Scan barcode
A review by halfcactus
A Coup of Tea by Casey Blair
hopeful
2.0
Miyara is a sheltered princess who wants to do something more meaningful for her people, so she decides to run away, permanently throwing away her birthright. She takes temporary shelter in a teashop, sees firsthand the gentrification and systematized oppression of the immigrant community, and tries to overhaul society from the ground. Somewhere along the way she realizes that she wants to be a Tea Master, which is a prized, influential, and extremely respected title in society. To become a Tea Master, she has to take a once-in-a-lifetime exam, and for plot reasons she has to take it as soon as possible, while managing a teashop and, idk, solving racism.
I've seen this described as a "feel-good book" and personally—and probably uncharitably—I think it's feel-good if you enjoy the privileged perspective or want to feel better about having one. At the very least what it offers is a comfortable, privileged, outsider perspective to discrimination and oppression.
The cultural elements are an aesthetic mix-and-match which I found disorienting at best and infuriating at worst. In spite of the tea ceremony being a crucial plotpoint and skill that Miyara is trying to perfect, I have no idea what it entails, other than vaguely Asian vibes.
The romance was bland, obligatory het with no chemistry. I found it insulting that the ML (a self-made craftsman) could have been a good character is his own right, but mostly felt like a prop for Miyara's social justice causes.
Other than... all of that... the book itself is very readable—Miyara's character arc is of that of a woman who has to to learn to take up space, and I think that would have been nice if 1) it was less ambitious about the social justice messaging; 2) if Miyara got to pay a real price to sustain her choices; 3) the PoV had been of that of any of the other characters. I enjoy wish-fulfillment fantasies about changing society, but it's hard for me to root for someone who's not really an underdog.
I've seen this described as a "feel-good book" and personally—and probably uncharitably—I think it's feel-good if you enjoy the privileged perspective or want to feel better about having one. At the very least what it offers is a comfortable, privileged, outsider perspective to discrimination and oppression.
The cultural elements are an aesthetic mix-and-match which I found disorienting at best and infuriating at worst. In spite of the tea ceremony being a crucial plotpoint and skill that Miyara is trying to perfect, I have no idea what it entails, other than vaguely Asian vibes.
The romance was bland, obligatory het with no chemistry. I found it insulting that the ML (a self-made craftsman) could have been a good character is his own right, but mostly felt like a prop for Miyara's social justice causes.
Other than... all of that... the book itself is very readable—Miyara's character arc is of that of a woman who has to to learn to take up space, and I think that would have been nice if 1) it was less ambitious about the social justice messaging; 2) if Miyara got to pay a real price to sustain her choices; 3) the PoV had been of that of any of the other characters. I enjoy wish-fulfillment fantasies about changing society, but it's hard for me to root for someone who's not really an underdog.