Sisters are so inconvenient, right? We’re always messing with your attempts to run an orderly, oppressive empire hostile to any religion except your own. Best to just ship us off to some quiet, out-of-the-way prison where we can languish until we decide to jump onto a pyre like a good girl. But, of course, there is always the possibility we will instead align ourselves with a plucky maidservant who has nascent powers granted by her culture’s nearly-exterminated religion, and then … well, that would be bad.

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri intrigued me because its description just felt so fresh. This is a fantasy novel about political intrigue and rebellion, but most of the main characters are women. Moreover, it takes place in a fairly limited number of locations, none of which are the capital of the empire. Throughout the story, Suri challenges our expectations of what it means to be revolutionary, and reminds us that the revolution is merely the beginning of any attempt to take back one’s land and culture. I received an e-ARC from NetGalley courtesy of Orbit.

The two principal characters are Malini, a Parijati princess, and Priya, an Ahiranyan maidservant. Malini’s people have conquered several nations and turned them into vassals; Ahiranya itself is ruled by a Parijati regent who is sympathetic, in general, to the Ahiranyans—and he has married an Ahiranyan wife, who is our third main character—yet who nevertheless is willing to do “what’s necessary” to keep order. The entire political situation, as well as aspects of the different cultures, is loosely based on cultures located in what is now India. This departure from Eurocentric inspiration would by itself feel refreshing (not that Suri is unique in this, but it still isn’t common enough to feel common!). But it’s the dynamic between Malini and Priya, and the story that the two of them create together, that makes The Jasmine Throne stand out.

Malini has led a sheltered life, and it shows. Politically savvy, she wants to depose her brother, the Emperor Chandra, and replace him with her other brother, Aditya. Yet she has very little idea of how exigencies in life force people to desperation. This is a lesson she learns from Priya, a maidservant who was once something more, a child in training to be a priestess to the “Deathless Waters” of the Hirana, which just prior to the Parijati occupation were gifting children with powers that could have been, in the right (or wrong) hands, influential in the conflicts to come. This is what Ashok wants—like Priya, he grew up in the Hirana, and he wants to wield the powers of the waters against the occupying empire. But Ashok’s bar for “acceptable violence” is far lower.

There’s a lot that can be unpacked here. In particular, I want to focus on the ways in which each main character thinks change should be achieved. Malini wants to build an overwhelming military force to challenge the sitting emperor. Priya initially has very few ambitions for Ahiranya; she is just trying to survive and only ends up drawn into this conflict as a matter of survival. Somewhere along the way, her spiritual experiences result in a shift of her perspective. But she always opposes the militancy of Ashok, who is nearly uncompromising in his belief that violent uprising is the only way to free Ahiranya, even if it means lots of innocent people will die. Finally, Bhumika is a mixture of the traits of these others. She has more of a taste of power, as the regent’s wife, yet she would also avoid bloodshed if possible. She is far more pragmatic at politics than Priya too. All of these characters are fighting, in one way or another, for liberation. But they also don’t always agree, and that makes for fascinating conversations and plenty of potential for betrayal.

It would be easy to carve up some of these attributes along male/female lines. This book definitely has themes related to smashing the patriarchy—the ending fairly certainly communicates this! Yet this is not as simple as “men = aggressive” and “women = collaborative.” There’s a lot of aggression pent up in Malini and many of the other female characters, whereas some of the men are chill and not all that aggressive. In this way, Suri challenges that patriarchy is about natural differences between how men and women interact. It is indeed a system propped up by cultural and social constructs. We see this even in the cultural differences between Malini and Priya.

One thing I wish we had more time to explore would be the religions and cultures in the book. We get a small amount of exposition around the nameless god, whose followers receive a ritual name that is actual a prophecy for them to fulfill. That’s a very cool concept. But it’s less clear to me what kind of fire deity Chandra worships. In comparison, we learn much more about the yaksa, the Hirana, and other important parts of Ahiranyan spirituality. However, overall I was left wanting more on that level. Priya’s transformations, this idea of “hollowing out,” hints at something larger on a spiritual/moral level. I wanted to understand the deep cultural divides and how they might have shaped someone like Chandra into a tyrant and left such a mark on Malini.

