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jdasilva's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I thought it was starting off slowly, but it was just beautiful character development. Couldn’t put it down once I was halfway through. I was destroyed by the time I got to the end. What a ride. Can’t wait for the next in the series!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Trafficking, Murder, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Grief, Genocide, Death, and Colonisation
atlantisfrost's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A bit of a slow start, but so worth reading through it. The writing is masterful, the setting is magical, and the characters are memorable. One of my favourites so far this year.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Colonisation, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, and Murder
Minor: Death of parent
rachelblair's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This entire book had me saying "wait, did I miss something?" I kept feeling as though the characters had conversations that I, the reader, was not privy to, or there were background details that the characters knew about but were never explained in the actual text of the book. There's a difference between leaving some secrets until the end for plot, and just being too vague. I came close to DNFing this book. Ultimately I decided to finish it and honestly I needn't have bothered. I'm still scratching my head going "HUH?" Not because the ending was a vague cliffhanger (it was) but because I wasn't given enough background to actually connect with any of the characters or care what happens next. Disappointing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: War, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Violence, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, and Panic attacks/disorders
a_libra_library's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
First off.
⭐ 5
I loved the story and characters.
⭐ 5
I loved the story and characters.
Thank you to Netgalley and FSG for this audio arc.
Maya Saroya, Thank you for bringing these characters to life.
This feels beautiful and fun and very fresh! Vampires, twists and tea. I love Arthie and I need every main character to be as fiery as she is. I am a huge found family lover and this book DELIVERS!
This is a very character driven book and the heist does take a backseat in act two and three, if you’re here for a heist you might not be happy. IF YOU WANT DRAMA AND PLOT TWIST… You want this book.
Spindrift is not just a tea house, it’s a home for everyone she loves and is afraid to love.
NOW Spoiler
Arthie being a vampire is very much in your face but it makes sense to distract you from other twists.
Jin turning into a vampire?? Trauma on trauma. I just want to give him a huge and find his parents.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Classism, Colonisation, Cursing, Grief, Blood, Child death, Murder, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Medical content, and Medical trauma
aliyachaudhry's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I heard this made morbillion dollars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Blood, Gore, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia
sarah_loves_books's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Colonisation, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Grief, Blood, Child death, Murder, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Trafficking, and Gun violence
bookcaptivated's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Blood, Racism, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Gore, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Gun violence
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Kidnapping and Colonisation
onthesamepage's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This is a weird one, because half of the hook (heist) didn't work for me, while the other half (vampires) kind of did? Maybe?
To me, the heist served more as a way to give us an elaborate introduction to the characters. We do get to see parts of the plotting, but not that much of it considering the supposed complexity of what they're trying to pull off. But because the book is multiple POV, we spend a lot of time with the heist crew. It's effective, but not very exciting, and I do kind of want that fun, "let's set everything up" part in a heist story.
The last 20% really ramps up, and it almost felt like I was reading a different book. I really enjoyed that part, and it got me hooked enough that I'll probably read the sequel, but it does have a few things that irked me or fall into my personal pet peeves.
The first one is the love V between Arthie, Matteo, and Laith. Yep, still hate the trope, and this version of it is no exception.
The second is the overuse of pet names. Matteo, Laith, and Jin all call Arthie and Flick by different pet names. I'm not sure there was a conversation between these characters (other than the ones between Arthie and Jin) that didn't include a variation of "dear", "darling", "sweet", "love", and, on Laith and Arthie's first meeting, "habibti". I did read an early review copy, so hopefully some of this will be edited out of the final version, because it was excessive enough that I started counting.
That said, I appreciated the world building, the nod at Excalibur, the commentary on colonialism, and the found family aspect.
This is a weird one, because half of the hook (heist) didn't work for me, while the other half (vampires) kind of did? Maybe?
To me, the heist served more as a way to give us an elaborate introduction to the characters. We do get to see parts of the plotting, but not that much of it considering the supposed complexity of what they're trying to pull off. But because the book is multiple POV, we spend a lot of time with the heist crew. It's effective, but not very exciting, and I do kind of want that fun, "let's set everything up" part in a heist story.
The last 20% really ramps up, and it almost felt like I was reading a different book. I really enjoyed that part, and it got me hooked enough that I'll probably read the sequel, but it does have a few things that irked me or fall into my personal pet peeves.
The first one is the love V between Arthie, Matteo, and Laith. Yep, still hate the trope, and this version of it is no exception.
The second is the overuse of pet names. Matteo, Laith, and Jin all call Arthie and Flick by different pet names. I'm not sure there was a conversation between these characters (other than the ones between Arthie and Jin) that didn't include a variation of "dear", "darling", "sweet", "love", and, on Laith and Arthie's first meeting, "habibti". I did read an early review copy, so hopefully some of this will be edited out of the final version, because it was excessive enough that I started counting.
That said, I appreciated the world building, the nod at Excalibur, the commentary on colonialism, and the found family aspect.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Blood, Murder, and Gore
caseythereader's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Thanks to FSG Young Readers for the free copy of this book.
- A TEMPEST OF TEA is the best kind of heist story. Set in a fantasy world, a ragtag crew comes together, each with their own motives (and desires).
- I love the characters Faizal has created. Everyone has an agenda, but they come to care for each other, sometimes to their own detriment.
- And the action! I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. I cannot wait for the second book.
- A TEMPEST OF TEA is the best kind of heist story. Set in a fantasy world, a ragtag crew comes together, each with their own motives (and desires).
- I love the characters Faizal has created. Everyone has an agenda, but they come to care for each other, sometimes to their own detriment.
- And the action! I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. I cannot wait for the second book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Classism, and Violence
Moderate: Racism
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