A Steeping of Blood (Blood and Tea #2) by Hafsah Faizal

This second and final installment of Faizal's young adult duology emphasizes on the power of found family over blood ties; reveals chilling, ambitious, ruthless plans for creating a horde of vampires; and pushes characters to sacrifice for love.

The first installment in Hafsah Faizal's young adult Blood and Tea series offered intriguing secrets, a swirling mystery, terrible betrayal, heartwarming found family, steady action, and vampires. That book ended with the city reeling from a night of death and destruction.

In this second and final book in the duology, grieving Arthie Casimir and her makeshift gang--Flick, Jin, and vampire leader Laith--are eager to upend Flick's mother's political stronghold and to set things to rights, achieving some justice.

All sorts of dastardly plots are pursued, thwarted, renewed, and destroyed; terrifying torture and threats are acted upon; family ties are no match for the found-family bonds between friends; political machinations are upended; and some characters are prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to save the others.

An aspect of the story that comes into play in various forms is a revised understanding of the Other (vampires), pushing those who fear and assume that vampires are only about destruction to accept that they actually live nuanced, valuable, layered existences and illustrate a deep ability to care, fight for what's right, control themselves, and act nobly.

I didn't love this installment quite as much as book one, but Faizal keeps the pace moving and progresses the bonds and affection between the main protagonists. The vampire element is expanded and the cutthroat plans for and potential power of an unleashed vampire horde looms over all.

I listened to this novel as an audiobook.

More from Hafsah Faizal

For my review of the first book in this series, please see A Tempest of Tea.

Faizal is also the author of We Hunt the Flame.