A tempest of tea was one of those books which I felt I was waiting for forever. The plot is that of a heist with a team of 6 (including a cat). This is a world of humans, vampires and half-vampires. The story unfolds in the country of Ettenia.
‘Secrets were meant to ferment; they aged well. the longer they sat, the higher their value.’
I kinda like the main character Arthie Casimir. She has an immaculate dressing sense and smart sassy rebukes ready (most of the time). But I also can’t help but compare her to Kaz Brekkar (Six of crows) and I am sorry to say I find her lacking. TRUST ME nobody’s as shattered as me because look at the cover (have you seen a cover so chic and confident!!). And for a character as untrusting as Arthie, the romantic development simply felt too rushed (also I personally am Team Matteo Andoni).
“One gets a taste for blood when you have to lick your own wounds, you see.” – Arthie Casimir
Now another main character Jim Casimir (Arthie’s adopted brother). I love the bond between the siblings, it’s very wholesome. The way they care for each other, know the other’s thoughts, tease and poke each other is quite a treat to read. His weapon of choice is an umbrella and various well hidden daggers. Ohh AND he has great vocabulary.
‘Given Jin’s early education, he had an extensive vocabulary of words he’d use to describe vampires. They were deadly, cruel, sibylline, and powerful. Bestial and sanguisuge. Beautiful and vicious. Endangered had never been one of those words.’
Jim is THAT character, the one who is elegant, quick to smirk, can charm a room with his words and looks and his romantic connect with fellow MC Felicity (likes to be called flick) was much more engaging than Arthie’s complicated love triangle.
Flick was an interesting character who I didn’t really connect with but, her character really developed as the story progressed. She is the adopted daughter of Lady Linden, who is the head of the EJC(East Jeevant Company).
Matteo Andoni is a famous artist and to be honest he has some killer dialogues. Like I mentioned before I am totally Team Matteo For Arthie(come what may).His interactions with Arthie are extremely grin-inducing.
“We all have our secrets or the world would be out of currency.”- Matteo Andoni
Laith is the other character of the love triangle (one I was suspicious of from the beginning and still am).Has a sad past(I rolled my eyes soo hard at this they are still stuck to the back of my head).Is good at climbing. He is from Arawiya.
Spindrift is the tearoom Jin and Arthie created together and it is a wonderful and powerful establishment to imagine and some of the chapters in the tearooms settings are exciting and nerve-wracking.
‘Tearoom by light, bloodhouse by dark.’
The plot in itself was very plain and predictable and….banal until about 80% of the book. I had to really really push myself to read it. The last 20% was a lot of things to take in all at once so the information and plot just felt rushed and confusing.
Coming to the writing, there were some really good dialogues but the writing of the book felt fast and slow all at once. I feel like if I had more time in the beginning of the book to understand the characters and experience their camaraderie, I really would have enjoyed it much better.
The cover, map, and the discription of the characters is all very aesthetic and I am an instant fan!
To sum it all up, if you are someone who wants to start exploring the fantasy genre with ‘A tempest of tea‘ I would not dissuade you(I hope you find it exactly to your liking, enjoy!!) But if you are already in too deep in this genre (like me)then you might be left feeling a little cheated…
I have tried my best to make the review as spoiler-free as possible. I hope the review helped you decide whether or not this should be on your TBR. Let me know in the comments what you think of the book.
Thank you!
Want a review on a book with fae, here’s the link of the book ‘When the Moon Hatched’
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