Part Six of Crows, part Oliver Twist, part gaslamp fantasy, part vampire fiction, a tiny touch of Camelot, and a hefty dollop of “British colonialism sucked for everyone not British” (except with fictional country names), this novel was absolutely amazing. As complex, deep, and beautiful as any lovely tea blend described in the book, I was swept away from the first page and loathed coming for air at all until I was finished. 

Arthie plays the role of the Artful Dodger of a teahouse named Spindrift: they serve lovely tea blends by day and let beds by night. What Arthie and Spindrift collect best is secrets. Secrets let Arthie and her best friend, Jin, buy a whole lot that actual money can’t. Secrets aren’t going to keep Spindrift safe when the crown comes for the building, though, and a member of the guard with a secret agenda comes to Arthie with an offer she can’t refuse because with one heist she can save Spindrift and blackmail the crown. 

I loved everything about this book, and I do mean everything. Hafsal Faizal is a wonderful storyteller who weaves real history with alternative history, spinning fantasy with the paranormal, and does it all with a breathtaking writing style most authors could only hope to imitate. Her prose is elegant without being precocious and philosophical without being pedantic. The world building is thorough and the imagery is glittering. 

The characters are delightful, diverse, and multi-faceted. There’s cunning and pensive Arthie, elegant and gregarious Jin, naive and lonely Flick, rakish and manipulative Matteo, even the enigmatic and beguiling Laithe. A crew of misfits, led by Arthie, to a thunderclap end. It’s a cliffhanger, of sorts, and I can’t wait to read the next one. 

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.