I was very intrigued by Tempest of Tea from the first look I read through BookishFirst. I won a copy of the book from the publisher and read it almost immediately once I got it in the mail. The whole premise of a tea shop being a blood house at night excited me. Plus I LOVE vampires. And books with maps for the world they are immersing us in.
The book is a little slow because the set up takes time but it's worth it, I promise. The setting felt a lot like a Victorian era or steampunk and I was fully invested. My favorite line from the book is "Every good love story starts with a bullet to the heart." I'm sure I'm not alone in that regard. That line alone is responsible for so much foreshadowing in the book.
I did find Arthie a little hard to connect to but by the end of the book that feeling was resolved for me.
The last 100 pages are so worth the buildup the rest of the book takes to set up that action. So if you feel bogged down, keep going!
The book is a little slow because the set up takes time but it's worth it, I promise. The setting felt a lot like a Victorian era or steampunk and I was fully invested. My favorite line from the book is "Every good love story starts with a bullet to the heart." I'm sure I'm not alone in that regard. That line alone is responsible for so much foreshadowing in the book.
I did find Arthie a little hard to connect to but by the end of the book that feeling was resolved for me.
The last 100 pages are so worth the buildup the rest of the book takes to set up that action. So if you feel bogged down, keep going!