Reviews with content warning for Racism - The Jasmine Throne

Excellent high fantasy and excellent feminist storytelling. This is how you create a feminist story without monologues that seem out character or long bits of exposition that are discordant with the tone and atmosphere of the story. I loved the world, politics, and magic of this book. The characters are complex and I do find it difficult at times to fully understand some of them. I may not be picking up inferences I’m meant to. I do find the romance between the two main characters to be a bit underdeveloped. I found it difficult to follow the development of chemistry between the characters and progression of the relationship. It seemed as if we were told they were here in the relationship and had these feelings for each other without really seeing that develop. It wasn’t out of the realm of believability though and did not really take away from the overall story for me.

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kaylierian's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

priya & malini <3

I love vicious sapphics.

Tasha Suri is already one of my favorite authors after reading Empire of Sand. Now I am convinced she can do no wrong. I would read her grocery list if I could.

You have never read characters like these before. Priya and Malini are just. I can't describe them in one word because they are so complex. I could write a character study essay, but I will spare you.

Priya. I can't believe I read 530 pages of Priya and still don't feel like I know her whole story. (I feel the same about Malini, actually). The temple daughter magic is unlike anything I've seen. Priya's development in the 2nd book is going to be insane, I can feel it.

Malini was my favorite POV to read from. The way she operates so subtlety, and lets everyone underestimate her. She's the smartest one in the room, and she KNOWS it. Her strength is mesmerizing. She is mesmerizing.

I'll be honest. At first, I wasn't a big fan of the other POVs like Rao and Ashok, but in the end, I LOVED them. Watching event unfold through their eyes and being inside their head was delightful. Especially Rao. I adored his chapters. He's such a compelling character, I can't help it.

And obviously we can't forget about the sapphic romance. A lovely little enemies to friends to enemies to lover to ???? Their chemistry steams off the page, and the slow burn was immaculate. I love love love how Priya's strength is physical, and Malini's is her mind. Put those two together, and it's magic. Literally.

brb reading oleander sword rn

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serenedancer's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

Well written sapphic fantasy book with a lot of political intrigue.

I really liked the characters and their relationships, how they played off each other. It also explored the politics of revolutions and how different people can want the same goal but won't take the same path.

There are many morally grey characters so if that's an issue, I would suggest against the book. Also, there are many moving parts so make sure to be aware of that.

Overall, I'd recommend both the written and the audiobook. Especially for pronunciations. But overall it's a very well done audiobook.

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poetry_shaman's review against another edition

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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

3.75

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midnightgremlin's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-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

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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.

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