What am I supposed to do while I wait for the next book in this duology? Wait? This entire book is great but the last 20% blew me out of the water. Arthie, Jin, and Flick are incredible characters and Hafsah Faizal does incredible things with them. I think a lot if books get “If you liked Six of Crows, you’ll like this,” treatment, but A Tempest of Tea is the only one of those books that I think actually deserves it. It’s hard to nail the dynamic of a found family that only half wants to be there, but Faizal does it. Separate from all of that, it’s really nice to see an original take on vampires when so much of the media that includes them has us relying on what we already know from other stories. Not only are the quirks, pros, and cons of vampirism fun and interesting in this, it’s really well integrated into the worldbuilding and the ways that if impacts the main characters. Seriously, I cannot wait until the sequel to this exists.
–Kathryn, Third Place Books, Seattle, WA
Celebrate Arab American Heritage Month with books by Arab American authors like Hafsah Faizal. Shop Third Place Books and other independent bookstores.