On the other hand, I enjoyed that we never visited the capital except in flashbacks. It’s cool how all this action is taking place on the edges of the empire, rebellion brewing from discontent and malcontents. Suri captures the way that sprawling dominions can be fractious and hard to fully control: even when you sound out representatives, those representatives often have a difficult time enforcing your will.

I’m loath to comment on the romantic subplot given my aromantic tendencies and how much I tend not to pay attention to these things. Basically, you’ve got a lovely women-loving-women love story here, and there is definitely some payoff near the end (but it is not, let me be clear, a happily-ever-after type of romance). If that’s your thing, this book will not disappoint on that level.

My final nitpick? This book felt very long as an ebook. I’m not sure that’s anything Suri has done here; I think long books in general feel longer on e-readers. However, I suspect that this book’s pacing is in general rather slow. Suri takes her time developing each character and bringing them together, and maybe in my impatience I was hoping that would happen faster.

All in all, I’m very glad I picked up The Jasmine Throne. Will I read the sequel? Not sure yet. But I heartily recommend this book for anyone who wants something different in their fantasy, who wants a romance between women, who wants a story that’s a little different.

🌻The Jasmine Throne🌻
By Tasha Suri

🙌7 reasons why you need to read #TheJasmineThrone 🙌
🌻Women in saris
🌻Morally-grey characters and sapphic leads!
🌻The food
🌻Traditional and religious beliefs
🌻The architecture (havelis, temples, pleasure houses etc!)
🌻THE WATERFALL WET SARI SCENE 👀
🌻Women rising against the patriarchy!🙌

The Jasmine Throne was in my most-anticipated releases of 2021 and I was so happy that I could participate in the blog tour! I was intrigued from the beginning and I have to say, I loved every bit of it! And so I also attempted to do a #booksasoutfits inspired by it!

The Jasmine Throne is set in a world much inspired by medieval India and along with the author’s spellbinding imagination and writing, the end product was a novel I was not going to forget anytime soon!
We follow the two protagonists Malini, an exiled princess of the kingdom, and Priya, a maidservant who is tasked to take care of her. But not all is as it seems. Behind the now drug-addled mind of Malini, there was once a sharp wit and Priya was once a temple child.
Apart from them, there are a host of other characters – princes, rebels, lords, and ladies, all of whom play various major and minor roles in the culmination of this story.

I especially love how the author included myths and legends from our own stories and alluded to them often in the book. It was like coming across Easter Eggs that really made me, as an Indian person, feel represented and alive! The world-building was definitely one of the best points about the book, if not the best. I loved how an entire nation was conjured up by Tasha Suri’s imagination and was given life to. The romance was thrillingly slow-burn and it kept me on the edge of my seat. From princess/maid dynamics to allies to lovers, it was a long ride and I was rooting from them throughout.

🛕
I received an ARC of this book from the @orbitbooks and @caffeinebooktours as part of my participation in their tour. #JasmineThroneTour #CaffeineBookTours

The Jasmine Throne really raises the bar for what epic fantasy should be especially as Sapphic Fantasy! This was my first Tasha Suri novel and I thought it was fantastic. Such powerful and deep female protagonists - if you are looking for something with a great cast of characters, a bold story and wonderful writing then this is for you.

An absolutely incredible start to a series that ultimately fizzled out. The world building here is honestly first rate....unfortunately that is all the author really managed to accomplish. While each volume in a series doesn't necessarily need to stand alone, it not only felt as if the author didn't try, the entire book reads like a prologue. There is no real climax here and every single page of the FIVE HUNDRED+ page manuscript is just building towards the next book.

Which is unfortunate because Suri's intricate world building, complex characters, and realistic, complicated relationships deserve a higher rating than the basic, bare minimum, snail's pace plot drags this book down too.

I am interested in reading the sequel, but find recommending this book a challenge until I see if the NEXT book is worth it.

