Hafsah Faizal Explores 'Steamy' Romance in the Sequel to “A Tempest of Tea” — See the Cover (Exclusive)

Hafsah Faizal’s hotly anticipated sequel to her #1 New York Times bestseller A Tempest of Tea will hit shelves later this year.

The second and final installment in the duology, A Steeping of Blood, will come out on Sept. 23 — and PEOPLE can exclusively debut its cover.

"White Roaring is sharpening its fangs after the deadly night that left the city in shambles," the official synopsis reads. "The press are dead, the public calls for justice, vampires are in danger and amid the turmoil, the Ram announces a celebration."

The "twisty and seductive" new book finds criminal mastermind Arthie Casimir facing new challenges as she reassembles her team for another fight.

"Still reeling from the bloodshed, Arthie Casimir has no time to mourn the death of anyone, let alone her own," the description continues. "She has no time for love, either, but it had saved her life. As Arthie navigates new emotions and new allies, she must reassemble her scrambled crew and scrape what little they have left to fight one last time — and she will need to face the ghosts of her past to do it."

Faizal, a Forbes "30 Under 30" honoree, tells PEOPLE in an exclusive statement that the sequel will expose “a completely different side” of Arthie and even some romance.

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"She's buried so much of herself away, and exploring that vulnerable side of her was a treat — from struggling to mend the broken ties with her brother and reckoning with her past on Ceylan, to diving deep into a relationship that turns steamy fast," Faizal explains. "I can't wait for readers to see how her and the crew's story ends!"

A Tempest of Tea debuted in 2024 and introduced Arthie as she attempted to infiltrate the vampire society after her life was threatened.

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In December 2024, Faizal opened up about challenges she faced while writing the sequel in an Instagram post that included a peek into her process.

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"I couldn’t really see the light at the end of the tunnel with this book," she wrote in the caption. "There were a great many moving pieces, I could not see the forest for the trees, and I was certain I would need far more time for everything to come together. I barely slept, my editors worked late hours and long weekends, we were all heated and worried as the deadlines crunched tighter and tighter, and no one is more surprised than I am to say it came together in the end, and quite nicely at that."

A Steeping of Blood will be released on Sept. 23 and is available for preorder now, wherever books are sold.

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