Loved this book so much. The setting was so vividly described, I felt like I was right there. A great sense of place throughout.

Oh my, my heart cannot take this anymore. This book was a phenomenal sequel to the ‘The Jasad Heir’. If you thought book 1 was amazing, then book 2 will truly blow your mind away.

Pure enemies to lovers. Giggling, kicking my feet, and swooning at its finest. As a Arab girly myself this has cured the cage inside of me of finding books with my representation. Books with fantastical elements and love stories that define the Arab world.

Get ready for a gripping story. With a setting that’s so deeply imaginative and detailed that it will sweep you off your feet. I am so obsessed with Sylvia and Arin. By far my favorite fantasy book of all time. Absolutely full of angst and deep YEARNING.

This is exactly the type of book that should be hyped.

This is rivaling my top favorite duology (Shepherd King). I am so happy with this and felt the beauty and heartbreak . The trauma continued and I loved getting to know so many of the side characters more. It truly feels like leaving your family and friends to have this complete. The epilogue was perfect and I am convinced that only a monster would not be brought to tears.

Okay, let me just say it. Jasad Crown is SO much better than The Jasad Heir. I got an advanced reader copy and wow… I was not familiar with Sarah Hashem’s game before, but now I get it. This book absolutely delivered.

First off, Arin totally grew on me in this one. In the first book, I didn’t fully connect with him, but now? I love his character so much. His chemistry with Sylvia feels real now, not forced at all, and their dynamic is one of my favorite parts of the story. It’s intense, it’s emotional, and it actually makes sense.

The plot? So good. Unlike the first book, this one doesn’t drag. The pacing is tight, and I was hooked from the first chapter. There’s real tension, real stakes, and it never felt like the story was wandering.

And the writing. OH MY GOD... the writing is just on another level compared to book one. It’s stronger, more polished, and way more immersive. Sarah Hashem really leveled up.

This is the kind of fantasy that sticks with you. I’ll 100% be getting the paperback as soon as it drops. Actually, scratch that—I will be getting the special edition too. It’s that good.

Thank you so much for the ARC! This book made me a fan for real.

Thank you, NetGalley and Orbit Books for allowing me to read this book early. The opinion in this review is my own.

This is the finale to the Scorched Throne duology, the first book being the Jasad Heir. I wish more fantasy books would do duologies instead of trilogies and series. It’s so nice having complete stories in two well-written books. I was a fan of the Jasad Heir, so I was stoked when I was allowed an eARC of this book.

This sequel ties in the through lines set up in the first book. It continues the growth of characters, and I really enjoy watching Sylvia and Arin’s arcs. And the world-building added to the ongoing story. I wish more people would give this series a chance, it’s a great fantasy-romance. This genre has become saturated and sometimes it's hard to sift the good from the bad, but this one is great! It’s a true enemies-to-lovers with excellent dialogue. It’s not cringey like some of the more recent romantasy books out there. I highly recommend you give this series a try and if you liked the first, then you’ll love this one too.

This was a brilliant finale to the duology, exactly the kind of ending that ties everything together without feeling rushed. The story broadened its scope with multiple perspectives, deeper worldbuilding, and a stronger grasp of the magical system, all while continuing to develop the characters in meaningful ways. Sara Hashem balanced politics, character arcs, and romance effortlessly, something not many authors manage so smoothly in a single book. I was satisfied with how everything played out, though I do wish we’d gotten a bit more time with Arin and Sylvia’s relationship. I truly loved them, individually and together..

Miss Sara has dropped her crown because she has solidified herself as the queen of slow burns 🔥 👑

★★★★★ (5/5 STARS….MORE LIKE 5000/5000 I’M OBSESSED)

Listen. *LISTEN.* @shashemwrites DID NOT HAVE TO GO THIS HARD, BUT SHE DID IT ANYWAY. The Jasad Crown didn’t just “end” the Scorched Throne duology—it STOMPED ON MY HEART, SET IT ON FIRE, AND LEFT ME BEGGING FOR MORE.