The Jasmine Throne was an incredible high fantasy! I loved reading all the Indian names and characters in a YA Fantasy book like this. There was a lot of world building, and it’s a pretty complicated world too. There are lots of different groups of people, all working towards different political and humanitarian goals. There are oppressors and oppressed groups, and also fantasy elements, like the yaksa and temple children of Ahiranya, that make things a little more interesting and complicated!

This book is not a romance, but the way the sapphic romance weaves into the greater political plot of rebellion is quite interesting. It takes the self-hatred of internalized homophobia, the feeling of being a “monster,” and expands upon it. Tasha Suri recognizes that "being monstrous wasn't inherent... it was something placed upon you: a chain or poison, bled into you by unkind hands." Both Priya and Malini have desires that they are not allowed to want, by design of the society that they live in, whether it is power, magic, revenge, justice, or each other.

There are about ten different characters whose POVs are shown in this book, and personally I found that a bit confusing and hard to keep track of. I would have preferred it if it was just four POVs, and I found myself looking forward to only Malini and Priya’s POVs.

It was an enchanting first book and I am very excited to read the next one!!

This was an absolutely beautiful sapphic fantasy inspired by Indian mythology. It was long, and I did feel slightly detached at some points because of that, but I absolutely adored every character and the world building was wonderfully done.

It had lyrical writing that worked so well that I think even people who don't like lyrical writing would enjoy this.

I will definitely be continuing the series and hand-selling this title!

I loved this. The begining was pretty slow for me so I wasn't sure I'd love it, because we kept meeting new PoV characters and I'm not so used to that anymore. But after about the 40% mark I got in the rhythm of it and was just pausing to "oh this perfect" "this is so well done" "these characters are so good". The dynamic between Malini and Priya is so good. I can't wait to reread it so that I can fully appreciate the first bit where I was a little lost. Let me try to turn this squee into some sentences that make sense. (LE: yeah that didn't work out so well, this is a long ramble)

The World
It's a secondary medieval-tech level worId inspired by India. Most of the action takes place in a city at the edge of the Parijatdvipan Empire, and the Ahiranyi province has been recently captured and colonised, it's a sort of second class region in the empire and tension are running high on both sides. I loved how that conflict was explored from the royalty level, central power, local goverment and local people level. I saw Tasha Suri mention in an online thing that the setting is largely inspired by the Bollywood movies she grew up with, so it's not based on one specific time and place but closer to an "generic medieval Indian inspired" (my words).. She did do cool research on stuff like weapons and those are so much fun. I thought it was really great. I particularly loved the relationships between different states within the empire and the way different religions coexist and interact. We learn some things about the politics between different nations but I'd love to learn more, their cultures seemed rich and full of lore so I hope we get to explore more in future books. It's also very alive and organic. It's set next to (and sometimes in) and ancient forest and plants and wood are very important to the magic, and there's also a very nightmarish desease. Like with Suri's previous books it was very easy for me to visualize everything and be in the book.

The characters
The society has very strict gender roles, like a lot of epic fantasy, so it was great seeing the women wield power and how even though they don't officially have any, they still have loyal people and ways to reach out and influence things. The politics matter just as much as military strength. Or rather the politics determine who has the miliatary strength. We did get some PoVs from characters in more powerful positions and I liked thost too, except for the emperor, he can get in the bin, and we can set the bin on fire ... no wait he might like that, no fire, just rotten fruits.

Like I mentioned it was hard for me to follow in the begining, I'm just not used to full cast epic fantasy anymore. Thankfully they have distinct names and personalities so once I got my bearings it was easy to keep track of. And I love them all. Pryia and Malini are the main leads and they're just ahh, so good, the way they're in constant conflict between how they grew up and what they want for themselves, and what is right and was is easy, and for who is the right thing right, yes, love it. This are the sort of morally gray characters that I like "what am I willing to do to achieve my goals, who am I willing to hurt, how many lives is this thing worth, will I take on this responsibility, is this manipulation justified" etc. And the way the main romantic relationship is a dance of power.

The others, that annoyed me by showing up in the begining, are great too! Bhumika, I didn't like her at first, she's seen a bit like the sell-out aristocrat, but I would die for her now. The strength in this woman. This one rebel dude kept annoying me all the way through tbh, he never grew on me, not even like a parasitic plant.

