A review by annikaa
The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by India Holton

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

what I liked 
 
  • had some of my favourite tropes (fake dating, secret identities, rivals)
  • Alice was such a badass
  • Daniel was a badass with hidden softness (my weakness)
  • I really liked the neurodivergent (autism) representation
  • funny
  • very charming and witty writing style
  • I loved all the references to books as well as all the literary quotes (and misquotes)
  • the chapter titles were very innovative and I liked them a lot (they really added to the overall witty writing style)

what I didn’t like

  • a little hard to get into at first (probably due to the fact that I read the third book in the series first and that I haven’t really read any historical fiction yet. Also, as someone whose first language isn’t English, the writing style took a little while to get used to)
  • the middle part was dragging a bit (it wasn’t really much happening plot-wise)
  • the reveal that
    Dr. Snodgrass was the secret villain was no surprise to me (he was more of a caricature than a character)
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