THIS BOOK IS A MASTERPIECE AND I’M NOT OKAY! SYLVIA & ARIN—MY FAVORITE TRAUMATIZED DISASTER DUO🫶🏼

Sylvia is *that* queen—broken, brilliant, and soooo stab-happy I wanted to cheer every time she pulled a dagger. Her growth? STUNNING. Her flaws? REAL. The way she carries her kingdoms weight while fighting her own mind? ANXIETY INDUCING. Arin??? Oh, Arin. This man has layers—like an onion, but hotter. His moral struggles? Chef’s kiss. His yearning for Sylvia? ABSOLUTELY ATE IT UP. Can I just say the fact that their personalities and actions stayed consistent from book 1 to book 2 and got even BETTER was definitely a win for me. The supporting cast, are equally well-written, and this is coming from someone who always gets bored of POVS other than the main characters.


Enemies-to-lovers? TRY ENEMIES-TO-“I-HATE-YOU-BUT-I’D-DIE-FOR-YOU.” The tension was so thick you could bite it🫦 Every glance, every *almost*-touch, every loaded conversation had my cheeks hurting from how much I kept smiling and laughing.

THE WORLD-BUILDING? WAS IMMACULATE! Four kingdoms, all messy, all brutal, all so vividly alive. The politics and the magic system was honestly so interesting and fresh especially with the Egyptian influences. For the duration of the read I basically lived in this world, and now I’m grieving because it’s over. 🥲

Just in case this wasn’t obvious, this book absolutely ruined me for future books. I didn’t know I was waiting for such a story with such a complex range of characters until I got them. This duology absolutely has my whole heart 😮‍💨🫶🏼

Special thanks to @netgalley, @orbitbooks_us and @shashemwrites for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Let’s just start with this: The Jasad Crown is everything I wanted — messy emotions, impossible choices, sizzling tension, and magic that feels just a little too real. If you love your fantasy with a side of heartbreak and political backstabbing (and who among us doesn’t?), Sara Hashem absolutely delivers with the conclusion to The Scorched Throne duology.

The Story
Sylvia — our stubborn, brilliant, emotionally-damaged queen without a crown — is once again running from more than just the soldiers hunting her. She’s also running from herself, her past, her people’s expectations, and the terrifying realization that her magic might not just save Jasad…it might destroy her in the process. No big deal, right?

Meanwhile, Arin (yes, that Arin — you know, the Nizahli heir to the empire that led the army that burned her homeland to ash, killed its people, and outlawed magic, leaving Sylvia and the Jasadi people to live in hiding, and oh, is kind of Sylvia’s worst enemy?) is wrestling with some ugly truths about loyalty, power, and the price of following orders. Spoiler alert: it cost more than he can afford.

And can I just say, it’s so refreshing that we finally get multiple POVs in this book? Being inside Arin’s head, along with Sefa’s and Marek’s, adds such rich layers to the story. We get to see their individual journeys — the struggles, the loyalty tests, the love, the devastating losses — and it deepens the whole experience. It’s not just Sylvia carrying the emotional weight anymore. Every character is fighting their own personal war, and it hurts in the best way.

When fate (and some very questionable decisions) push Sylvia and Arin back into each other’s paths, they’re forced to confront everything they thought they knew — about themselves, about each other, and about the war that’s been brewing beneath the surface for years. Duty, survival, loyalty, love — The Jasad Crown throws it all in a blender and hits “liquefy.”

The Characters
Sylvia absolutely owns this book. Her arc is gut-wrenching and beautiful — she’s battling the weight of being Jasad’s heir while barely keeping herself from cracking under the pressure of her own magic. Every decision she makes feels heavy, and Hashem doesn’t pull a single punch about what leadership really costs.

Arin is no slouch either. His journey from soldier to sovereign soul-searcher is brutal, and you feel every scar he earns along the way. I love a morally conflicted boy with a sword, and Arin brings it in spades. Watching these two navigate loyalty, trust, and betrayal made me want to alternately hug them and shake them.

