Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

42 reviews

claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Blood, Body horror, Death, Misogyny, Murder, Xenophobia, Classism, and Violence

Minor: Addiction, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Domestic abuse, Vomit, Sexual content, Homophobia, Gore, and Suicidal thoughts

lavybubbs's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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

5 Stars- I am speechless 

Once again we are here at a book that I loved so much I can barely figure out how to write about it. 

This book is a slow start. It drops you in the story without a full explanation of where you are, which can be a challenging aspect for some, it was for me but the story is explained as you go in such a riveting way it more then makes up for it. Sometimes the amount of POV characters becomes hard to follow but as I read I got more used to the pacing and understanding the reason for those PoVs. 

I cannot say enough about Malini and Priya. These characters are the morally grey Sapphic  badasses of my gay dreams. The themes are so heavy but each character takes what has happened to them and rises from the ashes and the waters to be unstoppable and self assured. While our two main characters are powerful, many of the more minor PoV characters are so fulfilling and the character development is applied liberaly to the most amazing affect. 

This is a series I plan to sink my teeth into over and over and never let go. I feel like I have read an epic fantasy that could have been written long ago. It felt so sure of itself and I truly believe it's one of the greats in the making. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, War, Violence, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Drug abuse, Addiction, Body horror, Terminal illness, Self harm, Physical abuse, Misogyny, and Genocide

Moderate: Homophobia

schnaucl's review against another edition

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.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Addiction, Misogyny, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Death, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Pregnancy

kathleencoughlin's review against another edition

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? No

4.0

My final and favorite of last year's sapphic trifecta. The magic system was interesting and the characters were dynamic and complex. Good stuff 👍

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Death

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Misogyny, and Xenophobia

Minor: Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

needleclicker's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark fast-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

4.75

Engrossing story primarily focused around Priya, a former temple child, and Malini, a princess of the nation who colonised Priya's home. Malini refused to burn, refused to conform to gender roles. For that, she is exhiled to the temple where Priya's fellow temple children were burned to death. 

The two become close, a friendship that changes everything around them. 

A perfect blend of character development, politics, and religion. Characters are forced to make hard choices and decide what prices are acceptable to gain what they each seek. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Violence

Moderate: Colonisation, Death, and Sexism

Minor: Abandonment and Addiction

andromeda_1998's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

The jasmine throne is one of the books from my Illumicrate book box subscription. And it’s one of those books that I was really hyped for. I expected a great deal since it started to gape on TikTok and well they aren’t wrong. It’s a great book, with a big fantasy setting, a lot of representation and a great story. 

The characters 
This book has multiple pov’s but it focuses the most on Malini and Priya. I really enjoyed these characters. They are strong female leads with a bit of a morally gray side to them. One thing I liked less though is that is didn’t really ship them. I shipped Priya more with Sami. But that is just my opinion. 

Plot 
The story is fun to read but a bit predictable at some points. Not that that is a bad thing persé but I would have liked more plottwists. 

Worldbuilding 
The worldbuilding is beautifully done. The world is rich with magic, beautiful history and mythology and it is really detailed. We haven’t learned everything this world has to offer so I’m waiting for the next book in this series. The book is slow in the beginning though. It picks up the pace at around 150/170 pages.  I have to admit that this is one of those books I almost put down, which would have been a shame. 

Storytelling 
This book is beautiful written, but to the point. It has some magical quotes but the beginning of the book felt really dry to me. 

Recommendations 
I would recommend this book to lovers of the unbroken and the deavabad trilogy. Check the triggerwarnings before reading! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Body horror, Blood, Confinement, Colonisation, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexism, War, Violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Torture

Moderate: Pregnancy and Lesbophobia

starccato's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Xenophobia, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Murder, Blood, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Alcohol, Violence, Terminal illness, Slavery, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racism, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Torture, Child abuse, Grief, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Child death, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death of parent, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, War, Lesbophobia, and Homophobia

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

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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

melaniereadsbooks'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

Holy crap I loved this book so much! I truly understand why this is part of the "Sapphic Trifecta!"

The relationship in this book is so beautiful!!!! It's a slow burn, quasi-enemies-to-lovers, and also like... these vibes. How do I explain this...This is not the relationship where they put each other above everyone else...nope, they ladies are DEVOTED to their causes and they aren't gonna let something like love stop them. I don't know I just love it.

The magic in this book is so interesting! I seriously love the River magic and the once born and twice born and thrice born! I love the Rot and everything that goes along with it. I love the world building and OMG I cannot wait for the sequel to this book!!!

10/10 highly recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Body horror, Drug use, Sexism, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, and War

Moderate: Child abuse, Lesbophobia, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, and Physical abuse

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. 

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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