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A review by esme_bonner
A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book!
I find it hard to review A Tempest of Tea because on the one hand, I loved the premise, I really enjoyed the take on colonialism, the way cultures are built and spoken about, and the twists (even thought I had guessed a few of them!) On the other hand I found some of the world building quite clunky and hard to follow, there a few instances that I am hoping are maybe just errors that will be caught before the final version goes to print were interactions just don't seem to make sense. The sentence seems to run into something new, or the speech doesn't seem to got together. Similarly, I found the action sequences a tale of two halves. Some of them were excellent, cinematic and lyrically described. Others were difficult to track, I was more assuming than understanding. However, overall, I really did enjoy A Tempest of Tea a lot.
The romances in this book are beautifully built, I am not anti-love-triangle, but this is the obligatory warning that there is something of one in this book! I really liked how Faizal built romance into the characters; Arthie was resistant to romance in exactly the way you might expect her to be; Flick was enamoured by romance in exactly the way you might expect her to be. It was really refreshing to see an author consider how romance fits into the wider characterisation of a person, and consider that in how the relationship progressed.
I loved the ending, I think the last 1/3 of A Tempest of Tea is the strongest. I had guessed at some of the twists, but I think that just shows the success of Faizal's foreshadowing. Other twists were genuine surprises, and some sat in the middle, not totally shocking, but not expected either. Regardless of the category they sat in I would describe all of the twists in this book as deeply satisfying.
This is a twisty, romantic, well-plotted adventure of a novel. Whilst I have some niggles with the writing, overall I think it is a brilliant start to what I am sure will be a spectacular series. I am looking forward to the next one!
I find it hard to review A Tempest of Tea because on the one hand, I loved the premise, I really enjoyed the take on colonialism, the way cultures are built and spoken about, and the twists (even thought I had guessed a few of them!) On the other hand I found some of the world building quite clunky and hard to follow, there a few instances that I am hoping are maybe just errors that will be caught before the final version goes to print were interactions just don't seem to make sense. The sentence seems to run into something new, or the speech doesn't seem to got together. Similarly, I found the action sequences a tale of two halves. Some of them were excellent, cinematic and lyrically described. Others were difficult to track, I was more assuming than understanding. However, overall, I really did enjoy A Tempest of Tea a lot.
The romances in this book are beautifully built, I am not anti-love-triangle, but this is the obligatory warning that there is something of one in this book! I really liked how Faizal built romance into the characters; Arthie was resistant to romance in exactly the way you might expect her to be; Flick was enamoured by romance in exactly the way you might expect her to be. It was really refreshing to see an author consider how romance fits into the wider characterisation of a person, and consider that in how the relationship progressed.
I loved the ending, I think the last 1/3 of A Tempest of Tea is the strongest. I had guessed at some of the twists, but I think that just shows the success of Faizal's foreshadowing. Other twists were genuine surprises, and some sat in the middle, not totally shocking, but not expected either. Regardless of the category they sat in I would describe all of the twists in this book as deeply satisfying.
This is a twisty, romantic, well-plotted adventure of a novel. Whilst I have some niggles with the writing, overall I think it is a brilliant start to what I am sure will be a spectacular series. I am looking forward to the next one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation
Moderate: War, Xenophobia, and Violence
Minor: Racism
This book is very inspired by the colonial history of the UK and Asia (specifically the atrocities committed by the UK against Asian countries), and there is a fantasy re-imagining of the East India Company. More than one of the characters in this book have been directly impacted by racism, xenophobia, and colonialism. It is also a heist novel with criminal elements, and features violence within the parameters of that. I would say that this book is not worse than Six of Crows, as a point of reference.