November 2025 Recap

 

Blog Posts:

• A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal: A Review
• A Steeping of Blood by Hafsah Faizal: A Review
• Monstrous Nights by Genoveva Dimova: A Review
• The Incredible Kindness of Paper by Evelyn Skye: A Review
• Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan: A Review
• The Devouring Light by Kat Ellis: A Review
• Huda F Wants to Know? by Huda Fahmy: A Graphic Novel Review
• The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar: A Review

Read:

1. The Creeping Shadow by Jonathan Stroud (audio)(owned)
2. The Dragon and the Sun Lotus by Amelie Wen Zhao*
3. Costumes for Time Travelers by AR Capetta
4. Storybook Ending by Moira McDonald
5. Get Real, Chloe Torres by Crystal Maldonado
6. The Devouring Light by Kat Ellis
7. The Empty Grave by Jonathan Stroud (audio)(owned)
8. Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz (owned)

Project Zero TBR:

TBR at the start of the month: 159
TBR at the end of the month: 146

Owned books at the start of the month: 398
Owned books at the end of month: 399

TBR at the start of 2025: 172
Owned books at the start of 2025: 378
(Find more details on @princesschapters‘ Instagram.)
I’ll be marking owned books above to keep myself honest although I won’t be tracking books I give away. I’ll also be posting a monthly to read stack over on Instagram.

Diverse Baseline Challenge:

Total read: 2
Read at least 3 books by BIPOC authors read in the month (indicated by * above)
Adapted from a challenge (including more specific monthly prompts) on Instagram thanks to @bookish.millennial and @themargherita.s.

How My Month Went:

If you’ve been following along with my GoFundMe updates you already know that October was a big month. My mom came home on October 6. This was two days early and technically against medical advice because the rehab center no longer felt safe. (A patient with dementia wandered into Mom’s room in the night and was touching her and going through her stuff–all very bad but fortunately did not escalate beyond that.) Because she left early Mom didn’t get any of the promised services or support and I had to spend a full week tracking down her new prescriptions but we got there in the end.

Mom is doing greaat at home. Bella is so happy to have both of us in the same place again. I’m relieved to have things going back to normal. We’ve been slowly getting back into a routine and figuring things out. One step at a time, as I keep saying to anyone who will listen. Mom is getting stronger every day and getting around the apartment well when I’m at work. Financial stuff is also coming together although work continues to be a joy finding new and unexpected ways to trip me up with pay and/or time accruals. Things still feel hard but truly we are in a much better position now and I just need to keep reminding myself of that.

The end of this month was a bit of a rollercoaster. Mom and I both had a terrible cold for a lot of the month that really knocked us out. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving after some time off that consisted of a lot of napping, we went to Macy’s to check out their Holiday Lane section and to find a new remote controlled recliner for my mom. We had a great time and found a chair that is working really well. Then on Thanksgiving my mom had an allergic reaction to one of the prepared sides we bought to save me some time and energy for cooking which made mom throw up (which made me throw up) and obviously ruined the dinner. My mom celebrated her 78th birthday over the weekend which was really nice and included a cake and big 7 and 8 candles.

Trying to end the year on an up note with more holiday plans, good vibes, and catching up on reading and blogging. We’ll see how it goes *heart*

You can read more about how this year has been going for me (and my mom) here: gofund.me/emma-tool-28jul

You can also see my recap from last month.

The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar: A Review

“Oh what is stronger than a death? Two sisters singing with one breath.”

The River Liss runs north to south, and its waters brim with grammar. Not the grammar you might think of today while looking in a schoolbook. The River Liss and this story come from a time when grammer was wilder. When it shifted and created new forms from old. After all what is magic but a change in the world, what is a conjugation but a way to change one thing into another?

In the town of Thistleford, just outside of Faerie, the residents are very familiar with this wilder grammar. None more so than the Hawthorn family who have used their voices to tend to enchanted willows for generations, thanking the old trees for their grammar and their magic.

Sisters Esther and Ysabel love tending the trees as much as they love each other. Neither sister sees a future apart until Esther rejects an aggressive suitor in Thistleford and finds a lover who would take her away to Faerie until fate has other plans in The River Has Roots (2025) by Amal El-Mohtar.

Find it on Bookshop.

The River Has Roots is El-Mohtar’s solo debut. (Readers might recognize her name from the blockbuster This is How You Lose the Time War which she co-wrote with Max Gladstone.)