The story
What I liked about the story was how I couldn't really see where it was going, so I'm not gonna tell you either. But I thought it worked very well. There's a lot of scene setting in the first bit that slowed down too much for me, but it made up for it in the second bit so I ended up not minding so much. And despite all the PoV's it's a pretty tight focus, we're not spread across time and space, it's just in one city and a few weeks? maybe months? but things happen pretty quickly once they get happening.

Overall thoughts
Yeah overall I loved this, I thought it was beautiful, yes i has a slow start and a slow burn but it makes up for that.

As soon as I heard this was an Indian inspired adult fantasy I was hooked.
Malini is an exiled princess who spents her days in isolation, plotting against her brother, in the ancient temple of Hirana with its unsettling past and wild magic that lingers even after its Keepers have long since died. Priya is the maid servant with a secret past assigned to take care of Malini. But a chance encounter between the two act as a catalyst for the cataclysmic events to come.
I was drawn into the story from the very first page. It started out brilliantly and kept me engaged. There was all these lush descriptions of the forests and intringuing little insights into the magic systems, the different characters with their own secret agendas. It was all exciting for a while. But then the pace started to lag. A lot of things were happening but the magic system remained vague and the true reasons for the characters actions or beliefs remained hidden. So it took me long time to get to the halfway mark of the book.
But the second half makes up for all of it bu being spectacular . The magic system gets more structure, the world building, the description of the attires as well as the food had me drooling, the atmosphere with the plant magic was creepy, the grey shades of the characters got well defined and the all the different plot lines were finally moving in the same direction.
The last 20-30% of the book had me sitting at the edge of my seat, fueled by adrenaline, getting goosebumps and having the bestest time reading about these amazing complex characters. I was so charged and so full of emotions and literally crying at the end, basically going through the full gamut of human emotions . It was a truly spectacular ride at the end and I cannot wait for the sequel!!
The characters were so brilliantly layered, each and every one of them. Although Malini and Priya are the main protagonists it was Bhumika who owns me. She was one of the bestest characters I have read in recent times. The delicious slow burn romance between Malini and Priya was another huge plus in the book.
All in all, my complaints of uneven pace quickly got corrected, and other than that there’s absolutely nothing to deter you from reading this book. Pick it up for the lush world building, creepy plant magic and the greyest most complex characters and a slowburn sapphic romance. Highly recommended!!

A promising start of a new series I really enjoyed the non-Western basis for the mythology and the world building of this fantasy world. South-Asian influenced by not a slavish recreation or a swap and replace name/cultures that sometimes happens. Interesting cast of characters who all feel justified in what they are doing, even if it's objectively terrible. I'm sad I only had the first book to read. I think we can only go up from here.

Wow, what a rich, colorful world, and such evocative writing too. I haven't felt so strongly attached to characters like Malini, Priya, and Rao in months, and I was hanging on the edge of my seat from the very beginning all the way to the end. There were so many romantic tropes I loved: hair brushing, tending to each other's wounds, and so much yearning!! I love how driven Malini was, and how strong Priya could be without sacrificing her softness and gentle nature (like with Rukh and Malini and even Ashok despite everything, and the guilt she felt for being hard on Bhumika). So often I feel like female main characters cannot be strong AND soft and kind, and I was really pleased to see how well rounded Priya was.

I really found that this book came to life in my head, and that really has to do with how lush the writing was. I felt like I could picture everything - the streets of Ahiranya, the regent's mahal, the Hirana, the sangam, and even the forest. The descriptions of food and flowers were my favorite! I really felt immersed in the culture while reading this. The magic system was also beautiful, and I could really picture the control Priya and the other temple children had over it. I also really enjoyed the mythology behind Aloran names and the prophecies they hold, and I was itching to learn the meaning of Rao's name the entire time - and the moment we learned was so epic!

