Arthie and Jin deal in secrets. Though they run the most successful teahouse in the city, what they’re really after are the whispered details they overhear from their patrons. By day, their teahouse sells tea and biscuits to the wealthy and elite. By night, the teahouse turns into an illegal bloodhouse, selling cups of blood to the vampires of the city’s underworld. Intimidated by Arthie and Jin’s secrets and power, the Empire threatens their teashop and livelihood. When a job comes up – a heist that just might save the day – Arthie and Jin are forced to align themselves with people they’re not sure they can trust.
| Title: A Tempest of Tea | Author: Hafsah Faizal |
| Release Date: February 20, 2024 | Genre: YA Historical Fantasy Romance |
| Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux / Macmillan Audio | Page Count: 353 |
Synopsis
From Hafsah Faizal, New York Times–bestselling author of We Hunt the Flame, comes the first book in a hotly-anticipated new fantasy duology about an orphan girl and her crew who get tangled in a heist with vampires, perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows.
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 upon a band of misfits, Arthie formulates a plan to infiltrate the dark and glittering vampire society known as the Athereum. But not every member of her 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. Dark, action-packed, and swoonworthy, this is Hafsah Faizal better than ever.
Review:
A Tempest of Tea is a multicultural powerhouse. There are characters of all colors and from all walks of life. Characters frequently discuss imperialism, colonialism, and racism. Unfortunately, A Tempest of Tea has a lot of tropes that bog down these themes. All the following tropes appear in heavy doses: a love triangle, enemies to lovers, vampires, “touch her and die,” and “she’s under my protection now.” I’m not against tropes, but they were heavily done here and never seemed to stop.
As for the heist crew, there’s a rake, a mastermind, a soldier, an artist, and a rich, naive girl. These are not new character archetypes, and many of them feel familiar. If you read a lot of young adult fantasy, you’ve probably seen similar characters in other books. For example, Felicity (aka Flick), the rich, naive girl, felt like a combination of Jessamine and Tessa from Cassandra Clare’s Clockwork Angel. And Matteo? He’s incredibly similar to Magnus Bane.
Does it sound like I didn’t enjoy the A Tempest of Tea? Because I did. I think I’m just disappointed. About 25% of the way into this book, I thought it would be a 5+ star book. When A Tempest of Tea was about a devious tea house and secret vampire bloodhouse, it so worked for me. When there were conversations about colonialism and trade and imperialism, it was incredible. When it reduced itself to pandering tropes, it lost me.
Audiobook:
I listened to the audiobook of A Tempest of Tea, and I recommend it if you decide to pick up the book. The narrator performs each character with a different voice and some with different accents. For a multi-POV novel, it is well-narrated by only one narrator. I listened to the audiobook mostly at 1.25x speed – bit slower than my usual 1.5x speed.
Final Thoughts:
This wasn’t a perfect read for me, but I enjoyed it. If you like historical fantasy, YA romantasy, or books with vampires and colonialism, A Tempest of Tea will suit you just fine. The audiobook narrator was great, so I recommend that format.
Rating: 3.5/5 stars (rounded up to 4 stars for rating websites)
Thanks to Macmillan Audio for an advanced review copy! All thoughts are my own.
#COYER
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