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chainsawmochi's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It is very, very rare for me to read a book so good that it leaves me dazzled at the end, craving more, the taste of it lingering on every fold of my brain. "A Tempest of Tea" is one such novel.
Heists. High Stakes. Vampires. Tea Houses. A government rotten from inside. Anti-Colonial Understanding and Exploration. A main character with more tricks up her sleeve than a magician, and a supporting cast so varied and beautiful that they make the perfect found family in the end.
Yet the ending left me in shambles.
"A Tempest in Tea" is the story of Arthie, of her adoptive brother Jin, and the teahouse they own and run together. It is also a story about lies and half truths, about finding the people you belong with, and learning to love them despite their flaws--or, perhaps, because of them. Arthie here plays somewhat of the part of King Arthur, bringing together a full round table of Victorian flavored fantasy knights. Each of them has their own role to play, their own reason for their actions, and all of them are expertly woven into the overall story by Hafsah Faizal's beautiful, tragic writing.
No words were lost upon this book. "A Tempest in Tea" is a delight to read, with pulse pounding action and a wonderful exploration of character. Faizal dives into the lives of multiple characters, with the majority of the main cast being PoC's living in a Victorian-styled, colonizing country. A land that is not their own, and a country that sees them as 'other.' A country where they have carved out a small piece for themselves and planted their hearts. The writing is delicious and tender at times, while being biting and blinding a moment later. Faizal has a way with words that paints a beautifully harsh world; a world so like our own that one could hold it up as a mirror.
This review may be all over the place, and for that, I apologize. I just spent the last hour or so devouring the last third of this book. While it starts off slow, "A Tempest of Tea" ends with a bang--and then another. I await the follow up with hushed breath, eyes wide and mind ravenous for more from this world and these characters. I cannot recommend this book enough.
Heists. High Stakes. Vampires. Tea Houses. A government rotten from inside. Anti-Colonial Understanding and Exploration. A main character with more tricks up her sleeve than a magician, and a supporting cast so varied and beautiful that they make the perfect found family in the end.
Yet the ending left me in shambles.
"A Tempest in Tea" is the story of Arthie, of her adoptive brother Jin, and the teahouse they own and run together. It is also a story about lies and half truths, about finding the people you belong with, and learning to love them despite their flaws--or, perhaps, because of them. Arthie here plays somewhat of the part of King Arthur, bringing together a full round table of Victorian flavored fantasy knights. Each of them has their own role to play, their own reason for their actions, and all of them are expertly woven into the overall story by Hafsah Faizal's beautiful, tragic writing.
No words were lost upon this book. "A Tempest in Tea" is a delight to read, with pulse pounding action and a wonderful exploration of character. Faizal dives into the lives of multiple characters, with the majority of the main cast being PoC's living in a Victorian-styled, colonizing country. A land that is not their own, and a country that sees them as 'other.' A country where they have carved out a small piece for themselves and planted their hearts. The writing is delicious and tender at times, while being biting and blinding a moment later. Faizal has a way with words that paints a beautifully harsh world; a world so like our own that one could hold it up as a mirror.
This review may be all over the place, and for that, I apologize. I just spent the last hour or so devouring the last third of this book. While it starts off slow, "A Tempest of Tea" ends with a bang--and then another. I await the follow up with hushed breath, eyes wide and mind ravenous for more from this world and these characters. I cannot recommend this book enough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Violence, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Blood, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Colonisation, Classism, Genocide, Gore, and Xenophobia
Minor: Deadnaming, Grief, Blood, Murder, Racial slurs, Infertility, Police brutality, Body horror, and Emotional abuse
spicycronereads's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was a fun little read. Fast paced with an endearing and diverse ensemble of characters. The setting is a fantasy world that bears a strong resemblance to 19th century Britain. There is a backdrop of colonialism, with characters from colonized lands resembling South Asian and Middle East or North African countries. A few characters also seem to come from East Asian-like cultures. Oh and there are also vampires.
