This was one of my easiest 5 star reviews of the year. I absolutely cannot wait for the second book to come out!

This book had my favorite type of character arc and some really awesome diversity in race, culture, and sexuality. The characters were all well rounded and I was invested in ALL of them (save for a few guards who I could never quite keep straight).

The trope of "thought-dead-heir-trying-to-run-from-her-past" isn't one that I love, but Sara Hashem wrote it so well that it was easy to forget I don't really like it! I cannot express how excited I am to read more about Essiya and Arin, and how the world turns out. One of my favorite parts of this novel was the unlearning that happened for Essiya relating to the nature of her kingdom. She found herself so completely, and I adore everything about her.

As an additional plus, this book is hilarious. Essiya has so many hysterical one-liners, I couldn't stop laughing everytime she spoke!

The most disappointing reads are the ones that you highly anticipate, with an alluring blurb, and a big marketing push from the publishers....and then it just falls flat. This is what happened to me with The Jasad Heir.

The Jasad Heir was one of my most anticipated books of the summer. Orbit Books was hyping three huge debuts from diverse women, and I have had my eye on all three. This was the first of the three I picked up and I eagerly started tearing into it the day that I received it. The blurb sounded like everything I wanted in an epic fantasy - destroyed nations, secret identities, and a vengeful princess/queen looking to reclaim her throne. Unfortunately, The Jasad Heir ends up so mired in genre tropes that Hashem seems to get in her own way. A bold and exciting book is wrapped in a less-than-exciting package, which is unfortunate.

Before I get into some of the shortcomings, I want to emphasize that The Jasad Heir is in no way a bad book. I read the whole thing, and I don't regret my time with it. Hashem has crafted an exciting new fantasy world inspired by Egyptian history and culture. I really appreciated that Hashem easily conveys a massive scope and scale to her world while the story still feels intimate, personal, and contained. Some epic fantasies make it seem like there are only, say, two nations in the entire world of any importance and forget to give the sense that there is a larger world out there. Hashem fills her world with several different nations and political factions that contribute to several plot maneuverings that keep you turning the pages.

The Jasad Heir is told (mostly) through first person narration of its central character, Sylvia, and luckily she is a strong anchor for the rest of the book. Sylvia is a powerful character who is smart and strong, while also believably navigating a complicated world. Sylvia exists in a complicated position; she knows that she should be a ruling Princess/Queen, and yet doesn't quite have the knowledge to truly understand the global political situation that she is walking into. Sylvia is not an "expert" at her job; her country fell before she could really learn how to be a ruler, and yet she is smart enough to navigate trickly political waters with, if not ease, then with the intelligence to do what is best with the information she has. This was really refreshing to see; at no point in the narrative did Hashem have Sylvia do something out of character, including acting dumb, just to propel the plot along.

Depending on what you look for in a book, the only slightly irritating thing Sylvia does is pick a terrible love interest. Arin, the heir to the throne of the "big bad" Nizahl is a wonderful character who is also battling the tension between his own personal wants and the needs of his kingdom that entirely transcend him. He's a terrible love interest because the entire book you look at Sylvia and want to yell at her to pick anyone, literally anyone, else to fall in love with. Fans of slow burn romance will be really into this part of the plot, while it exists enough on the margins of the book to not really annoy non-romance epic fantasy readers.

The thing that most disappointed me in the book was its strict adherence to certain tropes, genre conventions, and current publishing trends that felt shoved into the narrative. Nothing felt more egregious than the inclusion of "deadly trials" in the last 1/3 of the book that had no real purpose other than being able to market the book as having "death games". Sylvia is selected as a "Champion" for one of the powerful nations responsible for the destruction of her nation and family, and in doing so she gets embroiled in a political plot. Recent epic fantasies like The Will of the Many by James Islington and The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi also included these elements, but to much greater effect. The trials in The Jasad Heir just don't feel fully integrated to the story or to Sylvia's character arc; they come late in the narrative and, despite lasting only a few pages, feel like they derail any kind of flow and momentum that Hashem had built up in the first half of the book.

