I'll start by saying overall the book was good, it has all the familiar troupes of "oh there is a completion, I'm forced to participate in for my freedom" , "I don't like the person who controls my destiny/freedom", enemies lovers, etc. I ask what is the overarching reason for the completion, what initiated these games, why do they have to happen? This is not explained which made it kind of disappointing to me. The actual competitions don't start until your about 2/3rds into the book and each event starts and end quickly (pages and content wise). I didn't feel like the chemistry between the two characters was well developed, to be honest this whole book felt very YA to me and certainly not adult (IMO). I did find myself skimming through sections of dialog to be honest.

Overall it was a good book, it entertained me for the most part, just not sure it's a world I will continue in.

Thank you Net Galley for the e-arc of this book

A strong start to a promising new fantasy series! I can definitely see this series becoming similar to Throne of Glass (trials to become champion, a lost queen, a country to reclaim, magic) and I definitely think fans of ToG would like this. I loved Sylvia's sass & banter with Arin. The plot was also interesting and has set up for something epic to come. However the pacing dragged a bit and I also felt we didn't get enough time getting to know Arin's thoughts/ deep dark secrets. Definitely recommend giving this one a try if you like fantasy!

Enemies to lovers meets slow burn perfection!

This book was unexpectedly one of the best books I've read in awhile. I will admit, it took me a little while (about the 100 page mark) to really sink into the story, but once I was hooked, I couldn't put it down. Everything about this book had me wanting more. The magic system was unique, and it felt like something I hadn't seen done before. The world building was nicely integrated throughout the story.

The only thing I wanted more of was the romance! It was so good despite it being a relatively smaller plot line. It was definitely giving enemies to lovers, and it was a slow burn for sure. It was the type of slow burn that just had me on the edge of my seating waiting for them to finally get together. There were also some famously popular tropes like who did this to you and morally grey characters throughout the novel.

Overall, I couldn't help but love this book. As soon as I finished it, I was dying to get my hands on the next one. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a intense, suspenseful fantasy that has a light touch of romance.

Big thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Overall Rating: 4.7/5

Sylvia is just a regular villager. She’s apprenticed to the village chemist, spends most of her time hunting down frogs, and has real trouble making friends. She could be just any other villager, practically indistinguishable from them. Except for one crucial fact. Sylvia is not only a Jasadi, but the Jasad Heir.

When the only remaining magical kingdom of Jasad fell to the Nizahl, the entire royal family was presumed dead. Unbeknownst to anyone, Sylvia, then Essiya, escaped, and has been living in hiding ever since. Her survival depends on nobody knowing she is a Jasadi, let alone the Heir to the fallen kingdom. After all, any Jasadi who are discovered are immediately killed, no questions asked. But when a moment of anger reveals her magic to none other than Arin, the Nizahl Heir, Sylvia finds herself caught in a more difficult position than ever. But rather than immediately murdering her, Arin seems intent on using her to track down other Jasadi groups, and promises Sylvia her freedom in exchange. Sylvia has to ask herself what she values more: her freedom, or the people she was once supposed to rule?

I received an advanced reading copy of The Jasad Heir in exchange for an honest review.

The Jasad Heir is an Egyptian-inspired fantasy novel by Sara Hashem. It’s also the beginning of a series, although I’m not sure how many books there will be in total. However many there are, though, I will for sure be picking them up because WOW this was a wild ride!

The Jasad Heir had so many of my favorite elements included. We have a second-world fantasy here where recent events have affected the lives of so many. We get a mix of history, culture, traditions, all coming from the different events each kingdom has been through. And the characters from each of these locations also bring each of these customs to life. I will admit I was occasionally confused about which kingdom was which, but I eventually started to be able to keep track of them, and I just really loved how much history influenced everything about this story.

