Content warnings: Immolation, suicide, drug abuse and recovery, sibling abuse, gaslighting, execution by elephant, homophobia (both internal and external)

Malini’s tyrant of a brother locked her up in the Hirana, a decaying temple, and Priya is one of the many servants employed to take care of her. But when Malini witnesses the secret Priya tries to hide, the two form a tense alliance which can change the structure of an empire forever.

This book has so many things: swoony writing, intricate politics, kind people at the end of their rope, thorough depictions of the different political and social strata. There’s also plant magic, waters with mystical regenerative properties, mythologies that contradict, a magical plague, and then some. It’s a treat for any fantasy lover.

While Malini and Priya are our main characters, we don’t see the world through just their eyes. Suri sprinkles several point of view sections throughout, from estranged siblings to rebels to neutral folk trying to see the next day amid the madness. It’s masterful and paints a full picture of the greater implications of both characters getting what they want. This tension provides such fantastic angst to the romance between Malini and Priya. Is it fate? Is it something else? Those answers are left up to the reader to decide, especially given how much is coming in the rest of the series.

What really makes this book stand out is that the presentation of strength is definitely quieter. There is an epic battle towards the end, but the pace and build-up is careful and much more character-driven. Most of the characters are warriors of different kinds. Priya, especially, has such a big heart for the people in her community and those affected by the burning of temple children several years prior. She butts heads with Bhumika often because of the different paths the two have taken, though they have a common end goal. With so much violence happening in the recent past, the conversations around what “better” might look like are fraught and tense and permeate every aspect of the story. The world-building here is intricate, so the book really needs the space at the beginning to lay that ground work. But once the story gets going, it really grabs you by the wrist and doesn’t let go.

It took me a while because of a darned reading slump but I have finally finished this book and I'm floored. All the hype that this has been getting on social media is worth it - the relationships, the history and folklore, the characters, everything about this book punches you in the feels and creates a story that makes an impact on you. I will definitely be picking up the rest of the books by Tasha Suri ASAP because her prose and storytelling has just hit me on another level.

Love Tasha Suri newest adult fantasy with interesting world building. Fun and interesting POV characters and complicated romance

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a book that has had my attention since I first read the description for it months back. An Indian-inspired fantasy novel with a sapphic romance sounded extremely unique and like something I would absolutely love. I went into the book not fully realizing it would be such a slow burn, but the slow pace suited this story really well since it allowed more time to explore this world in detail. I personally loved spending so much time with each character and getting to know both them and their backgrounds, as well as the various different cultures each character is a part of, seeing as how they are all tied together while still being distinctly different.

I didn't immediately love every character in this book because I couldn't tell who I was meant to trust for a while, but by the end of the book I was invested in every characters' storyline, and some of those storylines made me feel incredibly emotional. Despite how much certain plotlines hurt, the stakes felt so much more real and I knew that nobody was truly safe in this world, which adds a layer of suspense that I enjoy in fantasy books. Disregarding the painful aspects, I loved how morally gray many of the cast were as a whole. While it can be fun having clear "good guys" and "bad guys", I personally really enjoy seeing characters make morally questionable decisions but for reasons that I can also understand. It's hard to pull that off in a way where I can understand multiple sides of the same conflict, but Tasha Suri handled that really well throughout this book.

Overall, I found this to be an excellent start to a new trilogy! There were so many storylines set up in this book that are inevitably going to be important in future books, and I am beyond excited to see how the next two books handle these.

I recommend this book to anyone that likes fantasy books set in a non-traditional fantasy setting, and that have a slow-building plot with a satisfying ending.

An enthrallingly lush story full of shadowy depths and bright sunlight and deep waters. Excellent writing and intriguing characters. Fast paced story of unwilling revolution, shared purposes with conflicting methods, and what family means. I love the setting and the culture being represented as well.
The story stalled a tiny bit around the 75% mark after what turned out to be a false climax, but it picked back up again. I'll be looking out for the next one.

Tasha Suri is one heck of a force to be reckoned with. Starting off with another original and incredibly written first book in a new series, Jasmine Throne follows a priestess searching for her family and a princess imprisoned by her dictator brother who find solace in each other and plan to bring down the empire.
Suri is a master of world-building. Inspired by Ancient India, the belief system was a craft within a craft.
The characters make you root for them every step of the way and it proves worthy right through to the end. This was a fantastic read and definitely a series whose sequel I will wait for impatiently in the future!

