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readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Violence, War, Blood, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Racism, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Sexism
Moderate: Colonisation, Body horror, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Suicide, Torture, Alcohol, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Child death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Starvation, homelessness, brothels.jennamcclendon's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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
3.75
*** SPOILER ALERT ***
Also, check TWs for this! I didn't mention all of them in mine, but some of the major ones I could remember.
It is my goal this summer to read the sapphic trifecta (*The Jasmine Throne, She Who Became the Sun,* and *The Unbroken*), so this is Sapphic Trifecta Book 1/3. I had really high expectations for this book, especially after finishing Crier’s War and absolutely loving it, but unfortunately, I don’t think those expectations were quite met. Now, it is the first book in a series and I am definitely going to read the next ones, but I don’t know… something about this book just didn’t stick out to me. It may be because it’s an adult book and not YA like I’m used to, and it’s not like I hated it, but I just… expected it to be a little better.
One thing that I definitely admired about this book was its themes. Not everyone in this book was a hero. Malini and Priya, and even Bhumika, were all very morally gray, and they were written SO WELL. Those three were definitely the best-written characters and some of the only ones that I enjoyed reading about. We could dive into their minds and see how their past traumas shaped them into who they were today and how that impacted many of their decisions, and those three were very well-fleshed out. Malini, Priya, and Bhumika were LITERALLY the definitions of gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss, and I’m here for it. I bring them up because the feminist undertones of the story were so powerful. Malini and Priya were both struggling against their brothers and the hurt they caused them, and in the end, both of them gained more power than their brothers with Priya surviving the deathless waters (and Ashok didn’t lol get wrecked) and Malini being named as rightful empress as opposed to Aditya and especially Chandra. And Bhumika… definitely one of my favorites, if not my top favorite. I mean, rebelling against her husband behind his back, creating a loyal army of her servants, all while *pregnant*? And having a baby in the middle of a war and then proceeding to be named leader? SLAY. HONESTLY SLAY.
Another thing I enjoyed was all of the commentaries on colonization and imperialism and the effects on the people. With this incredibly-built world being so heavily based on India and its history of colonization by the British, I enjoyed seeing the similarities (with what little knowledge I have on that subject) between the Parijati and the Ahiranyi. Speaking of, Ahiranya was such a beautiful world with such a rich history. I LOVED reading about the magic system and the deathless waters and the tragedies they faced as a culture and as a civilization. Priya, Bhumika, and Ashok all dealt with everything differently, and that really shows how different people respond to different tragedies, especially as survivors. Those parts were some of the best parts of the entire book.
Now, I did not like every single character. Obviously, there are the few that I was supposed to hate, like Santosh and Chandra and even Vikram toward the end of his arc (although I will admit I enjoyed reading his POV in the beginning before he started being a misogynist toward his obviously more competent wife) and Ashok. And I did hate them, though I did somewhat like Ashok and Vikram’s chapters. But some characters I felt like I was *supposed to like*, but I didn’t. Rao especially. He had a good backstory with the knife and his sister burning, but in the actual events of the book, he was really boring. Like, I didn’t actually care about him until like the very end when he gave Malini her name and he actually started contributing. And even then, he was still not the most entertaining either. Same with Aditya. He just annoyed me, honestly. The only characters that I was genuinely engaged in and really cared about were Priya, Malini, Bhumika, and Rukh. Other than that, whenever someone else’s POV came up, I was just waiting for them to come back. ALSO, RUKH WAS A SWEETHEART I LOVED HIM.
In terms of romance, it was AMAZING. Definitely a slow burn considering they didn’t kiss until like, after page 400, but it was WORTH it. The tension between Malini and Priya, the back and forth not trusting each other and feeling betrayed was PERFECT. I kept rooting for them so bad. They were both so clearly infatuated with each other that I was just WAITING for them to kiss, and then they kissed under a WATERFALL. PERFECT PERFECT PERFECT. All of the moments leading up to that were amazing too. The bath scene, saving each other, tricking Pramila together, sneaking out of the rooms, telling each other their stories… I loved it. I was lowkey relating some of it to Crier’s War too, which means I really liked it because Crier’s War is Crier's War. They did separate in the end, but I feel like now that Ashok and them are taken care of, Priya is going to go back to help Malini, even after that scene with Bhumika. But seriously, two powerful badass morally gray lesbians? YES PLEASE. MORE PRIYA AND MALINI CONTENT PLEASE.