And speaking of flow, the pacing of the book is quite slow. I didn't mind the slow burn romance (although there were some real power relations things going on I wasn't the biggest fan of), but everything else seemed to take way longer than it needed to. Characters would talk about things more than actually do things in a way that felt more like I was listening to a friend tell a story about their day than actually living and breathing the story with the characters. The blurb for the book and its back cover promise an exciting and propulsive story about a deposed queen and her rise to power, and the book is actually much slower and less exciting than that in its execution. While there was never a period where I seriously considered giving up on the book, I was admittedly a bit bored for certain stretches of the book that could have used a bit more "oomph" to it.

Earlier I praised Hashem's expansive world, with at least four (remaining) nations competing and jockeying for power and control. While the world feels large in a horizontal way, I wish that Hashem had given her world more vertical depth. There were many elements that felt particularly shallow, with all of the nations (with maybe the exception of the central nation) all feeling pretty much the same. I couldn't tell you what was actually different about them, and I was disoriented as Sylvia was whisked from one nation to the next because none of the countries had a distinct, lived in identity. The different countries only existed to propel the narrative along, but this turned them to names on the maps rather than actualized placed where people lived and breathed.

The Jasad Heir ended up being an enjoyable read, but one that didn't stand out amongst all of the other epic fantasy books that are published each year. The ending of this book had some fun twists that will hopefully shoot off the rest of the series in some fun directions, but The Jasad Heir itself was too restricted by its own adherence to tropes to really feel like its own thing. There are better version of this book out there (namely The Final Strife), but if you are looking for something along that vein, The Jasad Heir is not a bad way to spend a couple of afternoons.

Concluding Thoughts: Anchored by a strong lead character and intriguing premise, The Jasad Heir is ultimately a bit disappointing because the execution didn't quite match the marketing. I highly anticipated this book, and while it is readable and fun it is ultimately a book that spends too much time trying to adhere to tropes and trends when it is screaming to be its own thing. The end sets up for what will hopefully become a more original and exciting series. Recommended if you like slow burn romances in your fantasy, but otherwise you might want to look elsewhere.

Let's talk about The Jasad Heir, an adult fantasy debut by @shashemwrites - 4⭐
I got an advanced readers e-copy of this book and I had a great time with this.

The lost heir trope is always fun - TOG for example and this proved to be no exception. Sylvia, the protagonist actively tries to avoid thinking about her past life as the Jasad Heir. The Jasadis have been routed and killed for their magic by the other kingdoms - Lukub, Orban, Omal and the military kingdom Nizahl. Magic has been banned and hidden Jasadis murdered everyday. Sylvia wants to live a simple life but when her magic is exposed in front of Arin, The Nizahl Heir - she has no choice. She needs to act as the Nizahl champion in their annual trial and win it. If she does, she'll get her wealth and freedom and so, she agrees to work for her hated enemy, even as she knows she should kill him.

An Egyptian-inspired fantasy, the world building is top notch - her description of each of the kingdoms, their customs, their lifestyle was a delight. There was one detail about the trials that is not clear though. I still don't get the point of them but this is a minor point.

The romance between Arin and Sylvia is super, super slow and I really liked it. Coming to the characters themselves, they are well-written. This is more plot driven than character driven so I didn't expect to see much development there but wish I could have seen a bit more from Arin.

With all the positives, I still feel this is more YA than an adult fantasy. The protagonists are 20 and 22, I believe and maybe that's why but if you read it expecting a YA fantasy, you will have a much more pleasant time.

Overall, I liked this book a lot and I will be waiting for book 2!

THE JASAD HEIR BY SARA HASHEM
4/5 ⭐️
This was an incredible fantasy read. The political intrigue and plot line were so captivating and left me enthralled the whole time. There were times where the writing was bit all over the place and chaotic but I still found it pretty easy to read. This was a phenomenal debut and I love the world it has created. I loved the internal turmoil faced by Sylvia and the complexities of her character. She was almost morally grey in most of the book and I am someone who always loves a morally gray character. The slow burn enemies to lovers was also done really well and I loved the suspense of it.
Thank you Netgalley for this arc.

This book has all of the things I love most and need in my favorite books. The stunning prose, the banter, the political intrigue, slow burn romance, incredible side characters and enemies that need to join forces

"You think you are the most frightening creature in these woods, but you're not, I am"

The opening line sold me "two things stood between me and a good night's sleep, and I was allowed to kill only one of them." This book changed me on a molecular level. I loved ever single moment which you can likely tell from my huge list of highlights.

One thing this settled for me is that anything Orbit publishes I will fall madly deeply inlove with. I preordered my copy before I even reached half way and know that this will become one of my most gifted books of 2023.

