I have been looking forward to A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal for some time now. Everything about this story was alluring, from its fearsome crime boss serving tea to the city’s elite by day and blood for the vampires by night. However, I fear my anticipation built up too much, and I ended up being entertained but underwhelmed.
Arthie Casimir may be a thorn in Ettenia’s side, but her teahouse, the Spindrift, makes the best cup in the city. A criminal mastermind who is savvier than the streets that raised her, Arthie has evaded the Ram’s Horned Guard and their searches to uncover shadowy business dealings. Everyone knows Spindrift keeps the city’s vampires in order and well-fed, but proof is hard to come by. Yet a powerful force in Ettenia has found a way to close Spindrift for good, but Arthie refuses to back down. There is a way out of this mess, and it involves a dangerous heist that could secure Arthie’s future or destroy everything. Joined by her brother Jin, a high-society forger, famous painter, and a Horned Guard, Arthie will stop at nothing to come out on top and best her enemies once and for all.
I loved that A Tempest of Tea is part of the world featured in Faizal’s first series, Sands of Arawiya. The current story is set in Ettenia, but we meet characters from Arawiya, and they allude to events that occurred in that series and the ways it spurred them to end up in Archie’s orbit. Ettenia expanded the world and brought forward an urban society with vampires living among humans, but Faizal made sure Arawiya’s magic made an appearance. On the darker side, we have a better understanding of how the world is connected because Ettenia has been colonizing countries and stealing artifacts, culture, and people to serve its purpose of being a powerful player on the world stage.
The cast that was assembled for this story was awesome. I loved each character, their backstory, and the role they were meant to play. The only unfortunate thing is not every character got the same treatment, and the execution of their development, relationships, and contributions to the plot vary. Not surprisingly, our two mains, Archie and Jin, are the most fleshed out and have compelling backstories and motivations. A lot of page time is given to their familial relationship, and Faizal does a great job establishing the deep connection between these two. Flick is our third POV, but the attention dedicated to her past and present drops off noticeably. And this is true for the other characters in and around the crew as well. The connections between everyone else pales in comparison to what was created between Archie and Jin. Nothing felt as intense or meaningful as our mains, like the spotlight on them was so bright it cast everyone else in a shadow.
The plot moved at a quick pace in this story overall, which served the buildup to the heist well but hurt the revelations at the end. The front half felt more secretive, and I could feel the tension building up as plans quickly came together (or fell apart). However, the last 30% of the book was like Faizal couldn’t hold onto the secrets any longer. So many character and world revelations come tumbling out. This section of the book came across as rushed and chaotic, and it’s not because there are many action sequences. The dialogue and revelations get choppy, and the information is thrown out rapidly with no time for the reader to process. I was disappointed by this flurry because there were substantial moments between characters where loyalties clashed, but we moved through it too quickly that it softened the impact. I can only describe this section as a hop, skip, and jump because we touch down into a scene for a moment before catapulting to the next incident.
I have mixed emotions about my time with A Tempest of Tea. I was thoroughly entertained by this unique story and its eccentric crew, but the execution of both these elements was hit or miss. It was cool to see another part of the larger world that Hafsah Faizal is creating, and I did enjoy how it connected to the Arawiya series. Despite not getting to languish in the aftermath of the story’s twists and personal connections between characters, I am interested to see where this story goes and will plan to be part of Archie’s next wicked plan.
Rating: A Tempest of Tea – 6.5/10
-Brandee
