Review by gardens_and_dragons - A Tempest of Tea

gardens_and_dragons 's review for:

A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal

2.0

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This concept is intriguing, but the execution is lacking. The book feels unfinished. There is way too much going on that do not mesh well:

The plot and characters feel like they are trying to be Six of Crows or Peaky Blinders, but without actually showing how the characters are actually criminals. The should be feared by the people they intimidate for information, but they act like children playing at being criminals. Mostly the POV characters are thinking about their live interest versus actual plotting.
For a book about vampires and a blood room, this was only about 20% of the book, and mostly in the beginning. The tie in to WHY Arthie has a kinship with vampires is interesting but felt like it was shoehorned in.
The tea house itself is not all that present. The significance of the teas and the coconuts is lost on me.
The Arthurian legend tie-in seems nonsensical and detracts from the story.
Why is there a magic gun/sword in a rock, why is Arthur the one to pull it?? It’s not thematically appropriate to the rest of the character - she’s not a leader in the slightest.
The connection to the Sands of Arawiya books feels unnecessary and complicates the plot because it feels like it opened up a can of worms for questions I have.

The story often feels like it's checking off clichés - enemies to lovers, flirting at knifepoint, betrayals, etc. ALSO everything is overly explained to the reader during conversations or internal monologue. Or, it repeats points of lore again instead of furthering themes or plot.

Content Warnings