And let’s not forget Sefa and Marek — their stories are heartbreaking and fierce, showing different angles of loyalty and survival in a world that’s literally crumbling around them.

(And if you’re wondering — yes, the chemistry between Sylvia and Arin is absolutely delicious. It simmers. It burns. It wrecks you.)

The World
If you thought the world-building in The Jasad Heir was strong, The Jasad Crown cranks it up to eleven. Hashem’s world feels lived-in and dangerous, rooted in Egyptian-inspired magic, tradition, and politics. The Urabi rebel camps, the crumbling remains of Jasad, the ever-looming threat of the Nizahl empire — every setting feels like it’s teetering on the edge of war…and hope.

And let’s talk about the ancient, otherworldly creatures Hashem brings to life — the Sareekh, the Kitmer, the Khawfa. They are eerie, beautiful, terrifying, and completely original. These beings add this ancient-magic, bigger-than-mortals feel to the story that reminds you the world of Jasad is way older and wilder than any human war.

It’s not just places and monsters, though. Hashem does an incredible job showing how history, propaganda, and memory can twist a people, and how reclaiming a broken legacy is never as simple as putting a crown on your head and waving.

Themes and Feels
This book hits you hard in the “what would you sacrifice for your people?” department. Sylvia’s internal war — between wanting freedom and being shackled to destiny — is raw and real. She doesn’t get easy answers. Neither does Arin.

The Jasad Crown asks the big questions:

When loyalty costs everything, is it still worth it?Can you choose your own path when everyone around you needs you to be something else?And maybe the hardest one — how do you forgive yourself when you can’t fix everything?
It’s about power, and how power demands payment — sometimes with your life, and sometimes with your soul.

And that ending? Heartbreakingly beautiful. It’s the kind of finale that leaves you sitting in stunned silence, hugging the book to your chest, because even though it wrecked you, it felt right.

Final Thoughts
If you love fantasy that’s more than just magic and monsters — if you crave stories about broken people trying to be whole in a broken world — The Jasad Crown is for you. It’s fierce, painful, stunning, and honestly? I’m still thinking about it days later.

Sara Hashem, you’ve officially broken my heart — and I am so grateful.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing the advance review copy.

I loved Jasad Heir and the sequel is a solid book. Arin and Sylvia are such a good pair, whether as enemies or lovers. The rest of the cast including the new ones are still as endearing and funny. Arin POVs adds so much to the story, and it helps to know him better. I loved that the romance complemented the action/political plot without taking too much place. We just have the right amount of it. The book could have been a solid 5 stars if it is not for the last 20%/100 pages. This part felt rushed and a bit anticlimactic, and the explanations just left me confused than anything. I wish the author gave us more time to process everything by having longer scenes for this section of the book, Some parts of the book like some Sefa POV chapters could have been shortened or removed to give more space to the last 100 page/ending. I love my girl, but a lot of her chapters felt like filler.

Thank you for the ARC!

What a great conclusion to this duology. In this second book we get an in more depth glimpse into what more characters are going through as we get four different points of views. Also this series is one of the more faithful to the enemies to lovers trope I have read so far, the main characters are not afraid to go at each other to almost the very end in order to accomplish their goals. I loved the dynamic between Sylvia and Arin, they are fire and ice and the yearning is so palpable. The little moments they get together made me feel more than some of the romance stories I have read were everything revolves just around a couple. With that said the romance in this books is not the main plot but it is done so well that it complements the story instead of taking from it, but if you are someone who likes a more romance forward story this might not be it. It's a lot of high stakes, court politics, magic and lore. And I think that is one reasons it is not a five star for me, this one was more heavy on the information and some sub plots that made the story drag a lot. And another was that ceretain scenes felt very built up and the endings or resolutions felt anticlimactic. Overall I really enjoyed reading it and I am looking forward to the authors future work.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for this ARC, all opinions are my own.

