Tea You at the Altar is the third book in the Tomes & Tea cozy fantasy series, and it follows Kianthe and Reyna as they plan their wedding… and possibly a coup. (This review contains spoilers for books one and two.)
I really enjoyed Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea, but I thought the second book faltered. While the first book was mostly cozy with a few dramatic scenes, A Pirate’s Life for Tea felt like a series of slow speed boat chases—neither cozy nor exciting. It also didn’t help that Kianthe and Reyna were separated for a lot of the story. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book, but I’m happy to say it returned to a lot of what I liked best in Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea.
Because the plot revolves around planning the wedding and its accompanying political confrontation, there’s a bit of a countdown element, which is fun. It also is a great balance between coziness and epic fantasy: there’s tablecloth colours to pick and allies to persuade.
Similarly, at the same time that Reyna and her allies are trying to decide on a replacement government, she’s also trying to win over her parents-in-law. Kianthe’s parents planned for her to marry a man. They always expected her to end up with her childhood best friend. After being estranged during her magic education, they unexpectedly show up prior to the wedding—with her childhood best friend in tow.
Reyna is initially surprised and even amused, especially because “Female pairings are always preferred in the Queendom.” Still, being rejected and seen as inferior by her in-laws is painful, and trying to win them over and help to repair their relationship with Kianthe adds a whole layer of complexity to an already overwhelming endeavor.
Another fun aspect of the wedding is that it brings together characters from the previous books in a new setting. There’s Bobbie and Serina, of course, who played a major role in A Pirate’s Life for Tea and still haven’t totally settled into their new relationship, often resorting to bickering like they did as kids. There’s also the Dastardly Pirate Dreggs, who is a fun addition.
The lost princess Tessalyn along with her bodyguard are the new additions to this growing cast, and I really liked them. Tessalyn is coded as asexual and aromantic. She also grew up in a culture that values academics above all else, so she brings a different perspective. I appreciated her strength in her own convictions and independence, regardless of pressure from others.
The subplot I found most interesting was Reyna’s questioning of her faith. Until recently, she lived in the Queendom, where its citizens worship a pantheon of gods. Kianthe, like most non-Queendom people, worships the Stars and Stone that she draws her magic from. As Reyna questions more of what she was taught, she also begins to doubt the gods—but there is so much else going on, she doesn’t have much time to think about theology. What comes out of this helps add to the worldbuilding.
I will say that sometimes the cozy and high stakes elements clash a bit and end up with something like a Disney movie villain confrontation, but I think that’s okay. It may be a little overly neat, but you’re not going to cozy fantasy for realism. I also want to warn that this volume ends on a cliffhanger, but we’ll be getting the last book in the series in August.
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