El-Mohtar inventively explores language in this standalone novella and its included songs as well as in the world building itself. The audiobook features music performed by the author and her sister, Dounya El-Mohtar with Amal and Dounya on harp, flute, and vocals; and songs sung by the narrator, Gem Carmella who brings all of the characters to life with her vivid reading.

Lyrical prose and bonds that transcend death elevate this story. The River Has Roots is poingnant and distinct, fitting perfectly alongside classic fairytales and modern sapphic fantasies.

Possible Pairings: The Changeling Queen by Kimberly Bea, The Fair Folk by Su Bristow, The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister, Faebound by Saara El-Arifi, One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig, The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow, The Seven Miracles of Beatrix Holland by Rachael Herron, The Hanging City by Charlie N. Holmberg, The Bone Roots by Gabriella Houston, The Bloodless Queen by Joshua Phillip Johnson, Spellbound by Georgia Leighton, A Far Better Thing by HG Parry, Beasts of Carnaval by Rosalia Rodrigo, We Shall Be Monsters by Alyssa Wees

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher in print and through Libro.fm*

Huda F Wants to Know? by Huda Fahmy: A Graphic Novel Review

“We need to allow ourselves time to grieve and realize that grief is actually a manifestation of something really beautiful. / It’s a manifestation of the fact that we have love, but we don’t have a place to put it.”

Egyptian American Huda Fahmy has big plans for her junior year of high school. She’s going to join all the clubs and volunteer at all the places to figure out what she might want to major in for college. She’s going to do great at the ACTs and write a killer essay for her scholarship applications and generally ace the college search and application process.

Except then her mom and dad tell the family that they’re getting a divorce. The news shakes all of her sisters but Huda doesn’t understand how the rest of them can act like everything will be okay. Huda is wrecked and haunted by questions about what the divorce will mean for the family, for their place in their Muslim community, and for the future.

After years of life seeming comfortably predictable, Huda feels unmoored and angry. With everything in flux including her usually good grades and her relationship with her best friend, Huda isn’t sure how to get back to the normal, predictable life she took for granted in Huda F Wants to Know? (2025) by Huda Fahmy.

Find it on Bookshop.

Fahmy continues her fictionalized memoir series in this third installment. Partially inspired by her own family and experiences this volume tackles the aftermath of news that Huda’s parents are divorcing and can easily be read on its own. Start at the beginning with Huda F Are You? (read my review) and Huda F Cares? (read my review) to read Huda’s journey from the beginning.

Fahmy’s deceptively simple art style takes Huda’s complex feelings and makes them approachable to readers. An author’s note and mental health resources at the end further contextualize Huda’s journey throughout the story. Huda F Wants to Know? manages to be self-referential and also self-aware with Huda occassionaly breaking the fourth wall to directly address readers and also reluctantly acknowledging that she might be part of the problem (or the drama, as seen on the cover). Huda continues to be visibly and happily Muslim worrying that the divorce will ruin her own marriage prospects. (Astute readers will even notice an Easter Egg nod to her husband.)

This installment dismantles many of the stigmas and stereotypes around seeking help through therapy when struggling with mental health showing that it aligns with Huda’s Muslim faith and, of course, is incredibly helpful as she deals with all of her big feelings. The quote at the start of this review and, in general, how Fahmy describes grief and loss is revelatory in the way it reframes these emotions that often feel (and are often portrayed) as being solely negative. Things are far from resolved for Huda by the end of this book because families don’t have closure like that. But readers will leave with the sense that everything will be all right for Huda in the end because even if she doesn’t always believe it, she does have support and thanks to her journey in this story she now knows how to ask for it.

Huda F Wants to Know? is another sensational installment in one of my favorite series. Highly recommended.

Possible Pairings: Perfectly Parvin by Olivia Abtahi, Saints and Misfits by SK Ali, Awkward by Svetlana Chmakova, Does My Body Offend You? by Mayra Cuevas and Marie Marquardt, All-American Muslim Girl by Nadine Jolie Courtney, Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han, Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob, Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram, Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian, Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina, Check, Please! by Ngozi Ukazu

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*

The Devouring Light by Kat Ellis: A Review

Haden Romero has had something to prove since she was thrown off Little Stars USA a week before finals four years ago. She knows she has the talent but as her mother loves to remind Haden, talent only takes you so far. What Haden really needs is a clean start without her (unfair) reputation as a difficult child talent chasing her.

