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booksthatburn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
EMPIRE OF SAND is a transformative story of vows, agency, and choice, a slow-burn romance between two people who didn't get the chance to freely say yes, and the cruel power of a man bending even gods' dreams to his will.
The main character (Mehr) is biracial in a fantasy setting, and part of the story is how this combination of identities is distinct from being merely half of one identity and half the other, but is also/instead its own thing. Her father is from the main ethnic group in the ever-expanding empire which is slowly devouring the desert while exploiting the gods' dreams, her mother is from a nomadic people who are used for the magic in their blood. Often the characters who seek to use her are trying to exploit one part of her heritage rather than treating her as a unified whole, and her narration shifts in how she describes herself throughout the text as her relationship with and self-conception of her identity changes.
The world building is really good, it focuses on the people in a way that highlights the space, and whole effect comes off wonderfully. Information about the setting comes up as it matters to Mehr and the people around her, like walking through a space slowly which is being illuminated as it's described by someone who cares deeply about it.
The villain is genuinely chilling, taking advantage of how easy it is for powerful abusers to control how much of their cruelty is on display to any one person. There's a sense of helplessness (frequently explicit) that Mehr is surrounded by people who wouldn't believe her if she truthfully claimed that the marks on her skin were caused by the Maha, it's made worse when some of the women at the temple keep trying to save her... from the husband she didn't choose but is slowly getting to know. They can clearly see that she's being abused, but because of how totally the Maha has enthralled them they wouldn't believe the truth. Mehr has a lot of compassion for the servants and mystics around her, referring repeatedly to the way that it makes sense that they would love so completely this person, the Maha, who has done nothing but hurt Mehr. The slow pacing helps convey the tension and uncertainty of living around someone who has been unspeakably cruel and might be so again, sometime, but not necessarily right now.
One of the strongest messages around choice in this book is that finally getting to choose doesn't have to mean avoiding something you were previously forced to do. If it did, then it wouldn't really be free, because then every action would still be dictated by that prior lack of agency. I love the slow burn romance, every quiet moment and intimacy has so much feeling behind it, they care so much about consent even though their abuser is contriving to remove all their choices, it's just done so well.
I'm definitely reading the sequel, I want to see what they'll choose to do next!
The main character (Mehr) is biracial in a fantasy setting, and part of the story is how this combination of identities is distinct from being merely half of one identity and half the other, but is also/instead its own thing. Her father is from the main ethnic group in the ever-expanding empire which is slowly devouring the desert while exploiting the gods' dreams, her mother is from a nomadic people who are used for the magic in their blood. Often the characters who seek to use her are trying to exploit one part of her heritage rather than treating her as a unified whole, and her narration shifts in how she describes herself throughout the text as her relationship with and self-conception of her identity changes.
The world building is really good, it focuses on the people in a way that highlights the space, and whole effect comes off wonderfully. Information about the setting comes up as it matters to Mehr and the people around her, like walking through a space slowly which is being illuminated as it's described by someone who cares deeply about it.
The villain is genuinely chilling, taking advantage of how easy it is for powerful abusers to control how much of their cruelty is on display to any one person. There's a sense of helplessness (frequently explicit) that Mehr is surrounded by people who wouldn't believe her if she truthfully claimed that the marks on her skin were caused by the Maha, it's made worse when some of the women at the temple keep trying to save her... from the husband she didn't choose but is slowly getting to know. They can clearly see that she's being abused, but because of how totally the Maha has enthralled them they wouldn't believe the truth. Mehr has a lot of compassion for the servants and mystics around her, referring repeatedly to the way that it makes sense that they would love so completely this person, the Maha, who has done nothing but hurt Mehr. The slow pacing helps convey the tension and uncertainty of living around someone who has been unspeakably cruel and might be so again, sometime, but not necessarily right now.
One of the strongest messages around choice in this book is that finally getting to choose doesn't have to mean avoiding something you were previously forced to do. If it did, then it wouldn't really be free, because then every action would still be dictated by that prior lack of agency. I love the slow burn romance, every quiet moment and intimacy has so much feeling behind it, they care so much about consent even though their abuser is contriving to remove all their choices, it's just done so well.
I'm definitely reading the sequel, I want to see what they'll choose to do next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Slavery, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Racism, Misogyny, Self harm, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Suicide
CW for rape threats, major character death (graphic).achingallover's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, and Violence
sophieink's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I love fantasy and I love a fantasy romance.
