This was such an enigmatic read! I was enamoured by the writing style from the get go, the worldbuilding so fascinating without being too overwhelming to follow. I was addicted, flying through the pages, obsessed with our heroine Arthie — she’s truly the shunting star of the book, her chapters were my favourite and the love triangle she finds herself in was one of the best aspects of the book for me! I haven’t felt this strongly about a love triangle in forever (team Matteo always <3). I love the Victorian and Wildean quality of the aesthetic and setting, plus the Six of Crows inspired heist with a group of mismatched misfits was just so fabulous to read.

My only critique would be Flick’s POV felt a bit unnecessary. I much preferred following Arthie and Jin, both equally fascinating as individuals but I also adored their deep platonic bond and admiration of one another.

I really can’t wait for the next book, ahhhhh! I have some theories about the ending and I’m just praying for an Arthie and Matteo endgame!!

I think it's always a bad sign when you finish a book and you're... confused?

There was a lot I enjoyed about this - I'm invested in the characters and the world is incredibly interesting. However, for a book that's marketing relies so heavily on the vampire tea room that the characters run, there was not a lot of the tea room. And this is where I start to get confused.

Six of Crows is mentioned as a similar work but A Tempest of Tea isn't as complex or tight plot wise as Six of Crows which will lead to a lot of disappointment.

The vampire lore was also very confusing. It wasn't explained enough in the first half of the book to properly set up the twist that happens towards the end. All in all, I found it to be a bit silly and unbelievable.

I also found the reveal of who the Ram is to be quite flat. It would've worked better as a reveal if The Ram was a stranger rather than someone we had already met, in my opinion. The reveal wasn't set up well at all.

Motivations for a certain character (rhymes with wraith) were confusing, and their characterisation a mess.

I also really could not tell you what age group this is aimed at??? Because it was written like upper YA but had a lot of sexual tension and innuendo.

This leads on to my biggest criticism being that A Tempest of Tea, much like Faizal's other series, relies way too much on tropes. Rather than any meaningful development, I could almost see where they're gone 'ooh, grumpyxsunshine' or 'this ticks the knife-to-the-throat-leads-to-sexual-tension bingo card'.

Maybe this deserves less than a 2.5 based on the things I just pointed out but all in all, I still enjoyed the read. It was not painful and I tend to lean higher on all my ratings. I do think that this might be my last Hafsah Faizal book, unfortunately.

I don't want to review this, because once I do I have to admit I've actually finished it...

I loved this, so much. I need more of these characters, I want to know more about this world, I slightly want to live here tbh

Some really lovely phrasing in the writing too, sadly none that can be posted without spoilers, but if you're even slightly considering this book please do read it!

I received an advance copy for free from NetGalley, on the expectation that I would provide an honest review.

Rating 4.5

I was sent this eARC from NetGalley, Panmacmillan and Book Break UK in exchange for an honest review.

I remember when I first heard about this book and was really eager to read. I tried to go into it as blind as I could and was pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

This book really pulled me in. The main characters Arthie and Jin were fantastic and their personalities really shone. I found that I couldn't really connect with Flick's character as much as I would have liked but hopefully her character helped move the plot forward somewhat.

The banter, tension and just the overall interactions between all the characters was fun and written quite well.
I enjoyed following the plot and the development that was revealed along the way.

I can't wait to read the next book!

I really wanted to love this book, and I'm disappointed that I didn't. The world building was good, and I loved the heist element. Something just didn't work for me though, and I can't put my finger on what. Definitely worth giving it a go if you're looking for a good fantasy, it just turned out it wasn't the book for me.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for allowing me early access to this fantastic work of art!

A Tempest of Tea is everything I had expected and so much more. The concept of this book was in theory a bit of an Arthurian retelling but with the most intriguing twists, imagine King Arthur mixed with Peaky Blinders and throw in some Vampires and you have A Tempest of Tea.

This YA story follows criminal mastermind Arthie, an owner of a tea room, but by night it becomes a shady blood bar for vampires. When her tea room Spindrift is under threat, she must enlist the expertise of fellow misfits in order to plan and successfully pull off the heist of their lives in order to save it.

There are many reasons why I absolutely adored and devoured this book, of course the plot was very unique in its own ways, while still taking inspiration from classic stories of a similar tone, this makes it so diverse and a very exciting read. The story moved along at a good quick pace all the way through and included some great unexpected twists and turns along the way.

