From her tearoom by day / illegal bloodhouse by night, Arthie Casimir deals in tea, blood, and secrets. She and her chosen brother, Jin, care for their own version of a found family from the tearoom, but ever since she pulled the silver pistol from the stone—à la King Arthur and the sword—she, her enterprise, and those she cares about have been on the castle’s radar. 

When her home and business are threatened by the masked ruler of the land, Arthie and Jin ban with forger Flick and some other unlikely allies to try to save what is theirs and to uncover some of the dark dealings happening in their city.

I adored this one. Told in three POVs—Arthie’s, Jin’s, and Flick’s, A Tempest for Tea explores a fantasy world based on the British Empire. Arthie is such a strong and dapper female protagonist. I adore how she keeps getting back up and how she protects her own. There are whispers of love stories here, some scheming, a heist, politics, and plenty of vampires. Each player has their own individual motives behind working together, and they are not altogether altruistic.

If you enjoy your YA fantasy with a dose of the morally grey, this one is for you. Be aware that this is the first book of a duology, so expect some things to remain open-ended at the end of this one.

I listened to the audiobook version and adored Maya Saroya’s narration. I enjoyed her accents and vocal choices for each character and could easily keep track of which character was speaking during conversations. I highly recommend sticking around to the end of the audiobook to hear a fun interview between the author and her husband.

I received an advance copy of the audiobook from Macmillan Audio and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.