Scan barcode
booksthatburn's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
I love the worldbuilding, but where THE JASMINE THRONE really shines is in characterization. The various factions are complicated enough to imply tangled motivations and longstanding tensions, but the focus on just a handful of really important characters makes it easier to track. Priya and Malini are the heart of this books, with a few other characters occasionally taking turns in the spotlight as their unique perspectives become relevant. By the time each minor or secondary character gets their chapter they’re already known, so it feels like filling in a missing piece and it makes the whole narrative better.
There was a hugely traumatic event which is a political concern for some characters but a world-shattering transformative event for others. The details of what happened are slowly described throughout the story as they become relevant, sometimes as information someone needs to know and sometimes as catharsis when an affected character talks about what they went through. There’s a lot of grief and pain from that night, bubbling out to shape current events as some want to move on, others want to fix things, and a powerful few want things to keep burning.
A great story and an excellent start to the series, read this for a slow burn sapphic romance with many secrets.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Vomit
Minor: Child death
venkaism's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Religious bigotry
yavin_iv's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, Body horror, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Murder, Physical abuse, and Addiction
Moderate: Genocide, Homophobia, Pregnancy, War, and Emotional abuse
s3lin's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Death
Moderate: Misogyny, Homophobia, and Confinement
szuum's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
Characters not compelling, uninspired plot (book would've benefited from a much lower page count and tighter narrative), average writing style.
Most disappointing was the romance - not believable, comes out of nowhere, conveys zero emotion. Every single 'romantic' scene was exasperating.
Most disappointing was the romance - not believable, comes out of nowhere, conveys zero emotion. Every single 'romantic' scene was exasperating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, and Misogyny
Minor: Homophobia
hanarama's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Cw: homophobia, lesbophobia, misogyny, suicide, abuse, poisoning, burning, toxic relationships
The Good:
• Complex world building
• Wlw represtation
• Strong commentary
The Bad:
• Hard to keep track of characters
• Some PoV characters sound too similar.
• Very slow start
You Might Like This if You Like:
• Political intrigue
• Morally gray characters
• Slow burn romance
• The Daevabad trilogy
The Jasmine Throne features a wide number of PoV characters, though it primarily follows three women. Priya, Malini, and Bhumika. Malini is the exiled sister of the emperor. Refusing to ritualistically immolate herself for her brother, Malini is imprisoned in the Hirana, a ruined temple that houses an ancient power. Priya and Bhumika are former temple daughters, those that tended the Hirana before the emperor had the temple sacked. Priya agrees to serve as a maidservant to Malini, and inadvertently reveals her hidden strengths. Sensing an opportunity, Malini seeks to grow closer to Priya, and their fates become interwoven. Meanwhile, Bhumika deals with the growing political unrest and struggles to keep her people safe.
Outside of the three main women, it can be easy to mix up the other PoV characters. Many of them only have a couple chapters. Without very distinct voices, it's hard to remember who's narrating a particular chapter.
Despite this, Suri creates very evocative imagery. The setting is lush and inviting, with a lot to uncover. The world building is gradual, with more revealed throughout the novel.
In general, The Jasmine Throne is very slow burn, with everything building in intensity over time. In some regards, this is fine, but in others it can make it hard to get into the story. For the central romance, it works well, allowing the characters to build a connection before the romance begins. The slow pace of the plot outside of this though, makes it feel as though very little is happening.
Overall, an interesting story with a great setting. Because the first book was mainly set up, I'm interested to see how things pay off in the sequel. In particular, Malini and Bhumika are both set up as charismatic leaders, so I'm expecting them to clash in the future.
The Good:
• Complex world building
• Wlw represtation
• Strong commentary
The Bad:
• Hard to keep track of characters
• Some PoV characters sound too similar.
• Very slow start
You Might Like This if You Like:
• Political intrigue
• Morally gray characters
• Slow burn romance
• The Daevabad trilogy
The Jasmine Throne features a wide number of PoV characters, though it primarily follows three women. Priya, Malini, and Bhumika. Malini is the exiled sister of the emperor. Refusing to ritualistically immolate herself for her brother, Malini is imprisoned in the Hirana, a ruined temple that houses an ancient power. Priya and Bhumika are former temple daughters, those that tended the Hirana before the emperor had the temple sacked. Priya agrees to serve as a maidservant to Malini, and inadvertently reveals her hidden strengths. Sensing an opportunity, Malini seeks to grow closer to Priya, and their fates become interwoven. Meanwhile, Bhumika deals with the growing political unrest and struggles to keep her people safe.