Okay, so. I LOVED the first book in this series. I feel like based on reviews I liked it more than the average person. When I finished it 2 years ago, I scoured the internet for news on the sequel!

Imagine my delight to be approved for the galley! I read the sequel the second it dropped onto my kindle.
I would say this is a strong sequel in some ways; I loved the dynamic between Arin and Sylvia (obviously), and I loved the creative ways the author used to bring them together even when they were apart.

The one thing that kept me from being fully able to immerse myself in the story was how tricky it was to remember everyone’s name, attach meaning to certain places, and remember the significance of certain character dynamics.

I think a couple reasons why it was so confusing was the amount of time in between books with no effort (it seemed to me) made by the author to jog the readers’ memory. I’m not expecting to be spoon fed but I do appreciate subtle reminders of significant events VERY valuable. (Ex: I remembered NOTHING from Sylvia’s time as the Nizhal champion)

Another reason for the confusion I think was the addition of so many POV’s and large sections of info dumping. I followed the key elements but I kept thinking how much more I’d love the story if I remembered wth was happening.

All in all, I love this author and I will most certainly read her books from now on. I look forward to seeing what else she comes up with!

3.75 stars

I could not wait for this sequel! I struggled with getting my bearings on the plot since I devoured the first book months ago, and there were quite a bit of unfamiliar words and terms that I had to look up. I don't think it interfered with my overall understanding of the story, though. I loved Sylvia and Arin's story and am so sad that it's done!

With gorgeous writing, lush worldbuilding, and masterful dialogue, The Jasad Crown is even better than the first book.

The author has really come into her own, making vast improvements on issues that had kept me from fully enjoying The Jasad Heir. The pacing was more consistent, and the growth of Sylvia / Essiya in both maturity and conviction was remarkable. Strong-willed yet ambivalent, I had struggled to connect with Sylvia in the first book as I was often frustrated by her carelessness and confused by her motivations.

Whereas The Jasad Heir skimmed the surface in terms of the worldbuilding and magic system, the sequel dove in. The multi-POV chapters spread across the kingdoms enriched the complex tapestry of political intrigue and fascinating Egyptian-inspired magic (although Sefa’s chapters took some jarring turns and Marek’s chapters, while amusing, didn’t advance the plot much).

Arin, the broody and calculating MMC, continued to delight. Insight into his scheming as he navigated a field of emotional landmines was my favorite part. The slow burn romance was swoon worthy as they overcame generations of obstacles to trust and love each other, even if the fade-to-black intimacy was ill-timed (this is not the first romantasy to have a mid-battle love scene, nor will it be the last).

This was a 5 star read until 70% when the plot lost momentum and took questionable turns to a rushed ending. After centuries of magical conflict across war-torn kingdoms, the resolution was somewhat anticlimactic.

That being said, I would highly recommend The Jasad Crown to fans of epic romantic fantasy with rich worldbuilding, evocative prose, and a deliciously tense enemies-to-lovers slow burn.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC in exchange for an honest review..

This book was everything I was hoping it was going to be and then some!! This is a perfect sequel to The Jasad Heir, I could not stop reading it. Thank you to Netgalley for this opportunity to read this e-arc.

A stunning ending to a high-fantasy, high-stakes, politics driven, enemies-to-lovers duology by Sara Hashem.

I'm so glad I requested this second book to The Jasad Heir, giving it a chance after I was slightly let down by the first one. But wow, Hashem has levelled up in prose, in story-telling, in characterization, and beauty. I was initially finding it a little difficult to get through the first few chapters but quickly found myself delving deep into the action and the story. In the end, this book was perfectly paced, so much so, I kept looking to see who much was left, shocked by how much HAD happened in such few pages that didn't feel rushed our quickly dismissed. I also grew to like Sylvia/Essiya as I had initially thought her a little too rough to like—but found her relationship development with Arin perfectly done and her own growth real and understandable. The new cast was giving found family while following our old cast members felt like meeting with friends.
I'm really impressed by Hashem's growth in craft and their ability to pack SO MUCH within just one book, ending the duology in the perfect way that made sense for this story. I recognize that she has had two years between the first book and this one to write and edit and I'm so thankful she has taken the time to really write out a well-paced, action-packed, sensible and emotional story without rushing to the end. Everything made sense and the scenes between Arin and Essiya the perfect treat.