The characters in this book were so well thought out, their backgrounds and histories were fleshed out with great detail making it easy to connect to them even if they aren't the sort of people you'd want to be familiar with in real life.

Arthie herself is not the most likable of people, but you do feel a real sense of need to connect to her and to be able to sympathise with her cause and her motives. The connection that she and her 'brother' Jin have is tragic yet also somewhat hilarious and full of sarcasm.

But it's not just the main characters that have been out together so well and that really draw you in, side characters Flick, Laith and Matteo all have their own interesting and somewhat heartbreaking stories that they also want to be made known. The attention to detail on them all is fantastic, so much so that I could already easily cast them all for a live action version. One character that really stood out for me though was Matteo, a character that I really did not expect to like or find any sort of connection to. Although everytime I read his quick witted one liners all I could hear in my head was Asterion from the hugely infamous video game Baldurs Gate 3. If you know, then you won't be able to unsee it ever again. For me Matteo is Asterion, which as a Dungeons & Dragons fan, I absolutely love!
When it comes to the characters, there are also some great scenes that are full of sexual tension without the need for spice.

Another great aspect to this book is the inclusion of illustrations of maps and blueprints. It really helped me to be able to picture things in much finer details.

A Tempest of Tea is a story that I will be recommending to everyone that I know for a good while to come. It is 100% a fantastic read that got me gripped and excited to turn to the next page as quickly as I could. I have also already placed a pre-order for a physical copy upon release day, so I can have it proudly on display on my bookshelves at home.

If you haven't added this book to your want to read list or TBR then I highly recommend that you do so.

This book was so engaging from the first page. It has amazing flow, fast pace, and beautiful characters. I read somewhere that this was spicy, and I doubted very much, and it is not. But there is a lot of innuendo and heat, but that's it, so don't go in, hoping for spice because you won't get it. I don't want the book to get bad reviews because someone said somewhere something that is not true. 
You will fall in love with all the characters, their inner turmoil, their traumas, and how real they feel. 
It is supposed to be set in the same word as we hunt the flame. But Ettenia is obviously England, and that gets confirmed when they mention the name of the river in the city, the river Tamesis, or Thames, but in Spanish. Also, Artie is from Ceylan, which is a mix of Ceylon in English and Ceilan in Spanish, the country island now known as Sri Lanka. I have no problem with these details, but I would have appreciated a whole different world or a parallel reality to ours. Instead of making it a mixture just to set it in the same word as we hunt the flame, as this feels more to attract readers than to actually serve a propose in the story. 

I wasn't sure if I wanted to read this book. When the book was first announced, the author did various Q&A, and I made a question many times that was never answered, and I doubt I was the only one to ask it. I wanted to know if there would be LGBTQ+ rep in the book. I have no issue with books not having rep, although I absolutely prefer they do. I know many authors who prefer to write about what they know and their experiences or that are simply scared of not doing good representation, and they will rather have no rep than bad rep. But I was inquiring, as I've done in many others Q&A of other authors, as knowing about it would place the book higher on my tbr. Now that I know the book has 0 rep, I guess she just didn't want to share it in case it put off readers? I don't know. 
Other than this, the book was perfection

Peaky Blinders meets Six of Crows with a dash of Twilight? The way I ran to request this book because a) hafsah wrote this and b) I fear my vampire obsession will never leave.

This book was everything that I needed and more. These characters are so clever, and have such a rich history and depth to them that I felt Arthie and Jins pains with losing their family, I fell in love with matteos charm, how he was so different to other bloodthirsty vampires we’ve meet in other books, he was the artist with a quick wit and oozes sensuality. And Laith, Laith Laith Laith where do I even begin with him 😭😭😭 he had me from the first time he called Arthie habibti AND criminal. Just marry me why don’t you.

Hafsah is such a talented writer, she’s able to weave such an amazing world rich in heritage and culture, I felt angry on behalf of the ceylani for what the colonisers and ettiennes have done. I adored the atmosphere of spindrift and wish I too could go there for tea. And the quest! God the arthereum scenes were by far my favourite.
Hafsah we need to talk about the ending and I expect book 2 in my kindle like tomorrow 😭😭😭 how can I WAIT?!