Which is why it’s so important that Haden and Kizi, her bandmate and best friend, get to the Rock-o-Lantern music festival without incident. Their spot is terrible, they only have a thirty minute slot for sound check, but it could be the springboard her band Phantomic needs to get to the next level.

The only problem is, like every other thing Haden tries to do, things keep going wrong.

Now Haden’s car is broken down in the middle of nowhere and she and Kizi are hitching a ride on Rex Mori’s tour bus. Alongside Deacon Rex, Haden’s longtime rival and the reason she got her bad reputation. Even worse, Rex Mori’s new drummer is Cairo Martin–Haden’s ex girlfriend, former friend, and ex bandmate.

Just when it seems like things can’t get any worse, the bus crashes and the group ends up stranded in a dangerous swamp where the only refuge is a decrepit house. As the body count rises, it becomes clear that something is very wrong in the house. But Haden isn’t sure if any of them will be able to stay alive long enough to figure out the full story in The Devouring Light (2025) by Kat Ellis.

Find it on Bookshop.

The Devouring Light is a hair-raising standalone horror novel. Readers should check the extensive content warning at the front of the book before reading and be especially aware of the body horror elements. The cast is cued as diverse via a variety of skin tones and surnames.

Ephemera throughout the novel including police interviews, news articles, and transcribed video flesh out the story while Haden’s first person narration becomes increasingly tense with a palpable sense of claustrophobia as the teens try to run through options to escape. The complex relationships between the teens add further dimension as Haden navigates her loaded friendship with Kizi as well as extremely complicated feelings toward both Rex and Cairo.

Ellis’ expert pacing and atmospheric descriptions set the scene for both Haden’s story and the decades old mystery surrounding the swamp. With genuine scares and increasingly tangible horror The Devouring Light is a bloody good time but definitely not for the faint of heart–read this one with the lights on.

Possible Pairings: The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert, Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare, Don’t Let the Forest In by CG Drews, Castle of the Cursed by Romina Garber, The Lies of Alma Blackwell by Amanda Glaze, Hollow by Taylor Grothe, White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson, Kill Creatures by Rory Power, The Cabin by Natasha Preston,  Harvest House by Cynthia Leitich Smith, She is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran, And the River Drags Her Down by Jihyun Yun

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*

Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan: A Review

The problem with dying is that Rae’s friends have moved on and even her family is slowly making peace with it. But Rae is still here waiting for the cancer to finish its cruel work. Rae missed out on all the typical high school experiences except for being dumped by her first boyfriend (he and Rae’s best friend really bonded over Rae’s illness). Now, at twenty, she’s realizing she won’t get a lot of the typical adult ones either.

Until a stranger walks into her hospital room with an impossible offer: Rae has a chance to step into her favorite book series in the body of the character most suited to her. She can leave behind the pain, the illness, and the death. All she has to do is find a magical flower in the book before time runs out.

Rae has discussed every detail of the Time of Iron books with her sister. She can recite the arc of her favorite character–the Once and Forever Emperor–by heart. Inserting herself into the series and bending it to her will should be easy.

The only problem is that Rae has been keeping a secret: She has never read the entire series. It’s not her fault that chemo made it hard to focus on the first book. And who would blame her for thinking the romantic subplots are much less exciting than the gory battles and bloody deaths?

Except as the characters in the book turn out to have their own desires and personalities, Rae realizes she might need more than a sketchy timeline of the series if she wants to make it through alive. Especially when she sees that she’s entered the story as one of its most notorious (and shortest lived) villainesses.

So be it. Villains always dress better and give better speeches anyway. But as she assembles the story’s villains to rally them to her cause and get her own way, Rae has the disturbing suspicion that her life isn’t the only thing at stake with each change of the plot. Rae is ready to embrace her villain era provided she can survive long enough in Long Live Evil (2024) by Sarah Rees Brennan.

Find it on Bookshop.

Long Live Evil is the first book in the Time of Iron series and the author’s adult fantasy debut. Shifting perspectives give readers a wide view of the story although most of the narration focuses on Rae’s point of view. Epigraphs at the start of each chapter present excerpts from the original Time of Iron series before Rae’s arrival begins to wreak havoc on multiple aspects of the plot.