To readers who are wondering whether they should continue this duology, you must. I cannot wait to see what Hashem has planned next. They're an author to look out for!

10/10 recommend. This was the perfect conclusion to an action packed duology. The political interview, twists and turns, and character driven plot were fantastic. If you love detailed fantasy worlds and Egyptian lore, you should read this duology.

I cannot begin to explain how heart-renching this book is. It is so good. The character development. The relationships. The political intrigue. The games. Just perfection. The lore woven into this book is genius. I am so pleased to have discovered it. I am just dumbstruck. I am telling everybody to read it. I need a week to recover.

I fear I will need a few days to recover. This was everything!!

The YEARNING. The tension. The heartbreak. The reveals!!!!! Sara Hashem wove an incredible story and a super satisfying ending to this beautiful saga. We had more POVs as the story spread across the kingdom and they really added to the depth of the story.

Sylvia was so conflicted with her role and task but so brave through it all, even when having to make the most difficult decisions. Arin - I LOVE his character. So controlled, so composed, so calculating. We get to see more sides to Arin in The Jasad Crown and it was everything. The relationship between those two was beautiful and I loved how they knew each other so well on opposite sides and could predict what the other would do.

Sefa and Marek - the most wonderful pair and my favourite side characters. Their quiet love was so beautiful.

This was truly a wonderful conclusion to an epic duology.

Thank you Orbit Books, Sara Hashem and Netgalley for the advance review copy.

5/5

Sara Hashem’s Scorched Throne duology takes its final bow with The Jasad Crown, a finale that prompts a long awaited homecoming and deepens the distinct political landscape of four entangled kingdoms vying for power and one fighting to reemerge from the ashes. This Egyptian inspired high fantasy duology involving decimated kingdoms, ill-placed bargains, trials, and an enemies to lovers romance quickly solidified itself as an unrivaled fantasy series from a true talent. Stories of lost heirs reclaiming their thrones are a niche I have always adored and god if this isn't one of the best I’ve read in recent years. The byronic heroes who lose themselves in exile before finally coming in from the cold have met their match in Sylvia, a guarded young woman and heir to a broken throne—with a proclivity towards sesame candies, daggers, and telling the Nizahlan heir what is. Sara Hashem picks up her sequel on the outset of Sylvia having revealed her identity, initiating a journey of renewal and fate. The political machinations of Nizahl and the corruption at the heart of these kingdoms are unleashed, fueling the tragedy of Jasad’s past and its uncertain future. The Jasad Crown stomped all over my heart without remorse, yet I would gladly give Sara Hashem the ability to do it all over again.

Absolutely in love with this book! The story picks up right where The Jasad Heir finishes. The added POVS only added to the story, the transitions between the POVs were seamless. I couldn’t put the book down. Found family, reunions, longing, betrayal, mind blowing discoveries, loyalty and love… the story came together in such a beautiful manner. An amazing conclusion that I didn’t want to end. Lingering questions from book one were answered perfectly. The story was not predictable at all in the best way possible. I was on the edge of my seat as the story developed. One minute I was laughing out loud and the nexts I was bawling my eyes out. The emotions this author makes you feel when she puts pen to paper are top tier. Amazing I look forward to reading more of her books when the time comes.
Arin and Suraira.. soo many feelings surrounding these two.
Sefa, Marek, Jeru, Rory, Fairel. Raya.. anchors. Amazing side characters (among many others) that only enhanced the story.
Over all 1000/10 stars.