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A review by lakeofstars
A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.5
perhaps it's because i'm not a romantic (and also not the intended teenage audience lol) but i truly felt like the non-platonic interactions were the weakest part of the book. did not feel much chemistry nor find the trope-laden progression believable. which sucks because i do really want to care for each individual character but the sheer Presence of romance that i was so duly uninterested in was really putting me off.
but believe me when i say i drank up (hehe) what we were given about the world and enjoyed arthie as a protagonist. this book had a fun plot outline with relevant themes and engaging prose. and i LOVE a good arthurian undertone. it really is a shame that the contrived romantic tension was so egregious. i had other (pretty major) issues with the painful pacing, characterization choices, stakes (hehe), and certain plot points but none had my eye twitching the way it did every time a m/f duo that didn't explicitly view each other as siblings interacted.
a bitter rant? maybe, but.
but believe me when i say i drank up (hehe) what we were given about the world and enjoyed arthie as a protagonist. this book had a fun plot outline with relevant themes and engaging prose. and i LOVE a good arthurian undertone. it really is a shame that the contrived romantic tension was so egregious. i had other (pretty major) issues with the painful pacing, characterization choices, stakes (hehe), and certain plot points but none had my eye twitching the way it did every time a m/f duo that didn't explicitly view each other as siblings interacted.
a bitter rant? maybe, but.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Blood, Colonisation, and Violence