This book BROKE me...in a good way, but that ending, I'm still on the floor.

Hands down, this duology is now one of my favorite Fantasy reads and will be a go-to recommendation to others. It is simply that good.

This gave...
-Slow burn
-True enemies to lovers
-Action pact
-Magic
-Epic World Building
-Found family


This book had my eyes glued to the pages!!! I didn't wanna put it down, I definitely ignored my real life responsibilities to read this instead. I was STRESSED, like sit up, chew on your lip, rock back and forth stressed. I was on edge at every twist and turn. You will not be bored when reading this. Make sure you're real life doesn't need you, cause you're only going to wanna eat and sleep this book.

I'm still completely wrecked from that ending. THE TEARS!! Prepare your tissues. I am BROKEN.

I already want to reread this duology, and best believe I will certainly do so when the audio for The Jasad Crown comes out.

Sara, you are part of my list of favorite authors. You know how to write and you did your big one with The Jasad Crown and this duology overall!

This series has been really compelling and that continued in this book 2. I do think sometimes there was more telling than showing and that kind of worked against getting 100% sucked in. That epilogue though - gorgeous and heartwrenching!!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for The Jasad Crown by Sara Hashem.

The Jasad Heir was in my top 3 books of 2023 and I was so sad that the 2nd book wasn't out when I finished it. 2 years later, i was absolutely psyched to see the Jasad Crown available. I reread the Jasad Heir in two days to refresh my brain before the Jasad Crown and it was better than I remembered. And now the Jasad Crown will definitely be in my top 3 of 2025. I was so impressed with Sara Hashem's writing. Not only did we get one unreliable narrator, we got 2! Incredible. I always find that fantasy romance is lacking in either the fantasy or the romance. This book had fantastic world building and fantastic, but limited, romance (the perfect amount). Sara Hashem is a master at making you scramble for the crumbs of romance scattered throughout the world.

I loved learning more about their childhoods and how their stories and ancestors were overlapping centuries before they ever met. The angst and yearning was almost overpowering (in a good way). The way they chose to protect each other, their families, each other's families, and their subjects at the same time just about shattered my heart. They sacrificed everything for each other over and over again, despite neither of them having good or normal childhoods and role models. They were manipulated and taught incorrectly about each other from childhood. We got to watch them navigate their own biases towards themselves and each other and relearn everything they thought they knew.

My only complaint from book 1 was that I wanted to learn more about Sefa and Marek's story and this book gave us all of that and more. After completing the duology, I do think this book would have worked slightly better as a trilogy because there is quite a lot of information and I think stretching it out to a third book would have been helpful for processing all of it. But, overall, this book made me feel so many emotions and Sylvia and Arin are my two favorite main character's of all time. I just really can't say enough about this duology. My only real complaint about this book was that it ended (which was devastating). 5 Stars! Sara Hashem, please please please write more books!

This is the conclusion in the Scorched throne duology. I absolutely love everything Egyptian inspired and have since I was a child. Four kingdoms fighting for power, one is emerging from the ashes, terrible bargains, trials, and enemies to lovers is what this story encompasses. I won't lie; this was a book that absolutely broke me in the best way possible. Hashem is an amazing author, and this book was absolutely worth the wait. I am still thinking about this duology! And do not get me started on the epilogue... Absolutely 5 stars!

Thank you so much Orbit and NetGalley! I was a huge fan of the Jasad Heir and was so excited to receive the ARC for the Jasad Crown. I loved that this book picked up shortly after the first one, and once again I feel straight into the allure of Essiya and Arin. The story was fast paced and kept me hook. In a few moments it seemed as though Essiya's magic was directly contradicting the rules that had been established throughout the story. This made a bit more sense when we learned what we did at the end, but it made me as the reader confused.

Overall enjoyed this book though, and am so excited to see what else comes from Sara Hashem!

This is genuinely one of the best books I have ever read. The writing, the plot, the tension, the angst, the drama, the action - I ATE IT UP. I will be yelling at everyone I know on July 15 to read this. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC!

