A Steeping of Blood is the second and final adventure in the Blood And Tea duology.
The story follows Arthie Casimir as she and her friends plot to take down the Ram: leader of the EJC, who is responsible for tearing apart Arthie’s family and business. Thank you so much to NetGalley for the e-arc, sorry this review is so late. Now before I get into the review, here’s the Publisher synopsis for a more comprehensive look at what this book is about. (This will contain minor spoilers for book one)
Synopsis:
Arthie Casimir has 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 is calling 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 anyone’s death, let alone her own. She has no time for love, either, even though it saved her life. As Arthie navigates new emotions and new allies, she must reassemble her scrambled crew and scrape together 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 New York Times bestseller A Tempest of Tea, Hafsah Faizal crafts a deliciously twisty and seductive sequel that will leave readers breathless until the very last page.
Rateing(Of 5):
4.89 the only reason I’m not giving it the full five stars is that the ending felt slightly forced/hurried as though there was more that could have happened to give a better closure. But over all a lovely book and an incredibly well done finale.
Characters:
Where to begin? This cast is one of my favourites! They have so much depth as people, are well crafted in terms of motivation and drive. You feel for them when the situation gets tight, most importantly for me is that they’re flawed and fine with it, which always makes things interesting.
As a whole this group of characters feel dynamic, they are a motley crew but all to fit together with very little effort. If you’re a fan of the found family dynamics in Six Of Crows I would say this is similar and slightly more lighthearted.
Romance:
Hafsah is an absolute wizard with romance. The delicate balance of swoon worthy dialogue and longing internal monologue is done so well. I can say the number of times she has me falling over myself based purely on the way two characters looked at each other, is a little obscene.
I think in particular I love the way she allows the characters to be comfortable in their own selves, letting expression of sexuality be a thing that is beautiful, while not overshadow the plot. Blending the coming of age stories, with the high stakes of a heist and vampires is truly a pleasure to experience.
Plot & Writing:
The writing in these books is beautiful and at times almost lyrical which I adore. Regardless of this the books themselves make for or fast paced and effortlessly understood reading.
The witty dialogue and dark humour cuts the more serious political aspects into digestible bits while not letting them go unrecognised and giving you the information in a way that resonates in a profound way.
What you get in the end is an undoubtedly well crafted story full of heart, family, first love, and just the right dose of F the system.
The plot is pretty much a carry though from book one, not much changes in terms of end goal. There are a few big plot twists and you learn a little more about the vampires and why the Ram is so interested in them. The resolution feels a little hurried, while it does the job of mostly wrapping the story up, I feel the end is lacking in places. I can’t say too much for fear of spoiling but needless to say, there will be one insane journey coming your way.
So have your tissues ready.