This story begins with a YA feel and gets more adult as it progresses. I enjoyed the characters and their development, and found the plot intriguing. I struggled to get into the first half of the book, but couldn't put it down for the second half. The world building was a little lacking for me, which I think was due to SO many different names. I had a hard time keeping track of what all of the different peoples names were, where they belonged, and what their titles were. I also didn't like the abrupt changes in thought. I kept getting lost because the MC would be thinking about something, and then would have a flashback or would randomly switch to something else for the sake of a quick mind. I understand that flashbacks are part of building her backstory and trauma, but without a better grasp on the world and who all the different people were to her, I had a hard time knowing if I was in the past or present some times.

Despite this, I ended up REALLY enjoying this story. I'm excited for the next installment, and stayed up much too late to continue reading two nights in a row once I got to the halfway mark. The FMC and MMC were delightful together, and their relationship definitely carried the story.

I recommend this to anyone who enjoys stories with more of an Arabic backbone than a western one, who enjoy court intrigue and politics, and anyone looking for a true ENEMIES to lovers slowburn.

4.5/5 Stars

This book was the perfect mix of tense dynamics, tantalizing dialogue, political plotting and mysterious pasts - I enjoyed this book a lot more than I expected. Our two main characters had such great chemistry - especially as Sylvia tried to lie her way out of things and Arin tried to uncover her identity. There were so many good twists and I enjoyed the cat and mouse game the two played throughout the plot as their relationship evolved from enemies to allies and beyond.

This book has a very slow beginning that helps build tension throughout the plot with tons of twists and turns that you may not expect. The slow beginning also reveals a lot about our different characters and helps the characters grow on you. Our main character is angry, selfish and emotional but perfectly matched with our cold, calculating and meticulous antagonist.

The last 15% of the book was jam packed as the reader is taken on a wild ride to the end of the book. The author puts us characters through some stuff and you may experience some slight emotional damage - you are warned. I am not okay and will need the next book to come out already.

In addition to this amazing plot and characters, this book also takes place in a fantasy world that is fairly unique. The story takes the reader on a journey through the four kingdoms, establishing quite an interesting world with small surprises of magic sprinkled around.

I would recommend this book if you are looking for a great fantasy read that is filled with tension and a game of cat and mouse. Although there is a romance element, I would not recommend this to readers looking for romance. I felt that, while the romance was satisfying for those that enjoy more thriller-like romance, it may not be satisfying if you go in expecting to be swept off your feet. I would not recommend this if you do not enjoy books were dialogue plays an important role in the plot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit books for providing me with this eARC for my honest review.

The Jasad Heir is an explosive debut with everything I enjoy in adult fantasy. There are betrayals, secrets, lots of politics and an enemies-to-lovers romance that is painfully slow-burn in the best way possible.

Our main character, Sylvia was so much fun to read about. I adore a reluctant hero and I thought her character growth was realistic which made me appreciate her character that much more. I also enjoyed the few chapters that are in Arin's POV, especially since he's such a mysterious character.

I will say the only reason I gave the book 4 stars and not 5 stars is because I found the first 20% of the book to be quite slow, but I do understand that there is a lot of world building that is needed so readers can understand how our MC got to be where she is.

Overall, I think this is a fantastic debut and I can't wait to read the second book in the series!

The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem is an Egyptian-inspired epic fantasy debut where a fugitive queen makes a deal with her sworn enemy in hopes of saving her scorched kingdom.

This story is absolutely flawless and the writing is phenomenally. It’s fast-past and keeps you from being able to put the book down. I don’t think I’ve ever highlighted so many sentences in a book.

The FMC faces death 9484738 times and is just super chill about it every time? 😂

It’s also super refreshing to see a hidden/forgotten heir struggle with the thoughts about “why should I care about a kingdom I barely remember?” and “why should I sacrifice for them when I can live a quiet life?” And then discovering some really dark secrets about her family’s rule.

This was also a TRUE enemies to lovers romance. Like these 2 really despised each other. (so many assassination attempts lmao) The burn is also slooooow which just makes it hit 10x as hard.

I will be recommending this book for a very long time. I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit Books for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.