I was also incredibly fond of the characters here! Sylvia is obviously our main character, and we see pretty much the whole story through her perspective. But what is particularly fascinating about Sylvia is just how flawed she is. She does berate herself a lot for her mistakes, and yet she continues making them. Not only that, but the fact that her main goal is to protect herself over anybody else… while it could appear to be selfish, it really worked to make her more realistic. Then we also get her humor, and the mental weight she carries every day. There’s also something else I want to mention about her but it would be a huge spoiler so I just won’t say anything, but just know that Hashem honestly impressed me so much in the creation of a character as complex as Sylvia.

Now, for a character who is much less messy, but just as complex. Arin. He’s our main antagonist here: he has Sylvia trapped against her will, he’s the only one who knows her secret, and he has the power to end her life quickly if she dares step out of line. And it was fascinating how I had one very distinct impression of the character in the beginning, and yet the more I read, the more I began to see my perception of him change completely. He felt like a completely different character by the end of the story, and while part of it was that he changed, sure, the rest was that the reader, along with Sylvia, slowly starts to learn more and more about who he is as a person, and not just as the enemy.

This may be a spoiler situation, so feel free to skip to the next paragraph, but one trope that this book employs that I think a lot of people will enjoy is that of enemies-to-lovers. It might have already been obvious to readers of this review even from the brief summary I included at the beginning. It’s often not hard to guess with books like these, and I often find it hard to pull off. It often feels so jarring to me, when people who used to be enemies suddenly become lovers, and part of it never feels real. Here, though, while I expected it to happen from early on in the book, I was surprised when it finally did, but in a good way. It happened so slowly and gradually, but there came a point where I was urging them to kiss and I shocked myself, because only a few chapters ago I detested Arin with every fiber of my being. Also, I’m not usually the person urging people to kiss, so do with that what you may.

I’ve discussed setting, characters, and romance, and I haven’t even touched on the plot! So, the main plot here is that Sylvia has to earn her freedom by competing as Nizahl’s Champion over three incredibly dangerous and harrowing tasks. On the plus side, she has magic to help her. On the minus side, she has magic that could get her killed if she’s discovered using it. Oh yeah, and she also has the biggest secret of a lifetime to keep, as well as two Jasadi groups hunting her down. The plot was so exciting throughout, and I devoured the second half of this book in a single day, unable to pull away from it. I just had to know what would come next, and by the time I turned the final page, I whispered to myself, “That was so good.”

There is so much action in here. The danger, and the fast-paced plot combined with the compelling setting and complex characters automatically put the second book on my TBR. I desperately need it, and unfortunately, I don’t think we have a title yet, let alone a release date for it. I guess I should be patient. The Jasad Heir itself hasn’t been released! But I do think it is an excellent read for anyone who likes action and danger, hidden royalty, enemies-to-lovers, and more political fantasies. There’s a lot to enjoy here, and I would whole-heartedly recommend this fantasy.

The Jasad Heir will be released on July 18. You can pre-order your copy from Orbit here.

This is my newest 5-star read!

I really enjoy books that jump right into the story, and you learn about the characters and world as you go. The world-building in this was phenomenal! The backstory for each country is so well done and perfectly explains the politics.

Sara Hashem fully captured the vibes of the world and really made me feel my feelings. I was rooting for Sylvia the entire time. I also really enjoyed reading Arin's growth throughout the book as well. I cannot wait for book two! I'm now in a book hangover and just want to jump right back into reading this book.

Sylvia has lived a very difficult life since her world crumbled ten years ago. As she builds a life in her current community, she keeps secrets that could end her life. It all begins to crumble around her when the Heir of the ruling family finds her in a moment of weakness that makes him question everything about her.

Arin clearly has been hurt by someone or something. He keeps everyone at arm's length and travels around looking for hiding Jasadi. When they are found, he can sense their magic and sends them to the Citadel for "trial." Everyone knows this trial is a farce, and the Jasadis are being found guilty and killed.

Following the genocide of their kingdom, Jasadis went into hiding and many have been living among everyone else. The only difference is that the Jasadis have magic. Most leaders believe that magic is evil, leading the Jasadis to have an unfair advantage in life.