A devastating conclusion to one of my absolute favorite duologies. The Jasad Heir was complex, well-written, and entertaining. The Jasad Crown was all of this and more. The first book introduces us to a cast of complex characters, while The Jasad Crown expands and deepens those already complex characters.

The book begins shortly after the events of The Jasad Heir; Sylvia has broken loose of her cuffs and therefore has complete access to her immense magic, and in the process has revealed her deepest secret to Arin and everyone present at the ball. She subsequently disappears as a result of fellow Jasadis magicking her away from the ballroom. Sefa and Marek are both missing and separated from one another due to Sylvia’s magic sending them someplace “safe”. Arin is reeling from what he perceives as Sylvia/Essiya’s betrayal.

I do believe this duology could have worked even better (and been even more jaw-dropping) with a bit of restructuring so that it could have been made a trilogy rather than a duology. While I adore world-building and therefore wasn’t scared off, there is a LOT of it going on in book 2, so much so that I think it reads a bit more like a book 1 in that regard, which might put some people off.

I enjoyed every moment and every aspect of this book. The author built on, expanded, and improved on the already phenomenal foundation that was established with book 1, which completely elevated everything about this series.

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for the e-arc!

If you loved The Jasad Heir, you’ll eat up The Jasad Crown. The story picks up only a few day after the ending events of TJH and wastes no time jumping into expanding the world, characters, and filling in key questions we were left with at the end of book 1. Arin and Sylvia are engaged in the ultimate cat and mouse chase; a morally grey push and pull battle full of angst and the classic dry humor we saw in the first book. They really frustrate eachother as much as they are obsessed with eachother. We also get a few additional POV’s in this book to develop some additional side plots to support the overall major end plot. And that end? Sara wanted to let us know she’s here for business and did not hold back in some brutal ways for our characters. The character development of Sylvia and Arin arcs really nicely and in many ways mirror one another. They love to aggravate one another so buckle up and get ready to watch them make just as many bad choices as good ones.

The primary area where I struggled with this book was in the pacing. Similar to book 1, the first half is a bit slower and at times I felt myself wanting more connection to the primary plot and action.

I think readers that liked TJH will enjoy this, as well as any other readers who enjoy morally grey characters with dry humor and just the smallest, smallest bit of spice.

Oh my heart! This was an incredible conclusion, painful, but incredible. There was honestly a nice balance between characterization and plot advancement. We have this impeding, but not necessarily inevitable, war upon us, and we also have 2 broken characters trying to rebuild themselves when the truth exposes them into a reality they’re not really ready for.

Sylvia, or Essiya, is done hiding and running. She’s trying to be the person people need and her journey is soooo wonderful. I’m feeling really proud of her, compared to the first book, she really has come a long way. I’m just really impressed with Sara Hashem’s writing. It was so beautiful and there was a lot of depth.

Arin also gets more POVs now, along with Sefa and Marek, and their added voices really made me enjoy the story. Arin, in particular, had some painful chapters, I mean they all did tbh, but he was going through it. My favourite thing about his character is how he feels his senses return only when he’s around Essiya. The way it’s done is sooo beautiful.

Arin and Essiya don’t get to showcase their brilliant brains as much in this book but there was so much of it in the first one that I don’t feel robbed. They had so many other moments in this book that ripped my heart out. This couple will forever be the epitome of enemies-to-lovers, anything else is subpar at best, it’s true!

We also continue to learn about the Awalas, a few plot twists about other things that I did NOT see coming, it was a major woah moment, we also get a few new characters that take a minute and half for you to care about them (you’re learning about them from Sylvia’s POV and you know how much of a hater she is lolol, so her take on a person is kinda bias but I love it).

I also must note that like the author, I am Egyptian, so it was wonderful to see all the inspirations used in the book, I genuinely have never seen it anywhere else! It was so nice to see these characters love the things that I love. I can’t wait to see what Hashem brings into the world next!

Thank you so much to Orbit and Netgalley for the arc, these are my honest thoughts!!

<i>“If she dies for them, they will die with her.” – Arin</i>

In The Jasad Crown, Sara Hashem shatters the illusion of easy power and dives straight into the perilous aftermath of ruin. Picking up the shattered pieces left by The Jasad Heir, this sequel doesn’t just continue Essiya’s journey, it weaponizes it.