This ambitious series starter operates on multiple levels with Rae manipulating and subverting fantasy tropes (“Boom. Holy prophecy.” anyone?) in her favor while also moving through still others in her own character arc. Entering the story as a villainess Rae is all too eager to lean into the opportunity to use her abundant feminine wiles. At the same time Rae also offers astute commentary questioning if a character who has been sexualized since she was fifteen–even in an epic high fantasy –ever truly has enough agency to make those kinds of decisions for herself.

What starts as jokingly urging the series’ villains to unionize under Rae’s banner (the better for Rae to get what she needs to escape the story) soon turns to seeds of actual revolution as all of the characters begin to chafe under the pressures of their prescribed roles. The nature of fandom adds a further element to the story as Rae’s own vague familiarity of the series brings lasting–and very dangerous–consequences to her own future and the rest of the world she’s entered.

High action and syncopated banter showcase Rees Brennan’s dynamic writing. These moments of levity contrast sharply with Rae’s intimate meditations on her illness and rapidly declining health as she is forced to decide repeatedly how far she’ll go in this fantasy world for a chance to live longer in her real one. To talk more about the characters Rae meets in Time of Iron is to risk spoilers but suffice to say readers will understand Rae’s obsession with the Emperor and the hype around the series by the end.

Long Live Evil is a deliciously fun fantasy and a stunning work of meta fiction. Come for the high level fantasy world building and characterization, stay for the feminist themes and humor that imbue both. Highly recommended.

Possible Pairings: The Witch Who Trades With Death by CM Alongi, The Empress by Kristin Cast, Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah S. Dawson, Mistress of Lies by KM Enright, The Deathless One by Emma Hamm, Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz, The Half King by Melissa Landers, The Scarlet Throne by Amy Leow, Assitant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer, Anji Kills a King by Evan Leikam, The Awakening by Caroline Peckham, Going Postal by Terry Pratchett, Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis, Starter Villain by John Scalzi, Fang Fiction by Kate Stayman-London, How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler

The Incredible Kindness of Paper by Evelyn Skye: A Review

“But still, she’d continued on, keeping her head above the surface in the dog paddle of adulthood, where you’re not really sure where you’re going and you’re making a mess doing it, but at least you haven’t drowned.”

In grade school Chloe Hanako Quinn and Oliver Jones are assigned to be pen pals. Chloe doesn’t know what to expect since she’s already used to other students, and even some adults, telling her that she can be too much. Chloe whispers all of her hopes and excitement for their new friendship into her first letter. And Oliver hears every one.

What starts as a school assignment blooms into a lasting friendship and then into something more. Until Oliver cuts off all contact, leaving Chloe heartbroken.

Twenty-five years later Chloe would be lying if she said she didn’t still wonder about Oliver sometimes. But she’s focused on her present where she loves working as a high school guidance counselor in New York City. Even if a lot of the time she feels like she’s surviving more than thriving as she struggles to afford rent on her apartment in Astoria and deal with her micromanager roommate while navigating a confusing situationship that may or may not be going somewhere.

Then Chloe loses her job and her tenuous grip on the fragile life she’s built for herself. With no job prospects and a dwindling supply of hope, Chloe does what she used to do for her students: folds some words of encouragement into a cheerful yellow origami rose. What starts as a distraction quickly takes on a life of its own when Chloe realizes her paper pep talk has gone astray and set her lonely neighbor on a new path in the process.

Unbeknowst to Chloe, Oliver is only a subway ride away. Working as a financial analyst Oliver is grateful for his hardwon success and the monetary stability that comes with it. But he still always feels like he’s one step away from losing it all. Again. Just like he did as a teen when he had to abandon everything he cared about–including Chloe. Receiving a cheery note in an origami rose feels like rubbing salt on his already wounded heart. So much so that Oliver can’t help but angrily write back.

As his correspondence with the mysterious origami maker continues, Oliver wonders if after being closed off for so long, he knows how to open up again–even for something as important as another chance with Chloe.

As the origami roses spread throughout the city, Chloe has the chance to touch more lives than she could have imagined trying to spread encouragement and positivity one flower at a time and maybe even mend one old relationship along the way in The Incredible Kindness of Paper (2025) by Evelyn Skye.

Find it on Bookshop.