4/5 stars

Overall I really enjoyed this story and plot! Arin and Sylvia are enemies 95% of this book. It was interesting to watch them both slowly start to change. My only complaint is there is so much background info and info in general it was a little confusing. It did help that the author referred back to it but it also made it a tad repetitive.

Sylvia is selfish and wants to live her life for herself (not that I can blame her). She is constantly playing word politics with Arin. Which I greatly enjoyed their banter. As well as him continually to out smart her! It was really cool to watch her grow and embrace herself. During this book Sylvia ended up finding herself and what was important to her.

Arin was the most interesting character . I wish him and Sylvia would have hashed things out better. I also would have loved to get more into his head! He was always 5 steps ahead of Sylvia and I enjoyed seeing what his plan was. We have so much more to learn about him that I hope is explained in book 2!

Overall this book was really interesting. I am curious to see where book 2 goes and how the fractured relationships mend!

I'm still internally screaming about this book, it was so good?? The narration and the plot were gripping right from the start, and the characters were raw and lovely 😭 also please, all the banter between the MCs >>>> this book is yet another manifestation of the Kathony "she AGGRAVATES me" trope, and damn it was executed so well.

Sylvia (Essiya), the first MC of this takes up a majority of the narration. I love her so much, she's so raw and real and prickly and wonderful. Her emotional journey was written so well, and I'm excited to see where she goes in book 2 given all her emotional revelations at the end.

Arin, the second MC has 3 or 4 chapters? All his chapters come up when Sylvia has fainted (basically, she tries to make a chaotic scuffle and ends up being bonked on the head 😂), and his limited narration is pure gold. He literally goes like "she's like a deranged goose" "oh, oops I love her", his reactions are the best. His emotional journey is mostly described by Sylvia in her povs, but he is such a cool character (he reminds me slightly of Aaron Warner from Shatter Me, apparently cruel but a total softie).

The cliffhanger makes me wanna weep, I need book 2 🥲🥲

I also need to mention the world-building and the political intrigue! It's a running joke that the first few pages of a fantasy book always leave the reader baffled because of the new terminologies and place names but honestly, this book was so well-developed that I didn't have that issue at all 🥲

TWs - mass murder of a kingdom (a mass event on one day and continued hunting of its people in the years to come), death, gore, blood, violence, death of family

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

The Jasad Heir, by Sara Hashem, is a tense and suspense filled journey frought with political intrigue and a true enemies to lovers romance.

Sylvia wants nothing more than to not be noticed. No one can know her true origins or namesake. Hiding in plain sight has become her great talent. Until she's named as the champion of a neighboring kingdom, slated to compete for glory and freedom. Can Sylvia keep who she really is a secret? Can she win the competition and become the champion? And can she resist the heir of the kingdom she fights for? You have to read to find out.

This book was a great joy to read. I felt very emotionally attached to the main character. Sylvia is strong and smart. A great main character to root for. Even thought she is a unreliable narrator I found myself believing everything she thought to be true and was genuinely shocked at every twist and turn. I did find the pacing a little slow at times. However, this is common with a duology and I know the second book will definitely rectify the slower pace of the first book. The story remained interesting throughout and I was never bored. The romance was a very slow build and I'm hoping to get more on that subplot in the second book.

Overall I really enjoyed this read and look forward to book two soon!

This left me speechless and I think this is one of my favorite books of this year. This world was complex but was explained so well and so there wasn’t much confusion in my opinion. The world building in this was immaculate and never felt like an info dump, instead it was woven in the stories and histories of the kingdoms. Sylvia is the epitome of an unreliable narrator and we were able to learn alongside her of the Jasad kingdom and what really transpired and get to see Sylvia question everything she knew.

Arin has my entire heart and i’m obsessed with his and Sylvia’s enemies to lovers. Their chemistry and banter was so refreshing and fun. Arin had about 3 chapters in his POV and I feel like those added so much to the story.

All of the side characters were amazing and added so much to the story. They weren’t just there for plot purposes, but all had their own backstories. They were full fleshed out and had reasons for where and who they are.

This book hasn’t even released yet and I am eagerly anticipating the second book and conclusion of this duology. To think this was a debut from the author Sara Hashem is crazy considering the amazing world and story she created.

Finally an egyptian fantasy story that makes my classicist heart sing with happiness. The political intrigue kept me flying through it.