FMC Arthie is the leader of a gang of sorts that runs a tea house / blood salon. When the existence of the tea house is threatened, Arthie and the gang plan a heist to protect it. Hijinks ensue.
The story is told mainly from three POVs - Arthie and her chosen brother Jin, as well as relative newcomer Flick. Arthie is that brash character that is always multiple steps ahead of everyone around her, a fun gender bend on characters like Kaz Brekker and Tommy Shelby. Jin has been a team with Arthie since they were small kids and his roguish flirtations are only outdone by his engineering prowess. Flick, or Felicity, is a relative newcomer to the group, and her naïveté is what allows us to learn about the world. Which makes the world building pretty effortless. The cast is rounded out with Laith and his kitten and Matteo, the vampire with an artist’s soul. Each of these characters has complicated relationships to their parents or the absence of parents. And they find in one another a chosen family.
From time to time the writing is a little clunky or overwrought. In particular, some of the male characters have dialogue that is, for me, a Gen X woman, a little cringe. But younger audiences may not find it so. It reminded me a little bit of some anime heroes, who are arrogant and brash, and speak in a weirdly poetic, but almost nonsensical way sometimes. Where their use of language sounds pretty or dramatic, but doesn’t quite add up (which honestly may be stemming from translations from Japanese into English; but then becomes a way of scripting, even in English, that aligns with what people perceive as the anime style? I’m not sure I’m making sense. My intention is not to besmirch anime. It just often isn’t for me.)
There is a bit of a love triangle. There is some swooniness and lots of pining. I would give it two sparkly pink hearts. The action and heist are way more of the focus and any romance is a backdrop. 💖💖
As my description up until this point might suggest, there is loads of racial diversity. One of the characters seems to be bi. And we see a range of class positions.
The book is the first part of a duology and ends on a pretty big cliffhanger. There were multiple ways the plot surprised me.
All in all, it was lots of fun. A solid, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 and 💖💖. I will definitely read the next one.
FMC Arthie is the leader of a gang of sorts that runs a tea house / blood salon. When the existence of the tea house is threatened, Arthie and the gang plan a heist to protect it. Hijinks ensue.
The story is told mainly from three POVs - Arthie and her chosen brother Jin, as well as relative newcomer Flick. Arthie is that brash character that is always multiple steps ahead of everyone around her, a fun gender bend on characters like Kaz Brekker and Tommy Shelby. Jin has been a team with Arthie since they were small kids and his roguish flirtations are only outdone by his engineering prowess. Flick, or Felicity, is a relative newcomer to the group, and her naïveté is what allows us to learn about the world. Which makes the world building pretty effortless. The cast is rounded out with Laith and his kitten and Matteo, the vampire with an artist’s soul. Each of these characters has complicated relationships to their parents or the absence of parents. And they find in one another a chosen family.
From time to time the writing is a little clunky or overwrought. In particular, some of the male characters have dialogue that is, for me, a Gen X woman, a little cringe. But younger audiences may not find it so. It reminded me a little bit of some anime heroes, who are arrogant and brash, and speak in a weirdly poetic, but almost nonsensical way sometimes. Where their use of language sounds pretty or dramatic, but doesn’t quite add up (which honestly may be stemming from translations from Japanese into English; but then becomes a way of scripting, even in English, that aligns with what people perceive as the anime style? I’m not sure I’m making sense. My intention is not to besmirch anime. It just often isn’t for me.)
There is a bit of a love triangle. There is some swooniness and lots of pining. I would give it two sparkly pink hearts. The action and heist are way more of the focus and any romance is a backdrop. 💖💖
As my description up until this point might suggest, there is loads of racial diversity. One of the characters seems to be bi. And we see a range of class positions.
The book is the first part of a duology and ends on a pretty big cliffhanger. There were multiple ways the plot surprised me.
All in all, it was lots of fun. A solid, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 and 💖💖. I will definitely read the next one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Minor: Deadnaming
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