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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
sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Colonisation, Gun violence, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Grief, Police brutality, Gore, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Fatphobia, Classism, and Emotional abuse
kathigh86's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
My first 5/5 of the year!
Hafsah Faizal is such an amazing author. Her writing is compelling and elegant. She is a master at trapping the reader in her worlds.
I absolutely adored the political commentary and how Faizal paralleled her world to the real world. I’m very excited to see how Ettenia evolves in the next book.
I loved the multi-POV in this book. We got a little bit of each character without giving away too much of their own secrets. I really enjoyed trying to guess everyone’s ulterior motives.
I have read the Sands of Arawiya duology. I felt like I was in on a little secret. It definitely added to my reading experience but not necessary to understand the general plot.
Overall this book was amazing. It was very slow in the beginning but once you hit part 2/the 60% mark everything is full steam ahead. I was not able to put this book down for the last 25%. So many things left unsaid too. I’ll be waiting on the edge of my seat for the next book!
Hafsah Faizal is such an amazing author. Her writing is compelling and elegant. She is a master at trapping the reader in her worlds.
I absolutely adored the political commentary and how Faizal paralleled her world to the real world. I’m very excited to see how Ettenia evolves in the next book.
I loved the multi-POV in this book. We got a little bit of each character without giving away too much of their own secrets. I really enjoyed trying to guess everyone’s ulterior motives.
I have read the Sands of Arawiya duology. I felt like I was in on a little secret. It definitely added to my reading experience but not necessary to understand the general plot.
Overall this book was amazing. It was very slow in the beginning but once you hit part 2/the 60% mark everything is full steam ahead. I was not able to put this book down for the last 25%. So many things left unsaid too. I’ll be waiting on the edge of my seat for the next book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Blood, Classism, Grief, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death of parent, Gore, and Trafficking
Minor: Alcohol, Genocide, Stalking, Colonisation, and Confinement
singingshooter's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Blood, and Violence
Minor: Slavery, Racism, Gun violence, Gore, and Trafficking
maddiegrace2002's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
If you liked Six of Crows, this book is for you. It gave me similar heist vibes as Six of Crows and was just a perfect adventurous book to wrap yourself up in. I really enjoyed this book and hope a second one is coming out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Death of parent, and Death
dianaschmidty's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I instantly got sucked into this world! Hafsah Faisal does a great job of creating a world that you can visually see, and that really helped me to understand Arthie and Jin from the get go! I also loved how the book was written like a mystery, where different characters kept being introduced with unknown intentions that left me with the feeling I love whenever there’s a semi-unreliable narrator!
The characters were definitely the best part! I think my favorite is Mateo simply because his entrance was iconic and I was invested in the idea of him and Arthie from that very moment (we’ll have to see what happens there…).
My main issue with the book is that I was left kind of confused. Like, the first 60% or so of the book, I was genuinely confused about how parts of the fantasy world worked and what the point of the heist was (I’m still not even sure…). I also was annoyed by a few characters that seemed to do things that didn’t make sense for their character. Flick is the best example, because for some reason, she is both a high-society daughter so desperate for mother’s love that she’ll betray anyone to earn it back, but she’ll also change her name to distance herself from her mother. I mean, I guess people can be contradictions of themselves sometimes, but it still felt out of place. I also saw someone else on Instagram saying that her name didn’t fit her and I totally agree! I get changing Felicity, it’s just that Flick wasn’t really her vibe.
I really enjoyed the audiobook production! I thought that the bonus interview with Hafsah Faisal and her husband was really cool and had a lot of great insight! The narrator also did a phenomenal job with all of the different characters!
Overall, I am excited for the next book (especially after that cliffhanger), I just think that maybe I need to read We Hunt The Flame (which has been on my physical TBR for over two years) so that I can understand the world better.
The characters were definitely the best part! I think my favorite is Mateo simply because his entrance was iconic and I was invested in the idea of him and Arthie from that very moment (we’ll have to see what happens there…).
