Reviews

A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal

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sashacamille's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-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? No

4.0

Because this book takes place in the same universe as We Hunt the Flame, I really found myself comparing the stories while reading, which I don't think was fair to do. Removing any expectations that those comparisons might have caused, I did enjoy this book a lot! I think that Hafsah Faizal's writing style is fun and easy to read, but she doesn't shy away from darker themes.
I think Arthie is a really interesting main character and I enjoyed getting to know her more as we read the book.
My biggest critique is that I wish we got to be more in each characters head throughout the story. That was something that I really enjoyed about the Sands of Arawiya duology: I felt like we were REALLY in Zafira's head when reading her POV and the same with Nasir. I felt like in this book it would have been good to have been more in each characters head. When it comes to Arthie specifically, I understand why we didn't get a deeper dive until the end of the book, but I really think that there was something to be desired from each of the characters by not getting to really know them. Especially Matteo like I really wish we would have been able to read from his POV, but I think that I have deduced some things and if I am correct I understand why we didn't get a POV from him, and that we most likely WILL get one in the next book (fingers are majorly crossed).
I am excited for A Steeping of Blood to come out, hopefully soon, so that we can get a resolution. I think there is are a lot of places she could go with this book and I am eager to see where she takes us!

thefaelibrarycollective's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

applejb's review

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.75

x_mari_c's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Persevered through this book as I adore Hafsah’s other work but I found this story confusing? Perhaps it’s the sheer amount that’s covered in so few pages, perhaps a slightly longer book would have helped. Maybe, once I read the next book in this series I’ll be less confused.
But I’m glad to have read it. Feels like the early books from a great writer, can’t wait to see what she puts out next!
Although this book has so much more romance or hints to it, we hunt the flame felt so much more exciting even though they barely touch!

bookchik15's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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

4.75

alexandreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

I was so desperate to love this book. But i think I was more confused than anything by the end.
The pacing was uneven, the plot felt very confusing and underdeveloped. And the character relationships feel like they need another 200 pages.
Still, I adore the world building and the characters themselves.
Just wish this book had more pages to fully develop its ideas.