I adored this book. The vibes were fantastic, I loved the characters and the twist?? So fun! I'm very excited for the next one already and I definitely will be getting a physical copy and fingers crossed that I can get like sprayed edges or a special edition. Either way, I will also reread this when it comes out!

I do wish that we spent more time at the beginning exploring the world and how Spindrift works, but I understand that the plot needs to start. My only other thing is that with the constant POV changes and shorter chapters, it could get a bit confusing.

A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal presents a fantastic blend of imaginative concepts, magical systems, and intricate plots that have become the author's signature. Drawing inspiration from the gritty world of Peaky Blinders and the timeless tales from Arthurian legend, Faizal skillfully intertwines these influences to create a narrative that feels both familiar and refreshingly original. The diverse cast and the innovative reimagining of the Excalibur tale within the seedy underbelly of a post-colonization society contribute to the novel's strength, offering a unique perspective and a satisfying exploration of themes surrounding colonization.

In theory, this book should have worked for me, but it fell short on quite a few fronts. First, I was unaware of how involved her previous series would be in this book. If this is your first Faizal book, I think you'll be missing some information if you haven't read The Sands of Ariwiya duology (I've only read book one). This book has some major pacing issues and I often felt disengaged while reading. The major plans for the heist aren't even laid out among our cast until about 40% of the way through the book. Normally, I could live with that if our POV characters didn't fall so flat. Out of our massive cast, there were probably 2 characters that felt well-formed. I also think the introduction of vampires didn't add anything to the overall story and was more distracting than interesting. It may be unfair to compare the two, but I could not stop thinking about Six of Crows while reading this. I think the fact that it didn't live up to the pacing, characterization, or excitement that SoC had hurt it in the end.

I did end up DNFing this book at 60% for now, but it is certainly a soft DNF. I have been trying to read it for a month and I think I'll revisit it when I can pick up the audiobook instead.

Thank you Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The most unique vampire story I have ever read. I really loved how Faizal weaved together the different view points and storylines. I loved all of the characters, and I loved Jin the most. He is hard not to love with his quick whit, sharp tung, love of sweets, and dapper appearance. Flick has a great character arc. And while Arthie drove me mad at times, I love how she was strong and stubborn and smart. Everything in the plot is sett up so well, and while I saw some of the twists coming a mile a way there are a few that I didn't see coming and I loved that!

This was over all a solid four star read for me up until the final quarter of the book. I loved the last 25% so much that bumped the overall book up for me and I can not wait for the second book. I will warn you that I had to power through the first third of the book. For me it was too much telling when it came to back story and setting and not enough showing. It was also extremely repetitive and I with that I had just been allowed to experience the world and draw my own conclusions because it really is a great world that I wanted to dive into. All that being said, I loved the book over all and seriously need the next instalment now.

This book was a last minute sneak attack for the year, and I’m so happy to have been able to read an ARC. I went into this one knowing I loved We Hunt the Flame and not knowing the actual plot, so I didn’t actually know there were vampires in this one. It was delicious.

This book has a bit of a slow burn, and the first third wasn’t fully grabbing me, but once Flick was introduced and the heist was actually being planned, it got a lot more engaging. Hafsah Faizal’s writing is so beautiful, and I love the way the overall story flows. Where I run into trouble is with the development of relationships. There are a few potential pairings throughout this book and while I greatly enjoyed the banter and the more heated moments, it was just slightly off kilter for me. They were developing so fast and when we are seeing only such small snippets, it definitely left me wanting more.

That aside, the characters were such a fun group and I did really enjoy them. With POVs from Arthie, Jin, and Flick, we get to see the world and each of these characters humor. They were all funny, which added a lot for me. Laith and Matteo were also very interesting, and I loved the little connections we got to see to Arawiya and pulling in some elements from We Hunt the Flame.

Above all, this is a book about hunger and desires, which I loved once I got into those themes more. Each character has a hunger for something which is driving them through this story, and I loved seeing the unraveling of their secrets and how it impacted the story.

Thoroughly enjoyed this, especially the second half (which I read in one burst) and though I was left wanting more, I shall patiently await book two, made ever more challenging by the ending!!! A solid 4.5⭐️ from me, again mostly due to the excellent second half when I could not put this book down!!

I wanted to like this book, but it fell flat. It was dull and couldn't hold my attention in the first 50 pages. The vampires felt out of place to me and were an added distraction to the novel. This book wasn't memberable for me.

This read was a bit different for me. It was different from what I had expected but I still enjoyed it. It wasn’t a favorite but I liked it.

A tempest of tea 3.5⭐️ 1.75🌶️

Fantasy
Gender swap King Arthur reimagining
Vampires
Peaky blinders vibe
BIPOC
Multi POV
Heist
Secrets
Treason


The premise was interesting. With a reverse gendered King Arthur/Excalibur retelling focusing on immigrants and the seedy underbelly of this kingdom, I was initially it reached. However I quickly grew bored. A whole lot of nothing happened for the first half of the book. I was at 39% and completely baffled that they had only just finalized the heist plan. I was underwhelmed… but that ending hooked me in. I love a god mysterious identity character.

The characters borrowed heavily from Peaky Blinders and the dynamics from that show, only with different immigrant dynamics. I was less interested in that than I was the problems the characters needed to solve. I also worry that because I haven’t read we hunt the flame, that I’m missing information.

The magic system was a fairly standard for vampire lore, with an interesting little twist. I liked that aspect of the book.

That ending had me more interested in the sequel than I was for 40% of this book.

Thank you NetGalley and McMillin’s Children Publishing Group for an Advanced eReader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

There is no blunt why Hafzah Faisal is one of my auto-buy authors, and it is because she always delivers in the stories the weaves into this world. Nobody writes found family, heists and slow-burn romance like her. Honestly what s torture to have to wait another forever for the sequel of A Tempest of Tea. The wait was well worth it, but GODS is this hard. I’ll be living in yearning for the sequel.
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to access this story before its release.

