Fast-paced and character-driven, A Tempest of Tea will hook fans of Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows. High stakes, a daring heist, and a diverse cast of characters come together to make an overall successful story. Oh, and there’s vampires.
Slightly predictable and literal to an adult reader, it would however suit teen and YA readers by proposing a thrilling read.

Tea! Vampires! A daring heist! A band of mismatched villains coming together for one big job! High stakes! Did I mention tea? There was a lot to excite me about A Tempest of Tea and I was thrilled when Netgalley approved me for an ARC. So, did it live up to expectations? Kind of...

The good!
Artie is a fabulous heroine, tough and clever and just feral enough. Her partner, brother by adoption Jin is definitely the character to get a million teenage hearts racing, wild and beautiful and seductive and yet genuinely sweet (and a bit of a whizz at carpentry which is always am attractive quality in a man). Add in a pampered society girl turned master forger, a hint of a love triangle between beautiful artist vampire Matteo, conflicted traitor guard Laith and Artie, Arthurian vibes in a 19th century-type fantasy world and a beautiful tearoom with lots of loving description of the actual tea and the ingredients are there for a great read. Plus, in the end a huge amounts of twists and turns and genuinely shocking revelations and a cliffhanger ending.

The not quite so good...
It was much slower than I expected. I really found myself disengaged at times, until the last few chapters, a lot of introspection for what felt like it should have been an action filled book.

Enjoyable, I'll probably read the sequel after that ending, but didn't in the end quite live up to expectations.

“she liked her men a little afraid of her”
“one gets a taste for blood when they have to lick their own wounds”

I have been DYING for Hassan Faizal to write a new book ever since i fell in love with the “we hunt the flame” duo logo, so as soon as I saw this- I knew i had to get my hands on it. I am so so so happy i did, because it did not disappoint.

this is marketed towards fans of peaky blinders and six of crows- which i would say is accurate. the world building managed to combine both of these worlds to create this super atmospheric, fun and entertaining world. I was so invested in the setting, dying to know more about the vampire high society and all of the blackmailing that somehow makes this place function. It was just so fun to read and i genuinely could not put it down. on top of the great world building, the characters were also just as good. like it says, if you’re a fan of the found family within six of crows, this is 100% up your alley. I became so emotionally invested in this little rag tag crew, i was dying to read about their interactions and how to watch their bond develop. I thought they were all so layered and complex. I love how we have a young woman of colour as the main character, in a typically male dominated trope, just being herself and killing it whilst she does. arthie is quite possibly one of my new favourite characters, the author managed to capture the strength and determination so beautifully but then also portray the hidden anguish and fear in a way that felt so raw and relatable. Jin is the perfect, cocky, attractive maniac of a man that we all love 9very similar to Jesper in that sense, so if he’s your comfort character, again, you will love this.) flick is Whalen, a spoilt princess who grew up sheltered but then finds out the ugly truth about her parent, choosing family that found her rather than the family she was raised with.

the plot was somehow high stakes yet cosy fantasy, which i think is amazing because I couldn’t put it down yet it was so comforting. It had a really steady pace where everything felt thought out and thorough, but didn’t drag or feel boring at times. there were some aspects that I predicted, but I wasn’t even mad about it because the way it was uncovered still made the storyline interesting. BUT??? THE ENDING?? the only thing worse than a cliff hanger is a cliff hanger on an ARC because now i have to wait twice as long for book two. this was amazing, and i am so so excited to see where this continues.

I cannot thank you the publisher enough for the opportunity to read this before the release in 2024.
I was such a huge fan of Nasir and Zafira and that universe but this book might have surpassed that.

🫖Arthur, Jin, Matteo, Laith and Flick are very different people that meet under such unusual circumstances but still they managed to work together and in some cases to have a bond stronger than real family.

🫖Now let’s talk about my baby and my love: JIN

🫖He comes on the page and I knew it was game over for me. He was so funny, honest and so sure of himself that it’s impossible not to fall in love with him. Also let’s talk of his usage of the world “love”. Cause I was dead every time 😂

🫖I loved how so many thematics where introduced in the book and how the author stress the immigrant aspect of the characters.
There is a scene I really loved, where the two main female characters talks about skin colour and how when people look at them that’s the first thing people notice, and especially for this reason one of them decides to die her hair. In this way people notice her hair colour before the colour of her skin. And it made me think a lot.

🫖The found family was such a great aspect and how willing they are to die for each other.

🫖 The Tea culture was amazing to see. And to witness how important it was for some people in the book. And how it was the main event.

🫖What was really cool was seeing the leader of the band a female. And how it was stressed for the entire of the book until the very end that no one ever complimented Arthie for her intelligent, just because she was a girl.

