Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was somewhere between 3 and 4 stars for me. I just didn't feel like I connected to the characters or the story a lot. There was a lot of set-up and explaining the politics in the beginning (probably the first 1/3 of the book it seemed like it took awhile to get going) so that may have been part of it. It is all important and I'm wondering/hoping that future books will draw me in more now that a lot of the background has been laid. I did like that everyone had their flaws and bad characteristics which where acknowledged. Not a wow but not bad - I will continue to read the series as it comes out.

This book is pure excellence and you need to read it immediately!!

Holy crap, like, being coherent is going to be hard, The Jasmine Throne is so excellent and phenomenal!

Malini is the imperial daughter and her brother who is currently emperor has been using his new-gained power to burn women to purify them and Parijatdvipa, and execute or get rid of any advisors who are not Parijati. When he sends Malini and her two hand maids to be burned at the pyre, Malini refuses to walk into the fire, and per their religion she cannot be forced; it must be a willing sacrifice. In punishment, Chandra sends her to the Hirana, which used to be the religious center of Ahiranya but is now haunted by the spirits of the elders and temple children who were burned alive because of Parijati fear of the powers so like the yaksa that was growing in them.

Priya is a handmaiden, but once she was a child of the temple. In a land where rot is infecting people and making them like the yaksa, more plant and earth than human before dying, she uses her wages to buy sacred wood beads for those infected in order to help them live a little longer. When she has an opportunity to return to the Hirana of her childhood, and earn more wages, she takes it and tips a series of events into play where rebels are hoping to find the Deathless Waters and return Ahiranya to its glory and freedom.

Bhumika is the wife of the Parijati regent of Ahiranya as his Ahiranyian bride, a choice that was made to smooth tensions after he’d ordered the deaths of all the Temple’s inhabitants. She is also a powerful force doing what little she can to help those orphaned and in need by offering jobs and a place in her household, but also there’s more going on with her behind the scenes.

This book is such a gorgeous layering of personalities, political machinations, making the wrong and hard choices for what are believed to be the right reasons. These characters are all so nuanced and complex, full of individual motivations. I loved the variety of interpersonal dynamics and the different strengths all the characters have.

I really don’t want to spoil anything, but suffice to say I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do with myself while waiting for the sequel. I already loved Suri’s writing after reading her Books of Ambha duology, and this book has just more firmly cemented that she is an author to watch! The romance, the politics, the characters are all so beautiful and woven together so excellently. I do not have enough words to express how much I loved this, except to say I kept wanting to scream in joy and horror and surprise - a full ride of a book!

I had a feeling that I would love The Jasmine Throne from the very first time I’d heard about it. Promising a morally grey lesbian romance and a focus on empire and family, I thought this would hit on some of my favorite things to see in fantasy, and though it wasn’t quite the new favorite I was hoping it would be, I was still utterly enchanted by it. If you’re looking for a fantasy burning with intensity, from its vengeful characters to its feminist themes, you should absolutely pick this up.

The Jasmine Throne follows many perspectives, but mainly those of Priya and Malini, two women who come from vastly different backgrounds but can benefit from working with each other. Malini grows weaker every day in the magical prison her brother forced her into, but when Priya’s forbidden power comes to light, they realize how they can use each other to achieve their own goals of rebellion and freedom.

The Jasmine Throne delves into several themes, influenced by its India-inspired world where imperialism and misogyny thrive. I especially loved its exploration of empire as a tool for oppression and how it stands for an all-consuming force that seeks to stamp out “impurities,” of how extremists can twist religion and faith to justify oppression, and of what monstrosity truly means in a world that demonizes women who don’t conform. These are all active influences in the characters’ arcs and daily lives, a display of the intricate connections between the characters and their environment.

Priya is a maidservant whose veins sing with both magic and tragedy, one of the few survivors of a fire that stole her temple family. She seeks the power that she was denied, the power that the empire vilifies her for, and the power her brother wants to use and weaponize. Malini is the princess of Parijat, sister to the emperor who exiled and imprisoned her for refusing to die for the sake of “purification.” She is vengeful and cunning, unafraid to manipulate others for her own gains, and I loved her for it. While both characters are morally grey, Malini was more so in my opinion (which is why she’s my favorite).

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t quite invested in Priya and Malini’s relationship in the beginning, but as more time passed, I found myself absolutely obsessed with their dynamic. It is fierce and tender at once, burning with passion for not only each other but for themselves and their own values: They hold their love for each other gently and carefully, especially because of what it means for two women to love each other in a misogynistic homophobic world, but they are also cautious in the sense that their loyalty to themselves and their motives never wavers in the face of their relationship. (And yes, that waterfall scene is as good as everyone says.)

