Bingo 10: Migrant
More than one important character in A Tempest of Tea appears to have migrated due to war/colonization/etc. to the main location of White Roaring, Ettenia. The effects of colonial violence is a actually a theme in the story, so here it is in the corner top square.
I figured that a story featuring a street-wise crook (that’s Artie) and her crew, vampires, and political tensions might get a little dark, but yikes, both to the violence and the suggestions for the sequel. Especially towards the final quarter or so when a lot of big reveals and twists start going on. The marketing made comparisons to Six of Crows (if you like X, then you’ll this) and that’s visible, but honestly, Six of Crows is better. Part of the problem with Tempest of Tea is that it takes so very long for the planning to happen, and then the heist etc. feels a little rushed, especially the aftermath and secondary plot that follows.
It’s kind of too bad, because some of the characters have promise, as does the general world of the story. Some of the relationships don’t make a ton of sense, such as Artie and Laith’s tension/hate/something else. There’s no clear reason for the attraction, other than being on opposing teams, but teaming up and seeing some sort of common backstory/experience that is not terribly well defined. Jin and Artie’s found family thing, and Jin and Flick at least make some more sense, especially because we get more development or background with those connections.
The end is also a little aggravating because it ends up with about half a dozen cliffhangers, some of which you could see coming. The more open-ended ones, especially with the White Wolf, are a little hard to care about because even though they do want answering, the set up wasn’t based on enough information for me to care all that much. Then again, I might need to find the sequel to see if the coconut thing is really going to be a thing.