A review by ashleyh99
A Steeping of Blood by Hafsah Faizal

adventurous sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for providing me with a gifted ebook copy of A Steeping of Blood through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

White Roaring is in turmoil following the events of the Ram's recent attack on the press and Arthie's crew. But the Ram's not wasting any time, and now she's called for a celebration of her rule. Arthie has to rally her crew and find a way to expose the Ram, while dealing with new emotions and new allies. She will have to face the ghosts of her past, by traveling to Ceylan to expose the atrocities that the Ram is committing against vampires. Arthie's never without a plan, but she might just be underestimating the lengths the Ram is willing to go, to hold on to her power.

A Steeping of Blood brings an action-filled conclusion to the Blood and Tea duology. Arthie and the crew face a lot of dangerous moments in this book, and the non-stop action made for a quick read. I liked the fact that Faizal picked up A Steeping of Blood right where A Tempest of Tea left off, and brought the reader right back into the chaos of the cliffhanger.

The found family and character relationships are definitely my favorite part of these books. And Faizal really does a great job of writing each of the characters through the multiple POVs. I loved seeing more of the romantic relationships between Arthie and Matteo and Flick and Jin in this book. Flick is definitely the star of the show in this book. Her character and character growth is done so well, and I found myself looking forward to chapter after chapter from her POV.

As much as I loved A Tempest of Tea, I found that A Steeping of Blood didn't quite live up to my expectations from the first book. I was looking for more of an impactful storyline with the vampires, but most of the time I felt like they weren't much different from the humans. The evil machinations and plans from the Ram seemed very convoluted, and her plot twist and motivations didn't come together, for me, in a satisfying conclusion. And I'm not bothered by storylines that don't have a HEA ending for all of the characters, but I felt like the ending for one of the main characters really made me dislike the ending of this book. I felt like it didn't add any kind of resolution or emotional value to the story, other than being a shock factor.

Overall, I enjoyed A Steeping of Blood as a conclusion to the series. The book does deal with heavy themes of racism, death, and stealing/colonizing other lands in a Young Adult fantasy world. If you love vampire stories, with morally grey characters, romance, and unexpected plot twists, then I would recommend A Steeping of Blood.