A stunning debut. Yes, it is tropey, but that's what's on the tin, as they say. Absolutely adored it and can't wait to see what Hashem does next (which is obviously book two, but she's an auto-buy for me, not matter where she goes after this adventure).

I absolutely adored every moment of this book. I’ve never read Egyptian fantasy and now I’m desperate for more. The political elements of this fantastical story mixed with the real life elements bring a unique and compelling edge to a classic story format, and that added romantic tension between rivals is deeeelicious. I can’t wait to get my hands on the next book.

Read this book if you are looking for:
- new-adult fantasy
- slow burn enemies-to-lovers
- deadly competition/challenges
- training montages
- food and lore inspired by Egypt
- questions about identity and belonging

Plot: The concept of this novel is excellent, and has all the pieces for an incredible new-adult fantasy book. This book is someone's next new favourite, but didn't hit home for me in the execution. Despite not adoring this book, I am excited to see more from this author as she grows on the fantasy scene.

Characters: My favourite characters were actually side characters in this novel. I loved anything having to do with Sefa, Fairel and Vaida. Unfortunately I didn’t feel drawn to either the main character or her love interest at all. (I found the love interest insufferable, and not in a good way.) I also wish that we had had stronger descriptions of the champions and more banter between them.

Pacing: The first 40% of the book went very quickly, I couldn’t put it down! But I do think that after that, this book’s biggest downfall is its pacing. Sections that I wanted to be shorter felt like they went on too long (like Sylvia’s training), and others felt like they went by too quickly (like the competition and the ending).

Ending and sequel: The ending left much to be explored in the second book! While I will likely not continue on, I have no doubt that anyone who deeply enjoyed this book will be mixed with satisfaction and anticipation waiting for what comes next.

Setting: My other main critique is, as an Egyptian, I would have wanted to see more that was inspired by Egypt. While there is a sprinkle of worldbuilding here and there like foods, creatures, and holidays, I was looking for something more atmospheric, and it felt like this book could have been set anywhere. Since Egypt is being called out as a setting inspiration in the tagline, I was looking for this book to feel much more anchored in that setting, and that let me down.

NOTE that if you are someone who gets easily claustrophobic, then the training sections that happen in underground tunnels occupy a large portion of the book, and at times made me uncomfortable to read.

A huge thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

IM DRY HEAVING AND THROWING UP AND SHAKING LIKE A SMALL DOG

If you like political fantasies, slow burn enemies to lovers, tournaments, royal balls, drama, and betrayals, WELL DO I HAVE THE BOOK FOR YOU!!

I had extremely high hopes that I would enjoy this book before I even began just based on description alone, it had all of my favorite things. And the execution was certainly there!! It did take me a bit to get into the first few chapters but when I hit the 10% mark things took off and NEVER SLOWED DOWN!!!

Our main character, Sylvia, was not what I was expecting but I LOVE HER SO MUCH!! SYLVIA HATERS GET BACK! She is our lost Jasad Heir and this book deviates from the normal formula I’ve seen with the lost heir trope which I was not expecting at all but really enjoyed. It added a whole other layer of complexity to Sylvia’s character and really challenged the idea of what we owe to people that we don’t really know and how do we balance our own happiness and safety against duties we know exist for us.

Sylvia is REALLY put through it in this book as she has to grapple with her past, her current path, and what she could possibly hope for in terms of the future. She’s funny, intelligent, witty, and many other things but if you need to know one thing about her though, know that she is a SURVIVOR!

Our love interest, Arin, falls into the typical mold of the calculating, brooding prince. AND I EAT THIS CHARACTER TYPE UP EVERY TIME!! He’s very tough on the outside but has a soft heart so he needs to keep people at a distance and I just want to give him a hug!!

We also have a super strong cast of supporting characters and I love them all so much!! I love when fantasy books don’t have too many side characters because it allows the author to really flesh out the ones that we do have and get to know them and love them and the author executed it perfectly here! Sefa, Marek, Jeru and Wes you will always be famous!!

