Tea You At The Altar by Rebecca Thorne

Book Review

Melody Bowles

Tea You At The Altar is the third and penultimate entry in Rebecca Thorne’s Tomes and Tea series. The last entry, A Pirate’s Life For Tea, was an enjoyable but somewhat muddled novel about Robin Hood-style pirates. This book shifts the focus back to central couple Kianthe and Reyna and is much stronger for it.

Kianthe and Reyna are trying to leave a peaceful life in the small town of Tawney when they are rudely interrupted by one of Reyna’s former colleagues, a Queensguard and spy. He wants them to help him coup Queen Tilaine, who they both resent for interfering in their relationship. So the pair duly plan their wedding, a large and extravagant affair the Queen won’t be able to resist crashing. They also invite a scrum of pirates and lords, as well as secret royal Tessa, in order to overthrow the unfortunate queen. Kianthe’s parents turn up too, adding some more personal stakes in the mix.

As plots go, it is utterly silly. But it is so much fun. From winning over the classic dissatisfied in-laws to the fantasy board game bachelorette party, every scene is full of humour and heart. Kianthe and Reyna’s silly/serious dynamic means they bounce off each delightfully while also balancing the tone of the story.

I still have not read the first book, so I am perhaps missing a lot of the context as to why the cast loathe Queen Tilaine so much. Either way, she certainly gets a comeuppance. The climax of the novel manages to be ridiculous, tense and heartwarming all at once, largely thanks to a pair of adorably misbehaved baby dragons.

While the novel is cosy in tone, the characters’ actions affect the world on a deeper level and there is plenty of fantasy politicking throughout. The story also ends on a large cliffhanger, to be picked up in the series finale. As I said in my last review, there are higher stakes in this series than the average cosy fantasy novel.

Read Tea You At The Altar if you’d like an absurd jaunt to change the world filled with memorable characters and plenty of romance.