I’m so happy I get to start off the new year with this amazing book and the beginning of another unforgettable duology. Thank you so much to netgalley, the publishers and hafsah faizal for my arc in exchange for an honest review!

This was everything I hoped it would be, a fun adventure through White Roaring (think Peaky Blinders-esque London but with vampires) with a loveable cast of characters and a plot absolutely full of mystery and intrigue - plus there’s a heist!

A Tempest of Tea is the perfect YA historical fantasy novel: the plot is super engaging, the characters are all unique (we have the badass female lead, a suave male second in command, sensual vampire artist, mysterious assassin, sunshine forger, ragtag group who work at the teashop, and a random kitten), there’s a love triangle, a friends-to-lovers story, twists and turns aplenty, and enough mystery left to have you begging for the next instalment in this duology.

If you’re looking for a fun YA read that will have you practically feral for the next book - this is the one. But just because it’s a YA novel doesn’t mean Hafsah Faizal shies away from deeper and darker themes, the topic of colonialism and looting is explored (though I wish it was explored more and we saw more of Arthie’s past and what drives her forward).

This books is essentially a YA Peaky Blinders with vampires and it was so, so good! I was hooked from the beginning and loved this spin on vampire folklore. I didn’t realise this story is set in the same world as We Hunt The Flame when I started reading, which was a lovely surprise and enriched the worldbuilding even more. Something I really enjoyed was the action and suspense that comes with heist books, made even better by the interactions of these characters and their banter. Don’t even get me started on the plot twists!! One of them I didn’t see coming and raised the stakes even more. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can’t wait to see what happens next.

What in the Spongebob Squarepants!?

This book just flows perfectly, alternating between members of our crew and I loved it.

This is Six of Crows with Vampires and a female leader - that's exactly what it is.

The twists in the final 10% of the book had me audibly gasping! I'm shook. I'm now going to have to shoulder some serious anxiety until the next book arrives, and if there isn't a book 2 I think I might sob.

“How did you find such confidence?” he asked. “Finding it suggests I had no part in its making.” - Arthie Casimir, the woman that you are!

Already preordered a physical copy to keep re-reading until the sequel is out.
4.5/5 ⭐️
Thank you NetGalley and publishers for the access to the ARC of this book.

I’m a sucker for multiple POV books, and the fact that it was heavily influenced by Peaky Blinders? I was sold immediately.
The characters are great, world building satisfying and the plot interesting. The end will leave you shaken and craving (pun intended) more.
A triumph, a tip my baker hat to you Miss Faizal.

(Side note: I have not read the Six of Crows but I do find it unfair that every found family book nowadays is getting compared to it. Leah did not invent the genre.)

A Tempest of Tea was one of my most anticipated releases of the year. As soon as I heard it had vampires in, I knew I had to read it.

An incredible heist with a gang of lovable misfits and put in the mix a tea house with a secret and vampires. If you love Six of Crows and you’re looking for a new vampire book then you need to check this out.

Lovable characters, romance and beautifully written.

A Tempest of Tea is the third book by Hafsah Faizal and it is a young adult fantasy novel involving vampires. It is the first in a duology and it follows three POV’s told in third person. The story follows Arthie who is an orphan girl as she becomes a criminal mastermind. Her tearoom turns into an illegal bloodhouse for vampires. Arthie has to form a plan to infiltrate a vampire society with a crew. I am giving this 3 stars and I can see this having the same success as We Hunt the Flame. Personally I wasn’t the right audience for this but there is one out there. The world building for me just wasn’t great, it felt like we were chucked into the story and it felt a bit flat for me. I don’t think the comparisons to Six of Crows do this book justice as it is very different to that in my opinion.

I’m not the same one book ago. Book of the year, if you ask me.

Look, imagine this was Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo BUT with vampires. Now I love that book and it getting mixed with this definitely compelled me to read it. POC sexy vampires going on a heist and drinking tea and just casually betraying each other?? Hafsah Faizal, I wasn’t familiar with your game but I can say I’m amazed. The magic system was written in a way that you’d notice Faizal’s improvement and it wasn’t hard for me to understand it at all. The premise was chef’s kiss and the plot was thickly layered in a way that will make you NOT want to end the book (so sad I still did).

