Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - The Jasmine Throne

I really enjoyed this book. I just didn’t love it as much as I wanted to.

The worldbuilding is fantastic. I loved the way the different cultures played off of each other. The plant magic was intriguing. The different creation myths were fascinating. The use of language and geography and food was rich and realistic.

And Priya and Malini’s relationship was such a strong centerpiece to this book. I loved how they played off of each other, and I loved how balanced their relationship felt even though one of them always had more power than the other.

The pacing was rough at times. I know this is a controversial opinion, but I didn’t like all of the extra character POVs. I don’t think they added anything, and in fact I think that repeatedly meeting minor characters and getting a chapter from their POV

only for them to die at the end of that chapter

ruined the book’s momentum and made those scenes much less impactful than they would have been from the perspective of Priya, Malini, Bhumika, Rao, or Ashok.

Also, why did no one warn me that the magical cure trope was such a big part of this book? It’s an ableist trope that I’ve definitely seen handled worse but that certainly wasn’t handled well in this book, and I’m disappointed in the dozens of reviewers I’ve seen recommending this book for the sapphic romance without mentioning any other aspect of it.

Overall, I would still recommend this book, and I look forward to the sequel, but I wish I’d loved it more.

EDIT: Looking back on this book a year after reading it, I still think that the characters and the worldbuilding are fantastic. However, my interest in reading the sequel has dropped to almost nothing because this book put me off of high fantasy for several months with how rough the pacing and use of point of view were. I know that this is an unpopular take on this very popular book, and that's fine. I just found it to be such a struggle that I honestly would not recommend it to anyone who pays a lot of attention to craft and pacing issues while reading. If you're only there for the sapphic aspect and the interesting lore, you'll definitely like it better.

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schnaucl's review against another edition

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dark sad slow-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

4.0

It was an interesting read and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

It wasn't a surprise that Malini will end up ruling the empire rather than the brother who has no interest in it. In a way it's a nice change away from the idea that the only people who should rule are people who don't want to do so in part for the reasons articulated in the book. She has a vision for her empire, her brother does not. I also did not miss that her hallucinated friend pluralizes the brothers that Malini will kill on her way to securing the throne.

So how do the followers of the nameless god learn their names when it's three pages of irrigation techniques? Do they have to keep going back to the temple to memorize it? It seems like the kind of thing that wouldn't be written down anywhere. This may have been mentioned and I just don't remember it. The idea that people's names are prophecy is interesting.

I like Rao, I hope we see more from him.

Content Warnings