Could this be better? Yes. I think that a bunch of chapters could have been combined and told from one POV, with most of those coming from the main three women, and maybe an occasional chapter from Ashok. Rao didn’t seem like that major of a character to have as many chapters as he did. BUT it was a fantastic book nonetheless. The worldbuilding and magic system were so beautiful and so captivating, and the main three women had amazing stories that wove together so well. I just feel like this could have all been compressed and things could have been cut to focus on the main plot. But for one of my first adult epic fantasies? IT WAS AMAZING. :)
Also, check TWs for this! I didn't mention all of them in mine, but some of the major ones I could remember.
It is my goal this summer to read the sapphic trifecta (*The Jasmine Throne, She Who Became the Sun,* and *The Unbroken*), so this is Sapphic Trifecta Book 1/3. I had really high expectations for this book, especially after finishing Crier’s War and absolutely loving it, but unfortunately, I don’t think those expectations were quite met. Now, it is the first book in a series and I am definitely going to read the next ones, but I don’t know… something about this book just didn’t stick out to me. It may be because it’s an adult book and not YA like I’m used to, and it’s not like I hated it, but I just… expected it to be a little better.
One thing that I definitely admired about this book was its themes. Not everyone in this book was a hero. Malini and Priya, and even Bhumika, were all very morally gray, and they were written SO WELL. Those three were definitely the best-written characters and some of the only ones that I enjoyed reading about. We could dive into their minds and see how their past traumas shaped them into who they were today and how that impacted many of their decisions, and those three were very well-fleshed out. Malini, Priya, and Bhumika were LITERALLY the definitions of gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss, and I’m here for it. I bring them up because the feminist undertones of the story were so powerful. Malini and Priya were both struggling against their brothers and the hurt they caused them, and in the end, both of them gained more power than their brothers with Priya surviving the deathless waters (and Ashok didn’t lol get wrecked) and Malini being named as rightful empress as opposed to Aditya and especially Chandra. And Bhumika… definitely one of my favorites, if not my top favorite. I mean, rebelling against her husband behind his back, creating a loyal army of her servants, all while *pregnant*? And having a baby in the middle of a war and then proceeding to be named leader? SLAY. HONESTLY SLAY.
Another thing I enjoyed was all of the commentaries on colonization and imperialism and the effects on the people. With this incredibly-built world being so heavily based on India and its history of colonization by the British, I enjoyed seeing the similarities (with what little knowledge I have on that subject) between the Parijati and the Ahiranyi. Speaking of, Ahiranya was such a beautiful world with such a rich history. I LOVED reading about the magic system and the deathless waters and the tragedies they faced as a culture and as a civilization. Priya, Bhumika, and Ashok all dealt with everything differently, and that really shows how different people respond to different tragedies, especially as survivors. Those parts were some of the best parts of the entire book.
Now, I did not like every single character. Obviously, there are the few that I was supposed to hate, like Santosh and Chandra and even Vikram toward the end of his arc (although I will admit I enjoyed reading his POV in the beginning before he started being a misogynist toward his obviously more competent wife) and Ashok. And I did hate them, though I did somewhat like Ashok and Vikram’s chapters. But some characters I felt like I was *supposed to like*, but I didn’t. Rao especially. He had a good backstory with the knife and his sister burning, but in the actual events of the book, he was really boring. Like, I didn’t actually care about him until like the very end when he gave Malini her name and he actually started contributing. And even then, he was still not the most entertaining either. Same with Aditya. He just annoyed me, honestly. The only characters that I was genuinely engaged in and really cared about were Priya, Malini, Bhumika, and Rukh. Other than that, whenever someone else’s POV came up, I was just waiting for them to come back. ALSO, RUKH WAS A SWEETHEART I LOVED HIM.