Admittedly, this was pretty political, and there were a ton of characters/POVs, so if that's not your thing you may have a hard time following who is who and who is loyal to who. I had a hard time keeping up at first but luckily there was a "cast of characters" section at the end that I could reference if I forgot where a character came from. Still, I felt like the politics and the numerous character POV's were extremely important to the setting and gave readers a nice view of what was happening outside the confines of the Hirana or the mahal. The only thing that left me confused was the relationship between Ashok and Priya. For most of the book I was sure they were blood siblings because she referred to him as brother more than she did her other temple sibling, but I started to doubt that around 75% so I think I may have missed something early on.

Otherwise, I was engaged and so so invested the entire time! It was a big book, but the pacing was amazing and it was such a great read!

Thank you to Orbit Books for providing me an arc!!

The Jasmine Throne raises the bar for what epic fantasy should be. Tasha Suri has created a beautiful, ferocious world alongside an intimate study of the characters who will burn it all down.

The Jasmine Throne is a slower, character driven, political, South-Asian inspired fantasy. I think it's a phenomenal introduction to a new, epic trilogy. It just barely missed the five star mark for me but I'm anticipating book two to be in my top favorites of 2022.

I enjoy reading about strong female characters and this book has many of them. Morally gray, interesting and complex but not as complex as I wanted them to be. I think the next installment will deliver on that aspect though. It feels like we only scratched the surface of what's to come for these characters.

The world and the magic system within it was very interesting. I didn't expect it to be so nature based and I loved that it was. I can't wait to see what our main characters will do with the new abilities. It was also cool to see every nation have their preferred choice of weapon. I wonder if this distinction is going to play a larger role in further books.

As always, big thanks to Orbit for providing an early review copy!

The Jasmine Throne has everything I love about epic fantasy, from complex magic systems, vicious politics and religions, a detailed and engrossing world, to (my favorite) well-crafted, morally gray characters. This book is a slow build of political tension blended perfectly against a sapphic slow burn romance that is certain to set the empire ablaze in more ways than one. Tasha Suri does a fantastic job of crafting her characters. Readers meet dozens of characters throughout the story and each one feels fully formed and believable. Most importantly though, The Jasmine Throne’s two main characters, Malini and Priya, are unapologetically strong, fierce, and determined women. Both destined to reclaim power that has been denied to them. I LOVED that moment when the pair discuss monstrosity and how sometimes one must become a monster in order to survive. I am so very excited for the rest of this series! I will recommend this book to everyone, but particularly to anyone who enjoys epic fantasy, feminist themes, complicated family relationships, morally gray characters, and intense, gorgeous prose.

The Jasmine Throne is everything I had thought it would be and more. This sapphic fantasy with two morally grey heroines left me yearning for more. Overall, I would recommend the book if you love reading epic fantasies where morally grey lesbians go from wanting to stab each other to washing each others’ hair and kissing, then what are you even doing?! Click on the buy links above and order this beautiful queen of a book!

Thanks to the publisher for gifting me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley, Orbit Books, and the amazing Tasha Suri for the digital e-arc of this book. I read 48% of this arc before switching to my FINISHED preorder copy.

A million out of 5 stars. This is the BEST book I have ever read. I am not saying this lightly. You know when you were in middle school and you unknowingly started to read the book that would make you realize your love for reading? The Jasmine Throne has reminded me of why I love to read. This story is absolutely everything I could've wanted, even checking boxes that I didn't know I had.

The Jasmine Throne centers around the tale of a Princess, Malini, locked away to serve penance for not doing the thing her Emperor Brother believes she was born to do. Burn on the pyre. Malini then meets a maidservant named Priya and decides that she wants Priya to be her only companion while in imprisonment. Malini and Priya make a deal to help each other not realizing that they both hold secrets from the other. When I first started this story, I had no idea that this world would completely unfold into something I will NEVER be able to stop talking about. The story is told in multiple POVs and they are weaved perfectly together. There is not a single wasted POV. There was an art to the way you start to see connections and learn about each turn of fate. The pacing was incredible and kept you engaged the entire way through. The magic/religious systems on each side were so well done and I found myself wanting to know more. I have tabbed so much throughout this book and written in my thoughts just on that aspect of this story alone. Suri gets you fully invested in EVERY single thing introduced.

