Alchemy and A Cup of Tea by Rebecca Thorne by Rebecca Thorne

Book Review

Melody Bowles

Alchemy and A Cup of Tea is the final installment in Rebecca Thorne’s Tomes and Tea series. It’s not a good one to read as a standalone, especially as it picks up from the cliffhanger ending of the last book, Tea You At The Altar. I’d recommend starting from the beginning of the series, Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea to get the best reading experience.

For fans of previous installments, Alchemy and A Cup of Tea delivers more of the same. Reyna and Kianthe are back to lead with chapters alternating their perspectives. They are a sapphic couple who engage in punnery while blithely taking down monarchs, taming dragons and withstanding kidnappings.

As mentioned in other reviews, despite being billed as cosy, these books have high stakes. In this book, there is a mystery alchemist experimenting with magic-draining spells. They attack Reyna, Kianthe’s Stone of Seeing and the dragons.

This plot is much less interesting than the characters’ home town of Tawney being inundated with more tourists than it can handle. This leads to really emotionally poignant moments where Kianthe and Reyna have to reckon with what their fame and non-stop badassery means for the world around them. I wish this could have been explored more. The alchemy plot had potential, but a lot of the interesting parts seemed to be skipped over – the alchemy tournament, for example, or the life sacrifices needed to use alchemy in the first place.

There are no real surprises in the series finale, but everything is wrapped up nicely. I really enjoyed Reyna and Kinathe’s journey and found myself entertained and charmed by the humour and heart in each of the books. While I did not enjoy this one as much as Tea You At The Altar, it was still a solid, fun read. Amid the constant relationship strife of other books, it’s nice to read about a couple who go the distance for each other, even after the initial romance has concluded. It’s especially nice to get a wholesome sapphic romance as well. The books aren’t perfect, but the characters are so damn lovable.

After Reyna and Kianthe’s story concludes, there is a short epilogue about Serrina and Bobbie for those who enjoyed A Pirate’s Life For Tea. It feels a little out of place, but nice for fans of those characters.

Read the Tomes and Tea series if you’d like a cosy, entertaining fantasy filled with warm vibes, kind characters, positivity and an unshakeable belief in true love.