Along with Priya and Malini are other side characters who get their own POVs, most notably Bhumika and Ashok, Priya’s temple siblings, and Rao, a prince allied with Malini. Suri handles these with skill, using their perspectives to provide more intrigue and insight into the plot but keeping them balanced so as not to drown out Priya and Malini’s main storylines. What I loved the most about these added POVs was the glimpse into the complicated relationship Priya has with her temple siblings. They are united in their trauma of being the only survivors of a disaster that killed the rest of their family, but they are also a source of pain for each other as well, particularly Priya and Ashok. This complex dynamic made my heart ache, for where they found destruction in each other they also found healing, tinging each of their interactions with bittersweetness.

While all of these relationships, romantic and familial, were entrancing, I would argue that The Jasmine Throne is truly first and foremost a book about women and their strengths. In all of the female characters’ arcs, the idea of monstrosity as it applies to women in a patriarchal society is explored. Priya, Malini, and Bhumika all carve spaces for themselves where their power can thrive, in a world that would rather see such power crushed, and they are deemed monstrous, weak. But what makes them “monstrous,” when their desire for agency is seen as a threat? When they are hated for refusing to bow to the demands of men and instead forging their own paths? When their very existence is demonized?

Though the book is quite lengthy, I flew through it and was thoroughly engrossed from the first page. Suri’s writing is laced with a certain loveliness and deadliness that complements the world of the novel, and though it was slow-moving in the beginning, Suri’s masterful way of building up tension kept me engaged. However, there was something that prevented me from fully loving this book—I think as the first book of the series, there was a lot of buildup (and I didn’t get all the exciting payoff I was hoping for) that resulted in a lack of some spark that would’ve allowed me to become wholly obsessed with this.

But while I didn’t love it as much as I’d hoped to, it is undeniable that The Jasmine Throne is a gorgeously written book, its characters intense and its writing gripping. The world Suri creates is somewhat terrifying, especially in how it mirrors our own world at times, and it is thus thrilling to see the characters at the heart of it react and move through it. I suspect the rest of the series will be even more of a delight to read, and I can’t wait to see what Suri manages to weave together in the next book.

Review: This BOOK!!!! I really don’t even know where to start. I guess I’ll start with the writing. Tasha Sufi’s writing is so lush and heavy that you can almost touch it. The sights, smells, sounds, tastes, (and yes, even the violence), is so descriptive it can be felt. I can not overstate just how beautifully and hauntingly she describes the setting, the clothes, the food and the people that she created for this story. And still...there is so much more to love about this book.

There are a LOT of characters in this story. All of them are important to how the story unfolds, but there are seven characters that are integral to the plot. Each of these characters were crafted with such care that they didn’t overwhelm the story, just by the sheer number of them. With the exception of one character, Suri wrote them all so well and with so much nuance, that it is sometimes difficult to tells who’s right. All of the characters have seeming “good” reason for their decisions; Their motivations seem righteous, but their actions are questionable at times. Still, you empathize and root for them. Suri did a great job keeping the characters consistent (which could not have been easy with so many), so that their actions and motivations match where they are along their character arcs, and make sense with the flow of the story.

The plot is not terribly unique, but what Suri does with it feels fresh and exciting. Ultimately, it’s about two very different women who’s worlds collide. They are forced to work together, keep each other’s secrets and try to see life through each other’s eyes; if they want to first stay alive, and later bring down an empire. Set that against a backdrop of ancient magic (a really cool magic system that I’ve never seen before), familial bonds and betrayals, political machinations, religious zealots, and an empire’s dark and bloody past...And yeah...You have something incredibly special. Suri also didn’t waste time with “info-dumps.” She offered backstory at relevant times and in the context of the drama/action that was happening. This kept the story flowing and interesting while still offering all of the information necessary for the reader to not get lost in the details.

To be honest, by the time I made it 3% into the book I was already hooked. Knowing that this is Book 1 of a series already has me pining for next release (Take your time Tasha Suri ... I’m not rushing you). There was really nothing that I didn’t like about this book. If you are a lover of fantasy (or if you’re not), this a must-read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

<i> thank you netgalley & orbit books for an eARC of the jasmine throne </i>

<b> rating: </b> 5 stars

i fell in love with this book before i even read it, and now that i actually have, i can say that this is definitely one the best fantasy books i've ever read.

the world building and the fantasy elements of the story were beautiful, and despite being something new and complex, its explained so well throughout the exposition you don't get lost or bored, which i commonly experience whenever reading a new fantasy book. the plot itself is so interesting and i'm SO excited for more from this series.

beyond that, i absolutely loved the characters!! i'm a sucker for books with third person multiple povs, and this book DELIVERS! you really do learn about each character in a different way, and the romance is impeccable. i loved the slow burn of their relationship, and it had me screaming at my screen constantly. i ADORE morally gray characters and the fact that the two main love interests in this novel both are is just immaculate.

definitely a new must-read for fantasy lovers–this book deserves ALL THE PRAISE and more!