I am in awe of Priya, Malini, and Bhumika. The women in this story show you what power looks like in each kind of woman. Power and strength are not measured by one kind of skillset. I rooted for each of these characters and love them with my whole heart. Bhumika is a force. Priya and Malini's slowburn, enemies-to-lovers romance was genuinely infectious. Are they perfect? No. Are they morally grey? Absolutely. Are they meant for each other? I fully believe so and will not rest until I see them victorious at each other's sides.

I never wanted this book to end. The ending itself has me basically spiraling because all I want to do is be able to pick up book #2 and get lost in the world I've fallen in love with. BUY THIS BOOK, READ THIS BOOK, AND NEVER STOP TALKING ABOUT IT. It deserves the praise and more.

Epic fantasy! Core sapphic relationship! Giant middle finger to empire! This is the good stuff.



Last time I reviewed a Tasha Suri book - the outstanding Realm of Ash, second in the Books of Ambha - I wrapped it up by saying I was very excited for more Books of Ambha. Awesome women, at the intersection of cultures, finding love and self-actualisation in ways that overcome the misogyny in their elite positions, while still exploring the ways that women hold and wield power in South Asian-inspired fantasy societies! Well, I did not get my wish for more Books of Ambha (that series is now listed as complete after its two excellent novels, seriously, read those books), but luckily Tasha Suri has me covered with all the above in The Jasmine Throne, kicking off The Burning Kingdoms series. All the above, plus it's sapphic now. We're off to a promising start indeed.

Like its predecessor series, The Jasmine Throne has the politics and cultural oppressiveness of empire at its heart. In this case, it's the empire of Parijatdvipa, ruled by an emperor who has brought back increasingly repressive and horrific religoius traditions in order to maintain his rule - culminating in the decision to burn his sister and her two handmaids alive for going against his rule. When his sister, Malini, refuses to go meekly to her death, he instead imprisons her in a ruined temple (the Hirana) in the city of Hiranapratha, capital of Ahiranya, keeping her in seclusion with only an abusive minder to watch over her. The Hirana, of course, has a long history of its own, and its downfall is inextricably linked to Parijatdvipa's rise. Once a place where children were raised and baptised in its holy (and dangerous) waters and given magical powers from its blessing, the Hirana has been empty for almost a generation, its last group of devouts and children burned to death under mysterious circumstances, and Ahiranya as a whole is suffering from a "rot" which transforms its people into living trees. However, not everyone with a connection to the old temple is gone, and one of them still climbs to its top on a regular basis: the maidservant Priya, who is one of a group of expendable servants making the Hirana liveable for Malini while keeping entirely out of sight.

This being an epic fantasy, of course, Priya and Malini are fated to meet and have their fates intertwine; this being a sapphic fantasy, they are of course also going to develop some high quality capital-F Feelings while doing so. But The Jasmine Throne is far from done with intertwining fates after just two characters and an evil emperor-brother. No, what brings The Jasmine Throne to life - and makes its opening chapters far more of a whirlwind of different perspectives and scenarios - is that Hiranapratha is full of relationships and movements that link to both Priya and Malini in different ways. Thus, we meet Priya's employer Bhumika, the Ahiranyi wife of the regent who rules the city on the emperor's behalf: a woman who has her own connections to the Hirana and to Priya's past, and who leverages her position and her husband's lack of respect for her abilities into helping the people of the city. We meet Rao, member of the royal family of Alor, who keeps his real name as a closely guarded prophecy and is seeking to release Malini so she can rejoin her other brother (the one that isn't a despotic emperor) and incite a revolution. And then there's Ashok, member of an Ahiranyi revolutionary movement whose aims, methods and past also intersect with the Hirana and Priya in various ways.

