The first installment in Faizal's Blood and Tea series offers intriguing secrets, a swirling mystery, terrible betrayal, heartwarming found family, steady action--and vampires.
"It's teatime, scoundrels."
In the first book of Hafsah Faizal's Blood and Tea series, A Tempest of Tea, Arthie Casimir collects secrets--and by doing so, amasses enough power to become a criminal mastermind, exerting her influence within the city's dark underbelly.
Her exclusive tea room becomes a posh hangout for vampires each night, but when her bloodhouse is threatened, she must work with one of her enemies in order to protect her livelihood and power.
She helps plot to infiltrate the Athereum, an exclusive vampire society, but complex, dark conspiracies threaten to upend all of her plans, endangering Arthie and everyone aligned with her.
“Aren’t you afraid?” she asked.
“Fear stops life, not death.”
Faizal combines secret identities, intricate plots, vampires!, hidden feelings, and wonderfully complex relationships in this mystery. A Tempest of Tea layers heartwarming found family, heartbreaking emotional barriers, and reluctant vulnerability to build characters that I cared about, funny gems, tantalizing moments, and an intriguing build-up to the books to come in this series.
The cover artwork, palette, and the book's title felt off to me; they seemed to indicate Cozy Mystery (well, aside from the blood in the teacup), while the story feels more intricate and strange and deep.
Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book?
I listened to A Tempest of Tea as an audiobook.
Hafsah Faizal is also the author of We Hunt the Flame.
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