Reviews with content warning for Murder - A Tempest of Tea

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal

29 reviews

myweirdnormal's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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annhow's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

So, basically this book is kind of a Six of Crows rip-off. But like... It's also kinda good. Characters were excellently flawed and developing, setting was pleasingly steampunk-y, plot was an exciting heist thing. But it mostly felt like Six of Crows.
The thing is, I've read quite a lot of SoC copies (in the hangover after I read the original), and they've all been kind of low-quality attempts. This one was actually good, even if it felt way too similar.
TL;dr : Copy of Six of Crows, but actually good, maybe read if you're in the SoC hangover
Bonus: If that's the reason you're here, I recommend The Lies of Locke Lamora (Scott Lynch), and A Darker Shade of Magic (V.E.Schwab)

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mariahmmm's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad 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

3.0

Spindrift- tea rooms by day, illegal blood trade by night. In its walls, Arthie and Jin provide a refuge for vampires to safely feed without attracting attention from the Ram guards.

But Spindrift's future is in turmoil as the Ram battles to control and condemn vampires. Unlikely alliances and a deadly heist may be the only way to protect the tearoom and push back against the Ram.

A promising story that had a few too many plot holes, things jumping around, weird time gaps, and areas that needed polishing for me to feel immersed in the story or to fully enjoy it.

Jin and Flick had some real depth to their characters, and I enjoyed Matteo and Laith, but I never ended up liking Arthie which is a shame because she could have been a strong lead.

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soniajoy98's review

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adventurous emotional funny informative inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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piikasmalls's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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agirlsnightbookbash's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

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aseel_reads's review

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adventurous dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

Pretty disappointed with this one. The premise should be right up my alley but in practice, it really fell flat. The 'romance' felt forced, the writing was a bit jarring, and I don't really understand all the plot twists and reveals that happened

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wylanslcve's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

upon completing this book, I have two main thoughts:
1) hafsah... how DARE you
2) I need the sequel right now or I'll combust

now, I completely understand why some may not like this book. the first act in particular is slow-paced and more character-oriented than some may prefer (I personally didn't mind it because I love character-oriented storytelling when it's done right, and I think this book does it pretty well - although I will say, the fact that barely 24 hours pass within the first 150ish pages still has me completely flabbergasted), some bits fall into exposition-dump territory (especially the more character-driven parts - there could definitely have been more seamless character exploration rather than dumping a whole lot of information at once, but I suppose that's bound to happen in character-oriented narratives) and sometimes it feels like it was trying a little too hard to be like six of crows (i.e. my favourite book of all time currently). all that in mind, I still really enjoyed this!

this is my first of hafsah's books and I think it's safe to say that I've found a new favourite author because her writing style in particular is spectacular: there's something so lyrical and captivating about it, and it was definitely a highlight of this entire book for me personally. the characters were so interesting and I fell in love with each and every one of them instantly. the six of crows somewhat-reluctantly-found-family-heist vibes were definitely there and, while I did mention that tempest at times tried a little too hard to be that book, it didn't really interfere with my reading experience (except for the amount of anxiety caused by the fact that not all 5 characters get chapters from their pov in tempest because six of crows did the exact same thing with not giving wylan any chapters from his pov in the first book due to reasons that aren't revealed until the end of the book, and I immediately assumed the same would happen with tempest... needless to say my anxiety was completely warranted because oh my goodness-)

the third act in particular was full of twists and turns that had me spiralling then sobbing hysterically but it was completely worth it. I managed to guess two of the more "minor" twists and was so proud of myself, then hafsah humbled me immediately by pulling an additional three or so plot twists that made my annotations turn into incoherent screaming. hafsah you'll be paying my therapy bills.

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witcheep's review

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I like the book a lot: the characters are amazing and the elements of the plot are adding up into an intriquing mystery. Even before reading the book I knew I'd want to have a deep dive into it; I've read Faizal's Sands of Arawiya duology before and enjoyed it so much I had to preorder this book.

The plot: a heist wrapped in secrets

Secrets are at the core of the book, the topic comes up repeatedly and often. As Arthie gathers her chosen group for the heist in the Athereum, every one of the five members seems to have their own secrets and hidden motives for their actions – and I loved speculating and later finding out about them! Even the premise of Arthie's business lies in her having secrets as her preferred currency:

To the public, Arthie Casimir dealt in tea. To those who paid attention, she dealt in blood too. But Flick had read every letter and document she had forged for the girl and knew the truth: Arthie Casimir dealt in secrets.

The characters have multiple sides to them, and they keep secrets from each other. This means their trust on each other is fragile at best, but still they work for the common goal together. While doing so, there are multiple potential romantic relationships developing in the group by the means of shameless flirting, attentive actions and even displays of jealousy. Perhaps it's a little overkill to have every member of the group have feelings for somone in the group, but I enjoyed it regardless.

A hinted destiny for the main character

The main character Arthie is depicted as a cunning criminal mastermind, but an underdog in the bigger picture. She holds her inner circle tight, but cares for them deeply and protects them fiercely. At times it feels like this is relayed to the reader more of as "told" rather than "shown", which makes it a little less easy to believe. Arthie is a loveable character, though, and her intelligence is also shown on the pages of the book. It seems that faith has a few surprises in hand for Arthie, both regarding love, career, and life in general.

I'm not sure whether or not Arthie is interested in love at all. She's quite determined to think that every relationship is transactional, and this will make accepting falling in love with anyone difficult. This brings even more interest into the budding infatuations in the book: will Arthie let herself fall in love? There's a love arrow with Arthie as the main interest of two men (could be a love triangle if the men in question would show clear interest in each other) and her pondering whether she has feelings for them or not.

"Seems your boss has taken a liking to me," Matteo said with a pride.
Chester tilted his head, considering him with a fresh understanding on his way out. "Boss likes anyone with secrets."
Arthie almost laughed at Matteo's pout. "He isn't wrong."

There's also interesting intertextuality in the book: Arthie's weapon, a gun called Calibore, bears striking resemblance to the legends of King Arthur and his sword Excalibur. Both these weapons were held in stone, and have a legend that the one who could draw them would become to rule. In A Tempest of Tea Arthie doesn't show interest in ruling over people, but who's to say that the Arthurian legend won't be foreshadowing and mean that Arthie will end up having to do it anyway?

"Why save the world when you can have tea?"

Oh, and let me just end the review by saying that the ending of the book will be a huge, dramatic cliffhanger that you cannot handle as is. Thankfully there is a bonus epilogue, and at least at the time of writing this review, it was quite easily found online with a quick search. You will need that bonus epilogue in hand right after finishing the book. The bonus epilogue will shed light on the identity of a certain character and bring some ease to the cliffhanger.

________________________________

I made dozens of annotations to the book while reading, and anjoyed speculating the plot while doing so. I also host a readalong for the book here: https://app.thestorygraph.com/readalongs/b85d9fd3-d2b1-4421-9559-7abbe0a34b71 You're welcome to come discuss the book with me in the readalong. I'd love to hear others' theories and opinions on the book!

Review written 31.3.2024

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darkskin_aminata's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny inspiring lighthearted 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

I just finished this book. I can’t lie it was my most anticipated read for the beginning of this year. The first pages had me hooked but it became slow and more 56% in I wasn’t feeling it, but I did force myself through because I wanted to see the end of it boy am I glad I did. I was hooked by 65%. The plot twists I didn’t expect. Now I’m mad it ended on a Cliff hanger. Miss Faisal I request the second book soon. I have so many unanswered questions. Please. 😩

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