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4.43 AVERAGE
4.43 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
A beautiful ending to a thrilling trilogy. Taking off one star because Suri's flowery (excuse the pun) language can often get in the way of clarity. The first two books I enjoyed a little more but this was still a wonderful read.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A great final book to this series!
The characters and relationships are the drivers of the story, and that is what kept me reading. While I did not love how some of the storylines wrapped up, I still think this is a fantastic fantasy series.
The characters and relationships are the drivers of the story, and that is what kept me reading. While I did not love how some of the storylines wrapped up, I still think this is a fantastic fantasy series.
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"I can hurt you. I love to hurt you. Can't you feel it? All I want is your throat under my hands. One day, I will take great joy in seeing you dead."
-------------------------------------
Not the best finale book I've read, but definitely not the worst either. I have a list of things I loved and a list of things I didn't love, so I think I'm just gonna do a paragraph for each to avoid rambling too much in this review.
Things I loved: I've loved these characters for this whole trilogy, and that definitely didn't change with this book; I definitely left this series feeling the same way I did about them as I did in the start. Malini is still my absolute favorite; she's so selfish in the best, most interesting way and just overall a very fun character to read about. But I also just adore the rest of the cast, specifically Bhumika, Jeevan, and Rukh, I ADORE them. And while we're talking about Bhumika and Jeevan, I am VERY obsessed with their ship, like they're so good, and for what?? They don't actually get that much "screentime," but I love them anyways. And obviously Priya and Malini are still great, though I do have a couple complaints about their progression and relationship in this book, but I'll get to that later. And lastly, the yaksa and their plot were still equally as insane and interesting in this book as they were in the first two, they are definitely one of my favorite parts of this trilogy. Now onto things I disliked.
Things I disliked: I feel like in general I just wasn't as interested in the plot in this book as I was the plot in the first two. That might be more of a me problem cause I tend to struggle with very political, war, fighting, etc parts of books cause I lose focus and space out so much reading it and inevitably never really know what's going on. Again, definitely a me problem, but alas there was in fact a large portion of the plot throughout this devoted to those plot elements, and it just caused me to be a little uninterested reading this and made me really want to just get this book done with as quickly as possible. I think that Malini and Priya's betrayal/hatred arc was a little too back and forth and also pulled a 180 into love again a little TOO quickly; I would've liked to see a little more of a gradual shift there. And there were certain things about the finale that I did not LOVE. Not going to get into spoiler territory, but it just felt like things wrapped up too quickly or moved too quickly in general. The time skip section should've been a little longer. And I just think the finale quickly solved a lot of problems in a way that made those problems and the consequences that characters had to deal with based on those problems seem kind of pointless.
With all that said, though, like I said before, this was not the worst finale I've ever read. I think it was a pretty decent conclusion to the trilogy, but I do wish some things plot wise went down differently than they did. Still though, I really loved reading this trilogy and am very glad to finally have it done and checked off of my neverending tbr :)
-------------------------------------
Bonus quotes 🪷
"Sometimes the places you have not been are a hollow, an absence with a shape."
"'You really want to help me,' she said. 'One good thing,' he said curtly. She raised her head. He swallowed. 'I want to do one good thing,' he said. 'In a sea of shit.'"
"'I knew I loved him,' he admitted. 'When he was alive, I knew I loved him... more than I should have. But the shape of it---that wasn't something I let myself see. I didn't know.' 'Did you really not see?' 'It was like staring at the sun,' Rao said. A shaky laugh. 'Really looking at it would have destroyed me.'"
"'You deserve so much more grief than I can give you.'"
"'Divyanshi was a woman of great faith,' said Malini. 'All the mothers were. They prayed and reached for a greater power---and the power served them and obliterated them. I have no such faith.' She leaned forward. 'My blood would be far less worthy than the blood of priests who believe in their gods. Priests who have opened their souls to a greater power. I have never done such a thing. I'm not even sure I love the mothers. Divyanshi gave me her blood, but she also condemned me to always be a sacrifice in waiting---no more than my organs, my bones. I do not thank her for that.' She kept her eyes fixed on Hemanth, unblinking. 'Does that fill you with revulsion, Hemanth? it should at least make you pause.'"
"The sacrifices made in this war would have to be enough. Malini was monstrous enough to seize the throne and murder a brother. She was monstrous enough to continue the glorious, bloody cruelty of empire. She had made herself so. She would choose now to be monstrous enough to let an enemy live, for the sake of keeping what was hers. She would choose love over goodness. 'Let future generations face the yaksa once more. Let the rot continue. Only, let me have her.'"
"'Coming with me won't save me,' Priya said. 'It will just---condemn you too. I can't bear that, Malini.' 'Then live. I won't allow you to die,' Malini said, her voice low. 'I have no better leverage to use against you than my own life. If you die, then I die. So you will have to live.'"
"'I know you dream as humans dream,' he said quietly. 'I know how it hurts you. I know how your bodies ache and twist around you. I know the agony of being mortal.' A breath. 'I miss the stars. I yearn for the great void. But I will accept the quiet of death, if it will spare me the pain of living.'"
-------------------------------------
Not the best finale book I've read, but definitely not the worst either. I have a list of things I loved and a list of things I didn't love, so I think I'm just gonna do a paragraph for each to avoid rambling too much in this review.
