A review by lizshayne
A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal

adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I can't tell if it was genuinely slow or took me over a week to read and therefore I experienced it as slow.
Today in "tea and heists, why didn't I like it?" books - 
I think some of it was the secret-keeping for plot purposes and I don't love when I notice that the third person close narration is inside a character's head but deliberately obscures information from the reader. If the reveal can't stand up to the narration, don't make it a reveal.
And some of it was trying to read in November 2024 so, like, who am I to adequately assess anything anyway ever?
Poor book; maybe if things had been different.