A review by chapters_and_pages
A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

3.5

When I saw the cover of this book, I was intrigued. When I read the synopsis, I knew I had to have it. 

Arthie Casimir is a criminal mastermind, whose prestigious tearooms transform into bloodhouses at night to cater to the needs of vampires. When her business is threatened, she must strike a deal with an unlikely ally, and form a ragtag crew to infiltrate the vampire society. 

I really wanted to love this book. We have a badass, morally grey heroine in Arthie, as well as a range of interesting crew members in Jin, Flick, Laith and Matteo. We have an interesting storyline featuring vampires, heists, mystery and secrets. Unfortunately, despite wanting to love this book, I felt very, for lack of a better word, meh about this book. 

There wasn’t anything wrong with it, nothing that I can easily identify and say, yes that’s what I didn’t vibe with, unfortunately I think it’s just one of those cases where both the characters and the storyline didn’t leave to much of a lasting impression. 

I will say, this book feels very similar to Six of Crows, just with vampires. 

I do plan on reading the sequel, and I hope I enjoy it more than this one, but I’m glad I read it!
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