As for the plot, this was truly meant for me! Discovering your past, training for a tournament, going through the actual tournament trial, political intrigue, slow burn enemies to lovers, secrets and shocking reveals, and a WILD ending! What more could you ask for?! Well other than the next book to be released immediately 😭 I need it SO BADLY

Anyway, go read this book when it comes out in July!!

Thank you so so much to Orbit Books and NetGalley for providing me with this eARC!

Thank you Netgalley, Orbit, and Sara Hashem for the digital ARC of this book!

An absolutely stunning debut from Sara Hashem. Hashem brings her kingdoms to life across the page, as a vibrant Egyptian-inspired landscape divided into four countries with their own rulers. Equally as brilliant are Hashem's cast of characters, who are memorable and relatable. It's refreshing to see that not just the FMC is the one holding secrets.

This book caught my attention in the early chapters, and the plot is carried by several tropes- enemies to lovers, a secret identity in fear of getting discovered, and forbidden magic to name a few. There is a deadly competition that furthers the plot, but the majority of the book is the FMC preparing for said competition. The first trial didn't start until 70% of the book was done, and consequently felt kind of rushed given how the competition was the resolution of several plot lines. That being said, I did not see the various betrayals coming (what book about politics and potentially warring kingdoms doesn't have a few betrayals!) and i am very much looking forward to the rest of this series.

I found it a little heard to get into at first but I stuck through it. Glad I did! I found the story very interesting and really enjoyed it.

Thank you NetGalley for the E-ARC of this book.
The Jasad Heir was such an entertaining and fast-paced story. The world that Sara Hashem built was so intriguing and I can't wait to find out more! I will say though I did wish that Sylvia showed more hatred towards Arin. I felt that the beginning was a bit slow, and although the world is super intriguing, I did find myself a bit confused at times just because there was a lot of information to absorb. I also really want to learn more about Arin's backstory, his characterization was so interesting and I wish we could have found out more! I cannot wait to see where book 2 goes and how that crazy ending will be continued! What a great debut novel!

The Jasad Heir is a political fantasy with similar vibes to [book:The Prison Healer|53968496]. Sylvia is an orphan living in a small village, but she has a huge secret. She's the heir to the fallen kingdom of Jasad, a kingdom that was destroyed because the Jasadi possessed magic. Her plan of living a quiet life in hiding changes the day the Commander of Nizahl, the man who's father was responsible for her kingdoms downfall, chooses her to compete in the trials honoring the sacrifice of the former gods of their world. Sylvia must maintain her secret identity while keeping her growing feelings for the Commander at bay.

Overall, I liked this book despite the pacing being slow at times. The world building was very well done and the characters were interesting on their own even though their relationships with each other felt very surface level. I'm looking forward to seeing Sylvia really learn how to use her magic and discover the whole truth behind her village's downfall along with everything her grandparents hid from her.

Tropes:
"who did this to you"
enemies to lovers
slow-burn
light romance/no spice

Will I read book 2: Yes

Thank you to NetGalley, Sara Hashem, snd Orbit books for the ARC of this book.

This was a fantastic read. I truly loved our FMC and being with her as she traversed a world that wasn’t kind to her. Seeing her accept friendship and maybe even love? The world building was great, I loved learning a little about each location and the lore as we went along, I think this kind of world building can help get into the book as it doesn’t feel like you’re just getting a bunch of information thrown at you all at once.

The found family aspect was really great. Again, I enjoyed that there was more than meets the eye to everyone, including Rory! The way that Sylvia grows to realize that she’s been blinded by her own worries and that she needed to look more carefully around her is interesting and I like that we slowly see her growth as well. She isn’t the perfect FMC we get in a lot of fantasy, she has her own mistakes and moments of necessary growth.

The trials were interesting, I wish we had seen just a little more backstory to them - we know that Sylvia gets some insight but it would have been nice to see it as the reader as well. Also the dual POV is well done, I hope we get more of the second POV in book 2 (intentionally vague to avoid spoilers).