There’s a rawness to this book that hits hard. An unflinching gaze at legacy, trauma, and the weight of expectation. Essiya’s struggle isn’t just about controlling her magic, it’s about surviving herself. She isn’t your typical fantasy heroine, she’s chaos with a conscience. And it’s unclear whether that chaos will crown her or crush her.

Hashem deepens the political lore. The political undercurrents elevate the stakes far beyond palace drama. The first book asks what you’re willing to lose to survive, the sequel demands to know what you’re willing to become.

By the final chapters, the betrayals are gutting, the magic feral, and the decisions… devastating. Essiya & Arin posses two bleeding hearts, ready to pay the price of power.

The Jasad Crown is bloody, bold, and brilliantly unstable. Essiya is a heroine for the broken and the burning, and her journey through madness and monarchy is one of the most compelling things I’ve read this year. <b>Hashem doesn’t ask us to trust Essiya. She dares us to believe in her anyway.</b>

I would award this more than 5 stars if I could. Sara Hashem has created such a beautiful story in this duology and I love it so much, I was sad that it ended. The last chunk of this book was read through tears.

I just have to say that The Jasad Crown started out with a bang and absolutely never let up. It chased me through the pages and kept threatening me like a deranged goose. There were times I wanted to sit with what I read and take it in but there were (many) other times where I binged chapters at a time and wasn’t able to stop.

I’ve talked so much about The Jasad Heir to anyone that would listen but now I get to rave even more about the complete duology and do my best to press these books into the hands of readers that will love these characters and this world. I’m so happy that I could be talking to my buddy reading bestie about it because she also had an ARC and we both needed to weep and frantically text about it more.

Thank you to Net Galley and Orbit for providing a copy of this to me in exchange for an honest review! I can’t wait to have the physical version in my hands to read the duology again.

I’m not gonna lie y’all…the first 55% of this was…rough. There was so just world building it almost felt like I was reading a book 1 in a series. I kept going because of peer pressure (thanks dayna) and the ending definitely made it worthwhile.

The tension and yearning in this book is insane so if you’re looking for that with some Egyptian inspired storylines and multi pov (at least in book2!), I’d recommend this series.

I love a duology and I love a storyline with multiple characters that start apart but somehow make it back to the same place. The execution was great once things picked up. The battles were amazing, the magic was so cool, and the ending WRECKED me.

thank you so much to the publisher for this advanced copy! jasad crown comes out in mid July!!

This book was an incredible conclusion to the Duology. The Egyptian mythology incorporated in this book made it stand out against other fantasy books. The only small complaint is that I think there were some things that could have had a deeper explanation to keep readers from getting confused. Otherwise, the plot, the characters, the magic were all so good!

Wow, an incredible ending to a wonderful duology! The Jada’s Crown took us in a journey through redemption and growth of the FMC and MMC characters. Through the story, I felt the emotions of Essiya as she grew into the hero of her people. The ending was a surprise! The enemies to lovers was perfectly executed in this novel.

Content Warning: violence, death, grief, parental abuse

+ This is part two in The Scorched Throne series and what I loved about the first book was Arin and Sylvia/Essiya. I wanted to see what would happen to them in the conclusion and what a conclusion it is.

+ The enemies to lovers romance in this series is top notch. The tension between Arin and Essiya is so good. And they are always fighting and I don’t mean arguing but physical fighting. And I wanted more in this book but I felt like we still got bread crumbs. There are some exceptional moments though where Arin is telling Essiya what lengths he would go to save her, be with her, love her. It made me melt! It hurts my heart just knowing what they had to go through in this story. But what a love story it turned out to be!

+ Sylvia/Essiya was the compelling character in book one because of who she was and what she was hiding. She’s still amazing in this one – strong, impulsive, but learning to be a leader. It’s Arin that stole my heart in book two. He has to deal with a lot of truths, betrayals, guilt and with his brilliant mind, with him always trying to figure out a puzzle or plan for the future – he of course has to figure out how to save Essiya. I loved both their personal journeys, but more so Arin’s.

