REVIEW: A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal

I have received an Advance Reader's Copy of this book through the publisher. This has not affected my rating or review in any way.

This review contains spoilers. Read at your own risk.

Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for sending me an Advance Reader's Copy of A Tempest of Tea!

I seem to be reading a lot of vampire books this year; with catching up on the Twilight Saga, the Bloodlines series, and the Crave series. Well, I'd like to introduce you to my latest bloodsucker read, Hafsah Faizal's A Tempest of Tea.

Faizal has crafted a dark and paranormal story in a 1920s mixed with Victorian Era British-inspired fictional world. For a story that pitches itself as a gender-bent King Arthur meets Peaky Blinders with vampires, we all thought I would absolutely adore it, right? ...Right?

Unfortunately, this one was a bit of a doozy for me. While I had been intrigued by the plot and characters, there was something about Faizal's writing style that had me trudging to get through this book slower than my normal pace. I kept losing interest after reading a few pages and would really have to dial in to keep going. There was a lack of imagery that also made it a tough read for me.

However, my trudging was worth it, as I got to meet a cast of lovable characters mixed up in a heist. I was originally worried about the comparison to Six of Crows, as I unpopularly did not enjoy that one as much as everyone else seems to, but I actually found myself liking all of the main characters! A fun surprise.

Overall, this was okay. I feel as though had I not had such a rough time trying to get into this, I would've enjoyed it a lot more. Fans of heist stories like Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows and found families are sure to love this one. It just didn't fully click for me, therefore I give A Tempest of Tea 3 out of 5 stars.

A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal will be available on February 20th, 2024.

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