Outside of the three main women, it can be easy to mix up the other PoV characters. Many of them only have a couple chapters. Without very distinct voices, it's hard to remember who's narrating a particular chapter.
Despite this, Suri creates very evocative imagery. The setting is lush and inviting, with a lot to uncover. The world building is gradual, with more revealed throughout the novel.
In general, The Jasmine Throne is very slow burn, with everything building in intensity over time. In some regards, this is fine, but in others it can make it hard to get into the story. For the central romance, it works well, allowing the characters to build a connection before the romance begins. The slow pace of the plot outside of this though, makes it feel as though very little is happening.
Overall, an interesting story with a great setting. Because the first book was mainly set up, I'm interested to see how things pay off in the sequel. In particular, Malini and Bhumika are both set up as charismatic leaders, so I'm expecting them to clash in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Confinement, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Sexism, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, and Fire/Fire injury
mothie_girlie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Lesbophobia and Misogyny
Minor: Pregnancy, Vomit, and Suicidal thoughts
elthechameleon's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Lesbophobia
Take the fire warning very seriously. It is a major theme of the book.foreverinastory's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-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
Thank you Sapphic Trifecta.
Rep: sapphic BIPOC female MC, sapphic (lesbian coded) chronically ill female MC, BIPOC supporting cast, queer side characters mentioned in a historical context.
CWs: Abandonment, addiction, blood, past mentions of child abuse, chronic illness, colonisation, confinement, death, drug use (poison), emotional abuse, fire, injury/injury detail, lesbophobia/lesbomisia (general queerphobia/queermisia), medical content (depictions of withdrawal), misogyny, murder, physical abuse, sexism, violence, war.
Rep: sapphic BIPOC female MC, sapphic (lesbian coded) chronically ill female MC, BIPOC supporting cast, queer side characters mentioned in a historical context.
CWs: Abandonment, addiction, blood, past mentions of child abuse, chronic illness, colonisation, confinement, death, drug use (poison), emotional abuse, fire, injury/injury detail, lesbophobia/lesbomisia (general queerphobia/queermisia), medical content (depictions of withdrawal), misogyny, murder, physical abuse, sexism, violence, war.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, and War
redthistle's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
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
4.5
I thoroughly enjoyed the Jasmine Throne.
My favorite thing about this book is the exploration of strength in women in multiple facets.
The main three female characters are amazing. Each woman demonstrates incredible strength in the face of a world that is very sexist and misogynistic. Their strength, however, is not all the same. Each one finds a different way to survive in a world which wants to destroy them, whether it be through physical strength to fight, emotional strength to do what is hard, or strength in cunning to manipulate perceptions to protect oneself these women are awesome.
I also found the relationship betweenPriya and Malini to be really interesting. I liked that it was flawed and raw and messy while also being tender and sweet. My one main complaint with the book was that we didn't get as many scenes with them as I would have liked. I wanted more conversation between them to solidify their feelings for one another.
The final thing I loved from this book was the world that Tasha Suri created. I found it really engrossing and fascinating. The magic system is really cool and the richness of the culture which is woven into the high fantasy setting that she creates is beautiful. I am so excited to read further in this world.
My favorite thing about this book is the exploration of strength in women in multiple facets.
The main three female characters are amazing. Each woman demonstrates incredible strength in the face of a world that is very sexist and misogynistic. Their strength, however, is not all the same. Each one finds a different way to survive in a world which wants to destroy them, whether it be through physical strength to fight, emotional strength to do what is hard, or strength in cunning to manipulate perceptions to protect oneself these women are awesome.
I also found the relationship between
The final thing I loved from this book was the world that Tasha Suri created. I found it really engrossing and fascinating. The magic system is really cool and the richness of the culture which is woven into the high fantasy setting that she creates is beautiful. I am so excited to read further in this world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexism, and Violence