This includes the best of enemies to lovers: knife to throat, who did this, forced proximity, but I won’t say anything else to avoid spoilers!

Everyone into fantasy with romance and political intrigue should read this. Sara did an amazing job and now I just *can’t* wait for book 2!!

The Jasad Heir was one of my most anticipated releases of 2023, but sadly it just wasn’t for me. The concept, world, and cultural/historical influences were fantastic, but a messy plot structure, characters, and other writing choices felt like lost opportunities and left me wanting more.

The strongest part of this book by far are the Egyptian cultural influences. The world brims with Arabic words and Egyptian-Arab customs, from dress to food to architecture. This book is also partially inspired by the Arab Spring, but I found that the political allusions and social/thematic commentary weren’t as strong as they could have been. However, the broader thematic messaging of belonging, duty to family and people (especially as a first-born woman), and destiny vs free will were better executed and felt timely and relevant. The overall concept is great, with a multi-layered political landscape that’s complicated by magic and quarreling gods.

Unfortunately, a plethora of strange writing choices ultimately failed to capitalize on this book’s full potential. The most glaring to me was the pacing and plot structure, both of which falter under the complex politics and prevent the book from exploring the deeper implications of violence and war. Over 50% of the book is a repetitive training sequence between the two main characters, Arin and Sylvia. The midpoint twist actually comes closer to the 60% mark, and the tournament arc is crammed into the last 30% as the characters embark on a head-spinningly fast tour-de-france around the four kingdoms. I felt this part was great in showing the politics and court backstabbing, but it was tragically short and failed to fully showcase the world.

Another writing choice I found strange was the extreme focus on the two main characters’ relationship. There’s a true enemies-to-lovers romance, but sometimes the violence jump-scared me with how feral and inhumane it was, only for the characters who were pinning each other to a tree with literal knives to suddenly start freaking out over the MMC’s bare chest. Platonic relationships are largely limited to a few brief scenes of camaraderie but don’t particularly deepen any of the characters involved. The main friendship between Sylvia and side characters Marek and Sefa was underexplored and left me wanting more, especially because the latter two have incredible backstories that could have really elevated the stakes. Sefa in particular was a great character, and all her scenes stood out to me. She would have been a great way to explore the dark, everyday effects of war and violence on ordinary citizens, but unfortunately this was mostly alluded to and not explored further. Marek is a really soft himbo character though, and I will gladly protect him with my life.

Speaking of the main characters, I wasn’t completely sold on the romance. I could understand that the overly-analytical and cunning Arin would be attracted to the wild and fierce Sylvia (Bridgerton “you vex me!!” vibes), but Sylvia is constantly hating Arin for everything he stands for (he was literally part of the genocide of her people) until suddenly some physical contact turns her on. She ends up so in love with him that she begins praising his kingdom’s military organization and says he’ll be a good leader, somehow forgetting that his military and government massacred her people. This would have been more believable if Arin was against his kingdom’s martial culture, but unfortunately he’s fully complicit and even perpetuates it. Arin was still my favorite character in the book, but his lack of POV was incredibly frustrating. He has three small interludes, but they barely serve any purpose other than the fact that Sylvia, the main narrator, is currently indisposed with an injury. I would have preferred a more balanced POV narration, but hopefully we’ll get that in book 2. Sylvia was a fine character, but her rage and survival overshadow other facets of her character that are only revealed in the last 30%. If the last 30% was extended, I think this could have done wonders for the book and characters.

A minor detail that I hope will be improved in the finished copies: the geographical layout was very hard to visualize without a map, and the lack of a glossary only added to the difficulty of trying to sort out the regional politics introduced within the first 50ish pages. I will admit that some of the names confused me, especially because the ethnic basis didn’t quite align in my mind, especially when the Roman/European-coded names were a mixture of modern and more fantastical (ex. Caleb vs Arin) while the other kingdoms all had Arabic-inspired names despite the world being multicultural and multiethnic.