Absolutely adored this adult fantasy with interesting characters and world building. I cannot wait for the sequel to come out at some point

I WAS PATIANT ! I WAITED ! When I got the email letting me know I’d gotten a early review copy I was ecstatic, prior to requesting The Jasmine Throne, I’d previously read Tasha Suri’s The books of Ambha Duology and fell in love. It was very much so the same when I’d finally finished the 1st book in the burning kingdoms series and for that, I couldn’t be anymore happier. The characters in the story have my whole heart, the world building left me very impressed and the magic system just has me asking more and more questions. I simply cannot wait for The Oleander Sword to be released ! ! !

Tasha Suri can have all my money if she just continues to write amazing books 💛

An epic sapphic fantasy, The Jasmine Throne transports readers to a captivating and thoroughly fleshed-out world filled with culture and compelling characters. While I had to work to absorb the numerous carefully crafted details and minutiae of this world and story, it was well worth it. The politics and nuances of the story were amazing, and I loved the characters that were guiding the story along — and how can I not love a forbidden, body guard sapphic romance! A sweeping tale of the fight against empire and unexpected love set in a captivating world, this was a great read I’ll be telling my friends about!

Thank you to netgalley and orbit for an advanced release copy of this book. This is a fantasy book that follows multiple different perspectives. Malini is a princess exiled to the remote Hirana, a temple on a inhospitable mountain, because she refused her brother’s command to be immolated for her impurity. There is a young priestess Priya who grew up as a temple child on the Hirana and is hidden away in a household working as a servant who by circumstance ends up serving Malini.

All of this happens amid the political background of the region with different religious factions and princes and magisters with opposing goals. In addition, there is a mysterious rot plaguing the people who are slowly and mysteriously turning into trees.

A great new epic fantasy with vivid characters and an intricately woven political backdrop.

First, I received an earc of this book from Netgalley (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review.

I adored this book! It’s definitely one of my top reads of 2021! I loved the three main women in this book, Priya, Malini, and Bhumika. They were vastly different, but each of them hid their true selves behind meekness and seeming unintelligent. I couldn’t pick a favourite even if I tried.

Everyone should know by now that I’m a sucker for character development, and while there wasn’t a huge “before and after” in terms of development in this book (the characters were pretty much as they always were), the development BETWEEN characters was just perfect. And I’m not just talking about the romance, I’m talking about platonic relationships as well. Everything about this book was just stunning—even the rot. I’ve never encountered a fictional disease that was so PRETTY before.

But yeah, if you’re looking for a sapphic fantasy with morally grey MCs who should hate each other but end up allies, this is for you!!

I only wish that Chandra had more screen time. I love me some unredeemable baddies! We all know he’s a monster, but I always like seeing glimpses firsthand to be like “YES HE IS A MONSTER.”

Released June 8, 2021

The Jasmine Throne
By. Tasha Suri
Orbit Books
P. 480
Format: eArc
Rating: ****1/2
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I received an e-arc from @Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
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A lot of fantasy books make you choose between having a detailed and entertaining plot, or having detailed and entertaining characters. There is only so much space in which to write the book, after all. However, The Jasmine Throne has both.

Priya has a secret, one that cannot come out. However, when a princess is sent to her country for her imprisonment, everything starts escalating out of control. She finds herself working in the temple that she once grew up in. It starts to bring back memories of her childhood. Only three children escaped from the temple, the rest went up in flames.

Malini is a princess whose crime was refusing to allow herself to burn. Exiled far away from the throne she has to find allies, and who is better than her maidservant with secrets of her own?

I really enjoyed the world, as well as the plotting. The romance was. . . interesting. I am the least romantic person ever, so maybe I was missing something. However, I do enjoy the complicated relationships between all the characters. That is just how life is - messy and complicated. The ending was pretty predictable. There was foreshadowing long before it happened. That doesn’t make it a bad ending, just not a surprising ending. If it didn’t end that way. . . well, then there would be problems.

I will absolutely be picking up this book in print as well as continuing on in the series.

Inspired by ancient India, this is a story of two women, both with powerful destinies. Priya is a maid servant, but also a woman with unusual and potentially world changing power if she can just remember and harness. Malini is a princess, more savvy than everyone around her but imprisoned by not only by her extremist brother, but the strictures of the patriarchy. On sometimes opposing sides of a power struggle, Priya and Malini are drawn to each other even as they try to use each other.

This was pretty good. I loved reading a fantasy in this setting of course, and you have to love a diversity of woman characters that are just super powerful, each in their different ways and complete with individual flaws. I did have a hard time connecting with the characters somewhat and I don't really understand the magic system, but I'm hoping that this will develop further in the next book.