+ The world-building was great and the twists in the story did surprise me. I love this lush world of magic, with magical creatures and beasts coming to life.

~ Like book one, I felt like this book again was too long. This is longer than book one, coming in just under 700 pages. I wonder why this was never made into a trilogy because it definitely could have been! Also, I’m starting to question if I just don’t enjoy long books?

~ Because I felt like it was too long, the pacing was uneven. The beginning was slow, it took me a few days to get through it, I was trying to get my bearings and remember who Sefa and Marek were. This time they have their own POVs. I was not-so-patiently waiting for Arin and Essiya to be in scenes together. And then I would be riveted to the story and then it would slow down again. The second half was much better. The ending plot-twist felt a little rushed and I wish there was more to explore that which is why I wish this would have been a trilogy!

Final Thoughts:

Even though it was too long and the pacing was uneven, the Arin and Essiya love story really bumped up my rating from 3.5 to 4 stars. I love them together and was rooting for them hard. I loved the world building and the twists in the story. This was a good conclusion to the duology. If you like fantasy and romance (not so much romantasy – there is no smut in this) then you will enjoy this series.

This is such a great book! I really loved the first book and was so happy to get to read the second book. I would highly recommend it.

4.5/5 ✨️

Wow, still trying to type this through the tears from that epilogue. Make sure to have your tissues ready for the end of this.

I absolutely love that this book did not lose the feeling of Jasad Heir. The tension, the banter, the true enemies to lovers vibes, the slow, the political intrigue, the magic, all of these elements I loved from the first are still present but not in a way that feels repetitive which I loved. I loved the character growth in this and not just for Slyvia & Arin but also Sefa, Jeru, Wes, Marek.

One of my small qualms is that I felt some things were almost rushed/could have used some room to breathe. It felt at times we were overloaded with information with little time to process especially when the puzzle pieces really started to fall in place.

I truly will never stop thinking about the relationship between Slyvia & Arin. The banter was absolutely perfect. Them wanting to constantly kill each other? ATE. IT. UP.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC. This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it did not disappoint.

This was a phenomenal book. It’s rare that the sequel is better than the first installment of a series, but I really loved it. Sara followed through with all the promises in The Jasad Heir. The stakes stayed high throughout. The morals stayed grey until the very end for both Essiya and Arin. The romantic tension was delicious but did not overpower the plot. It was an actual true enemies to lovers. Like they had valid reasons for both and that was so refreshing. The side characters were flushed out so much better in this book. And I really enjoyed the pacing. I’m not a fan of flashbacks and these were necessary but woven in in short palatable bits so I never felt like skipping them. My main critique of the book is that I spent the first 20% confused as I tried to recall details of the first book. It’s a complicated fantasy and a synopsis would have made the experience so much better.

4.75⭐

🔥This is a page-turner !! 🔥

It's definitely the cream of the Romantasy crop in terms of worldbuilding creativity, use of mythological beasts and especially character dynamics ! Here, I'm talking about the tension and connection between the MC and her love interest, but also with and between the 2 characters for which we have PoVs. The slow burn romance is real and it works, no smut added (or needed) to make it interesting.

I love the land and its soft magic. The politics and history enrich the story and serve the plot more often than not.

The pacing of the 1st installment was unusual and its outline is repeated *exactly* in the 2nd installment, which points to it being a deliberate choice :

A lot of time was dedicated to set-up, travelling in different kingdoms, minor events that expand the characters' depths and preparations for a Big Thing. Then, major plot points cascade to the end of the book, leaving me enthusiastically dazed, but also feeling like the last 25% could have taken its time a lot more.
It's ok, Journey before Destination, but those last parts are so conceptually strong that I would've preferred to explore them more.

This is a kick-ass debut and I'm excited to see what Sara Hashem will cook up next !

Pub date : 15 Jul 2025.
📚Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review. 🙂‍↕️

Check out this review of The Jasad Crown (The Scorched Throne, #2) on Fable. https://fable.co/review/7eb26b50-5975-42e0-9df0-fcb686b42c58/share

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.