This was a fun little read. Fast paced with an endearing and diverse ensemble of characters. The setting is a fantasy world that bears a strong resemblance to 19th century Britain. There is a backdrop of colonialism, with characters from colonized lands resembling South Asian and Middle East or North African countries. A few characters also seem to come from East Asian-like cultures. Oh and there are also vampires.

FMC Arthie is the leader of a gang of sorts that runs a tea house / blood salon. When the existence of the tea house is threatened, Arthie and the gang plan a heist to protect it. Hijinks ensue.

The story is told mainly from three POVs - Arthie and her chosen brother Jin, as well as relative newcomer Flick. Arthie is that brash character that is always multiple steps ahead of everyone around her, a fun gender bend on characters like Kaz Brekker and Tommy Shelby. Jin has been a team with Arthie since they were small kids and his roguish flirtations are only outdone by his engineering prowess. Flick, or Felicity, is a relative newcomer to the group, and her naïveté is what allows us to learn about the world. Which makes the world  building pretty effortless. The cast is rounded out with Laith and his kitten and Matteo, the vampire with an artist’s soul. Each of these characters has complicated relationships to their parents or the absence of parents. And they find in one another a chosen family. 

From time to time the writing is a little clunky or overwrought. In particular, some of the male characters have dialogue that is, for me, a Gen X woman, a little cringe. But  younger audiences may not find it so. It reminded me a little bit of some anime heroes, who are arrogant and brash, and speak in a weirdly poetic, but almost nonsensical way sometimes. Where their use of language sounds pretty or dramatic, but doesn’t quite add up (which honestly may be stemming from translations from Japanese into English; but then becomes a way of scripting, even in English, that aligns with what people perceive as the anime style? I’m not sure I’m making sense. My intention is not to besmirch anime. It just often isn’t for me.)

There is a bit of a love triangle. There is some swooniness and lots of pining. I would give it two sparkly pink hearts. The action and heist are way more of the focus and any romance is a backdrop. 💖💖

As my description up until this point might suggest, there is loads of racial diversity. One of the characters seems to be bi. And we see a range of class positions.

The book is the first part of a duology and ends on a pretty big cliffhanger. There were multiple ways the plot surprised me. 

All in all, it was lots of fun. A solid, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 and 💖💖. I will definitely read the next one.