This is quite a slow fantasy but I quite enjoy slower ones at times. It is the story of Mehr as she is the daughter of an imperial governor and an exiled Amrithi mother. The Amrithi are treated poorly by society as their magic is persecuted leading to the diminishing of their community throughout the kingdom. During a night where Mehr uses magic, the emperor's feared mystics are drawn to her and after some events she is forced to join them through a marriage. We get to see her navigate all these events and what it might cost her and the kingdom.
One thing I noticed about this book was how it took a little while to get to the events, like it was 100 pages until what would be considering the main event from the synopsis to happen but through doing so we got to know Mehr, the world, the people and why this was such an emotional thing for Mehr to go through so it definitely had its strength through doing this but I think people going in should expect a slow-paced fantasy.
As we got to follow Mehr’s perspective, it meant we got to see her thoughts and plans. It really felt like you were going on this journey with her as she was faced with problems and dilemmas involving different people you could really feel her struggle with what to do and what was right to do. It was really nice to feel so close to the main character. Plus, it was high stakes as the story wasn’t afraid to take away and make it harder for her.
“Like it or not, survival was not a noble cause. It was a necessity.”
“She was no more than human, no more than that, and that would have to be enough.”
The next thing was the marriage that was forced upon Mehr, I think sometimes in these plots it can be quite hard to balance the importance of choice and pressure with the actual romance if there is going to be one so the romance can still feel natural and progressive. But I thought that this story handled all of this really well and put a lot of effect into developing not only the progression but what the situations meant for them and really valued and emphasised choice. I think the main relationship was definitely one of the strengths of this book, it kept me invested and I felt like there was an interesting dynamic between the two that continued to shift and evolve making it seem realistic and pure.
"Those were small things, but at least they were good things."
Amun was a good character and I liked seeing him open up so we could see different sides to him, especially as he always had such a strong, caring side. He was the broody male character but done really well and really sweetly so I loved that.
The villain and plot were interesting. I liked that we got some closeness to the villain even though it was horrible in our main character’s perspective. But through the use of her fear and dread it helped you as a reader to fear him too. I thought he was a really good villain who was explored throughout the novel; why he did what he did, how he wanted to be perceived, how he acts when he loses control and the different things that led to the end. It wasn’t cut down to one fight, it felt more like a descent and I really liked that. The villain was also strongly linked to the plot and Mehr as she had to deal with the consequences for the world, so I thought that was interesting and added a layer to the book.
“His evil was born from his humanity.”
I, also, really liked the magic as it used dance rites and the way you had to train made it different to what I have typically seen in books and I imagine it would be amazing to watch (so fingers crossed for an adaptation to come).
I think this book had a lot of concepts that reflect reality by the real pain and emotions that were felt due to society’s structure, so I think it definitely added a deeper level to the book.
“to be treated in large and small ways as less than entirely human…
The kind of torture had the strength to shatter anyone.”
And, finally, the writing was really stunning throughout this book. It had a kind of flawless grace to it which I admired. I loved the way it built up characters, emotions and the world with its depth. I thought the prose was really great as well, and this is a debut so I can’t wait to see more from Suri.
★★★★
A really good fantasy especially for people looking for a slower fantasy romance. I’m really glad I picked it up. The only reason it isn’t a five star is because it is a little drawn out and as much as this had some strength to it, at times it felt like I would have enjoyed it more if it had a faster pace.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Self harm, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
plumpaperbacks's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I didn’t expect much from Empire of Sand, and there was more than one instance while I read the first half of the book where I considered not finishing. The world-building was incredible, the magic system unique, the protagonist interesting, but I just wasn’t invested. But oh, I’m so, so glad I kept going. The second half is much better, despite the pace never really picking up, as I became truly invested in both the protagonist and her love interest. Suri wrote an exquisite romance, soft and tender and emotional; it completely stole my heart. It was the reason I sped through the last quarter of the book, desperately hoping everything would be okay. While the story didn’t quite go in the direction I expected, it was still intense and intensely enjoyable. I’m so glad I stuck with this book, and I urge you to do the same. This book deserves much more love. I’m not sure that I’ll read the companion, as I’m not really interested in the younger sister as a protagonist. However, I’m eagerly awaiting Suri's next book. If it’s as great as this ended up being, absolutely sign me up.
Representation:
Representation:
- Protagonist, love interest, and some side characters of color
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Slavery, and Death
Moderate: Blood
coophone's review against another edition
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Death
Moderate: Slavery
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