The Incredible Kindness of Paper is a standalone contemporary novel with hints of fabulism thrown in with Chloe’s magical roses. The story primarily focuses on Chloe’s point of view but as the roses start moving throughout the city Skye incorporates other perspectives to show the roses’ impact and underscore that Cloe and Oliver have never been as far apart as either of them thought.

At a time when it can be so easy to connect digitally through misleading social media highlights, The Incredible Kindness of Paper reminds us how vital–and ultimately satisfying–it is to forge real connections. Sweet romance and unfailing optimism make The Incredible Kindness of Paper a joy to read and a powerful reminder that a little extra kindness rarely costs anything and almost always leaves a lasting mark. Highly recommended.

Possible Pairings: The Year of Second Chances by Lara Avery, The Summer of Songbirds by Kristy Woodson Harvey, Storybook Ending by Moira Macdonald, Where the Creek Bends by Linda Lael Miller, The Book Club Hotel by Sarah Morgan, The Little Venice Bookshop by Rebecca Raisin, Flores and Miss Paula by Melissa Rivero, This Spells Love by Kate Robb, Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell, Ordinary Love by Marie Rutkoski, Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle, Passion Project by London Sperry, The Last Sunrise by Anna Todd, What If I Never Get Over You by Paige Toon

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*

Monstrous Nights by Genoveva Dimova: A Review

“All magic had a price, and it never came cheap.”

After reclaiming her shadow, and her magic, Kosara is ready to resume her duties as one of Chernograd’s witches. But even though the monsters are gone and the wall that used to close off the city is open, things are far from normal for Kosara or the city she loves.

Stealing back her shadow from the Zmey, the Tsar of Monsters, has also left Kosara in possession of twelve other shadows–a shocking number even for a witch. Kosara is still getting used to having this much power at her disposal. And trying to figure out how to get the shadows to listen to her so that she can use any of said power.

Across the wall in Belograd, Asen has had an easier time returning to his old life as a police detective. Except that old life doesn’t fit as comfortably as it once did. When a series of unsolved murders prove to be targeting witches, Asen is unsurprised when he once again finds himself in Chernograd and on a collision course with Kosara.

After the crucible of fighting–and besting–the Zmey, working together should be the most natural thing in the world. But it isn’t, leaving both Asen and Kosara to wonder if the bond they forged was ever meant to last.

As winter loosens its hold on Chernograd, the city should be at its safest. But someone is still targeting witches and–even though the foul days are far behind them–the city’s monsters remain brazen and dangerous. It’s obvious that something has changed between the walled city of Chernograd and its neighbor Belograd but it will take all of Kosara’s witchy experience and all of Asen’s investigative skills to figure out how to protect both cities in Monstrous Nights (2024) by Genoveva Dimova.

Find it on Bookshop.

Monstrous Nights is the conclusion to The Witch’s Compendium of Monsters duology which began in Foul Days (read my review). The series is inspired by the author’s own Bulgarian heritage and Slavic mythology. You’ll find a copy of the Witch and Warlock Association’s Monster Pamphlet at the back of the book. The story alternates between Kosara and Asen’s perspectives.

Dimova makes excellent use of the duology structure in this series where the core plots stand on their own even while the books have ongoing conversations between them with the nature of the world building and characterization. After seeing Asen learn how to trust others and accept help in book one, readers see Kosara do the same in this series conclusion as the two protagonists work to heal the literal (magical) rift threatening to drive the two cities apart for good.

Kosara and Asen’s relationship continues to develop as the two introverted and curmudgeonly characters slowly acknowledge their mutual attraction and what, if anything, to do about it. Strong dialog and the distinct world make it easy to get lost in this story. The extended motif of choice–choosing to be a monster, choosing to help, choosing Chernograd–offers astute commentary on the need for community building and, crucially, finding common ground when it’s all too easy to other and fear that which is unknown.

Monstrous Nights is a gripping story in its own right and a deeply satisfying conclusion to a clever (and witchy) duology. Highly recommended.

Possible Pairings: Chasing Embers by James Bennett, One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig, Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong, The Gilded Crown by Marianna Gordon, The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong, The Bone Orchard by Sara A. Mueller, Sabriel by Garth Nix, Little Thieves by Margaret Owen, Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter, A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid, When Among Crows by Veronica Roth, The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers, Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne, Malice by Heather Walter

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*

A Steeping of Blood by Hafsah Faizal: A Review

A more condensed version of this review originally appeared in the article “19 YA Series That Are Bursting with Emotion” for School Library Journal:

Arthie Casimir’s crew is in shambles. Her chosen brother Jin doesn’t trust her. Flick is in hiding with the only leverage the crew has against their most powerful enemy yet.