The Jasmine Throne requires the reader to follow along as it establishes the players in Parijatdvipa and Ahiranya, but it rewards that patience with immense depth, constantly adding more shared history and context for its characters that complements their present adventures very well. There's a risk, when relationships or bits of information are universally known by the characters but withheld from the audience until it can be unveiled at the juiciest possible moment, that these reveals can feel artificial or cheap. However, The Jasmine Throne largely avoids any such moments, slotting revelations from the past, and the complications they bring, neatly alongside what we already know or suspect about particular characters and events in a way that makes it feel like the past and the present are both unfolding naturally before the reader. It helps a lot that the main narrative is so enjoyable to follow. Priya's magical self-discovery, and Malini's political one, intersect with the other characters and with each other in ways that produce plenty of set pieces and reversals and adventures (and things on fire, this is a book where things that should not be on fire are often on fire) and it's all very enjoyable, in a "relatively high fantasy bodycount and no right answers to the intersecting political problems" sort of way. You know what I mean.

Of course, without Priya and Malini's chemistry, that adventure wouldn't get off the ground, and its here where The Jasmine Throne really excels. Unlike fellow recent sapphic fantasy The Unbroken, The Jasmine Throne doesn't really trade in on the enemies-to-lovers" trope despite making the difference between Malini's goals and Priya's abundantly clear from the start. Malini and Priya are immediately drawn to each other and while each is constantly looking for ways to use the other to their advantage, there's also a core of trust that builds up between the two of them that their inevitably diverging paths, and the sacrifices that each is willing to make to follow them, never really manages to touch While it's no fault of books which keep their enemies-to-lovers more openly at odds, I personally enjoy this set-up immensely, and I found the slow build of feelings and the way Priya and Malini's think about each other to be very satisfying indeed. This being the start of a series, things between the two are left open ended, and there's plenty of time for things to get a lot worse (and, don't get me wrong, there's still plenty of ways in which they are kind of terrible to and for each other), but... in short, I ship it.

And so we reach the "pithy closing paragraph" point of this review. Do I have anything mo to say? Not really. The Jasmine Throne is really good secondary world fantasy, and it's adding to a 2021 shelf that (thanks in no small part to Orbit, the publisher of this, The Unbroken, Son of the Storm and other excellence) is filling up with really good fantasy. You know, ones that centres queer relationships, worlds that aren't "medieval Europe with dragons", raise giant middle fingers to empire and hereditary rulership in all its forms, and not coincidentally offer immensely satisfying, readable, intricate mixtures of political intrigue and character-driven adventure and self-actualisation that pushes all the right trope buttons. What's exciting about The Jasmine Throne is that it's kind of amazing, and yet it doesn't immediately stand out above other fantasy books I've read this year, because oh wow, they were all amazing too. Which is to say, read this book and also read everything else on every "best of 2021 book list" it's on. It's all good.



The Math

Baseline Score: 8/10

Bonuses: +1 Intricate political history and character relationships woven into the fabric of the narrative; +1 Just the right flavour of lovers-at-odds

Penalties: -1 Requires a bit of patience with the original set-up and proliferation of point-of-view characters before said intricacy pays off.

Nerd Coefficient: 9/10

Reference: Suri, Tasha. The Jasmine Throne (Orbit, 2021)

Posted by: Adri, Nerds of a Feather co-editor, is a semi-aquatic migratory mammal most often found in the UK. She has many opinions about SFF books, and is also partial to gaming, baking, interacting with dogs, and Asian-style karaoke. Find her on Twitter at @adrijjy

This book feels like the beginning to this era in fantasy I have always craved. Of angry women who just want justice, of the grey morality of politics, and trying so hard to keep your humanity even though it is your downfall.

I adore Malini, Priya,and Bhumika. They are incredibly complex characters all so so powerful in their own way.

Please read this book it is phenomenal and I hope it becomes super popular because dear god is it incredible

3.5 stars**

Once I heard about The Jasmine Throne, I was so excited to read it! It boasts about having morally grey sapphic romance, a rebellion against a corrupt emperor, and is Indian-inspired. Tasha Suri is a fantastic author and wrote this story beautifully. It was very empowering, and I loved how the female characters in this book are so complex.

The Jasmine Throne follows multiple perspectives each chapter, but mainly Malini, the imprisoned princess who refused to burn at the pyre like her brother, the emperor, wanted, and Priya, a maidservant who is secretly living in the castle as a former “temple child”. The two find each other in the prison and devise a plan to save Priya’s land of Ahiranya from the emperor’s rule and to overthrow the emperor as well. The story also follows other characters that are crucial to the plot, such as Ashok and Bhumika, Priya’s temple siblings from the Hirana temple, and Rao, one of Malini’s allies.