A stunning debut for those of you that long for the rapid pacing of The Hunger Games the world building of City of Brass and the romance of all the heart stuttering romantasies that put you in a chokehold. This book is the epitome of the phrase “spared no expense.” The world building is not sacrificed to the fast pacing the fast pacing does not come at the sacrifice of the delicious slowburn we endure. I truly wonder how I am going to wait until the next book comes out, like I’m going to ruminate on this for ages. I smiled, I cried, I gasped, I screamed. Pick this one up while you can, especially if you’re an SA Chakraborty fan.

It took me two chapters to get hooked, and then I couldn't put it down. The world building is a refreshing change from proto-European, and very layered. The main character was compelling and her interior and exterior journeys were engrossing. Her gradual realization that no one is blameless feels real. The antagonist is a little too perfect, but it didn't bother me while I was reading it, the romance between them felt earned. The way they wanted the best for each other, and her reasons for her actions at the end were refreshing. I will ABSOLUTELY be ordering the sequel.

I would say that if you are a fan of Throne of Glass you should absolutely immerse yourself in this book - there are some great similarities which will keep you hooked!

This is an Egyptian-style political fantasy where our MC Sylvia is living somewhat of a double life - attempting to leave behind her old identity isn't as easy as she anticipated. Sylvia is emotionally unavailable, has an aversion to being touched and can be downright selfish -- but as the story plays out and we understand what she's been through it makes sense why life has shaped her to become who she is.

I really appreciated Sara Hashem's style of writing - her metaphors were superb and she has a magical way of explaining the world that she has created. I found myself chuckling throughout the story at the wit and clever material presented. There were also some moments that did make me cringe but in a good way - there is some violence/gore and detailed remarks that might make your skin crawl.

The ending has me wanting more - I look forward to the sequel and continuing this journey!

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit Books for the ARC in exchange for honest feedback!

A really exciting start to a new fantasy series! There are a lot of similarities to Throne of Glass with the Heir believed dead, competition with Champions chosen by the royals, and ridding the world of magic, but there are plenty of unique things about it as well. The world was really interesting and complex with a lot of political intrigue and strong characters.

Sylvia was a great MC and her character development was really well done. There are a lot of questions about what actually happened in her past and it was exciting to have them slowly revealed as the book went on. Her interactions with Arin were really fun with her cracking jokes and trying to get through his icy exterior, and the romance was a satisfying slow burn.

The only negatives for me were that the names of all of the Heirs/kingdoms were hard to keep track of at times, and I would have liked a bit more out of the trials. The ending was really good though and definitely leaves you wanting more.

Thank you to Orbit Books for the ARC!

Thank you to Orbit books & Netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review!

To say I loved this book would be an understatement. The world-building was intriguing and the magic compelling. The character development was so impressive. Sylvia is such a complex and dynamic character. Her growth through the book from dealing with her trauma, processing what was happening around her and ultimately fighting her reluctance to reveal herself was fantastic. She is not confident in her sense of self at the beginning of the novel and you see that shift throughout. It is often times subtle, from a word she choose to say or to include herself in conversations where before she would not. She grapples with who and what she is loyal to. And Arin's character is such an interesting juxtaposition to Sylvia's as he is concretely set in his sense of self. He is tactful and purposeful. His interactions with Sylvia is only where his resolve shakes.

The political machinations were intricate and enthralling. I cannot wait to see where it all goes in the second novel (which I have to wait for now!‽). You can't truly trust anyone's understanding of what is going on because it was all sense through different lens and lived experiences. I am interested to get to the bottom of what really happened in their world!

I could go on and on about the foreshadowing peppered through the book, the different territories and their role in the story but I won't because I don't want to spoil anything for you.

If you like fantastical worlds, high stake competitions, political machinations, witty banter and "revenge" this is the book for you.

I was thoroughly blown away by The Jasad Heir. I have not read a book quite like it in some time, and it may even rival some of my favorite books. My favorite trope to ever exist is enemies to lovers, but many books don’t do it quite right. Hashem, though, creates a real, true, enemies to lovers relationship between Sylvia and Arin. And what’s even better? It’s a slowburn. Besides the great romance, the actual plot of the story is intriguing and well-written, and the characters all have plenty of layers that make them realistic and relatable. Thick with magic, a beautifully crafted world, and a plot with amazing twists and turns that leave you on the edge of your seat, The Jasad Heir may just become your new favorite book, if I have anything to say about it!