In the universe of We Hunt the Flame, Faizal brings us a new tale set in Ettenia and following a young woman named Arthie, the owner of a famous tea shop with a hidden night life. When her tea shop is threatened, Arthie must bring together a band of criminals and rebels to save her prized establishment. But their mission reveals a conspiracy much more complex than what they ever intended to grapple with.

There are many things I enjoyed about A Tempest of Tea. When the action picks up at the end and the mystery unravels, I found myself unable to put the book down. Faizal uses the fantasy world to comment on colonialism and the power of creating common enemies. Arthie was a complex and morally gray character with a rich background and history that gradually revealed itself, and I really enjoyed reading her story.

I did struggle with pacing in this book. The beginning is very slow, yet somehow, I felt that I didn't learn very much about the world, the characters, or the plot. I felt that a lot was said but not shown. Arthie collects secrets - this is what she is known for - but we never see it, or how she does it, for example. I wanted to see more of the Ram, the political system, or the characters in action before Spindrift's threatened closing. The lag in the beginning is made up for in the end but only with extensive exposition and some action-packed chapters. One particular instance of exposition shortly after the heist especially struck me, as it went on for several pages and interrupted an otherwise action-heavy portion of the story. In this way, I felt the pacing to be somewhat off. I wish more information could have been shared earlier in the story to free up the ending.

I also found some elements of the story very murky, like Arthie acquiring Calibore, or *that* part in the heist with a certain twist involving Arthie and Laith. I struggled with her motivations at times, and I felt some of those sections could have been better explained.

Overall, once the story gets going, it's a fun heist novel with morally gray characters and a bit of romance scattered throughout. I think fans of We Hunt the Flame will enjoy this one as well, especially in seeing some new places and faces in Faizal's fantasy world.

It's hard not to see A Tempest of Tea and think immediately of Six of Crows. And while I do feel like it never hits the highs of Leigh Bardugo's beloved duology, it is more than strong enough to stand on its own and satisfy Crows fans. I love the ensemble of characters, the thrill of the heist, and the twists at the end. But the last quarter of the book did feel quite rushed, both in terms of plot, lore, and relationships. It was still overall such a fun read and I already hope Faizal returns to this world beyond this duology's conclusion.

A fast paced story, full of intrigue and twists, this was a fun read! The characters were well developed, engaging and natural; nothing about the story felt forced. This was a fresh new take on the vampire genre.

This book was a lot of fun! I received an advance copy of this and was thrilled to read it! Vampires, tea and a heist? I’m already itching for the second to come out!! Fun characters with interesting back stories that I can’t wait to find out more about! Absolutely worth the wait!

this book wants to be Six of Crows so bad and I don't blame it bc I also wanted it to be Six of Crows so bad.

But the thing is, if being Six of Crows were easy, everyone would be Six of Crows.

I appreciated the diversity and the callout of colonialism in fantasy worlds but the characters are pretty flat and frankly? The vampire lore is bizarre but not in a fun way just in a kind of mystifying way.

Younger readers who are less genre-savvy might still enjoy this but I was pretty disappointed :( And it sounded so cool! I wanted to like it. I almost DNFed it at several points but I persisted because I wanted to see the payoff for some of the plot threads and just...I probably did not really need to keep going.

I enjoyed the writing and the characters, but ultimately this plot was just not for me. I typically don’t like heist novels but I wanted to give this one a try because I’ve heard good things about Hafsah Faizal. Overall, I can see a lot of people loving this and I definitely see things to love in it, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea (har har).

Hafsah Faizal has done it again! I loved everything about this book, from the heist plot, to the commentary on colonialism, to the charming characters, to their individual backstories and love stories! (Jin is my favourite but don't tell the others). There was humour, romance, suspense, tension, thrill. I couldn't have asked for more. AND THAT ENDING? CRIMINAL! Cannot wait for the sequel! Thank you for writing this book, Hafsah!

My first Hafsah Faizal book and!!! Loved the characters, loved the writing, loved the plot. So excited to pick up her other books.

This book was so fun! The mystery. The heist. The vampires. Everything about this book was so good. And that ENDING!! Hafsah, we need to talk. Because WHAT! This book had much more romance than I expected it to have but it did not disappoint.

I just… I have no interest. I know I’m still in the “setting up the plot” part, but I’m just so bored and have no interest in going back.

This is very much a heist story a la Bardugo, but involving tea and vampires and I just… am not going for it.

OMG
THIS WAS AMAZING! EPIC
I love a good heist, plot twist, and secret identity.

Hafsah has GENIUS fingers to write such flowing gold of words, wit, and action.
The multi-POV were so seamless and worked so well to unfold the excitement in the plot.

WOW WOW WOW the ending... OMG.. I need someone to talk to about this.

2024 has never seem so far but this book will definitely be soaring to the sky in raves.

HIGH HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

I adored this world and the definitely fell for some of characters, especially Jin. I loved the found family dynamic and the heist was a lot of fun. The romantic tension between the side characters eclipsed what I believe was supposed to be the main romantic plot. The plot twists were wild once the book got to the 80% mark. It was like an avalanche of reveals I didn't predict. My biggest complaint was that the writing style in the first 40% fluctuated to being very vivid to being a bit awkwardly phrased. I had to reread certain sentences to get the meaning, which took me out of the story a little bit. I also felt like the main love interest character fell flat. I understand he is supposed to be mysterious, but he was so mysterious that I didn't care enough about him and the romance between Arthie, our FMC. It just seems lusty rather than having something I can really root for. This book ended on a great cliff hanger so I will be excited to see where the sequel goes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review!