This was one of my most anticipated books and it did not disappoint! Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to enjoy this book in audio form. The narrator is gripping and adds a breath of life into the colorful cast of characters. If you are a fan of fast paced heist stories with dynamic characters, spindrift and the Casimir crew will no doubt enthrall you and leave you wanting more. There are lots of twists and turns that lends itself to a re-read.

A Tempest of Tea is a new fantasy book about a heist with vampires. It's a fun story about a group of criminals put together by Arthie, who runs a teashop called Spindrift that transforms into a bloodhouse for vampires at night. They plan a heist at the Athereum, a society of vampires.
The characters are all very likeable and it's great to see the relationships develop among them. It has a lot of action and twists and turns that were unexpected. Looking forward to seeing the continuation of this story and characters in the second book!
I read this via an audio ARC I received and while I enjoyed it, I would have preferred to read it in print as it was hard to follow for me at times, and I will definitely be rereading the print version.

A Tempest of Tea was an intensely immersive paranormal YA book. I did think that the romance aspect of it felt a little forced but the prose was very lush and the world very interesting. I thought the characters were really well illustrated and I truly can't wait to read more from this author.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Tempest of Tea follows a criminal mastermind who runs a tea house by day, and a bloodhouse by night. With her band of misfits, she carefully plans a heist to protect her establishment but along the way she stumbles upon secret after secret, conspiracy after conspiracy.

It draws inspiration from King Arthur, Peaky Blinders, and Six of Crows so the setting is both fantastical and industrial just with Vampires.

Sadly for me, this book was sooo slow. So slow in fact that I found myself zoning out and needing to relisten to parts to remember what happened. I would say this is a narrator error but I have seen physical book readers say similar. Pacing is just off.

From her tearoom by day / illegal bloodhouse by night, Arthie Casimir deals in tea, blood, and secrets. She and her chosen brother, Jin, care for their own version of a found family from the tearoom, but ever since she pulled the silver pistol from the stone—à la King Arthur and the sword—she, her enterprise, and those she cares about have been on the castle’s radar.

When her home and business are threatened by the masked ruler of the land, Arthie and Jin ban with forger Flick and some other unlikely allies to try to save what is theirs and to uncover some of the dark dealings happening in their city.

I adored this one. Told in three POVs—Arthie’s, Jin’s, and Flick’s, A Tempest for Tea explores a fantasy world based on the British Empire. Arthie is such a strong and dapper female protagonist. I adore how she keeps getting back up and how she protects her own. There are whispers of love stories here, some scheming, a heist, politics, and plenty of vampires. Each player has their own individual motives behind working together, and they are not altogether altruistic.

If you enjoy your YA fantasy with a dose of the morally grey, this one is for you. Be aware that this is the first book of a duology, so expect some things to remain open-ended at the end of this one.

I listened to the audiobook version and adored Maya Saroya’s narration. I enjoyed her accents and vocal choices for each character and could easily keep track of which character was speaking during conversations. I highly recommend sticking around to the end of the audiobook to hear a fun interview between the author and her husband.

I received an advance copy of the audiobook from Macmillan Audio and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

Vampires, a heist, betrayal, political intrigue, found family, magic, and a strong FMC. The premise of this book was everything I want in a fantasy book and the execution did not disappoint.

Arthie Casimir runs Spindrift, tea shoppe by day and illegal blood bloodhouse for vampires by night. Arthie is also a criminal genius who has a knack for collecting secrets people don’t want shared. When she is approached to carry out a heist to save Spindrift it means allying herself with an enemy to steal from an elusive vampire society utilizing a team of outcasts and underdogs.

I love all heist stories, but the layers of duplicity and the intricate way this was put together made this one the best I have ever read. It was so much more than just a heist story and in the end it felt like the heist was just an amazing added bonus to a spectacular fantasy.

Every single character was complex and I was so attached to all of them. This was written from multiple POV’s and it created such a deep connection to all of the characters.

I have never finished a book and wanted to immediately reread it again so quickly. I have already planned a buddy read of this so I can reread it ASAP.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book. I leave this review voluntarily.

I was very excited to get an ARC for the audiobook for A Tempest of Tea. I have not read anything by the author but now I definitely I will. The story is so good; it is going to be one of my top books for the year. Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan audio for an ARC audiobook for A Tempest of Tea.

The narrator Maya Saroya has a mesmerizing voice. There is a lyrical quality to it that you can't help but listen to. She is going to be one I keep an eye out for in other audiobooks.

Arthie is such a well thought out character. She was such delightful character to get to know. She is everything I want in a female protagonist. She is strong and resourceful and can make even grownups uncomfortable regardless that she is small.

There are moments that made me gasp and the others that made me giggle like a schoolgirl. I cannot recommend this book enough. This is a must read for anyone who likes a well thought out fantasy with unforgettable characters. The ending leaves me wanting more. And how dare the author leave it on such a cliffhanger?

In the audiobook we get an interview between the author and her husband. It was nice to be able to hear about how the author feels about the characters and the thought process as she wrote the book. And she also confirms she likes her readers to suffer along with her characters, so cliffhanger.

If you loved heist fantasy novels like Six of Crows, I think you'll love this one.

Arthie is an orphan, an outcast, a collector of secrets and proprietor of a prestigious tea room. When her tea room - and concurrently her home and the family she has created - is threatened, she strikes a deal with an unlikely ally to save it all. Collecting a band of unlikely colleagues, misfits, around her, she embarks on the heist of all heist.

Mysteries abound, secrets are revealed, betrayal is the name of the game and love blooms.

This, like Six of Crows, is incredibly atmospheric. I could feel the gritty streets and hear the bustle of the crowds. I could smell the smoke and almost taste the tea. I LOVE a good heist and this one was crafted well. The band of characters is well balanced and well developed, each one playing their part in the story development to near perfection. Just when I thought I knew where the story was going, there'd be another twist.

I'm definitely looking to the second half of the duology.

I listened to this one and I truly think I would have enjoyed it more had I read a written copy. I can't pinpoint what it was about the audio but I struggled with it and kept having to go back and re-listen to parts of it. I tried different tempos and the car vs my earbuds but it was just a struggle. The narrator does have an accent and I loved that part - It's lovely - so I don't think it was that.

The one neat add on to the audio was an interview with Faizal and her husband. It was incredibly cute and sweet but also worth the listen to get a bit of "inside the mind" as she wrote it.

A gorgeous fun exciting YA novel with legitimately unexpected twists and turns, romance, and friendship. I truly adored this and CANNOT BELEIVE I have to wait for a long time for the next book! Also, this narrator was incredible, capturing the characters and the mood perfectly.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal is about Arthie Casimir, the owner of a beautiful tearoom that servers a different kind of patron at night. When her beloved tearoom is threatened she will stop at nothing to save her home with her band of outcasts at her side.
This book was amazing!!! It gave me six of crows vibes but with tea and vampires which is just amazing. I love a good heist book! The audiobook for this novel just made it even better because you could hear the accents of the different characters which just made it more immersive.
The characters backgrounds and how they all connect to the currant situation was incredible. They all had their reason to fight for what they wanted. The connection between the characters, their growing support and love for each other was beautiful.
I am speechless! This book was all that I hoped it would be and I am so excited for the next one in the series to come out!

I'm sorry. A magical heist, led by a badass heroine of color and her rag tag found family, wrapped up in a family mystery with -amazingly - VAMPIRES thrown in, dripping in atmosphere and wit with an anticolonial kicker?! OH MY GOD YES

A Tempest of Tea was a very anticipated read for me. This book combines criticism of imperialism like Babel by R.F. Kuang, The seedy underbelly of society like Six Of Crows by Leigh Bardugo with the classic fantasy element of vampires. All of these elements are things that I wanted to love but when combined they just did not work for me. I thought there was too much going on but also felt like nothing was happening in the plot. The characters seemed to lean into tropes and this made me feel very unattached to them. I wanted to love this book but it just didn't hook me the way I had hoped. The narrator, while expressive, was difficult to follow through the different POV shifts between characters. This greatly hindered my enjoyment. I think that this book is just not the greatest as far as a book made for the audio format. I will definitely be trying this book in a non-audio format when it releases!

Dear god Hafsah you’ve done it again!!!!! I thought I was obsessed after reading the sands of Arawiya but this just seals the deal

I am IN LOVEEE with laith and Jin 😭😭😭 the tension, the banter, the reluctant trust…it’s all so delicious!!!

I was very excited for this audiobook and grateful for the chance to review it. The premise of this book is great, and the narration is very well done. That being said, this book just didn’t work this reader. I tried really hard to get into the story, but it just did not keep my attention. I couldn’t connect with the characters and the plot just moved
too slow to hold my interest. Thank you for the opportunity to provide feedback on this title!

This book has all of the best vibes!!! It felt like I was walking the streets alongside Arthie the entire time and I absolutely loved it. Anytime I listened to the audiobook I was immediately transported and getting lost in the story. Thank you SO much to MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for an ARC of the audiobook! The narration was fabulous and I can’t wait for book 2!!

I need book 2 in my hands immediately!! Vampires, cinnamon roll heroes, heists, adventure and fantastical world building?? 100% yes!

🧛🏻‍♂️ Vampires
🫖 Tea
🫶 Found Family
🎢 Emotional Rollercoaster
🩸 Bloodhouse
🔐 Secrets
🖤 Romance

This was such a fun read and amazing start to the Blood and Tea duology! I can’t wait to see what Hafsah Faizal will brew up next!

Method Read: 📖 & 🎧

Thank you Farrar, Straus and Giroux and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copies!

Man, I wanted to like this book but I just wasn't interested in it. I just didn't connect with any of the characters so I wasn't invested in the story. I hope others read this and enjoy it more than I did. Also, me and Peaky Blinders season 5 episode 3 staring at the beginning of this book because those scenes seemed very similar.

I went into this really wanting to love the book and the characters, but unfortunately I struggled with the story. I always enjoy a book about a heist, but the one in this book felt underdeveloped. I had trouble understanding the importance of the urgency of what was unfolding. I also didn't connect or really like any of the main characters, so I had a hard time staying invested and carrying what happened to them.

THIS WAS SO SO SO GOOD! OH MY GOD OKAY so first impressions, this is Peaky Blinders mixed with Six of Crows mixed with vampires and I gobbled this one UP and need to get a physical copy ASAP (although I LOVED the audiobook because we got a wonderful little interview at the end between Hafsah and her husband and they're so cute omg).

Okay first things first: Arthie means everything to me and while I sort of guessed her back story, I think it was intentionally made a bit easy for us to come to the conclusions before we're told ahead of time, so it didn't feel like a mystery that was poorly hidden. She reminds me of Kaz from Six of Crows in the sense that she's snarky, has a head for business, and is smarter than everyone else in the room, and I loved her all the more for it.

Jin is my favorite character and I love him dearly - he is my comedic relief who gives off himbo vibes while actually being incredibly smart and caring. AND HIS DYNAMIC WITH FLICK OOOOOO YOU WANNA KISS SO BAD!!! I love them all so much, but this duo was probably my favorite to watch in action because I was giggling and kicking my feet any time they interacted.

Matteo and Laith were cool guys too, although I found myself not caring about them at all most of the time solely because I was so obsessed with the other three (and that's on me). However... Laith did hold a bit higher position in my ranking solely because he's a cat person, therefore he's right.

All these characters are fantastically written, the plot MOVES, and the backstory is THERE! Please please please pick this one up, it was so amazing and I can't wait to get myself like 20 copies to give to friends.

The author claims to enjoy making her readers suffer. Accurate. This book ends on one hell of a cliffhanger. I'm going to be salivating for the next book.

I loved this story. Several twists and reveals kept me on the edge of my seat. You never knew who to trust. The characters had great depth and were relatable. I was emotionally attached to several of them.

The plot was captivating and pulled you along well. There were a couple slow parts but they were not deal breakers overall. When it was thrilling it was amazing and it was definitely more thrilling than boring. I can't wait for the next installment.