If you think I don’t ship characters in this book we are so wrong. 🙃🙃

All I ask now is for book 2 cause that ending was illegal

3.5 stars.
Really fun premise but I think I'm just not in to vampire novels 🤔
There were elements I enjoyed and elements I didn't. I'm not big on romantasy or vampires novels so I think that was a huge part of why this wasn't a hit for me but I did enjoy the King Arthur/Peaky Blinders/Six of Crows vibes and found family is always a good thing for me.
Thank you for the opportunity to read this ahead of release.
And can we just take a moment to appreciate how STUNNING that front cover is 😍

What a deliciously written novel that sucks you in from the very first page! Full of intrigue and dimensional characters, A Tempest of Tea is everything a YA novel should be. The world-building was phenomenal and I loved the build up to the finale. Also, I ate up the romance! If you’re a fan of Hafsah Faisal’s previous books, you will be BLOWN away by this!

This book sounded perfect. But it was kind of hit and miss for me.
Going into this I expected a faster pace writing but for me it felt a little slow. While the story was moving at a good pace the writing style just felt slow. Which in turn made me struggle a little to stay invested. In fact but half way point I was a little bored.
While I managed to get back into the story by the end I wasn't wowed.

Oh wow this book was such a treat! This is the first book I’ve read from Hafsah Faizal and I have to say I am now a fan!

A Tempest of Tea was such a fun read, and I can’t resist a book with a heist and found family, but also throw in some vampires and it's a game changer. This book had everything you could possibly want:

🩸Vampires
🩸Found Family
🩸Heists!
🩸POC MCs
🩸Feet kicking romance

The characters in this story really made it for me, you have Arthie Casimir is a criminal mastermind & also a badass! Arthie was such a strong independent character but she is also flawed and dealing with a lot of past trauma - I really enjoyed learning about Arthies culture and her past. Now onto Jin…. oh i loved him a lot, he was such a flirt and extremely charming but also such a kind soul! A special mention to Matteo, Flick and Laith, I don’t want to spoil too much but all the characters are so unique and flow together so well (expect lots of banter).

I don’t want to say too much about the heist itself (spoilers obviously) but everything was so well thought out and the setting was just perfect, I was on the edge of my seat for most of this book and the ending…. I need book 2 rn please!

Overall I thought this book was fantastic and can’t wait to see what book 2 brings!


“Family isn’t who we live with but those we would die for”

A fantasy heist full of vampires, magical weapons and found family. A great idea and plot but not particularly well executed. The prose is purple, the constant sexual tension overbearing, and it's trying way too hard to be like Six of Crows but doesn't hit the mark. Not one for me.

* Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for an EARC in exchange for an honest review*.

STATS
Plot: 3.5
Characters: 3
Setting: 4
Writing: 2.5
Overall: 3

In a world of gangs, vampires and corruption, one criminal queen must face the monarch in a battle to save her illicit tearoom.

SO MANY mixed feelings with this book. Half the book I loved, half I didn't. Half the characters I loved, half I didn't. But ultimately it was a decent, fast, and fun read filled with my favourite tropes in a wholly original world.

PLOT
Quite covuluted and complex, yet, simple enough to understand. Filled with twists and betrayls- and knife to throat tropes. Romance!!! SO CUTE!! Except for... that one moment (iykyk).

CHARACTERS
Loved our MC Arthie, she was so complex and morally grey and really flew off the page along with Jin and our fave vampire. On the other hand, some of the other POV characters were just beyond annoying and irritating to read. Plus, the characters seemed very formulaic and 2d in places. Very much Soc vibes.

SETTING
Delish. It's the other side of world from Arawiya which I loved. Although, in places, it seemed like it couldn't decide how to make a point on colonialism and some of the deeper nuance and subtleties were lost- it was not one that the reader had to deeply think about like, lets say, Babel, which was quite jarring in places. Although the world building was wholly original and lush, it felt... strained in places.

WRITING
In places, modern. In places, luxurious. Faizal couldn't seem to choose her writing style which made the book feel quite disjointed and I was not a fan. However, the fast pacedness meant I FLEW through it.

OVERALL
A good book. I really enjoyed reading it, even though the actual reading wasn't so fun. I'd definitely read the second book- I think it'll only get better from here!!

I was absolutely hooked with this book, make room for the brand new wonderful version of Six of Crows! Every character in this books had my interest and I fell in love with their back stories and their relationships with one another. Sure, I'm a sucker for vampires but everything else about this novel drew me in entirely. I can't wait for the next book in the series and the first one isn't even out yet!

EXCUSE ME! THAT ENDING HAS ME NEEDING BOOK TWO LIKE NOW
I ate this book up, I read it in its entirety in a day and I don't regret a single moment.

Imagine, Six of Crows but with vampires, an impossible heist, which turns into more than just a plan to save the home the crew have made... but instead will affect the wider realm.

After Hafsah's previous works, the hype when I saw this was REAL and it lived up if not exceeded it! From the twists and turns, the characters, the found family and exploration of effects of colonisation has on those whose countries and homes torn apart for the land and goods, everything is expertly woven into a action packed tale.

These characters, have my ENTIRE heart. The crew is just FOUND FAMILY in all the best ways. All the characters are complex and real and their growth and exploration of their pasts just had them worming themselves further into my heart.