Things I loved: I've loved these characters for this whole trilogy, and that definitely didn't change with this book; I definitely left this series feeling the same way I did about them as I did in the start. Malini is still my absolute favorite; she's so selfish in the best, most interesting way and just overall a very fun character to read about. But I also just adore the rest of the cast, specifically Bhumika, Jeevan, and Rukh, I ADORE them. And while we're talking about Bhumika and Jeevan, I am VERY obsessed with their ship, like they're so good, and for what?? They don't actually get that much "screentime," but I love them anyways. And obviously Priya and Malini are still great, though I do have a couple complaints about their progression and relationship in this book, but I'll get to that later. And lastly, the yaksa and their plot were still equally as insane and interesting in this book as they were in the first two, they are definitely one of my favorite parts of this trilogy. Now onto things I disliked.
Things I disliked: I feel like in general I just wasn't as interested in the plot in this book as I was the plot in the first two. That might be more of a me problem cause I tend to struggle with very political, war, fighting, etc parts of books cause I lose focus and space out so much reading it and inevitably never really know what's going on. Again, definitely a me problem, but alas there was in fact a large portion of the plot throughout this devoted to those plot elements, and it just caused me to be a little uninterested reading this and made me really want to just get this book done with as quickly as possible. I think that Malini and Priya's betrayal/hatred arc was a little too back and forth and also pulled a 180 into love again a little TOO quickly; I would've liked to see a little more of a gradual shift there. And there were certain things about the finale that I did not LOVE. Not going to get into spoiler territory, but it just felt like things wrapped up too quickly or moved too quickly in general. The time skip section should've been a little longer. And I just think the finale quickly solved a lot of problems in a way that made those problems and the consequences that characters had to deal with based on those problems seem kind of pointless.
With all that said, though, like I said before, this was not the worst finale I've ever read. I think it was a pretty decent conclusion to the trilogy, but I do wish some things plot wise went down differently than they did. Still though, I really loved reading this trilogy and am very glad to finally have it done and checked off of my neverending tbr :)
-------------------------------------
Bonus quotes 🪷
"Sometimes the places you have not been are a hollow, an absence with a shape."
"'You really want to help me,' she said. 'One good thing,' he said curtly. She raised her head. He swallowed. 'I want to do one good thing,' he said. 'In a sea of shit.'"
"'I knew I loved him,' he admitted. 'When he was alive, I knew I loved him... more than I should have. But the shape of it---that wasn't something I let myself see. I didn't know.' 'Did you really not see?' 'It was like staring at the sun,' Rao said. A shaky laugh. 'Really looking at it would have destroyed me.'"
"'You deserve so much more grief than I can give you.'"
"'Divyanshi was a woman of great faith,' said Malini. 'All the mothers were. They prayed and reached for a greater power---and the power served them and obliterated them. I have no such faith.' She leaned forward. 'My blood would be far less worthy than the blood of priests who believe in their gods. Priests who have opened their souls to a greater power. I have never done such a thing. I'm not even sure I love the mothers. Divyanshi gave me her blood, but she also condemned me to always be a sacrifice in waiting---no more than my organs, my bones. I do not thank her for that.' She kept her eyes fixed on Hemanth, unblinking. 'Does that fill you with revulsion, Hemanth? it should at least make you pause.'"
"The sacrifices made in this war would have to be enough. Malini was monstrous enough to seize the throne and murder a brother. She was monstrous enough to continue the glorious, bloody cruelty of empire. She had made herself so. She would choose now to be monstrous enough to let an enemy live, for the sake of keeping what was hers. She would choose love over goodness. 'Let future generations face the yaksa once more. Let the rot continue. Only, let me have her.'"
"'Coming with me won't save me,' Priya said. 'It will just---condemn you too. I can't bear that, Malini.' 'Then live. I won't allow you to die,' Malini said, her voice low. 'I have no better leverage to use against you than my own life. If you die, then I die. So you will have to live.'"
"'I know you dream as humans dream,' he said quietly. 'I know how it hurts you. I know how your bodies ache and twist around you. I know the agony of being mortal.' A breath. 'I miss the stars. I yearn for the great void. But I will accept the quiet of death, if it will spare me the pain of living.'"
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I struggled with the pace of this one. It felt like a lot of content in the first 3/4's for everything to wrap up in a hurry at the end.
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
The Lotus Empire is the powerful conclusion to the sapphic, Indian-inspired fantasy trilogy The Burning Kingdoms. Malini, now Empress, finds herself drawn into yet another war in the wake of Priya’s perceived betrayal and the resurgence of the mythical yaksa, all while the priesthood still calls for her to burn. Meanwhile, Priya returns home to find Bhumika missing and their old gods ruling with terrifying indifference toward her people. Worse still, a yaksa is slowly transforming her body and encroaching on her mind. With destruction looming, Malini and Priya must decide whether unity is possible to prevent everything from burning.
I found this to be a fantastic end to the trilogy, blending political intrigue, divine reckoning, and emotional complexity. While the book begins with several separate plotlines, it skillfully weaves them into a cohesive and emotionally resonant narrative, building to a propulsive third act I just could not put down. The stakes are high, the emotions even higher, and the hopeful conclusion feels wholly earned. Each character’s arc culminates in deeply satisfying resolutions, all told through prose that remains lyrical and commanding throughout. This is a story of women, survival, and sacrifice, and it never shies away from the radical or the unexpected.
Malini and Priya’s ending felt right; both stayed true to their beliefs and to themselves. I especially loved Bhumika’s role and the surprising (to me) romance she found. Rao’s feelings toward Aditya also caught me off guard, but that added dimension made his every action more poignant. His was the kind of tragic, unrequited queer love that felt appropriate and one of the rare times I can actually accept that trope without frustration.
The Lotus Empire delivers a richly layered, emotionally fierce finale.