Reviews with content warning for Confinement - The Jasmine Throne

Tasha Suri writes a story quite unlike any book I've ever read before. Her prose and the inventive use of multiple POVs truly create a multi-layered world the encaptures the reader. I can honestly say I've never read a book quite like it, in the absolute best of ways. The world building was so in-depth, so meticulously thought out, that I felt I completely understood the world Suri created. Reading this was like solving a puzzle without meaning to. Suri's writing guides the reader along a truly incredible path that allows the reader deepen their understanding of the world without having to consciously try to decipher it. This book is what I would consider the very best of the high fantasy genre.

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cjreadstoomuch's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective tense

5.0

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flowingleaves's review against another edition

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dark 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

5.0

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lady_valhella's review

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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daffodilcherry's review

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adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

A really interesting book which beautifully sets up the wider world, a conflict and main characters. I liked both Priya and Malini as individual characters, and their relationship together. I can't wait to see how they change in the next books.
Wheelhouses: rich worldbuilding, fantasy with female main characters, South Asian inspired fantasy, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, plant based magic, dark fantasy with misogyny without sexual assault / sexual violence.
Favourite quotes:

["Then you're not the person you think you are," Priya said.
"But I'm going to have to be, Priya. I need to be - the part of me I need to be - can't be good. Or soft. Not to do what's needful." Priya said nothing. She simply tilted her head, listening.
"I am going to have to carve out a new face. A face that can pay the price I need to pay. I am going to become monstrous," Malini said, tasting the weight of the words upon her lips, her tongue. "For so long I have only wanted to escape and survive. But now I am free, and for the sake of my purpose... for the sake of power," she admitted, "I am going to become something other than human. Other than simply not good. I must."
Priya hesitated. Said, finally, "I'm not sure that's what being powerful means. Losing yourself."]

[Priya looked at Malini. At her back, a forbidding line. "I promise you I'll come," Priya said to her. "I know you don't think much of prophecies. Or portents, or fate, or anything of that sort. But one day I am going to come and find you. By then, I expect you will have long forgotten me. Maybe I'll only be able to walk the edges of whatever mahal you live in, but as... as long as you want me to, I'll come. If you want me to find you, I'll come." There were so many things Priya didn't know how to say.
The moment I saw you, I felt a tug. You are the feeling of falling, the tidal waters, the way a living thing will always turn, seeking light. It isn't that I think you are good or kind, or even that I love you. It is only that, the moment I saw you, I knew I would seek you out. Just as I sought the deathless waters. Just as I sought my brother. Just as I seek all things-without thought, with nothing but want.]

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