However, the ending was still really fun and I’ll probably read the sequel. Most of my gripes with this book were that there was so much potential, but it only delivered on a few aspects. Overall, The Jasad Heir was a disappointing (but not terrible) read.

3/5 stars

An ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions remain my own.

First and foremost, I loved this story! It takes place in an Egyptian inspired world with an intriguing system of magic. The plot and pacing kept me riveted, and I fell in love with four of the characters.

The Jasad Heir had two things that I love in a fantasy: believable characters that you are rooting for, and lush details that help me visualize the world. I tend to easily lose interest in complex worlds and political systems, but the author did a great job of sharing specific, small details while creating a sophisticated landscape and political system where I felt I was dropped into the story. I highly recommend this book!

An enjoyable political fantasy!!

Tightly plotted, filled to the brim with tensioned enemies to potential lovers, a royal queen in hiding, various kingdom rulers, and competitions galore, this Egyptian-inspired adult fantasy book creates a lot of intrigue and a vibrant, lush backdrop. I really enjoyed the rich, North-African culture infused within the pages of this book. It was as refreshing as sipping on a glass of cold water amidst trekking through a hot desert. Although I was super excited at the onset of the novel and enjoyed how the world was set up, I couldn't wrap my head around the bizarre pacing of this story. The pacing made the story difficult to follow which weakened the enjoyment factor altogether. I think this aspect could definitely be improved on in the future because the characters and world are enticing and thought-provoking.

Thank you to Orbit Books for giving me an advanced copy of this book!

3 stars

The Jasad Heir is an adult fantasy about the political games of a fugitive queen and the heir to her enemy kingdom, and this was one of my favorite books of the year. Some books I am able to fly through, and a lot of people take that as a mark of enjoyment of the book. However, The Jasad Heir is an example of a book that I believe should be taken slowly. There is a lot of information being thrown at the reader which can be a curse if you do not stop and pay attention to it, but if you enjoy it slowly it is a blessing in this book. Each detail serves its purpose of creating a richer and more interesting story. My impression of the book changed drastically over the course and I found myself enjoying it more and more as I read on. This book did not fall into the trappings that other fantasies can when dealing with romance. Rather than making the whole book about it, The Jasad Heir focused on developing the romance along with the plot, so that it felt even. I also think that this book handled any common tropes it used fantastically. I felt like this book could be used as a real example of enemies to lovers where Sylvia and Arin had very real and different goals in mind along with their mutual dislike of each other. This led to an interesting and compelling romance throughout the book. The only problem I found with this book was the lack of substantial plot until the end. There was a lot of traveling around and not doing much during times that the story was trying to focus on the character development. This caused the book to drag at times. Overall, I really enjoyed The Jasad Heir, and would recommend it to people looking to get into adult fantasy from a different genre as it is a fun and relatively easy fantasy read.

The Jasad Heir is a promising debut series opener with a deadly competition, rivals, and hidden magic. There are complex politics at work as Sylvia figures out who is on her side and what she wants to stand for. Exposed by mistake, Sylvia is always engaged in a trust dilemma. Who can she trust? By the end I was also intrigued by Sylvia's magic and specifically what it says about memories and power.

In an Egyptian inspired world, Sylvia is hiding her magic as one of the last of the Jasadi - a group of powerful magic wielders that were destroyed years before - and its heir along with it. When she is chosen as the champion of the Nizahl Heir. Together, they must unleash her magic so she can win the competition.

The main character and her friends at the beginning were heartwarming. You could see Sylvia's struggle to hide her magic and keep it hidden so she could continue her life. I loved her character and watching her grow throughout the book.

However, the pacing of this book is everywhere. At times extremely slow and then very fast. The main love interest gave me red flags and I didn't grow to like him much. Additionally, there are soo many names throughout this that it gets confusing at times - and this is coming from someone who likes complicated fantasy. It also had very similar plot points to another well known fantasy novel so it felt like it had been done before.

You will like this if you like: enemies to lovers, forbidden magic, a lost heir, slow burn, and competitions/champions.

Storygraph review to be posted 7/4.