyes and not my ears haha because I definitely think I missed a few things – unless it was just a bit confusing in parts, which many reviews on Goodreads have said, taking a look at them.

3.5 stars from me! I enjoyed it overall, might read the second one if I ever end up reading this one again … we’ll see!

Have you read A Tempest of Tea? What did you think?