I have read and reviewed the first book in this duology, A Tempest of Tea, on this very website – which you can read here: https://oneshowatatime.co.uk/2024/01/13/a-tempest-of-tea-did-i-consume-this-book-or-did-it-consume-me-book-review/.
A Tempest of Tea is a fantastic adventure with loveable characters, brilliantly written chaos and mayhem, and a plot that had me hooked from the word go. The ending left me (blood) thirsty for more and counting down until the sequel. A Steeping of Blood is that very sequel. The motley crew are back with more mayhem, a new plan and one heck of an emotional rollercoaster. One thing is certain – A Steeping of Blood was a book well worth waiting for.
Book: A Steeping of Blood
Author: Hafsah Faizal
Genre: Fantasy (Young adult)
Release Date: Out now!
Rating: ★★★★★
Disclaimer: I was kindly sent a copy of this book from PanMacmillan in exchange for an honest review. This has not impacted my review, and all opinions are my own.
As is usual with my book reviews, to bring everyone up to speed, here is the summary as taken from StoryGraph:
The epic conclusion to the #1 bestselling A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal; the gritty fantasy duology about an orphan girl and her crew who get tangled in a heist with vampires, perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows.
She’s had her tea, now she’s out for blood.
White Roaring is sharpening its fangs after the deadly night that left the city in shambles. The press are dead, the public calls for justice, vampires are in danger, and amid the turmoil, the Ram announces a celebration.
Still reeling from the bloodshed, Arthie Casimir has no time to mourn the death of anyone, let alone her own. She has no time for love, either, but it had saved her life. As Arthie navigates new emotions and new allies, she must reassemble her scrambled crew and scrape what little they have left to fight one last time – and she will need to face the ghosts of her past to do it.
In Ceylan.
After the jaw-dropping ending of #1 bestselling A Tempest of Tea, Arthie and her crew still have plenty of hearts to break and crimson-red secrets to uncover. Hafsah Faizal crafts a deliciously twisty and seductive sequel that will leave readers breathless until the very last page.
Picking up almost instantly after the events of the first book, A Steeping of Blood takes everything up a gear. The themes are a lot darker, the stakes are higher, and there’s no predicting what journey the course of this book will take everyone on. The end of A Tempest of Tea was dramatic and gripping, and this energy continues in this second book. I was completely captivated and hooked from the first to last page; mischievous, tense and adventurous, A Steeping of Blood is the epic conclusion this series deserves.
The characterisation of everyone in A Steeping of Blood is excellent. As the characters are already brilliantly fleshed out from the first book, it’s even more interesting in this book to read everyone grow more with every page. Every character is navigating a huge shift in their lives and battling such complicated emotions and personal journeys, which naturally affect their relationships and dynamics with one another. With multiple POVs narrating the book, there is not one character I did not enjoy reading. I really enjoyed reading everyone come to terms with how much their lives have changed, and are continuing to do so. The character development present in everyone in the book feels like such a natural progression for them all. With no spoilers, to see Arthie’s more vulnerable side in this book felt intimate and touching, a whole new side of her that I loved the exploration of. Flick also, in particular, has this greatest character arc; comparing her from when we first met her in A Tempest of Tea to the final page of A Steeping of Blood, her growth alone is admirable.
The writing is beautiful and immersive, as is to be expected from Faizal. The world-building is so rich that it is easy to be transported to White Roaring and beyond, with a political system that is written in a way that is detailed and intricate, whilst also easy to follow and understand. These details were present in the first book, but the writing in this book does not feel repetitive; it all adds to the world further and expands on what we already know. Faizal’s meticulous writing meant I completely lost myself in the story, and it felt like I was on this rocky journey with everyone. Furthermore, despite being set in an undefined time period in the past, there is so much within the story that is relevant and can be recognised in the world of the present day. Colonialism is a big theme within the book, but there is also identity, belonging, community, grief, morality, and so much more. These are themes that transcend time and are seamlessly interwoven into the story. Life is not simple, and this is reflected in these messy characters and their actions. As I have briefly said already, A Steeping of Blood is not just beautiful and lyrical; it is dark and brutal, but necessarily so. The heavier and lighter themes are balanced well, and everything is written in a way that feels heartfelt, with genuine respect and sensitivity.
As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. This endearing gang that formed their own family together first captured my heart in A Tempest of Tea, and I was so very happy to be reunited with everyone in A Steeping of Blood, yet now I am devastated that I had to say goodbye. A final whirlwind adventure with characters I know and love, A Steeping of Blood is a sequel fit for scoundrels, and the perfect conclusion for such an incredible duology.
A book that can make you feel is, in my opinion, the best kind of book. Well, A Steeping of Blood vividly made me feel, it made me feel a great deal. I laughed, I cried (a LOT), my heart hoped and broke all within the span of one book, which is a testament to what an excellent storyteller Hafsah Faizal is. The good thing about books is that they never really leave us. The characters and story are always there, hidden in the pages, waiting for us to return, and I know I will definitely be returning to this duology time and time again.
And now…I think it’s time for tea!
A Steeping of Blood is out now!
One Show at a Time 