The world is also plagued by a disease called the rot, which is where people are starting to show signs of plant growth within them. It is ravaging the lands, but mainly Ahiranya where Priya and Bhumika live. I found this aspect of the story to be the most interesting, especially since it ties to other very crucial parts of the narrative.

I LOVED Priya, Malini, and Bhumika the most. They were all so strong and fierce, and every time the chapters were from their points of view, I couldn’t stop reading. I also really liked how the romance between Priya and Malini formed. It felt very natural and very fitting for both of their characters. But, the romance was not the main plot of the story which I genuinely appreciated. It’s more so a fantasy book with an added romance than a romance book with fantasy if you know what I mean. I of course also loved the world building!! It was so intricate and had so many parts to it that all came together in the end.

The main issues I had with this book were the slow pacing and the points of view change to characters that I didn’t even know. It was definitely a slow read for me (took over a month!!). I also think that this book felt more like a prequel. That’s why I am very excited to read the rest of the series when it comes out!

I very much enjoyed this book! I did an indepth video review which I will link below, I rate on: Plot, Characters, Writing Style, World-building and overall enjoyability. I would say I loved most of it, the characters, the relationships (platonic, political and romantic) and the setting were some of my FAVORITE parts. I would have liked the plot to have moved a little faster (just a little!) and for the magic system to be a bit better explained - it still feels part mystery to me!

As a hardcore fan of Tasha Suri’s Books of Ambha duology, I was beyond intrigued by this new series, which promised a tumulteous sapphic romance set in a tyrannical empire – and more than delivered.

The Jasmine Throne is a simmering opening to the series. It starts with tension – it is set in a subjugated and repressed part of the empire, plagued by a mysterious illness – and this tension is held steadily for the entire story through impeccable storytelling and characterization.

The story is told through multiple point of views, but Malini and Priya are the obvious main characters. A princess locked in a temple, as a punishment for defying her fanatical, monster of a brother. A maidservant with secrets and gifts even she doesn’t fully understand. And between them, a delicious dance of wariness and attraction. Malini is used to a coterie of allies, she knows how to charm and manipulate and use, but she’s drugged and sick and grieving. Priya is her only hope to escape her prison and depose her brother, but she’s not easily led or manipulated. She’s a temple child, with powers that can shake an empire to its core. Can they trust each other? Do they even need to, to reach their respective goals?

When reading fantasy, I am often frustrated when the end of a chapter signals a shift in the point of view character. In this particular case, every point of view serves the story and enriches it. A prince burdened by the knowledge his mysterious faith brought him. A highborn former temple child, who hides who she truly is and what she can do, and married the enemy to better protect her people. The leader of a rebellion that will stop at nothing to achieve his goal. Every character brings a piece to this rich mosaic – and the full weight of their ambition and agency set against each other and against a cruel, destructive empire.

Power is at the center of this story. The very nature of it – is it supposed to be soft and subtle, to better save what can be saved and shield the innocent? Violent and vindictive, to get back what was taken from you and build a new world? Common goals don’t always equate similar means, especially when it’s about getting freedom from the yoke of oppression. I loved how Tasha Suri approached this theme: with nuance and deftness, not the bludgeoning mallet of “violence bad, negociating your survival with an empire that wants you dead is good, actually”. Resistance and its multiple shades (and their limits) are on display in this story; through subversive art, through direct conflict, through temporary submission. It is always a theme dear to my heart and it was splendidly portrayed.

And through it all, Tasha Suri’s beautiful writing took this story to new heights. Not to venture into cliché-land and say that she paints with her words, but I fail to find a less tired metaphor to properly convey how evocative the prose is. The imagery captured my imagination; the fire and water symbolism, the aesthetics of the rot, the mysteries of the Hirana.

This is very much a first book of an epic fantasy trilogy, and I must say I am very excited to see where Tasha Suri’s storytelling talents take us next. Book 2 can’t come soon enough.