There is a lot of brutality, politics, and making "war time" decisions. And such a strong fire motif, filled with trauma and rage. And yet at the same time, rebirth and live, and and two sided blade of nature. All intertwined with destinies and multiple types of gods that may or may not be playing a real hand in the world. I'm definitely looking forward to reading book 2!

Thank you to Netgalley and Orbitbooks for a gifted copy of this book!! This was also a b2weird book club read!!!

The Jasmine Throne is set in a beautiful, harsh, and vivid world. It centers around a group of young people who want to make a better future for their kingdom, which was conquered generations ago by a neighboring empire. The main narrator is a young maidservant who as a child was trained to be a temple elder in the ruling council, before the temple was burned and her family slain. She struggles with wanting the promise of her childhood and a simple life. Her life changes when she's sent to clean and serve an exiled princess in her former home. Her path is set on a collision course with some of her siblings, who each work to protect their people in very different ways.

It was slow to start for me, and I'm not a fan of split narration/multiple narrators, but the second half of the book picked up speed and thrilled. The ending is solid. There is a sweet romantic subplot that doesn't overtake the story of rebellion and magic.

The Jasmine Throne is the first novel in Tasha Suri's new trilogy, Burning Kingdoms. It is steeped in Indian culture and mythology. I love all mythologies. Indian mythology is so epic and the culture is so rich with history.

Unfortunately, this book kind of fell flat for me. I believe that this is very much a setting up the second book. There was so much world building in it. The perspectives flip from character to character and aren't always in the main characters perspectives. I found both Malini and Priya to be lacking something. Perhaps we will see more character growth in the next books. Honestly, the most interesting character is Bhumika. She was the most interesting from the beginning to the end. Malini and Priya are supposed to be the main romance in the novel. I kind of found that aspect to be so minor in the book, yet it was hyped up as a sapphic romance. I am not sure what is to come from them, but their romance so far has be underwhelming.

This book was a struggle for me to read. I actually had to buddy read it for me to complete it. I am not sure what the problem was. I just think it was the pacing, while there are events throughout, it is a really slow read. I had hoped the ending had redeemed it, however, I predicted the big reveal at that 25% mark. While I did not love the read, I will likely read the rest of the trilogy.


A special thank you goes out to Orbit Books, & NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book for review!

As my first encounter with this much lauded author, I found the world building lived up to expectations but feel as if there were perhaps too many POVs shared for me to make a deep connection with many of the characters. While I'm unlikely to reread this book, I look forward to its sequel.

Dnf at 20% because I'm just not in the mood for a fantasy book like this right now. I believe I will like this book if I read it at a better time as I did love the main characters, it's just the world building that's throwing me off.

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri is one of the most compelling fantasy books I’ve read in recent times. This hot-off-the-press release has it all, a tyrannous emperor, kingdoms distinguished by their own beliefs and culture, mystifying politics, magic and not one but three badass heroines. And it’s a South Asian Sapphic fantasy book!

Malini is the sister of the tyrannous emperor. Priya is a simple maidservant until she’s not. And Bhumika, she is the unsung hero in my eyes, a true force to be reckoned with. Together they change the course of an entire empire. Maybe “change” is putting it subtlety, they set it ablaze.

This Indian-inspired epic fantasy is a must read for fans of the fantasy genre. And did I mention, this book has much needed queer representation? I thoroughly enjoyed The Jasmine Throne in all of its complexity and enchantment. Learning about fictional histories is a real treat and Suri delivers with the Ahiranya and Parijati people, their religions, cultures and traditions. Albeit confusing, these histories are the foundation of powerful social commentary on why war takes place and how understanding one another is unifying.

Side note: I can’t believe the story ended like that. I need book two. Now.

Whew, this one was a journey! I liked this one more than I thought I would. Suri painted a culture of ancient beliefs that were destroyed in acts of violence against children and women. The story is a deep rich-cultured world, and I liked every detail, down to food preparation to the mysterious dark wilderness that sits on the side of the country.

The two stars of this adventure are Priya and Malini – two women from very different backgrounds working together to change history. Even though it was a group effort to tell the tale, I believe Priya brought the story to life, making her my favorite. At the same time, Malini was the underlying second voice that will undoubtedly reign supreme in the sequel. Yes, there's a sequel coming. Their dynamic starts rough, but they have a loving political understanding for each other towards the end.

It was lengthy but worth it. I'm invested in these characters and their strange religion. Can't wait for book 2!

I was so excited for The Jasmine Throne, unfortunately I don’t think I was in the right mood to read a fantasy. I’ll come back to this one, I really enjoyed the writing. DNF for now.