First of all, I can easily say that this is one of my favorite books that I've read in the past few years, not just out of the books I've read via NetGalley, but in general. The Jasmine Throne is exactly the kind of book that I love - the story is exciting, the stakes are high, the worldbuilding is detailed and interesting, the characters are complex and their relationships are well developed, and the pacing is just right - fast enough to keep you interested, but not so fast as to feel rushed. On top of all that, the three major characters are strong, complex, interesting women, two of whom are queer (/fit under the LGBTQ+ umbrella). Queer feminist fantasy/sci-fi is my absolute favorite, and this book is a perfect example of that genre done incredibly well.

I don't want to give away too much about the plot, but I'll not a few things that I particularly liked about my reading experience:

The worldbuilding: Although I'm not personally knowledgeable to say this for sure, the empire of Parijatdvipa seems clearly inspired by South Asian cultures, religions, etc. I enjoyed the fact that the empire comprised many different city-states, who each had their own culture, religion, ethnicity, etc. The details made it all feel very real, and clearly established the setting of a multicultural empire, and the tensions that it brings. On top of that, the dynamics of conquering/colonialism was clearly present, in a way that drew appropriate but not frustratingly overt parallels to dynamics that have been present in history.

Something I particularly enjoyed was the way that the worldbuilding was executed in terms of religion/magic. The respective religions of the different city-states were intertwined with their magic and powers, and all existed without nullifying the others. As I read and encountered words that were used to describe the religions/mythology/magical practices, I looked them up online and found that many were actual words that are used in the context of current religions. The way they were utilized in the book clearly took inspiration from, but did not copy, the real-life meaning and significance of those worlds.

The characters/relationships: I love flawed characters, and complex relationships, and Priya, Malini, and Bhumika were all passionate and complex characters with interesting motivations, relationships, and desires. I loved that even within a canonically patriarchal setting, the main characters who had the largest impact on the story (and each other) were three women, all of whom were limited by their society in some way, shape, or form.

I also loved the relationship between two of the women - it was believable and tender, but still very complicated. I especially loved that the complications primarily stemmed from things related to the plot and the situation itself, rather than angst over queer relationships being forbidden or othered. When I started the book, I actually forgot whether I knew it had LGBTQ+ characters, and it read like an amazing fantasy novel with queer characters, rather than a queer book packaged as fantasy. It may seem like a weird distinction, but the latter often ends up reading like a fanfiction with minimal focus on anything but the romance, while the latter is a strong story that is the whole package, including representation.

As a queer woman whose first forays into literature with queer representation were primarily fanfiction or else fanfiction-esque novels written about white gay men by white straight women, the difference between those books (which were the only thing that I was aware of and could find at the time), and books like The Jasmine Throne, a book with a compelling story and a romance between two women of color, written by a woman of color, is amazing. The Jasmine Throne is a book that is not only enjoyable, but affirming and validating. I am grateful that I got to read it, eager for the sequel, and excited to recommend it to others.

You know, as a kid, I used to finish all my homework on Wednesday afternoons (at the time, Saudi weekends were Thursday and Friday). You wouldn’t think that to look at me now, considering I can’t write ARC reviews before the books’ official publication dates, but with my luck with ARCs, I can’t help but delay. I really wish I hadn’t with this book, though, because it’s AMAZING. I loved it! It’s got everything!

To start off, I read the summary last year and promptly forgot so that’s how I went in, without any spoilers or preconceptions and that’s perhaps how I’d recommend it to others as well? If you must know the details, you can google, but there’s a princess, there’s magic, there’s lesbians, what more do you need?

As you can see from the cover and title, it is an India-inspired fantasy and I will say, it was really fun to read that mix of traditional fantasy in a background that isn’t thinly veiled medieval Europe. The worldbuilding and detail were great, very organically introduced without infodumping or awkward exposition, and personally, as a desi, while I did know some of the names, terms, and practices, there was a lot I found unfamiliar and I wasn’t at all lost.

It was surprisingly actually a very smooth and quick read, the pacing was great. Not to say that there was constant action, there wasn’t, but it always felt like significant things were happening. When POVs switched, it was always for a reason. In fact, everything happened for a reason, this was a great example of when character and plot feed each other; everything made sense, people didn’t do stuff just to forward the plot, you got your character development along with your action and twists.

The romance…was great. There were perhaps four significant characters that I liked but our two leads of course got the bulk of the POV. It was a deliciously slow build, one might even say tentative enemies to allies first, as they spent such a large chunk of the book just getting to know each other. Their background and experiences completely explained their differing perspectives so that just made it all the better when they found common ground. Neither was fully defined by the romance nor remained completely unaffected by it, which is just the way I like it, characters who are actually their own people first.This is them, by the way:

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I don’t really have much more to say, although I did end up adoring one of the other characters, and also really like that the book understood compassion and its worth? Being good to people, in however small a way, is acknowledged again and again, and while it is understood that sometimes there are difficult choices to be made, the costs aren’t ignored.

I would definitely at least give this a try if any of the above sounds like it appeals to you. This is just book 1 in the series, so there is a ways to go, just a little warning. And it comes out…in about a few hours, on June 8th.

Suri had me gasping in awe because of her new book, as this novel is simply a joy to devour. With a gorgeous Indian-inspired setting, compelling and interesting characters that move the plot along, and a love story to die for, Suri has crafted the perfect fantasy novel to read this summer!

HIGHLIGHTS
~Nature magic is not soft and gentle
~WET SARI SCENE
~family is complicated
~that which yields is not always weak
~Look like th’ innocent flower/But be the serpent under ‘t.
~and while you’re at it, kill them with flowers

The Jasmine Throne is a book that takes our ideas of femininity and power and gentleness…and burns them to the ground.

I think the most obvious example of this is the magic wielded by the ‘temple children’ – survivors of a massacre-by-fire decades ago, blessed by the deathless waters and given abilities not seen for hundreds of years. When I first understood that this magic was nature-magic – a power over plants, specifically – I was actually kind of disappointed, and not very interested. Earth-bending is one thing, but being able to make flowers grow seemed so…gentle. And sometimes gentle magic is exactly what you want, but the characters in this story seemed to need a more dramatic magic, something that could be used for offense, a magic for battle. What good were flowers going to be against soldiers?

A lot, it turns out. They were going to be good for a lot against soldiers, swords, scythes. Suri took my expectations and completely subverted them, and honestly, the entire book is like that.

I’m going to be thinking about the imagery of the rose-bower for a long time, I think.

Part of me simply adores the Jasmine Throne for going against my expectations at every turn, not least in the dynamic between Princess Malini and Priya – if you’re expecting lots of softness and tenderness, you need to go looking for another book, because you won’t find it here. Malini and Priya’s relationship is at once both brutally simple – they both have a use for each other – and infinitely complicated – there are so many layers of want here. But honestly, I’d hesitate to call it a romance. It’s something, something intense, and there’s certainly a sexual element to it…but they never exchange I love yous, and I think that’s very deliberate. I don’t know if it will come later, if their relationship and dynamic will evolve over the course of the series to get to that point, but at least in this first book, I don’t think most of what they feel for each other is what most of us would recognise as any kind of love, romantic or otherwise.

Respect, yes. Desire, sure. But both of them have invested so much of themselves in other objectives, ideals, and missions, that there isn’t really anything left to offer a romantic partner. Not really. And to be honest, I kind of love that. I like that this isn’t a traditional love story, that this isn’t a typical romance. I’m not sure what I expected walking into Jasmine Throne – only that it was going to be mindblowing, because it’s Tasha Suri, so obviously it’s going to be mindblowing – but it wasn’t two women who desire each other, but desire other things more. They’re both too loyal to their ideals or peoples or plans to throw those things over in favour of love.

So, you know, spoilers. This isn’t that kind of love story.

The Jasmine Throne is a love story in the sense of individuals loving their country, their peoples – it’s very much a story about patriotic love, and how different that can look in different people, from different angles (one person’s vision of a perfect future for their country rarely matches everyone else’s). It’s about legacy and history and culture, and colonialism, and how to survive and hold on to your history and cultural identity when a bigger power is trying to destroy it all.

It’s a story about women, fundamentally. I was initially disappointed to find another empire where women can’t wear crowns or sit in the thrones – I prefer stories with more gender-neutral approaches to ruling – but Suri quietly, deftly weaves what I can only call the ‘true story’ that lies behind the public image of the empire, and that true story is one where women rule – even if men don’t realise it. The Emperor is emperor because he’s descended from a specific group of holy women; the regent’s regency has only gone as smoothly as it has because his wife has been playing him all along; the entire political structure of the empire is in the process of shifting because an apparently quiet, biddable, beautiful princess has been writing pretty letters and paying compliments to the right people. The Jasmine Throne is a treatise on traditional female strength; that is, the kind of strength which we consider feminine, which is quiet and pretty and doesn’t look like strength at all. Manipulation through manners rather than brute force. Subtlety over strong-arming. Compliments instead of threats.

And then Suri takes all of that…and says, those whose strength lies in quiet can still roar. Each of her main characters – Priya, Malini, and Bhumika, the wife of the regent responsible for Malini’s captivity and Priya’s employment – exquisitely embody ‘look like th’ innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t’. Malini is no trained warrior, Priya is a handmaiden, Bhumika tends her flowers – and every single one of them is utterly terrifying when they decide to be. Bhumika’s arc probably best embodies this – I have to confess to being one of the many who underestimated her, right up until she decided to show her hand – but it applies to them all. And there’s no way to read this in a way that’s not enormously empowering, that doesn’t make the hair on your arms stand up and give you delicious shivers when Suri decides to spear you with her prose.

The men in The Jasmine Throne are all of secondary importance – even the ones who very much believe the opposite. Which isn’t to say that the women have an easy time of things, or even that they’re all on each other’s side, because they’re not; some of the women in this book may be allies, but just as many oppose them. Women are not a monolith; I would say Suri is careful to avoid that writing mistake, but I suspect that that kind of lazy storytelling would never even occur to her. Every single one of her characters – even down to the most minor – are all too detailed, too carefully created, too real, to make me believe that she’s ever slapdash in her writing.

Anyway.

This is epic fantasy set in a world beautifully drawn from Southeast Asia, with nature magic that rapidly outgrew the pot of my small mind, with a mythology and religions that were just so blessedly strange and new to me. And when push comes to shove, it’s a girl-power book in a way I’ve never seen girl-power done before. I didn’t want to read about gentle, plant-growing magic, but being able to kill with flowers is – if I had to distill The Jasmine Throne down to one image, it would be that one; something pretty and feminine being wielded by feminine people to destroy those that stand against them.

I still get chills just thinking about it. The subversiveness. The pure fucking cleverness and originality. The deceptively subtle brilliance of it all.

Wow.

The Jasmine Throne is probably one of the most hyped books of the year. And believe it or not? It does live up to the hype. It blows the hype sky-high.

Very interesting book. Loved the melding of old Medieval India and fantasy elements. Will definitely continue the series.

The Jasmine Throne is one of those books where even weeks and months after you’ve read it, you don’t stop thinking about it. But all that time also doesn’t make it easier to put into words all the reasons why the book leaves such an impression, why you’re so full of wonder over it. I can try, but alas.

Despite me recommending this book to everyone as lesbian fantasy, the best part about it is probably the worldbuilding. It’s inspired by Indian cultures, and you can clearly feel all the love the author put into creating the world, into research. It’s in the main plot arcs and it’s in the tiniest details; it’s in how one part of the empire is made to be homophobic after an invasion and in every description of the food the characters eat.

Most importantly, though, none of it is a crude info-dumping. Suri is a very talented author, knows where and when, and how to let the reader glimpse the world she created, so that the reader is fascinated and hungry for more, but never, ever bored. All the bits she puts forth create a rich world, a real world, with power dynamics that make sense, with problems but also miracles, with layers upon layers of details which add up to create something great, something monumental.

And the characters move through that world effortlessly, which is to say all of them seem an integral part of it but they also fight for their place in it. Especially the women. It’s not a black-and-white scenario where women are good and men are bad, but something is to be said about the men being power-hungry for the sake of wielding said power, and about women trying to find a path to more than the men allow them to have. Again, it’s a very real situation, even with all the magic and the plants growing out of people’s bodies.

Yes, it’s a lesbian fantasy romance, but before that it’s a novel about women. All of them beautiful, all of them starving for what the world denies them, be it power, choices, independence. And they fight for it. Openly or in secret, physically or with words, the exact way they think will work best to achieve their goals, not how someone else advises them to do it. They know better. And they’re willing to reshape the empire to get what they want.

Then finally, there’s the romance. The intensity of it is unlike anything else. It’s central to the story in a way that it at times it pushes the plot forward, without ever making it seem as if either Priya or Malini make decisions solely based on their love for the other. That love is undeniable and it shines through everything that happens, but it’s not the only propelling force of those women. It’s treated as something precious, both by Priya & Malini, and by the novel itself.

The Jasmine Throne is the kind of book that grips you from the start and doesn’t let go until the very last page. And even then, when you’re left alone with no more words, you’re still thinking about it all, about the pain, the hunger, the love. It’s the kind of book that carves out a piece of your heart it can live in forever, just like its characters strive to carve out a piece of the world for themselves.

The Jasmine Throne is the start of a new epic fantasy series by Tasha Suri set in a world inspired by India. Starting with the cover to the story and the characters, this book has my whole heart.

Reasons why you need to read it:
x Sapphic. Desi. Fantasy.
x SO many morally grey characters. I didn’t know if I wanted to root for them or if I had to be scared of them. Maybe both.
x the mention of so many Indian delicacies had me craving samosa and rasmalai in the middle of the night.
x magic that gives you control over nature. The plant lover (read killer) in me was obviously excited
x there is something about reading a book with characters who look like you, wearing traditional Indian dresses, its just… a feeling I never knew I had been looking for until now.
x did we actually get a cover with a badass dark-skinned woman wearing a sari? The cover is gorgeous!

This was my first time reading an Indian based adult fantasy and I feel inadequate to describe all the feelings this book made me ~feel~ in a review.
If you didn’t know, I’m Indian, and I can’t believe it took me 29 years to find an ownvoices book in the genre that I like.
Uff. Here’s to more diversity and representation in books!

In short, I loved this book to bits and I can’t wait to read the sequel! Highly recommended!

The Jasmine Throne opens to a rich India-inspired world and is chalk full of differing political and religious factions, different cultures, and a very interesting magic system as well. The setting and worldbuilding are very strong in this first book. We're introduced quickly to the rot, a disease that slowly turns people into plants before killing them, and the mysterious magic of sacred wood and the deathless waters, magic of a country that has been subdued and is no longer allowed to even practice their culture, let alone their magic. The two main characters Priya and Malini are both written well, though characterization overall if where this book begins to fall a bit flat. The story of our main characters is deep and compelling; Priya an orphan from the temple of the Hirana who was supposed to become a magic user, and Malini a princess sent to be isolated and imprisoned for daring to go against the wishes of her brother the Emperor. Barring these two characters many of the other side characters do not get a whole lot of fleshing out. We get some recurring characters and several very small POVs throughout, and it became a little difficult to tell them apart due to most of the other characters seeming pretty much the same. This definitely may be something that improves in the next book, but needed some work here. I also want to mention is that despite what some other reviewers have been saying, this is not a romance book. There is romance in this book, yes, but it's never made the focus and doesn't ever feel forced or really thrown at you to pay attention to. This is the story of an Empire filled with different factions reaching for power, the clash of differing religious beliefs, and yes, a romance that two women find along the way. I know romance tends to tell, but I think labeling this as a romance vs. Fantasy with romantic elements among other things is really selling it short. Now the last thing I want to talk about is writing suspense/mystery and/or a twist. However you classify it, it's always going to be annoying when an author tries to have something be a big reveal, but it was blatantly obvious what the reveal was going to be. This happens with a couple of events toward the end where there are several mentions of something being revealed and it's very evident what is going to take place, making the idea that it's supposed to be mysterious and a big reveal nearly come off as condescending. Despite my few complaints on this book, I did enjoy this book and think it shows a lot of promise for the rest of the series. There are definitely some areas for improvement, but the world that was built here is definitely one that I'd like to revisit.

"But there is a subtle pain the conquered feel. Our old language is nearly lost. Our old ways. Even when we try to explain a vision of ourselves to one another--in our poetry, our song, our theater masks--we do so in opposition to you, or by looking to the past. As if we have no future."

The Jasmine Throne takes readers on an epic journey to a world strangled by empire, where religion and magic make the power struggles that much more high-stakes. The world-building is masterful. You won't find any info dumps, and the measured release of character memories and broader background knowledge serves to keep things mysterious rather than confusing. The Indian influences also contribute to a rich cultural tapestry. The vivid, multidimensional descriptions made me want to step into the world on the page.

In terms of story, Suri handles many POVs throughout, but the main focus is on Priya and  Malini. Priya is a maidservant with a secret, powerful past. She's big-hearted and single-minded in her pursuit to help orphans and those afflicted with a plantlike disease called the rot. Priya jumps on the opportunity to serve Princess Malini to investigate some of her own buried memories. Malini has been exiled and imprisoned by her brother, the Emperor. A lifetime of abuse culminates in his demand that she burn herself alive in an act of religious fervor. With a public refusal, Malini finds herself drugged, watched, and isolated but still unwilling to give up on escape and rebellion. The romance between Priya and Malini is tempestuous as both strive to meet their goals.

The only thing that held me back from obsessing over this book was the pacing. In the first half, the tantalizing slow release of information kept me fascinated. However, once the focus shifted from world-building to the many conflicts and unfinished business among the characters, I felt like the plot meandered and circled around where a direct path would have held my attention better. This is especially true when many of the characters' actions felt like a foregone conclusion.

This is a stellar piece of world-building with a sapphic romance and intriguing, multilayered characters. It's out tomorrow! Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri is truly epic high fantasy at its best in a world inspired by India, where politics is conducted all so smoothly and with a deadly magic system and a far deadlier disease.

To me, this book felt like a punch to the gut, just because of the sheer existence of it. Often times, I have to choose between facets of my identity. I am either represented as a South Asian person, or I am represented by sapphic relationships. Having both, especially in a fantasy novel, is something still so new to me, and I’m just so grateful that this book exists. I’ve talked, many times about how I am so utterly excited for this book because this kind of representation in the genre of fantasy is so rare. So thank you, Tasha Suri, for writing this novel.

The Jasmine Throne has two protagonists, Priya and Malini. Priya is unwaveringly, resolutely kind, even when she has the least inclination to be. Her goodness and her kindness throughout the novel is her greatest asset. Throughout the novel, she grapples with a past she cannot remember and coming to terms with her identity as who she is, even when her culture is fading. Even after all that she’s been through, she remains resilient and strong, still unstoppably good.

Malini is indeed...a character. Unflinching and vengeful and fiery, with multiple facets, she truly did embody the term morally gray. She’s an imperial princess imprisoned by her tyrant brother, and she will do anything to see him off the throne. She knows how to manipulate people from her will, only showing them exactly what she wants them to see, that there are so many different versions of her and I was hooked from the beginning watching her arc unfold. And most of all, she refuses to burn.

These are two women with not so much in common, but they are driven together with the intent to use one another for their respective goals. As the relationship between them is more developed, they are more and more drawn to each other. The yearning between them is a battle of wills, desire, and flame. Watching the tension unfold between them was a brilliantly executed slow burn, and I am in love.

Their main narration is supported by other secondary characters. Bhumika, doing everything she can to survive the Parijati occupation. In a world where her culture has been erased, she walks through it like it is merely rain, and conducts her business from shadows where no one can see her. Her character was one of my favorites because she truly does run with an iron fist. We have Rao, the Aloran prince who carries such a heavy burden. He was one of the most mysterious characters, and I was so intrigued by him and his prophecy.

One of the main wonders of this book truly is the world that it is set in. There are so many different cultures woven into this world, and they are all showcased brilliantly. There is Ahiranya, and its wickedly beautiful magic system based on forest and body horror. Ahiranyi culture is a fading culture, trying to survive in a Parijati-colonized world and Suri executes this underlying theme of colonialism perfectly. There is the culture of Parijatvipa, the faith in the mothers of flame and this belief, propagated most by the emperor Chandra, that women burning is holy. The culture of the Aloran, they have names that are kept secret until the right time, because every name is a prophecy. All of these cultures are present and interwoven throughout the pages of The Jasmine Throne.

The plot itself is executed to brilliant perfection, and all the threads of the story are woven together like a spiderweb of magic, fire, and politics. All of these plotlines intersect and weave together and cris-cross and merge, until the connections between them are suddenly clear. With all these perspectives it becomes easy to get lost, but this was definitely not the case. Suri is a master storyteller.

All in all, I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review, and The Jasmine Throne, one of my most anticipated reads of 2021 exceeded my expectations and did not disappoint in the slightest. It is truly fantasy at its very best and the kind of story that leaves you in hushed silence until the very end.

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

Q: what percentage of your reading would you characterize as fantasy?

I knew from the first pages of Tasha Suri’s The Jasmine Throne, as a pyre was lit for women to be sacrificed on & one woman refused it, that I had stepped into an engrossing & also unsettling book.

Featuring complicated women walking the line between personal survival & wants & what will be best for their people, who are looking to the future even as they feel the weight of their fiery pasts, The Jasmine Throne has a lot to offer readers of fantasy.

In Ahiranyi, an imperial city state of the Parijatdvipa empire, many of the Ahiranyi suffer from poverty & a rot that affects the body. Tensions remain high between Ahiranyi & Parijatdvipa & as the characters are aware, the fact that the Emperor sends his sister, the princess, to be imprisoned there likely won’t help matters.

A maidservant, Priya, is assigned to help the princess Malini. But what Priya doesn’t know is that while the princess is at the mercy of her brother & his whims to some degree, to his fanatic obsession with female purity, Malini is also a master of emotional manipulation. It’s how she’s survived.

& what Malini doesn’t know about her new maidservant is the details of Priya’s past in their prison, where she once lived with Elders & brothers & sisters. What she’s capable of & will be capable of in the future.

Told from many different perspectives, TJT shows how people can be motivated by different reasons for the same things or even just be comfortable working together for different ends. The political machinations are fascinating, & it’s captivating & disturbing to see how far Malini in particular is willing to go.

The portrayal of women is hard-hitting & what it says about women & purpose & desires is particularly moving.

Weighty in page numbers & tone, this read will stay with me for a while & defies my attempt to succinctly describe it in a book review.

4.5 ⭐️. Release date: 06/08.

The Jasmine Throne is easily sitting on my top 5 reads of 2021 so far. I stayed up way past my bedtime to read this. I would hear the birds waking up and say to myself, “one more chapter.”

“We all have more than one face. We have to have many faces in order to survive, don’t we?”

Two women, vastly different in almost every way, must come together for the same goal. Priya, a native Ahiranyi, has always known a life of poverty. After being left behind by her dying brother, she joins the regent house as a maidservant. Princess Malini, sister of the emperor of Parijatdvipan, comes to the palace to be jailed. She’s lost all of her jewels and rights, but she still has the natural sway of royalty.

These two women must delve into treason, forbidden magic, and secrets in order to fight the tyranny of Emperor Chandra. Together, they find they’re not so different after all. Not where it counts.

I’m pretty open about the fact that high fantasy, political fantasy, and regency fantasy just goes over my head. This book has a lot of facets and characters and adventure, but I felt it was easy to read. I got so engrossed with all of the characters, it made it so much easier to keep up with everything going on.

I’m also not usually a fan of romances intertwined with the adventure, but this one is worth it. It’s sapphic, it’s beautiful, it’s full of longing. I can’t wait to see how these two women conquer the world.

Thank you to Net Galley, Orbit Books, and Tasha Suri for this advanced review copy! The Jasmine Throne releases on June 8th.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an arc in exchange for an honest review!

I had extremely high expectations and procrastinated reading it for a while because I was scared it wouldn’t live up to them. Y’all I am proud to say it lived up to them.

Sapphic Indian inspired fantasy. That was all it took to automatically make me love this. Everything else was just extra.

Ok morally gray lesbians also did it. I’m multitalented.

The amount of different povs felt a little unnecessary and a bit confusing at times. I could’ve done with just Priya and Malini.

I loved both of their characters. I mean obviously they’re morally gray lesbians.

I’m honestly in awe of Malini. She was willing to do absolutely anything to get her goal and I loved it. She’s ruthless and cunning and if she wasn’t as good at hiding her emotions I bet my left arm she would have a schemings face to rival Kaz’s.

Priya was less cruel. More forgiving. She fought when necessary but wouldn’t hurt innocents. She wasn’t portrayed as weaker for this. She’s a different type of strong than Malini. A softer, subtler type. She believes in people, gives second chances, shows kindness to those who likely don’t deserve it. She’s what Malini needs in the book(?) to come to keep her from going to far.

With romance between boss/employee, royalty/servant, etc I’m always worried about how the power dynamic will be addressed and dealt with. This handled it so well. They were both in power in separate ways and even while they were enemies they never treated each other like they were above them.

The magic system was amazing. I love learning about the give and take of magic in fantasy worlds and this showed that. I can’t wait to learn more about the origin of the deathless waters and about Priya’s own past.

The action was well paced and for all the book accomplished it didn’t feel rushed. The main couple had great chemistry and was amazing. I’m rooting for them.
You hear that Tashi? Let my girls be happy Please

tl:dr if you hear morally gray lesbians or sapphic Indian inspired fantasy and think you’ll love it I promise you will.

3.5 out of 5 stars!

In a world where the diseased people are the lowest of the low and the rulers makes decisions that banishes their loved ones into exile, there are more people who wants to rebel against the wrongdoings that were forced on them by said rulers. A princess seeking revenge against her brother and a deposed priestess seeking any signs of her family, are key figures in the changes within the empire in the new Tasha Suri series.

This is a solid beginning to the Burning Kingdom series. It gives lots of information to this world that the two main protagonists are living with. The book offers multiple narratives but focused on the two main female protagonists whose relationship changes throughout the story. This book also includes secondary characters that are critical in building up the world and the evolution of the main protagonists. I enjoyed the world-building that Ms. Suri is known for and it shows Indian inspirations that were intriguing to read. There were some characters not to my liking and there were some details that required personal fortitude due to the treatments experienced by certain characters in the book. Overall an enjoyable read and a good start to the series.

**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions and thoughts in the review are my own.**

I received an advanced copy of The Jasmine Throne through NetGalley so I could share my review with you!

Content Warning: The Jasmine Throne contains scenes of explicit violence including immolation and self-immolation, gender-based violence (this does not include sexual assault), homophobia and internalized homophobia, suicidal ideation, self-mutilation, abusive family dynamics, child murder, body horror (plant-based, cosmic), and forced drug use and depictions of addiction/withdrawal.

Trapped in an ancient, defunct temple by her own brother, princess Malini is decaying. After being betrayed by her brother, Malini has been left to watch her empire fall to ruin. Malini is almost entirely isolated in her temple prison, alone except for the maidservant who comes to clean her chambers each night. Priya, the aforementioned maidservant, needs the anonymity that comes with being a servant. No one thinks to suspect someone in her position to have secrets, especially those of the magical variety. But, when Malini uncovers Priya’s true nature, their fates become intertwined. Between the two of them, Malini and Priya have the potential to burn the empire to the ground or to save it once and for all.

You can get your copy of The Jasmine Throne on June 8th from Orbit Books!

I cannot rave enough about this book! It has one of my all-time favorite fantasy romance pairings because Priya and Malini are absolutely irresistible. Their partnership has a certain edge to it that I believe comes from a perfectly executed “enemies-to-lovers” plotline. I mean, who can say “no” to morally gray protagonists falling in love?

The Jasmine Throne also does an incredible job exploring the theme of monstrosity and femininity, namely how society treats women it views as monstrous. Priya and Malini both undermine and defy their societally expected roles, and are thereby viewed as monsters. This serves both to add depth to the characters’ narratives and to make a larger statement on society as a whole, adding yet another layer of relevance to the story!

After finishing reading my traditional copy, I immediately purchased the audiobook, so that I can relive the story with the added magic of narration! I will post an audiobook review once I am finished listening, to let you know how it compares to my regular read-through!

My Recommendation-
This incredible high fantasy novel would be a great read for fans of strong, queer protagonists with questionable morality! I would especially recommend The Jasmine Throne to readers who loved The Unbroken, The Priory of the Orange Tree, and Beyond the Ruby Veil!