Then there’s the fact that Arthie and Jin are full vampires.

If their last (failed) con unified the group as a crew, trying to get justice against the Ram will cement their bonds in A Steeping of Blood (2025) by Hafsah Faizal.

Find it on Bookshop.

A Steeping of Blood is the conclusion to Faizal’s Blood and Tea duology which begins in A Tempest of Tea (read my review). Chapters once again alternate between the close third person perspectives of Arthie, Jin, and Flick. The story starts moments after book one so be sure to have those events fresh before picking up this volume.

The book’s dedication to colonialism (“you suck”) telegraphs the incredibly relevant if sometimes heavy-handed messaging of the series. Lush prose and lengthy descriptions set the scene and continue to expand the world of White Roaring particulary in regards to its vampire population.

While some twists are heavily broadcast and the romance (for Arthie) feels underwhelming, Faizal’s vibrant characterizations make this a series worth following.

A Steeping of Blood is a satisfying conclusion to an intricately built series.  

Possible Pairings: Nightbirds by Kate J. Armstrong, Dauntless by Elisa A. Bonin, Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli, Spice Road by Maya Ibrahim, Fateless by Julie Kagawa, The Last Bloodcarver by Vanessa Le, Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim, A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin, Nightbreaker by Coco Ma, Off With Their Heads by Zoe Hana Mikuta, Sisters of the Snake by Sarena and Sasha Nanua, Echoes and Empires by Morgan Rhodes, Steel and Spellfire by Laura E. Weymouth, Zodiac Rising by Katie Zhao

A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal: A Review

Forced to flee her home country as a child, Arthie Casimir has carved a place for herself in White Roaring through cunning and spite.

By day she and her adoptive brother Jin run a formal teahouse that draws the scions of the city. By night Spindrift transforms into a bloodhouse–an illegal den catering to vampires and doing a health side trade in secrets and blackmail.

It’s not an easy business but Arthie didn’t expect it would be easy to build an empire to better exact revenge on her enemies.

When the Spindrift is threatened Arthie agrees to take on a dangerous job for an unlikely employer to save it. With help from a crew including her brother and Flick, a forger with secrets of her own, Arthie should have everything she needs. But anyone who’s ever dealt in secrets knows that you have to expect the unexpected in A Tempest of Tea (2024) by Hafsah Faizal.

Find it on Bookshop.

A Tempest of Tea is the first book in the Blood and Tea duology set in the same world as the author’s debut We Hunt the Flame. The world is realistically diverse with colonialism being as much of an adversary for Arthie and her crew as any of Arthie’s numerous enemies or the antagonist of the novel. Chapters alternate between Arthie, Jin, and Flick’s points of view. Written in close third person the characters still feel at a remove and the perspectives sometimes blend together.

Faizal’s lush prose paints a beautiful picture of White Roaring, especially the little teahouse Arthie and Jin have built into a second home. The world building to situate White Roaring is less detailed in comparison, particulary with the obvious nods to Arthurian legend (while it is a ruse completed with much surveillance and planning Arthie literally pulls a revolver known as Caliobore out of a stone while building her reputation) that never lead anywhere.

Heavily broadcast plot twists and lackluster romances add to the story even if they don’t enhance the characterization. The story is at its best when Faizal explores the relationship between Arthie and Jin, highlighting the beauty of chosen family as well as their top notch banter.

A Tempest of Tea is an engaging heist story centering characters familiar with having to fight for their place at the proverbial table.

Possible Pairings: Nightbirds by Kate J. Armstrong, Dauntless by Elisa A. Bonin, Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli, Spice Road by Maya Ibrahim, Fateless by Julie Kagawa, The Last Bloodcarver by Vanessa Le, Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim, A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin, Nightbreaker by Coco Ma, Off With Their Heads by Zoe Hana Mikuta, Sisters of the Snake by Sarena and Sasha Nanua, Echoes and Empires by Morgan Rhodes, Steel and Spellfire by Laura E. Weymouth, Zodiac Rising by Katie Zhao