However we don’t get a deep view on the plot’s progression as it felt too character-driven for me by the time I was 250 pages in. Still, the characters were amazing, complex, and you’d want to delve right into their personalities which makes this book even better. The characters don’t overshadow anyone and they actually have pasts that’s worth sticking to (as a reader). Romance is TOP-TIER because it’s Hafsah Faizal writing them. I swear to god I can’t talk about the romance in this for fear I might just spoil everything. But when this comes out I want everyone to read it and swoon over *them* with me. 🫡

And, of course, it has found-family. What more do I have to say?

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan for the ARC :))

This was my first Hafsah Faizal read but will 100% not be my last!

I had seen this book hyped as Peaky Blinders meets Six of Crows with vampires - that is such a bold claim however this book fully lives up to the hype! I had already preordered and I am so glad that I did.

A Tempest of Tea introduces us to Arthie and Jin Casimir proprietors of Spindrift tea room by day and blood den by night and to say they have some high level enemies is an understatement, Arthie is tough, streetwise and has a history that as the world builds we learn more and more of. Jin is sweet, charismatic, utterly loyal to Arthie and made me laugh a lot- while Jin comes from a very different background they are kin.

When an opportunity arrives from a very unexpected place which could help bring down Spindrift's enemies a plan is put into place which will lead Arthie and her gang in to danger!

While the world building is fantastic with an interwoven story of colonialism and it's effect and impact this is very much a book that is character focussed with the story told from multiple POVs including those of Arthie and Jin. The side characters were crafted so well and my favourite has to be the Matteo!

This book has romance, secrets, found family, a heist - this book had me so invested and while there were certain breadcrumbs this book instantly blindsides you and the ending was too much, that final line had me screaming, what an ending! When is book two due because I really need in it my hands now.

This was such an easy 5 star read for me, thank you so much to Pan Macmillan for approving this one.

a tempest of tea is an ambitious powerhouse of a book that meets every expectation set by the incredible concept it promises. there are so many things to love about this book - from vampires and tea, to the stunning writing style, interwoven discussions of the impact of colonialism and the enthralling heist plot line - but everything is drawn together by its cast of characters, who are all so compelling. arthie is, however, by far my favourite, and i loved seeing how her carefully built facade starts to unravel slightly as the plot progresses. the romance in this book wasn't necessarily my favourite, but i think, given the space of a second book, the relationships will be able to flourish, which i am very much looking to.

a complex and layered narrative with cast of characters that make for an emotionally engaging story. 4 stars.

4.5 stars for me

I'm a sucker for two things: vampires and a good heist story. And this had BOTH. I just wish I'd taken the time to read Ms. Faizal's Sands of Arawiya series beforehand (not a necessity, but it links to characters from that series, and has also been on my TBR from a long time).

I loved Arthie and her gang! Every character is memorable in their own way, and have their own thing happening that adds more flavor to the story. I read this in one go because I just could not put the book down! So many secrets and so many possibilities happening, ugh I loved every second of it. And I did not predict that ending!! Can't wait for part two and see where this goes.

Special thanks to Macmillan's Children's books and Netgalley for providing me an advance copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review!

This is such a sad review for me to write because this was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024 but it just did not live up to my expectations.

The biggest and most disappointing thing for me was the writing. It was so over complicated and unnecessary, it made understanding what was going on next to impossible. I have seen previous reviewers say they found Faisal’s writing to be very purple but I still was not prepared.

The romances for me also didn’t work. Maybe it’s down to the writing style again but I just didn’t think there was much chemistry between the characters. In general I didn’t love the characters either, I can’t say there was anything I found endearing about them unfortunately.

Overall, this book just wasn’t for me. I probably should have DNF’d it towards the beginning when I first realised I wasn’t getting along with the writing. I would assume that if you enjoyed Faisal’s previous novels and therefore writing style this might be more suited to you.

Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Utterly captivating and fabulous. I had no idea how this would play out as we meet a young woman running a teahouse by daytime that transforms at night into a blood haven for Vampires ! In a city rife with corruption and division our intrepid heroes straddle a dangerous line between life and the loss of everything they work for.
The characters delight and surprise constantly, the story twists, turns, builds and then wham totally blindsided the reader in the most delightful way. Yes there are insidious clues along the way perhaps but played down beautifully to truly entrap the reader. I defy anyone to read this and not instantly want more because trust me the journey is most definitely worth it !
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair