Book Review: A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal

Short Description

Arthie Casimir is a mastermind, a collector of secrets and bribes. She utilizes them to further her ambitions and to safeguard her precious tearoom, Spindrift. Tearoom by day, bloodhouse by night, its very walls house secrets. When her establishment is threatened by powerful forces, Arthie must make difficult choices. With a select group of misfits, she plans to infiltrate the ancient vampire society, The Antherium, to find the one object that can change everything. However, motives clash, and her plan seems riskier by the second.

(Read the official synopsis on Amazon or Goodreads)

Review 

First Thoughts

I liked this book. In my opinion, it wasn't better than We Free The Stars by the same author (review coming later), but I would still reread it, and I can't wait for the sequel. I don't read many heist stories so this was fun. I found myself unable to tear my eyes from the pages.

I love the cover. It adds to the mysterious, cryptic, and slightly chilling charm of the story. Not to mention the teacup filled with blood, I had to do a double take when I first spotted it.

Plot

A Tempest of Tea was a surprising and exhilarating read. We follow Arthie Casimir, who runs a teahouse during the day and a bloodhouse at night. Arthie revels in secrecy and blackmail. She is a force to be reckoned with. Honestly, she is the driving force in this book and the center of focus. For me, the characters stole the show in this book rather than the plot. I'll give more details in the characters section of this review. The story was chilling in ways, but the found family aspect kept me feverishly turning pages. The tearoom, Sprindrift, was an intriguing part of this story in both its functioning and what it meant to the Casimirs. I could understand their need to protect it, though I wish it was mentioned a bit more to build a stronger connection. The plot may seem straightforward at times, given that the goal or the main goal is to successfully plan a heist to retrieve a certain object, but this tale is much more than that. The story explores themes of colonial conquest, immigration, racism, grief, death, trafficking, betrayal, and murder. 

So, if you are looking for a wholesome read, this may not exactly fit. However, there are also themes of friendship, love, family, and confidence that provide a great balance and make the reading experience pleasant overall. A Tempest of Tea was an interesting take on vampires, and although I don't read many books with vampires, I liked this version a lot. The characters are rich and compelling, and their stories intertwine unexpectedly yet skillfully. The plot twists in this book had me gasping at times. They were both shocking but made sense according to what happened in the story. I loved every second of the planning even more than I did the actual heist. I felt the author improved her pacing compared to We Hunt the Flame as there was never a dull moment. You truly feel like you're a part of the team, and so every fortune and misfortune the characters face resonates deeply.

Characters

I'm going to say it, at times I liked the characters more than I liked the plot, and that's because they were just so enjoyable to read about. This book explored three P.O.Vs, similar to We Free the Stars, and I think it executed it artfully. I felt connected to each character, which was difficult for me in We Hunt the Flame. I was in tune with their emotions, and I understood why they made certain decisions.

Arthie wasn't my favorite character, but she was perhaps the most compelling. She was confident, assertive, distrustful, stubborn, tough, yet kind at times. She was never an altruistic hero and was more focused on her own goals and vendettas than on helping others.  Arthie was a very well-written, morally gray character. She was selfish and cruel at times, yet she acted in ways that she believed appropriate to protect what was precious to her and the author conveyed that skillfully. Arthie holds the world's secrets in her palms and she's not afraid to use them to get what she wants.

Jin was my favorite. He was cool, charismatic, flirtatious, calming, humorous, and the life of the story in my humble opinion. Everything he did was calculated, precise, and masterful. He fit the idea of a criminal mastermind for me more than Artie did. Jin and Arthie's sibling relationship was beautiful and Jin's character balanced out Arthie's harsher character wonderfully. And he uses an umbrella as a weapon! How can I not be obsessed?

Felicity, or Flick as she prefers, was also a wonderful character. Though I wasn't as attached to her as Jin and Arthie, I still enjoyed her chapters a lot. She was kind, nervous, desperate for her mother's approval, and brilliant in her own way. I loved her interactions with Jin; they were painfully embarrassing yet entertaining. Her strength and courage were the things I loved the most about her.

Laith and Matteo though important characters in the story didn't appeal to me as much as the other characters did. I liked them both, though admittedly I liked Laith more, but I might be biased after reading We Hunt The Flame. Their relationship with Arthie was complicated, to say the least, and I can't say it was my favorite.

Things I didn't like

Firstly, I love Arthie, but it's odd how easily she is affected by people, first by Matteo and then by Laith. Do people really feel that attracted to someone after barely knowing them? It conflicted a lot with her distrustful, cautious, and confident nature. Not to mention that the romance in her case felt forced in places, though I was still obsessed for quite some time.

Secondly, The heist itself was a little unimpressive. I'm going to reveal something shocking here, but I thought the preparations for the heist were more exhilarating than the heist itself. It just seemed strangely easy for the crew to infiltrate such a high-security establishment like the Antherium. 

Thirdly, I wish Spindrift was shown more than it was. I could understand Arthie and Jin's desire to protect it, but their deep emotional connection to the tearoom wasn't as apparent since it was barely shown. The author tried her best to convey the tearoom's importance in both Arthie and Jin's POV, but I just didn't feel as emotionally invested as I probably should have. 

Fourthly, though Arthie was the main character, she seemed to be mentioned a lot in the other characters' P.O.Vs. It was to the point where she would almost take over the plot when the other character should have been given more importance. I didn't mind it too much the first few times, but as I read further, I felt it was a little strange.

Should you read the Sands of Arawiya duology before starting this book?

In my opinion, there is a huge spoiler for anyone who hasn't read We Hunt The Flame and We Free The Stars. Honestly, it's better to read that duology before starting A Tempest of Tea.

In Summation

I liked this book a lot. There were things I found amazing and others I didn't like. However, overall, I was obsessed with this story. I even thought it would be a 5-star read halfway through. Regretfully, it didn't stay as amazing for the latter half for me. I recommend it to readers who'd like a new take on vampires. I'd also recommend it to anyone who has read and loved the Sands of Arawiya duology. Hafsah Faizal's writing shines just as bright in this new work of fiction.

Rating: 4/5 ⭐

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