In terms of romance, it was AMAZING. Definitely a slow burn considering they didn’t kiss until like, after page 400, but it was WORTH it. The tension between Malini and Priya, the back and forth not trusting each other and feeling betrayed was PERFECT. I kept rooting for them so bad. They were both so clearly infatuated with each other that I was just WAITING for them to kiss, and then they kissed under a WATERFALL. PERFECT PERFECT PERFECT. All of the moments leading up to that were amazing too. The bath scene, saving each other, tricking Pramila together, sneaking out of the rooms, telling each other their stories… I loved it. I was lowkey relating some of it to Crier’s War too, which means I really liked it because Crier’s War is Crier's War. They did separate in the end, but I feel like now that Ashok and them are taken care of, Priya is going to go back to help Malini, even after that scene with Bhumika. But seriously, two powerful badass morally gray lesbians? YES PLEASE. MORE PRIYA AND MALINI CONTENT PLEASE.
Could this be better? Yes. I think that a bunch of chapters could have been combined and told from one POV, with most of those coming from the main three women, and maybe an occasional chapter from Ashok. Rao didn’t seem like that major of a character to have as many chapters as he did. BUT it was a fantastic book nonetheless. The worldbuilding and magic system were so beautiful and so captivating, and the main three women had amazing stories that wove together so well. I just feel like this could have all been compressed and things could have been cut to focus on the main plot. But for one of my first adult epic fantasies? IT WAS AMAZING. :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Mental illness
lolajh's review against another edition
adventurous
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
5.0
A BEAUTIFUL lesbian slow burn romance (first kiss isn’t until after page 400) between a princess and her maidservant, set in India and depicting the varieties of Indian cultures, histories, stories, and morals from different regions. And plant magic! The main characters’ corruption into morally grey characters was perfectly illustrated, creating a lot of tension and pining and unsaid thoughts between them that gave me butterflies a couple times. Their chemistry and love and developing trust for each other leads to the pair discovering and learning to love all parts of each other. They are perfect. Loved seeing some women experiencing rage and revenge and strength, especially Malini, the princess, who proved to not be the “pathetic” person women in royalty is often portrayed to be like and rather someone wanting to overthrow her brother, the emperor, for the good of her empire and people. Both Priya and Malini are such unique and independent people on their own outside of their relationship, which makes their story so special and enjoyable to read. Priya has to learn to control and manipulate her powers well enough in order to fight, (would love to see some training scenes with her and Bhumika in the next book to see her develop her fighting style) and Malini has to stand up for herself after being a doormat walked on for a lot of her life. That forest scene where they’re surrounded and Priya circles Malini trying to protect her? SO GOOD. And then Malini proving her own power by manipulating the attackers, overcome by rage and wanting to avenge her empire from the rebels so much that she puts both of them in danger and no longer being under Priya’s protection really showed her character that I ended up truly loving. And then every single kiss scene between them is perfect - the imagery and descriptions of what each of them are thinking and doing gave me butterflies! Like the waterfall scene was perfect, as well as the scene in the tent at the end, and when they’re in the woods kissing in front of everyone and not caring about who sees. Even before they confess their feelings when Priya is still her maidservant, her being company to Malini as she gets sicker and holds her hand and washes her and tells her stories FUCK. And when they are together, boy are they just perfect: the face touches, breathing each other’s name, forehead touches, just everything is so pure and wonderful. And despite Priya’s overwhelming strength that could overpower Malini easily, she NEVER hurts her, even when Malini is hurting Priya. She cannot bring herself to ever harm her. This book BREAKS ME. And that ending????? Priya becoming a thrice-born elder of Ahiranya and Malini the Prijat empress? These women are powerful as FUCK. Especially Malini just becoming empress when her brother refuses, god I love her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, War, Xenophobia, Body horror, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Grief, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Terminal illness, Violence, Homophobia, Medical content, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Blood, Gore, and Torture
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