Book Review: A Tempest of Tea (Blood & Tea, #1) by Hafsah Faizal

A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A desperate heist featuring intrigue, betrayal, vengeance, and vampires.

Arthie Casimir started with nothing. After being forcibly removed from her island home and transported to White Roaring, the orphaned girl gradually built a life for herself among the impoverished and criminal fringe. Eventually, she opened a teahouse that became the place to go among the wealthy and elite. However, after hours, the teahouse reveals a secret to those in the know. It also serves as a safe gathering place for vampires to obtain their own life-affirming drink: blood. When her business is threatened and a price set for its safety, she gathers together a team of underworld experts from across the city and plans a daring heist that will let her fulfill the bargain for continued operations. Little does she know, but not everyone on her team is on her side.

A Tempest of Tea is the first book in author Hafsah Faizal’s much-anticipated new fantasy duology, Blood and Tea, and fans of the genre are in for a treat. A dark and foreboding atmosphere and setting, engaging but shady co-conspirators, forbidden attractions, and a desperate heist all combine for an unputdownable tale of intrigue, betrayal, vengeance, and vampires.

The story boasts an engaging and distinctive crew of co-conspirators, each of whom has an unusual backstory to share. I enjoyed them all, but Jin and Flick were my favorites, and I struggled initially to warm up to and really know Arthie. The author does a fantastic job teasing us with the forbidden attractions between several of the characters. There are secrets everywhere, and some will plot twist the heck out of this story.

The settings and the atmosphere are dark and brooding. The author’s descriptions are artful and immersed me in the place and action alongside the characters. An imaginative and fictional empire, Etteria resembles Britain during its colonial period, and the impact on the people and places the empire absorbed is a critical theme in the book.

The plot builds around an almost impossible plan to steal a ledger straight out of the stronghold of the wealthy and elite vampire community in White Roaring. While the planning is essential, I felt it went on a little too long, working through so many details that I felt myself losing my connections with the story. Thankfully, the action picked up and added some gasp-inducing twists, and I was fully engaged once again.

I recommend A TEMPEST OF TEA to young adult fantasy readers, especially those who enjoy heist stories and forbidden attractions.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy through TBR and Beyond Book Tours.


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