My main issue with the book is that I was left kind of confused. Like, the first 60% or so of the book, I was genuinely confused about how parts of the fantasy world worked and what the point of the heist was (I’m still not even sure…). I also was annoyed by a few characters that seemed to do things that didn’t make sense for their character. Flick is the best example, because for some reason, she is both a high-society daughter so desperate for mother’s love that she’ll betray anyone to earn it back, but she’ll also change her name to distance herself from her mother. I mean, I guess people can be contradictions of themselves sometimes, but it still felt out of place. I also saw someone else on Instagram saying that her name didn’t fit her and I totally agree! I get changing Felicity, it’s just that Flick wasn’t really her vibe.
I really enjoyed the audiobook production! I thought that the bonus interview with Hafsah Faisal and her husband was really cool and had a lot of great insight! The narrator also did a phenomenal job with all of the different characters!
Overall, I am excited for the next book (especially after that cliffhanger), I just think that maybe I need to read We Hunt The Flame (which has been on my physical TBR for over two years) so that I can understand the world better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Blood, Gun violence, and Colonisation
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Abandonment
aliyachaudhry's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I heard this made morbillion dollars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Blood, Gore, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia
bookcaptivated's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Blood, Racism, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Gore, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Gun violence
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Kidnapping and Colonisation
onthesamepage's review
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This is a weird one, because half of the hook (heist) didn't work for me, while the other half (vampires) kind of did? Maybe?
To me, the heist served more as a way to give us an elaborate introduction to the characters. We do get to see parts of the plotting, but not that much of it considering the supposed complexity of what they're trying to pull off. But because the book is multiple POV, we spend a lot of time with the heist crew. It's effective, but not very exciting, and I do kind of want that fun, "let's set everything up" part in a heist story.
The last 20% really ramps up, and it almost felt like I was reading a different book. I really enjoyed that part, and it got me hooked enough that I'll probably read the sequel, but it does have a few things that irked me or fall into my personal pet peeves.
The first one is the love V between Arthie, Matteo, and Laith. Yep, still hate the trope, and this version of it is no exception.
The second is the overuse of pet names. Matteo, Laith, and Jin all call Arthie and Flick by different pet names. I'm not sure there was a conversation between these characters (other than the ones between Arthie and Jin) that didn't include a variation of "dear", "darling", "sweet", "love", and, on Laith and Arthie's first meeting, "habibti". I did read an early review copy, so hopefully some of this will be edited out of the final version, because it was excessive enough that I started counting.
That said, I appreciated the world building, the nod at Excalibur, the commentary on colonialism, and the found family aspect.
This is a weird one, because half of the hook (heist) didn't work for me, while the other half (vampires) kind of did? Maybe?
To me, the heist served more as a way to give us an elaborate introduction to the characters. We do get to see parts of the plotting, but not that much of it considering the supposed complexity of what they're trying to pull off. But because the book is multiple POV, we spend a lot of time with the heist crew. It's effective, but not very exciting, and I do kind of want that fun, "let's set everything up" part in a heist story.
The last 20% really ramps up, and it almost felt like I was reading a different book. I really enjoyed that part, and it got me hooked enough that I'll probably read the sequel, but it does have a few things that irked me or fall into my personal pet peeves.
The first one is the love V between Arthie, Matteo, and Laith. Yep, still hate the trope, and this version of it is no exception.
The second is the overuse of pet names. Matteo, Laith, and Jin all call Arthie and Flick by different pet names. I'm not sure there was a conversation between these characters (other than the ones between Arthie and Jin) that didn't include a variation of "dear", "darling", "sweet", "love", and, on Laith and Arthie's first meeting, "habibti". I did read an early review copy, so hopefully some of this will be edited out of the final version, because it was excessive enough that I started counting.
That said, I appreciated the world building, the nod at Excalibur, the commentary on colonialism, and the found family aspect.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Blood, Murder, and Gore
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